Meningitis is almost always caused by a bacterial or viral infection that began elsewhere in the body, such as in the ears, sinuses, or upper respiratory tract. Less common causes of meningitis include fungal infection, autoimmune disorders, and medications.
Depending on the region of Europe that you're talking about, the Black Death killed between 40 and 70% of people. That's huge. Imagine that for a second: 70% of everyone that you have ever met dying. Something that big makes an impact on every crevice and aspect of society. Let's just take Europe's art world as an example of one aspect of society that was affected by the Black Death: The Effect of the Black Death on Visual Art: Before the Black Death paintings and visual art is often very religious, sometimes depicting images of death.
The Black Death stands out as the most dramatic and lifestyle changing event during this century. This was a widespread epidemic of the Bubonic Plague that passed from Asia and through Europe in the mid fourteenth century. The first signs of the Black Plague in Europe were present around the fall of 1347. In the span of three years, the Black Death killed one third of all the people in Europe. This traumatic population change coming into the Late Middle Ages caused great changes in European culture and lifestyle.