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A Crisis of the 14 th Century: The Bubonic Plague.

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Presentation on theme: "A Crisis of the 14 th Century: The Bubonic Plague."— Presentation transcript:

1 A Crisis of the 14 th Century: The Bubonic Plague

2 Basic Facts About the Disease -Also known as the Black Death -Originated in Eastern Asia and was brought to Europe through trade and Mongol advances on western lands -First seen in the west in Messina, Sicily in November of 1347 -Estimated to have killed approximately 35,000,000 people in less than three years -Most people were killed in under three days -Illness carried by fleas which were carried by rats -Urban areas were hit the hardest

3 Map of the Spread of Bubonic Plague

4 Black Death Statistics -In England, 1/3 of the population of 4 million died. -45-75% of the population of Florence and 60% of the population of Venice died -25 million deaths in Europe out of a total population of 40 million –What percentage is that?

5 London Outbreak of 1665 Graph of deaths in London during the year 1665

6 Effects of the plague: BLAME What was blamed: -Astrological forces -Divine punishment -Jewish populations Opposition to these “sources” of illness: -Flagellants -Attacks on Jewish people -Prayer -Folk cures -Diet restrictions

7 A medieval image of people punishing themselves to regain God’s favor. A medieval image of Jewish people being burned to stop the spread of the Black Plague.

8 Jean de Venette of Paris wrote on the blaming of Jews for the plague: “Some said that the pestilence was the result of infected air and water…and as a result of this idea many began suddenly and passionately to accuse the Jews of infecting the wells, fouling the air, and generally being the source of the plague. Everyone rose up against them most cruelly. In Germany and elsewhere-wherever Jews lived-they were massacred and slaughtered by Christian crowds and many thousands were burned indiscriminately. The steadfast, though foolish, bravery of the Jewish men and women was remarkable. Many mothers hurled their own children into the flames and then leapt in after them, along with their husbands, in order that they might avoid being forcibly baptized.”

9 Effects of the plague: ECONOMY AND GOVERNMENT -Loss of life led to failure to maintain agricultural and industrial production and ruined trade -Scarcity of products -Plague particularly hurt rural people financially -Government tried to raise taxes and wouldn’t assist the people with health care, which led to revolt An image of “The Black Death” suffocating a victim to death.

10 The Effect of the plague: THOUGHT PROCESSES The Danse Macabre -An artistic and literary movement brought about by the devastation of the Black Death -These works often focused around the theme of the universality of death and human vulnerability to illness and death -Death as a great equalizer of men An image of death, as a skeleton, taking away the power and life of a religious leader.

11 A 19 th century song on the theme of Danse Macabre Danse Macabre Cartoon, Camille Saint-Saëns Bernt Notke, Totentanz, Germany

12 Images from the time of the Black Death From the Annals of Gilles de Muisit, Tournai, France What is happening in this image? What does it indicate about the consequences of the plague killing such large percentages of the population at once?

13 Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Triumph of Death, Madrid Identify three images or symbols of death in this image. How accurately do you think this might reflect the state of Europe in the late Middle Ages?

14 What movement against the plague does this image depict? Why did people perform this act?

15 William Blake, Plague, England How is this more modern image of plague different than the older images? How is it the same?

16 THE END


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