What medieval people thought about the Black Death Learning Objective: to be able to explain medieval ideas about the Black Death

It came from the Far East - China and India - and spread first into Europe and then was brought to England, probably by rats that came on a boat from France. People in medieval times did not know what caused it or how to stop it killing them but they must have been very frightened when they saw so many were dying. The Plague that arrived in England in the late spring of 1348 is usually called ‘The Black Death’.

What medieval people DIDN’T know is what we think now … The germ lived in the blood of the rat, so the rats got the ……… – and they died The flea lived in the fur of the ………. and sucked up the germ in the rat’s blood. Then the ………. and the ……….. were passed on to another rat - THEN – when the rats died, the ……….. looked for tasty humans to live on instead. Once the germ has infected humans it can spread easily by ………………………………….. …………………………… and ……………………………………

Find out what medieval people thought caused the plague. Use books or the internet to research medieval beliefs about the causes of the Black Death – BE CAREFUL to check the dates and look for ideas and reasons about why the disease started, not what treatments were used to stop it. Copy and complete: Medieval people thought the plague started because – ………………………………………………………………… Level 5 question! [ Think carefully about what you know of medieval times.] What do you think medieval people believed was the main reason for so many deaths? Learning Objective: to be able to explain medieval ideas about the Black Death

Now answer these questions in full sentences. You can share ideas with a partner but try to find out or THINK for yourself before you ask for help! 1. What year did the Black Death arrive in England? 2. Where had it started and how long had it taken to spread to England? Many people heard about the plague before it arrived in England and they knew that thousands of people were dying in Europe but they were not very concerned. 3. Why do you think people in England not worried at first? 4.Why do people today give different reasons for the Black Death from medieval people?

What do these clues tell us medieval people did to save themselves from the Plague?

How many ideas about what medieval people did to protect themselves from the plague did you manage to work out, or research, using the picture clues? Now match the picture cards to the ideas below: 1.Hold sweet smelling herbs and flowers to your nose to prevent the ‘miasma’ [bad air] getting through. 2.Whip yourself to prove to God how sorry you are for your bad deeds. 3.Run away to the woods. 4.Shut your door to all visitors in case they ‘look at you’ and pass on the plague in their glance. 5.Join a religious procession. 6.Make a special potion or medicine from herbs and/or juniper berries. 7.Drink so much that you don’t care! 8.Light huge fires to keep away the evil spirits and fumes. 9.Go to church and pray. 10.Leave the village or plague area as fast as you can.

Learning Objective: to be able to explain medieval ideas about the Black Death TASK: Write a paragraph explaining what medieval people thought they could do to protect themselves and escape from the plague. Remember: a level 3 paragraph is a bit like a list written in sentences. It will describe some medieval ideas but will not include many details. For example – Some people ran away to the woods. ******** a level 4 paragraph will describe several ideas about how medieval people thought they could escape the plague and it will include ‘because’ in some of the sentences For example – Some people ran away to the woods because they thought they would be safer away from others. **** **** a level 5 paragraph will explain more about how and why medieval people thought as they did. For example – In medieval times some people believed the plague could be spread by looking at another person, so they ran away to the woods because they thought they would be safer on their own.