The Black Death  

The Black Death

The Black Death is estimated to have killed somewhere between 30% and 60% of the European population.  Studies suggest the disease was carried via fleas on rats and returning soldiers from Central Asia into the commercial hub of the Mediterranean via the Genoans (Italy).  From there, the disease spread inland and stuck its fingers into every corner of Europe.

Theory of the day:  The Black Death travelled with the Mongols

The Mongol trade networks allowed for the easy movement of goods and ideas.

They also made it easy for the Black Death to leave Central Asia and travel to Europe

Symptoms

Symptoms began with a mild headache and nausea.  Eventually, victims began to sprout painful black boils – or buboes, hence the name the Bubonic Plague – on their armpits and groin.  Within days, the bacteria (Yersinia Pestis) brought on a high fever to which an estimated 80% of cases would succumb to.

For the Europeans of Medieval Europe, the Black Death was terrifyingly, indiscriminately contagious: “the mere touching of the clothes,” wrote Boccaccio, “appeared to itself to communicate the malady to the toucher.” The disease was also alarmingly efficient. People who were perfectly healthy when they went to bed at night could be dead by morning.

People struggled to explain what was happening, nobody knew how the Black Death was transmitted from one person to another, and nobody knew how to prevent or treat it. According to one doctor, “instantaneous death occurs when the aerial spirit escaping from the eyes of the sick man strikes the healthy person standing near and looking at the sick.”

Art and culture

Art began to reflect the loss of faith and hope. Works called “Danse Macabre” or the “Dance of Death” began to appear. In these paintings, death was personified as skeletons dancing arm-in-arm with humans. The idea that one day everyone would participate in this dance regardless of race, gender or social class was featured in these paintings. All the people, regardless of whether they were male or female, rich or poor, noble or peasants, even the emperor, would be asked to dance by death himself.

To do: Questions

  1. Where did the Black death originate and what role did the Mongol trade networks play?

  2. How did the Black death enter Europe?

  3. Use quotes to describe the symptoms of the Black death.

  4. Use examples of art from the time to show the pessimism of European culture during the Black death.

    Extra: What were the beliefs that led to the widespread persecution of minorities in Europe?

Activity 1: Plague doctor. Treating the Black Death

Imagine you are in the Health Department of a Medieval European country being

ravaged by the plague.

To do: Create an Illustrated guide for treating the Plague

Use lots of photos and fun facts

Part 1: How do I know I have the plague?

  • How does the plague spread?

  • What are the symptoms and what do they look like (Use historical paintings  to illustrate the examples.)

Part 2:  Curing the plague

Describe some of the popular cures for treating people with the plague.

Medieval Cures for the Black Death

Cures for the Black Death - BBC

10 Crazy cures for the Black Death

Part 3: If that doesn't work ……

What are some of the other 'cures' that people used to cope with the plague? 

For example,

  • The flagellants

  • Religious cures

  • Jewish pogroms

2. Black Death Sources

The Black Death

The outbreak of the Black Death in the 14th century decimated populations across Europe, Asia and Africa. This program looks at: the symptoms of the disease, how it was caused and transmitted, and the role poor living conditions and a lack of medical knowledge played in its fast and far-reaching spread.

Prevailing and sometimes bizarre beliefs about its causes and cures are discussed in this stylised and at times gruesome presentation which is sure to capture viewer attention

Sources Analysis Answer Guide

Hints and tips for a successful source analysis:

  1. Quote often and begin your response with name of the author, not the Source number. Put the source number in brackets at the end of the quote/paraphrasing.

    EG: ‘Lamb shows two examples of the importance of religion in Ancient Greece. ....' (Source 1)

  2. Always use full sentences and include the question in your answer

  3. Use the mark scheme to guide your answer.

    Two marks means you need to make two clear points.

    Three marks means you need to make three clear points.

For example:

This is supported by Jones who states that 'History students would be more popular at parties if they used this method.' (Source 3) 

Source 1. Symptoms of the Black Death. Giovanni Boccaccio, Decameron (1360)

'It first betrayed itself by the emergence of certain tumours in the groin or the armpits, some of which grew as large as a common apple, others as an egg... merely by speech or association with the sick was the disease communicated to the healthy... any that touched the clothes of the sick... seemed to catch the disease... Many died daily or nightly in the public streets. Of many others, who died at home, the departure was hardly observed by their neighbours, until the stench of the bodies carried the news.'

Questions

1. Is the information in source 1 factual or an opinion? (1)

2. Using Source 1, describe the symptoms of the Black Death (2)

Source 2. The Black Plague in Scotland. Chronicles of the Scottish nation (1380)

'In the year 1350, there was, in the kingdom of Scotland, a great plague... nearly a third of mankind died... By God's will, this evil led to a strange kind of death, insomuch that the flesh of the sick was somehow puffed out and swollen... Now this attacked everywhere, especially the common people - seldom the magnates.'

