3. The Famine of 1315-1317  By 1300 Europeans were farming almost all the land they could cultivate.  A population crisis developed.  Climate changes in Europe produced three years of crop failures between 1315-17 because of excessive rain.  As many as 15% of the peasants in some English villages died.  One consequence of starvation & poverty was susceptibility to disease.

4. The plague arrives Historians think that the plague arrived in Europe during the winter of 1347. During the following autumn it spread quickly through the south west. Few villages escaped. Churchyards were full with bodies. The plague spread quickly during the winter of 1348-1349 to the north of England. By 1350, nearly the whole of Europe was infected with the plague. At the end of 1350 nearly 25,000,000 people were dead!

5. Where did the Black Death come from?

6. What were the symptoms of the plague?

7. 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!

8. The Culprits

9. 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.

11. Germs? What are Germs? Medieval people did not know about germs causing disease. They did not understand that plague was spread by rats and fleas. They thought that people’s bodies were poisoned. If the swellings burst and the poison came out people sometimes survived. It seemed sensible to draw out the poison.

12. Attempts to Stop the Plague A Doctor’s Robe “Leeching”

13. Medieval cure number 1 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.

14. Lancing a Buboe

15. Attempts to Stop the Plague Flagellanti: Self-inflicted “penance” for our sins!

16. Ring Around the Rosie? Ring around the Rosie Pocket full of posies Ashes, We all fall down! This popular children’s rhyme dates back to the black death of the 14 th century, and actually describes the symptoms of the disease

17. Medieval Art & the Plague Plague Activity

18. Death Triumphant !: A Major Artistic Theme

19. A Little Macabre Ditty “A sickly season,” the merchant said, “The town I left was filled with dead, and everywhere these red flies crawled upon the corpses’ eyes, eating them away.” “Fair make you sick,” the merchant said, “They crawled upon the wine and bread. Pale priests with oil and books, bulging eyes and crazy looks, dropping like the flies.”

20. Medieval Artwork (The Black Death) Imagine you are living in 1350. How would you explain the Black Death? Draw Medieval Painting, similar to one in the slide show, that gives your explanation of the plague. Possible ideas: Could the earth be poisoned? Could God be punishing you and your village? Answer the following question 1. How would humanity treat an out break similar to the plague differently today then they did in the 14 century?