1. The Black Plague Symptoms & Treatments

2. Group Work Each group will research a different form of the plague. Use the butcher’s paper to make notes about your findings. Nominate a spokesperson to share your discoveries with the class. Some questions to guide you: What were the symptoms of this type of plague? How did it spread? What caused this type of plague? How deadly was this type of plague?

3. Types of plague BubonicPneumonicSepticaemic

5. For your Glossary… Symptom: a sign or indication of something. Buboes: enlarged lymph nodes in the armpit, neck or groin. Pneumonic plague: infection of the lungs. Septicemia: diseased blood.

6. Interlude: Ring Around the Rosie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_Ozq2W-Ptk

7. Why am I showing you this? Because this nursery rhyme is about the Black Plague! Ring around the rosie: The symptoms of the plague included a red rash in the shape of a ring on the skin. A pocket full of posies: People knew to stay away from the dead bodies, so they put posies in the shirt or jacket pocket of the deceased to identify them as a danger. A-tishoo, a-tishoo: refers to the violent sneeze that accompanied the rash. We all fall down: refers to the many deaths caused by the Black Plague. Ashes, ashes: refers to the ashes of the cremated dead bodies.

8. Treatments Medical knowledge in the middle ages was very limited. Many people believed that the plague was a punishment sent by God. They did not realise that coming into contact with those infected increased the risk of getting the plague. Cures and preventative measures were often bizarre, ineffective and made the patient worse. Do you know of any treatments used in the middle ages for the Black Plague?

9. Suggested preventions & cures How they were supposed to work What they actually did Carry flowers or wear a strong perfume.

10. Suggested preventions & cures How they were supposed to work What they actually did Carry flowers or wear a strong perfume. The smells would help to ward away the disease.

11. Suggested preventions & cures How they were supposed to work What they actually did Carry flowers or wear a strong perfume. The smells would help to ward away the disease. Nothing.

12. Suggested preventions & cures How they were supposed to work What they actually did Carry flowers or wear a strong perfume. The smells would help to ward away the disease. Nothing. Drink hot drinks.

13. Suggested preventions & cures How they were supposed to work What they actually did Carry flowers or wear a strong perfume. The smells would help to ward away the disease. Nothing. Drink hot drinks.The victim would then sweat out the disease.

14. Suggested preventions & cures How they were supposed to work What they actually did Carry flowers or wear a strong perfume. The smells would help to ward away the disease. Nothing. Drink hot drinks.The victim would then sweat out the disease. Nothing.

15. Suggested preventions & cures How they were supposed to work What they actually did Carry flowers or wear a strong perfume. The smells would help to ward away the disease. Nothing. Drink hot drinks.The victim would then sweat out the disease. Nothing. Carry a lucky charm.

16. Suggested preventions & cures How they were supposed to work What they actually did Carry flowers or wear a strong perfume. The smells would help to ward away the disease. Nothing. Drink hot drinks.The victim would then sweat out the disease. Nothing. Carry a lucky charm.The charm would ward off the disease.

17. Suggested preventions & cures How they were supposed to work What they actually did Carry flowers or wear a strong perfume. The smells would help to ward away the disease. Nothing. Drink hot drinks.The victim would then sweat out the disease. Nothing. Carry a lucky charm.The charm would ward off the disease. Nothing.

18. Suggested preventions & cures How they were supposed to work What they actually did Carry flowers or wear a strong perfume. The smells would help to ward away the disease. Nothing. Drink hot drinks.The victim would then sweat out the disease. Nothing. Carry a lucky charm.The charm would ward off the disease. Nothing. Use leeches to bleed the victim.

19. Suggested preventions & cures How they were supposed to work What they actually did Carry flowers or wear a strong perfume. The smells would help to ward away the disease. Nothing. Drink hot drinks.The victim would then sweat out the disease. Nothing. Carry a lucky charm.The charm would ward off the disease. Nothing. Use leeches to bleed the victim. The leeches would remove infected blood.

20. Suggested preventions & cures How they were supposed to work What they actually did Carry flowers or wear a strong perfume. The smells would help to ward away the disease. Nothing. Drink hot drinks.The victim would then sweat out the disease. Nothing. Carry a lucky charm.The charm would ward off the disease. Nothing. Use leeches to bleed the victim. The leeches would remove infected blood. Nothing.

21. Suggested preventions & cures How they were supposed to work What they actually did Carry flowers or wear a strong perfume. The smells would help to ward away the disease. Nothing. Drink hot drinks.The victim would then sweat out the disease. Nothing. Carry a lucky charm.The charm would ward off the disease. Nothing. Use leeches to bleed the victim. The leeches would remove infected blood. Nothing. Smoke a pipe of tobacco.

22. Suggested preventions & cures How they were supposed to work What they actually did Carry flowers or wear a strong perfume. The smells would help to ward away the disease. Nothing. Drink hot drinks.The victim would then sweat out the disease. Nothing. Carry a lucky charm.The charm would ward off the disease. Nothing. Use leeches to bleed the victim. The leeches would remove infected blood. Nothing. Smoke a pipe of tobacco.The smoke would ward off the disease.