Questions

  1. Use evidence from the source to show if it is primary or secondary. (1)

  2. Use Source 2 to describe the scale of the devastation associated with the Black death in Scotland.

Source 3. Painting the Black Death, (Jacopo Oddi from the La Franceschina C15th)

Question.

  1. Describe the evidence for plague symptoms which can be seen in the picture in Source 3.

Source 4. Economic impacts of the Black Death.  Henry Knighton, Chronicle (1398)

'Many villages and hamlets became deserted... Sheep and cattle went wandering over fields and through crops and there was no one to go and look after them... In the following autumn no one could get a reaper for less than 8d. with his food, a mower for less than 12d. with his food. Therefore, many crops perished in the fields for want of someone to gather them.'

Questions

  1. Use Source 4 to describe two economic impacts of the Black Death.

  2. Why do you think farmers found it difficult to hire workers such as reapers.

Source 5. Black Death Medicine. Edward IV's Plague Medicines (c. 1480)

A medicine for the plague... Take an egg that is newly laid, and make a hole in either end, and blow out all that is within. And lay it to the fire and let it roast till it may be ground to powder, but do not burn it. Then take a quantity of good treacle, and mix it with chives and good ale. And then make the sick drink it for three evenings and three mornings.'

Questions

  1. List the ingredients of the plague medicine recorded in the source.

  2. How effective do you think these medicines were?

Source 6. The Triumph of Death. Brueghel. 1560

 Questions

  1.  Describe the activities depicted in the painting.

  2. What does this tell you about the response of communities to the outbreak of the Black Death.

3. Changing society

Background briefing: The Black Death led to profound changes in society

The aftermath of the plague created a series of religious, social, and economic upheavals, which had profound effects on the course of European history. As people struggled to understand the causes of the Black Death, renewed religious fervour and fanaticism led to the  widespread persecution of minorities. The loss of up to 60% of the population led to the surviving peasants in England and Western Europe getting wage increases and more access to land,

Labour was scarce and wages went up.

The lack of labour (population decrease) led to a drastic reduction in the amount of land being farmed. This led to the ruin of many landowners and large areas returning to nature. Landowners had to raise wages to attract  labourers and to keep their tenants. There was also a general rise in wages for artisans and peasants. These changes led to the end of feudalism in England.

Rising standard of living

As wages went up, peasants gained new freedom. Serfs were no longer tied to one master; if one left the land, another lord would instantly hire them. The lords had to make changes in order to make the situation more profitable for the peasants and so keep them on their land. In general, wages outpaced prices and the standard of living was subsequently raised.

4. First person account of the plague

Sometimes it is useful to imagine yourself in the position of somebody experiencing a cataclysm like the Black Death, this helps us to understand their experiences.

In history we call this empathetic writing. This requires you to put yourself “in the shoes” of a person from the past and write in the first person about your experiences.

To do: Write a first person account of the Plague

Imagine that you are living in a European village or town during the time of the Plague.

Write a diary entry or a newspaper article describing your life daily life and include the following points in your letter/diary/article:

  • Do you live in the country or the city?

  • What were the symptoms of the people around you when they caught the plague?

  • How are people trying to stop the plague?

  • What do you think caused the plague?

  • Have you blamed somebody for the plague?

  • What does God think?

  • Describe the impact on in your village/town.

  • How has life changed since the start of the plague?

    Who were the Flagellants?

Task: Black Death Essay

Please write an essay in response the following question:

"How did immediate and long-term effects of the Black Death change medieval society?"

600-800 words. Quality over quantity! 

How to structure of your essay: 

Introduction: Summarise what the essay is about

  • Introduce The Black Death, what was it and where did it come from?

  • Include a labelled map showing the spread and origin

  • What were the symptoms, etc.

  • Statistics- how many people died?

Paragraph 1: Impact on Health

  • Describe the health impacts of the Black Death

  • Explain how doctors and the community tried to treat the sick

Paragraph 2: Impact on society and culture

  • Describe the religious response to the Black Death (Flagellants etc)

  • Describe the impact on arts and literature

Paragraph 3: Impact on the economy

  • The effect on serfs and the feudal system

  • The effect on Medieval women

How to write a paragraph

  • Start with a strong 'topic sentence' that states the content of the paragraph.

  • 3 main points

  • Use evidence from your resources, quotes and facts etc.

  • Close with a sentence that directly relates to the essay question.

Extra tips:

  • Remember to check the rubric when completing the task to see where marks are allocated

  • See if you can directly "quote" or reference some resources to validate your discussion- we will talk about appropriate referencing in class.

  • Maps/diagrams are great! Just make sure you refer to them- eg; don't just throw them in there for the sake of it!

  • No need to 'waffle'- get to the point!