3. The Culprits Bacteria Rats Fleas Humans

4. 3 Forms of the Disease 1. Bubonic Plague - painful lymph node swellings called buboes (most common) 2. Pneumonic Plague - attacked the respiratory system/lungs (second most common). 3. Septicemic Plague - also called “blood poisoning,” it attacked the blood stream with a mortality rate of almost 100%. Buboes Would turn skin black, especially in the feet and hands

6. 1347: Plague Reaches Constantinople! The progress of the plague coincided with the medieval trade routes.

7. The victims ate lunch with their friends and dinner with their ancestors.

8. Why was it able to spread so quickly? A Doctor’s Robe “Leeching” (to draw out the blood) Medieval people didn’t know about germs causing disease, and didn’t understand that plague was spread by fleas and rats (because rats were so common that it didn’t cross their minds). Instead, they thought that people’s bodies were poisoned.

9. Attempts to Avoid/Stop the Plague Scents - incense and flowers Fires to cleanse air Burning bodies of victims Boarding up houses of the ill/pestilence houses Isolation of both sick & healthy Fleeing to the countryside Talismans worn around neck (to ward off evil) Avoiding exercise and bathing Church/prayer Flagellants – people who self- flogged to atone for their sins (popular after disillusionment with the church’s reaction to the plague)

10. The Mortality Rate An estimated 25-50 million deaths, or one-third of the European population, died between 1347-1351. **Over a period of 400 years, the plague reduced the world’s population from an estimated 450 million to between 350 and 375 million.

11. Effects of the Plague Government, trade, and business virtually ceased, so prices of goods skyrocketed. Faith in religion decreased (because many clergy died and prayer failed to prevent sickness and death). Lack of law enforcement led to lawlessness (or anarchy). Persecution of Jewish people, who some blamed for the plague.

12. Positive Effects of the Plague It spurred modern medicine and changes in public health. Higher education emphasized because of the gaps in education left by the Black Death. Advancements in technology, such as the printing press, to compensate for the huge loss of skilled, specialized workers. Feudalism declined, leading to a rise in the middle class. Workers’ wages rose and living conditions improved because they were high in demand.

13. The Children – Ring Around the Rosy Ring around the rosy = a red ring surrounding a rosy bump was the first visible sign of infection Pocket full of posies = flowers used to stop the smell of disease (or "foul air“) Ashes, ashes! = the church burned bodies of the dead (too many died to be given proper burials). We all fall down! = dead During this time, children were often abandoned by their parents (out of fear or because of death), so children that were left behind banded together.

14. Recurrences Every 5-7 years Next plague: The Pest of the Children in 1360 Italian Plague: 1629-1631 Great Plague of Vienna in 1679 Great Plague of London: 1665 -1666 (one of the last major outbreaks) **It resembles modern-day Ebola, but can be cured by antibiotics. History Channel video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqXJ20qXASI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqXJ20qXASI