THE BLACK DEATH

TRUE OR FALSE?

The Black Death was another name for the plague.

It was spread by dogs. It originally came from China. Everyone who got the Black Death died. Priests were more likely than farm workers to

get the disease. About one tenth of the population of Europe

died of the Black Death during the second half of the 14th century.

WAITING FOR THE BLACK DEATH

In the summer of 1348, the people of England were waiting for something to arrive, and they were frightened.

What could it be? An army? Fierce invaders? No, it was a disease – the Black Death. This terrible illness had been spreading across Europe for several months, and thousands had already died.

No one knew what caused it, or how it could be cured.

THE PLAGUE ARRIVES

Historians think that the plague arrived in the south of England during the summer of 1348. During the following autumn it spread quickly through the south west. Few villages escaped. Churchyards were filled and new pits had to be dug to bury all the 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.

WHAT WERE THE SYMPTOMS OF THE BUBONIC PLAGUE?

WHAT DID PEOPLE THINK CAUSED THE BLACK DEATH? AND WHY?

There were lots of ideas around in the Middle Ages about what might be causing the Black Death.

Some of them were: God – it was a punishment for something people

had done wrong. Bad air (miasma) Jews poisoning the wells ‘Contagion’ – a sick person coming into contact

with a healthy person

WHAT REALLY CAUSED THE PLAGUE?

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.

This girl has bubonic plague.The large swelling is called a buboe.

WERE THERE OTHER KINDS OF PLAGUE?

Yes. As well as bubonic plague, there was also pneumonic plague (which infected the lungs) and sceptacaemic plague (which infected the blood).

These were more deadly, but much less common.

SO WAS THERE A CURE?

As we learned in the last lesson, people in the Middle Ages did not know about bacteria. As a result, they did not know how to stop the Black Death from spreading.

What kind of cures might a medieval doctor or apothecary have suggested for someone showing the symptoms of the plague?

DO YOU THINK ANY OF THESE MEDIEVAL CURES FOR PLAGUE WOULD HAVE HELPED?

Apply a dried toad to the swelling so that the poison will be drawn out and into the body of the toad. When it is full a new one should be applied.

Let your house be clean and make a fire.

Close all doors and windows.

Bleed the patient and make them vomit.

Sing hymns, pray and beat yourself until you bleed.

FLAGELLANTS

HOW DID PEOPLE BEHAVE DURING THE BLACK DEATH?

The Black Death made many people change the way they lived. Some tried to help those who were suffering. Others put themselves first.

Those who were not afraid of the disease spent time with the sick, dug the plague pits or went around the towns and villages collecting bodies – these people often died themselves of the plague.

Many other people decided to drink, feast, gamble and buy expensive clothes. Why do you think they did this?

THE BLACK DEATH ALSO HAD AN IMPACT ON ART – WHAT DO YOU THINK THE MESSAGE IS OF THIS PICTURE?

SO HOW MANY PEOPLE DIED? At the beginning of

1348, there were about 4 million people in England.

By 1351 there were only about 2.5 million left.

As in Europe, about one person in every three died. Amongst priests, the death rate was much higher – why do you think this was?

SOCIAL CHANGES

Because so many people died, the Black Death brought about other changes in English society.

Would peasants (villeins and freemen) who survived be better or worse off after the Black Death?

SOCIAL CHANGES For peasants who survived, the future looked

good. Because there were fewer workers, they could demand higher wages.

Some villeins now had the chance to break free from their lord and be paid for their work – with so few men available, there was usually someone desperate for workers who would employ them.

But the king (Edward III) put a stop to high wages by making a law that no peasant could be paid more than they earned before the Black Death.

SO WAS THAT IT?

NO - The plague returned to England five more times before 1400.

The last major outbreak in England was in 1665-1666.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom! A cure has now been discovered and if you are unfortunate enough to catch bubonic plague today (which is very unlikely if you live in England!) you can be successfully treated.

HOMEWORK! You probably saw some of the recent posters

and leaflets that told people how to protect themselves from the swine flu virus.

Imagine you are a medieval person who has been asked to design a poster or a leaflet showing people how to protect themselves against the Black Death. You should try to include both written advice and pictures.

Remember that medieval people did not know about germs – look back and think about the kind of advice that they might have given…