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.
Plagues and Sicknesses in the Renaissance. What was the Black Death in the Renaissance? Black Death is referred to the instance of plague occurring in Europe between 1347 and 1352. Plague affected the whole population, not just small elite. Coming out of the East, the Black Death reached the shores of Italy in the spring of 1348 unleashing a rampage of death across Europe unprecedented in recorded history.