BY: JENNIFER SUE LEE

Symptoms Symptoms of the Black Plague are terrifying and painful. Some of these symptoms include:  Swellings [buboes] near the armpits, legs, neck or groin.  Very high temperature/fever  Pain in the muscles  Vomiting  Bleeding in the lungs  Desire to sleep The buboes were lumps of lymph nodes. They would start as a red colour then gradually turn dark purple or black.

Causes The Black Plague was caused by a bacteria that fleas carried. These fleas used to live on mice and rodents, but when they died, the fleas moved on to live on the humans. The plague germ was then spread into the human’s blood. Many cities and towns in the middle ages were dirty and overcrowded so many people carried fleas and consequently was infected by the terrible plague. Rat Flea

How it was cured Many people of the Middle Ages did not understand how the plague was spread or entered the body’s system. Many doctors had different theories that were tested such as lily root, dried frog, tobacco and arsenic. The treatment for this deadly disease was to lance the buboes and apply a warm poultice of butter, onion and garlic.

“Ring a ring a Rosy…..” The nursery rhyme ‘Ring a ring a rosy’ is an all time favourite but the meaning behind it is totally different… “Ring a ring a rosy,The large round swellings A pocketful of posies The “cure” for the disease A tissue, a tissueThe bodies are cremated We all fall down.”When the victims pass away

Interesting Facts  Nearly one-third of the world’s population died from the Black Plague  Approximately victims were dying each day  The Black Plague was named ‘Black Death’ because of the dark black swellings  The Black Plague was believed to have originated from the Gobi Desert  Many victims were locked up in their houses with no help or medication and not allowed out when the government had found out they had the plague  Bodies were thrown into a large, deep hole once they had died