Black Death

The Black
Death
‘The Bubonic Plague’
The plague arrives
The Black Death was the deadliest pandemic recorded in human
history. It resulted in the deaths of up to 75–200 million people
in Europe-Asia and North Africa.
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.
At the end of 1350 nearly two and a half million people

were dead!
Where did the Black Death come
from?
• Coming out of the East - it is thought to have started in China-,
it travelled along the Silk Road and reached Crimea by 1346,
reached Sicily in October 1347 and the land of Italy (Genoa,
Venice and Pisa) in the spring of 1348.
• From Italy the disease spread northwest across Europe,

striking France, Spain, Portugal and England by June 1348; then
turned and spread east through Germany and Scandinavia from
1348 to 1350. Finally it spread to north-western Russia in 1351
What were the symptoms of the plague?
The Plague occurred in 3 Forms
PNEUMONIC PHASE
• Attacked the Lungs
• Caused fierce coughing & sneezing fits
• Chest pain, Bloody sputum
SEPTICEMIC PHASE
• Rarest and Deadliest
• Traveled thru bloodstream
• Black spots beneath skin
• Victims choked on own blood, Excruciating Pain!
BUBONIC PHASE
• Most Common
• Egg-sized swellings (buboes)
• Neck, armpits, groin (dark blisters)
• Headaches, Weakness, Nausea/Vomiting
• Severe Fever and Delirium
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.
Why?
•Medieval people did not know about germs causing disease.
Didn´t understand that it was spread by rats and fleas. They
thought that people’s bodies were poisoned. Blames,
Alignment of Planets, Infected Clothing and Humans, God’s
Wrath aimed at Sin. Many Followers massacred Jews
believing they had poisoned society.
The plague doctor was a physician who
treated victims of the bubonic
plague. They were specifically hired by
towns where the plague had taken hold.
Since the city was paying their salary, they
treated everyone, wealthy or poor.
During the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries,

some doctors wore a beak-like mask
which was filled with aromatic items. It
was designed to protect them from putrid
air, which according to them was seen as
the cause of infection.
THE TRUE CAUSE OF THE PLAGUE
• The Swiss scientist Alexandre Yersin discovered the true cause of plague.
• The bubonic plague, an infectious disease, are caused by microbes that
invade the human body.
• The microbes that cause the plague are a type of bacteria known as the
Yersinia pestis.
• The bubonic plague, however, does not start in humans.
• Instead it infects only rats and cannot be spread directly from rats to
humans.
• Fleas, which live on the rats for food, abandon the rat when the rat dies.
• If these fleas then find a human the, Yersinia pestis is injected into the
bloodstream.
•Then the disease can spread from man to man.
Medieval cure number 1
If the swellings burst and the poison came out
people sometimes survived. It seemed
sensible to draw out the poison
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?

Black Death

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Black Death

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Black Death

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Black

Historians think that the plague arrived in England during the

At the end of 1350 nearly two and a half million people

• From Italy the disease spread northwest across Europe,

A: This is your answer!

The Oriental Rat Flea!

During the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries,

The swellings should be softened with figs and

How useful do you think these medieval

You might also like