3. The Culprits

5. 3 Forms of the Disease  Bubonic Plague - painful lymph node swellings, buboes (most common)  Septicemic Plague - also called “blood poisoning,” it attacked the blood system.  Pneumonic Plague - attacked the respiratory system (second most common). Buboes Septicemic: almost 100% mortality rate

6. What were the symptoms of the plague?

7. 1347: Plague Reaches Constantinople! The progress of the plague coincided with the medieval trade routes.

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

9. Attempts to Stop the Plague A Doctor’s Robe “Leeching” Medieval people did not know about germs causing disease. They did not understand that plague was spread by rats and fleas, and instead thought that people’s bodies were poisoned. If the swellings burst and the poison came out people sometimes survived, so therefore it seemed sensible to draw out the poison.

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

12. A Cure for Black Death?? Suggested Preventions and Cures Carry Flowers or wear a strong perfume Drink hot drinks Carry a lucky charm Use leeches to bleed the victim Smoke a pipe of tobacco Give a strong dose of laxatives Coat the victims with mercury and place them in the oven. How they were supposed to work The smells would help to ward away the disease The victim would then sweat out the disease The charm would ward off the disease This would remove infected blood The smoke would ward off the disease This would cause the victim to completely empty his bowels, thus removing the disease. The combination of mercury and heat from the oven would kill off the disease.

13. What were the political, economic, and social effects of the Black Death??

14. The Mortality Rate Approximately 25 million deaths in Europe. About one-third of the European population died between 1347-1351. 25% of villages completely depopulated **In a 400-year period of recurring plagues, it reduced the world’s population from an estimated 450 million to between 350 and 375 million.

15. Effects of the Plague For four years, the disease would disappear in winter, when fleas were dormant, and resume its killing spree each spring. Governments, trade, and commerce virtually ceased. Faith in religion decreased because many clergy died and prayer failed to prevent sickness and death. Because trade was difficult, the price of goods skyrocketed. A decreased work force required higher wages, leading to peasant revolts in England, France, Belgium, and Italy. Lack of law enforcement led to lawlessness. Persecution of Jewish people, who some blamed for the plague.

16. Positive Effects of the Plague Set the stage for more modern medicine and spurred changes in public health and hospital management. 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.

17. The Children – Ring Around the Rosy Ring around the rosy = one of the first visible signs of infection were red rings surrounding a rosy bump, all over the victim's body. Pocket full of posies = used to stop the odor of rotting bodies and the belief that the plague was transmitted through "foul air." Ashes, ashes! = the church burned the dead when burying became too hard (too many died to be given proper burials). We all fall down! = dead  Children were often abandoned by their parents out of fear and/or if they developed symptoms.

18. Recurrences Every 5-7 years Next plague: 1360 = The Pest of the Children Italian Plague: 1629-1631 Great Plague of Vienna in 1679 Great Plague of London: 1665 -1666 – one of the last major outbreaks Resembles modern day Ebola