The Black Death

Key questions There are 3 questions that will be asked during the course of the lesson; 1. What is the “Black Death”? 2. What caused the Black Death? 3. What were the consequences?

The plague arrives Historians think that the plague arrived in England during the summer of 1348. During the following autumn it spread quickly through the south west. Few villages escaped. Churchyards were full with bodies. The plague spread quickly during the winter of 1348-1349 to the north of England. By 1350, nearly the whole of Britain was infected with the plague. At the end of 1350 nearly two and a half million people were dead!

Where did the Black Death come from? 1338 – Gobi Desert

1347 - Arrived in Europe: Shipping Trade Routes

1. What geographic theme is the focus of the maps of the maps you just viewed ? 2. Fact: the Black Death affect most areas in western Europe.

What were the symptoms of the plague?

What caused the plague? The question that you are probably thinking is this; Q: Who or what caused the Black Death? A: This is your answer! The Oriental Rat Flea!

How was the plague transmitted? We now know that the most common form of the Black Death was the BUBONIC PLAGUE! This disease was spread by fleas which lived on the black rat. The fleas sucked the rat’s blood which contained the plague germs. When the rat died the fleas jumped on to humans and passed on the deadly disease.

Cures? Medieval people did not know about germs causing disease. They did not understand that plague was spread by rats and fleas. They thought that people’s bodies were poisoned. If the swellings burst and the poison came out people sometimes survived. It seemed sensible to draw out the poison.

Medieval cure number 1 The swellings should be softened with figs and cooked onions. The onions should be mixed with yeast and butter. Then open the swellings with a knife.

Medieval cure number 2 Take a live frog and put its belly on the plague sore. The frog will swell up and burst. Keep doing this with further frogs until they stop bursting. Some people say that a dried toad will do the job better.

Question How useful do you think these medieval cures actually were? Did they help at all or were they more harmful?

The bubonic plague affected Europe in the following ways: 1 out of 3 people died during the plague Caused many people to doubt their faith People from all social classes were affected The song ring around the rosy was composed during the time of the “black death”.

"Ring around the Rosy Pocket full of Posy (an arrangement of flowers ) Ashes, Ashes, We all Fall Down” There is some debate about when this song or rhyme was written. Some historians believe is was written in the 18th century, and other believe is was written during the 14th century, and as time went on other verses were added to the rhyme to make it more child like. The Bubonic Plague meaning of the song is on the next page.  

Ring around the Rosy One of the first visible signs of infection were red rings surrounding a rosy bump, all over the victim's body. Pocket full of Posy A common belief of the time was that the plague was borne on "foul air." The rationale was that people could protect themselves from the bad air by keeping their local air smelling sweet. That, and it also helped them deal with the smell of death... On the other hand, another sign of infection was the foul stench that would begin to emanate from the victim's body as their lymph system began filling with blood. Those still mobile endeavored to mask their stench and avoid detection by carrying flowers on their person. Ashes, Ashes, In the terminal phases of the disease, victims would be hemorrhaging internally, sometimes triggering sneezing as it irritated the breathing passages. "Ashes" is a child's meaning sneezing. In this weakened state, a victim could, and often did, sneeze their lungs out. We all Fall Down