Bell Ringer Ring Around the Rosie Pocket Full of Posies Ashes, Ashes We All Fall Down!!! How do you know this nursery rhyme? What does it remind you of? Does it mean anything to you (other than a childhood game)?

Bell Ringer Continued Ring Around The Rosie Pocket Full of Posies “When a person contracted the Bubonic Plague, they would gain rose-colored, puss-filled sores on their body called rosies. As the infection spread, rings would wind around the rosies. "Ring around the rosie," refers to these rings.” Pocket Full of Posies “During the time of the Bubonic Plague, people realized that it was harmful to go around the body of someone who had died from the plague. The common practice in some areas of Europe was to fill the shirt or jacket pocket of the deceased with posies so that others would know to leave the body alone.” Associatedcontent.com

Bell Ringer Continued Ashes Ashes (Atchoo Atchoo) We All Fall Down “Once the body of the person who had died from the plague had been taken away, it would be burned. This is essentially when cremation started as a form of burial.” (Atchoo, Atchoo was said because sneezing was one of the first symptoms of contracting the plague) We All Fall Down “It was believed by many that eventually that Bubonic Plague would wipe out all of civilization. It is understandable why they had this belief because of the number of people that were dying everyday from the Plague.” The Plague did not pick and choose, it killed rich, poor, English, Italian, French, etc. Associated content.com

The Black Death

Bubonic Plague, 1348

Bubonic Plague Where did it start? Why called Bubonic? Although it is known it started in the East, the exact location may never be known Why called Bubonic? The swellings were called buboes

How Did It Spread? Carried by Airborne Trade Rodents Rats Squirrels Fleas Airborne Spreads from person to person simply by being around one another Trade The trade routes of this era helped spread the disease carrying it from East to West Specifically, an Italian ship returning from China, a major trading nation, docked in Italy in October of 1347 and many people on the ship were dying of the Plague already

The Bubonic Plague What were some of the symptoms of The Plague? Gush of blood from the nose Swelling in groin or under the armpit Grew to be the size of an egg Black & Purple spots appeared on the arms and legs Was there a cure? No, the disease spread rampantly and doctors could find no cure

Living with the Plague 1st Reaction Complete seclusion from the outside world People only ate certain foods and drank the best drinks in order to keep themselves healthy Avoid excess anything Did not discuss the idea of death and refused to hear news about the plague

Living with the Plague 2nd Reaction People ate, drank and were merry They would sing and dance They went bar hopping Since people abandoned their homes, people living carelessly would go into these homes and do whatever they wanted

Effects Population Economically Socially Approximately 25 million people in less than 5 years (1/3 of Europe’s population) The population failed to grow/recover because so many newborns and young children were dying Economically Labor shortages Trade practically came to a halt Trade helped spread the disease, so people were now less likely to trade, or were too sick to do so Socially People completely disregarded any laws People began to avoid one another—even loved ones Many people also lost their faith due to unanswered prayers for an end to this unstoppable disease

An End… Did the Plague end? Winter slowed down the spread of the disease because there were less fleas Each year, though, the Black Plague would again wreak havoc and kill millions in the springtime With time, the human body begins to become immune to such a volatile disease.