23. Suggested preventions & cures How they were supposed to work What they actually did Carry flowers or wear a strong perfume. The smells would help to ward away the disease. Nothing. Drink hot drinks.The victim would then sweat out the disease. Nothing. Carry a lucky charm.The charm would ward off the disease. Nothing. Use leeches to bleed the victim. The leeches would remove infected blood. Nothing. Smoke a pipe of tobacco.The smoke would ward off the disease. Nothing.

24. Suggested preventions & cures How they were supposed to work What they actually did Carry flowers or wear a strong perfume. The smells would help to ward away the disease. Nothing. Drink hot drinks.The victim would then sweat out the disease. Nothing. Carry a lucky charm.The charm would ward off the disease. Nothing. Use leeches to bleed the victim. The leeches would remove infected blood. Nothing. Smoke a pipe of tobacco.The smoke would ward off the disease. Nothing. Give a strong dose of laxatives.

25. Suggested preventions & cures How they were supposed to work What they actually did Carry flowers or wear a strong perfume. The smells would help to ward away the disease. Nothing. Drink hot drinks.The victim would then sweat out the disease. Nothing. Carry a lucky charm.The charm would ward off the disease. Nothing. Use leeches to bleed the victim. The leeches would remove infected blood. Nothing. Smoke a pipe of tobacco.The smoke would ward off the disease. Nothing. Give a strong dose of laxatives.The laxatives would cause the victim to completely empty his bowels and remove the disease from the body.

26. Suggested preventions & cures How they were supposed to work What they actually did Carry flowers or wear a strong perfume. The smells would help to ward away the disease. Nothing. Drink hot drinks.The victim would then sweat out the disease. Nothing. Carry a lucky charm.The charm would ward off the disease. Nothing. Use leeches to bleed the victim. The leeches would remove infected blood. Nothing. Smoke a pipe of tobacco.The smoke would ward off the disease. Nothing. Give a strong dose of laxatives.The laxatives would cause the victim to completely empty his bowels and remove the disease from the body. Strong doses of laxative can cause death from dehydration.

27. Suggested preventions & cures How they were supposed to work What they actually did Carry flowers or wear a strong perfume. The smells would help to ward away the disease. Nothing. Drink hot drinks.The victim would then sweat out the disease. Nothing. Carry a lucky charm.The charm would ward off the disease. Nothing. Use leeches to bleed the victim. The leeches would remove infected blood. Nothing. Smoke a pipe of tobacco.The smoke would ward off the disease. Nothing. Give a strong dose of laxatives.The laxatives would cause the victim to completely empty his bowels and remove the disease from the body. Strong doses of laxative can cause death from dehydration. Coat the victims with mercury and place them in the oven.

28. Suggested preventions & cures How they were supposed to work What they actually did Carry flowers or wear a strong perfume. The smells would help to ward away the disease. Nothing. Drink hot drinks.The victim would then sweat out the disease. Nothing. Carry a lucky charm.The charm would ward off the disease. Nothing. Use leeches to bleed the victim. The leeches would remove infected blood. Nothing. Smoke a pipe of tobacco.The smoke would ward off the disease. Nothing. Give a strong dose of laxatives.The laxatives would cause the victim to completely empty his bowels and remove the disease from the body. Strong doses of laxative can cause death from dehydration. Coat the victims with mercury and place them in the oven. The combination of mercury and heat from the oven would kill off the disease.

29. Suggested preventions & cures How they were supposed to work What they actually did Carry flowers or wear a strong perfume. The smells would help to ward away the disease. Nothing. Drink hot drinks.The victim would then sweat out the disease. Nothing. Carry a lucky charm.The charm would ward off the disease. Nothing. Use leeches to bleed the victim. The leeches would remove infected blood. Nothing. Smoke a pipe of tobacco.The smoke would ward off the disease. Nothing. Give a strong dose of laxatives.The laxatives would cause the victim to completely empty his bowels and remove the disease from the body. Strong doses of laxative can cause death from dehydration. Coat the victims with mercury and place them in the oven. The combination of mercury and heat from the oven would kill off the disease. Increased the chance of death. Mercury is poisonous and the oven would cause serious burns.

30. Other Bizarre Treatments… Live in a sewer - it was thought that the stench of human waste would stop the diseased air from infecting people. Eat crushed emeralds. Wash in urine – supposedly the urine relieved the symptoms of the plague. Drink urine – again, this was to relieve the symptoms of the plague. Smear human poo on open wounds – the buboes were cut open and the human poo was smeared into the open wound.

31. Medieval Medical Report Imagine you are a medieval doctor and a patient comes to you with the Black Plague. Who is the patient? Male or female? Peasant, Knight or Noble? What is the patient complaining of? What are the symptoms? What type of plague is it? What treatments do you recommend?

32. Extending Your Knowledge: Plague Doctors Leather Hat Mask Glass Eye Beak Wooden Stick Leather Gloves Gown Full Length Boots Many doctors, knowing that they could do nothing for plague victims, simply didn't bother trying to treat the disease. Those that did made sure that they were as protected as possible from the disease by wearing the 'uniform' shown above.