The Black Death: Trying to find the truth about the cataclysm

Rico 2022-04-27 06:01:02

This is the first time I have seen a film involving the Black Death in the Middle Ages. Although it is not a documentary, it is from the perspective of others to think about whether the catastrophe was God's will or man-made.

The Black Death claimed one-third of Europe's population, and wherever the virus reached, it was like a massacre, with few surviving. In the face of such a large-scale infectious disease, it is very difficult to survive. People are not only facing the ubiquitous source of infection, but also mental torture. Luckily not being infected, not everything is going to be all right, and the psychological barriers will be even more difficult after that. Imagine that relatives and friends fall one after another, and live on the edge of danger all day long. It really requires spiritual sustenance. At that time, it was religion, it was God, and it was the spiritual pillar of people.

Religions at that time were generally artificial. This was God's punishment for mankind, establishing his own authority and giving a warning to the sinful mankind. However, the spread of infectious diseases for a long time, and large numbers of people fell, even religious believers and good people were not spared, which naturally caused people's doubts and shaken their beliefs. Thus, the Arcadia in the film was born, where people no longer believe in God and are spiritually ruled by witches.

Here is a piece of historical knowledge, this devastating Black Death actually started with the elimination of witches, and the slaughter of cats as helpers of witches directly led to a sharp increase in the number of mice, which in turn made the viruses they carry unable to get control. If you look closely, you can find that there is a reason why the so-called paradise in the film is not contaminated by the virus. This place is surrounded by water, which makes it difficult for rats to come, and naturally will not be infected without contact with outsiders.

It is inevitable that this wave of people who suddenly broke in will be persecuted, because they are outsiders and they are here to find witches. In a village where power is highly concentrated and the minds of witches are ruled, these people are coming to seek death, and the missionaries who lead the way for this wave of people also want to escape the shackles of religion, but they come to such a place. Satire. Of course, the subsequent rescue and the death of his beloved made him regain his faith and continue to fulfill the last wishes of the previous wave of people.

This film is more of an objective expression, showing a situation at that time, how to look and understand, everyone will have different views. After all, in the face of a catastrophe, the mental suffering is more painful than the physical one, and it also deepens the shadow of death.

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Extended Reading

Black Death quotes

  • Langiva: [to Ulric and his men, being held in a partially submerged pen] I will offer you all the chance to live. Renounce your vengeful god and you will be free. Keep him and you will die.

    Ulric: Not one man here will bow down to you. I will die first.

    Langiva: Who wants to live?

    [Points at Mold]

    Langiva: You?

    Mold: I will fight Ulric for the right to die first.

    Langiva: [to Hob] Choose one.

  • Osmund: Do you truly believe this village can raise their dead?

    Ulric: I would not be here otherwise. You doubt?

    Osmund: I believe hunting necromancers and demons serves men more than it serves God.

    Ulric: You have learned much nestled inside a monastery. Demons and necromancers are among us... as you will find out... soon enough.