2. ORIGINS
The Black Death began in the Gobi Desert in the
late 1320s, but the plague bacillus was already
active long before that.
The cause of the disease to start spreading is not
definite, however, Earth’s climate began to cool
in the 14th Century and many people believe this
could have triggered the disease.
3. THE DISEASE AND HOW IT’S
SPREAD
The medical term for the Black Death is Bubonic
Plague. It is a bacillus, an organism, most usually
carried by rodents.
Fleas infest the animal, and these fleas move
freely over to human hosts spreading the disease
by passing on the blood from the rat into
humans.
4. SYMPTOMS
Symptoms of the plague include high fevers, aching
limbs, and vomiting of blood. The most characteristic
symptom is a swelling of the lymph nodes. The swelling
bulges and is easily visible; its blackish coloring gives the
disease its nickname, The Black Death.
The swellings continue to expand until they eventually
burst, with death following soon after. The process,
from first symptoms of fever and aches to final
expiration, lasts three or four days.
5. THE PEOPLE’S REACTION
The reaction from public officials, and from many
churchmen, was that this calamity was not the vengeance
of God upon a sinful world, despite their strong
religious beliefs.
Cities were hit the hardest and tried to take measures to
control an unfamiliar epidemic. For example, in Milan,
city officials immediately walled up houses found to
have the plague, isolating the healthy in them along with
the sick. In Venice, all incoming ships were isolated on a
separate island.
6. MEDICAL MEASURES
Various concoctions of herbs would be administered to
relieve the symptoms because there was no known cure.
Headaches were relieved by rose, lavender, sage and bay.
Sickness or nausea was treated with wormwood, mint,
and balm. Lung problems were treated with liquorice
and comfrey. Vinegar was used as a cleansing agent as it
was believed that it would kill disease. Bloodletting, or
the draining of blood, was commonly thought to be
one of the best ways to treat the plague. The blood that
exuded was black, thick, and smelled disgusting.
7. AVOIDANCE
The only action that was effective was quarantine
or staying far enough away where no fleas could
reach you.
One pope, Pope Clement VI, sat between two
large fires to breath pure air. The plague bacillus
actually is destroyed by heat, so this was one of
the few effective measures taken.
8. HISTORICAL TIMING
The European economy was already in difficulties. It
was approaching the limits of expansion, and the arrival
of the Mongols and the Ottomans had disrupted trade
routes, which led certain areas of Europe into
depression. Also, the overall climate was changing, with
cooler and wetter weather creating lower crop yields
even as the population was increasing. The Church was
in poor shape as well, and the Holy Land had been lost
in the 1290s; efforts to recover it had been dismal
failures.
9. THE EFFECTS
• Prices and Wages rose
• Greater value was placed on labor
• Farming land was given over to pasturing, which was much less labor-
intensive
• This change in farming led to a boost in the cloth and woolen industry
• Peasants moved from the country to the towns
• The Black Death was therefore also responsible for the decline of the
Feudal system
• People became disillusioned with the church and its power and influence
went into decline
• This resulted in the English reformation
10. RESOURCES
http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/black-death.htm
(Slides 6 and 9)
http://boisestate.edu/courses/westciv/plague/12.shtml
(Slides 2,3,4,5,7, and 8)
