Download The Black Death

The Black
Death
Key questions
There are 3 questions that will be asked
during the course of the lesson;
1.
2.
3.
What is the “Black Death”?
What caused the Black Death?
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:
1.1 out of 3 people died during the plague
2.Caused many people to doubt their faith
3.People from all social classes were affected
4.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