Sketch and label the symptoms of the Black Death 1

Symptoms 2

The Black Death 3 2) What did people believe cause it? People in Medieval times believed there was a variety of things that caused the Black Death to spread. Some ideas were common sense, such as the bad air (miasma) making you ill. Religion was an important part in peoples lives so many believed the plague targeted those who sinned, or God’s punishment on non-believers. More spiritual reasons included the effects of the planets and spirits in the air. In addition, some believed a blocked digestive system was to blame. 3) How did they try to stop themselves getting it? These ranged from the sensible to the bizarre. Some drank hot drinks to sweat out the plague, use leeches to remove blood, or burn the dead victims. However, some actions were quite extreme, such as smoking, carrying strong smelling herbs, rubbing a chickens bottom against the buboes, or even drinking their own urine. 3

The Black Death 3 2) What did people believe cause it? They believed many things caused the Black Death to spread. Some made sense, such as the bad air (miasma) making you ill. Religion was an important so many believed people who sinned, or people who didn’t believe in God, got the plague. Other people thought it was spirits in the air, or looking at someone who had it, or even witches. 3) How did they try to stop themselves getting it? People used many different ideas. Some drank hot drinks to sweat out the plague, use leeches to remove blood, and burn the dead victims. Other reasons were more strange: smoking, rubbing a chickens bottom against the buboes (boils), or even drinking their own urine. 3

8 Interesting facts about the Black Death The Black Death spread across Europe, killing as many as 2/3’s of its population, between 75 and 200 million people. Jews were often accused of causing the plague to destroy the Christians, even though people of all religions suffered. Some Jews were badly tortured before ‘admitting’ poisoning wells, with thousands being exported or killed. In the city of Strassburg in Germany, Jews were given the choice of either becoming Christian or be burned on rows of stakes on a platform in the city’s burial ground. About 2,000 were killed. Bathing during the plague was discouraged for two reasons. First, along with changing clothes, it was a sign of vanity, which invited the wrath of God and the punishment of sin. Second, bathing was believed to open the pores, making it easier for bad air to enter and exit the body, spreading disease. The latter belief was common throughout Europe well into the nineteenth century. English soldiers carried the disease from France to England, beginning an especially devastating round of plague in England that some estimates claim killed as much as 75% of the population in many areas of England. So devastating were the consequences of the Black Death that the healthy people desperately tried to avoid the sick people. Doctors refused to attend the patients and priests declined administering last rites. Even worse, healthy people from families would often leave their infected loved ones to die and escaped to other places. Every class of people were affected by the plague. While the poor were definitely the hardest hit, the elites did not escape either. Many royal people from England to Naples succumbed to the Black Death. As the population decreased and society fell apart, old rules were ignored. The Catholic church lost power, which helped lead to the rival Protestant church. Madagascar was hit by the plague in 1995. This was an interesting case because this outbreak took place after the bacteria became drug-resistant. In 2015, Madagascar was once again hit by a second outbreak. Despite the fact that there are advanced medicines available today, the risk of an outbreak still lingers! 4

Extended reading about the Black Death 60 second guide to the Black Death: http://www.historyextra.com/feature/your-60-second-guide-facts-black-death-how-when-why The Black Death interactive quiz: http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/teachers/~/link.aspx?_id=80A6A64BFB1345AD97D108782296676F&_z=z The Black Death of 1348 to 1350: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/medieval-england/the-black-death-of-1348-to-1350/ Many different stories from people who witnessed the Black Death: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/middle_ages/black_01.shtml Plague doctors: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plague_doctor Articles, videos and speeches: http://www.history.com/topics/black-death/videos/the-black-death-and-the-byzantine-empire 5