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Bellringer
1. Which revered Renaissance figure was a
capable painter, sculptor, architect, and
inventor?
2. What was the message of Machiavelli’s
The Prince?
3. What impact did the printing press have
on Europe?
Today’s Class (9/4/13)
• Outcome:
– Students will be able to identify political,
social, and economic effects of the Black
Death in Europe during the Middle Ages.
• Agenda:
– Bellringer
– Black Death Notes
– Black Death News Bulletin
The Middle Ages/Medieval Period
• Historical period between the Fall of Rome
in 476 AD – Renaissance in 1350-1400
AD
• Feudalism is dominant economic system:
– Kings granted land to nobles/bishops
– Nobles/Bishops allowed peasants (serfs) to
live on land in exchange for harvesting crops.
– Serfs protected from invasion by nobles.
3 Column Method
• While listening, take notes on the possible
political, social, and economic effects of
the Black Death.
– Political = how the feudal or governing system
was affected
– Social = how families, individuals, or society
was affected
– Economic = how wages for serfs and prices
for goods were affected
3 Column Method
Political
Social
Economic
The Culprits
Bacteria
Fleas
Rats
The Famine of 1315-1317
 By 1300 Europeans were farming almost all the
land they could cultivate.
 A population crisis developed – more people
than the land could support.
 Climate changes in Europe produced three years
of crop failures between 1315-17 because of
excessive rain.
 As many as 15% of the peasants in some
English villages died.
 One consequence of
starvation & poverty
was susceptibility to
disease.
1347: Plague Reaches
Constantinople!
The Symptoms
Bulbous – large
boils on the skin
Septicemic Form:
almost 100%
mortality rate.
From the Toggenburg Bible, 1411
Lancing a Buboe
Buboe – swollen lymph
node around the armpit
or the groin
Lancing – piercing a
boil to drain it of puss
The Disease Cycle
Flea drinks rat blood
that carries the
bacteria.
Bacteria
multiply in
flea’s gut.
Human is infected!
Flea bites human and
regurgitates blood
into human wound.
Flea’s gut clogged
with bacteria.
Medieval Art & the Plague
Medieval Art & the Plague
Bring out your dead!
Medieval Art & the Plague
An obsession
with death.
Feudalism & The Plague
• Many nobles were killed by the plague,
allowing kings to establish strong city-states.
• Those serfs that survived the Plague
benefitted due to the high demand for labor
and rising wages.
• Those nobles that survived had to pay serfs
more because competition for labor was
much higher than before.
Boccaccio in The Decameron
The victims ate lunch with
their friends and dinner with
their ancestors.
The Danse Macabre
Attempts to Stop the Plague
A Doctor’s
Robe
“Leeching”
Attempts to Stop the Plague
Flagellanti:
Self-inflicted punishment for our sins!
Attempts to Stop the Plague
Pograms against the Jews
• Many Jews were blamed for the spread
of the Black Death
• Jews often lived in segregated
communities. Due to this, these
communities were often quarantined
from the Black Death.
• Because a significant number of Jews
did not die from the Plague, they were
targets of hate and persecution.
Death Triumphant !:
A Major Artistic Theme
A Little Macabre Ditty
“A sickly season,” the merchant said,
“The town I left was filled with dead,
and everywhere these queer red flies
crawled upon the corpses’ eyes,
eating them away.”
“Fair make you sick,” the merchant said,
“They crawled upon the wine and bread.
Pale priests with oil and books,
bulging eyes and crazy looks,
dropping like the flies.”
A Little Macabre Ditty (2)
“I had to laugh,” the merchant said,
“The doctors purged, and dosed, and bled;
“And proved through solemn disputation
“The cause lay in some constellation.
“Then they began to die.”
“First they sneezed,” the merchant said,
“And then they turned the brightest red,
Begged for water, then fell back.
With bulging eyes and face turned black,
they waited for the flies.”
A Little Macabre Ditty (3)
“I came away,” the merchant said,
“You can’t do business with the dead.
“So I’ve come here to ply my trade.
“You’ll find this to be a fine brocade…”
And then he sneezed……….!
The Mortality Rate
Approximately 35% 70% of Europe’s
population died.
~25,000,000 dead !!!
News Bulletin
Using what you’ve learned about the political, social,
and economic effects of the Black Death, create a
news bulletin that describes the outbreak of the Black
Death.
Include the following:
• 1 political effect (how it affected the political
structure & feudalism of Europe)
• 1 social effect (how structure of society was
changed)
• 1 economic effect (how wages and prices were
affected)