THE BLACK DEATH
Jan 19, 2016
THE BLACK DEATH
1. In 1347, a ship entered the port of Messina
2. All crew were infected or dead
3. The disease was spread by fleas that fed off of rats
THE BLACK DEATH BEGINS
1. The plague was highly contagious2. Most common form of the plague was called the Bubonic
plague (Flea: 30-75 mortality%)3. Pneumonic (Airborne:90-95% mortality)
4. Septicemic (Flea: 100% mortality)
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
1. Fever (101-105 degrees Fahrenheit)2. Dark spots under the skin• This was blood under the skin3. Inflamed lymph nodes
• Bumps on neck, abdomen and armpits
Bacteria
SYMPTOMS
1. In Milan, families were walled up in their houses
2. Venice sent incoming ships to a separate island
3. Pope Clement VI, living in Avignon would sit between two large fires
EFFORTS TO STOP THE PLAGUE
1. Unattended crops and animals died
2. Lawlessness
3. Many workers died, so other skilled laborers demanded better pay
EFFECTS ON THE ECONOMY
1. At this time there were two popes (France and the Vatican)
2. Some church officials promised cures
3. Monasteries were hit hard because they would try to help
EFFECTS ON RELIGION
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.
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.
How useful do you think these medieval cures actually were? Did they help at all or were they more harmful?
MEDIEVAL CURES
Ring a-round the rosy Pocket full of posies
Ashes, ashes! We all fall down!
This was a common nursery rhyme at the time of the
Plague
NURSERY RHYME
Ring around the rosy: a reference to rosary beads used while praying.
A pocket full of posies: used to stop the odor of rotting bodies which was at one point thought to cause the
plague. It was also used widely by doctors to protect them from the infected plague patients.
Ashes, ashes: the church burned the dead when burying them became to laborious.
We all fall down: dead.
1. Between 1347-1352, 25 million people died in Europe
2. About 25%-33% of the population
3. Disease was not totally eradicated until 19th century
4. The name of the bacteria was Yersinia Pestis
LASTING EFFECTS OF THE PLAGUE
1. How long did it take the population of Europe to recover?
2. How long did it usually take someone to die? 3. Caffa was a port on what sea?
4. What was the most famous form of penance (showing sorrow for sinning)?
5. Who was blamed for the plague? 6. What fraction of Europe did the video say
died? 7. What war was taking place between England
and France before, during and after the plague? 8. How did feudalism change due to the plague?
UNITED STREAMING VIDEO QUESTIONS
150 years2. 3-5 days
3. Black Sea4. Pilgrimage
5. Jews, accused of poisoning water6. ½
7. Hundred Years War8. Feudalism decreased, some lords paid cash, farming became too risky, rented
lands to free men
ANSWERS