The Black Death revision booklet

Some background info, keywords and quick facts:

Epidemic – A fast and widespread occurrence of an infective disease within a community

Pandemic – A fast and widespread occurrence of an infective disease across a large area
(Continents)

The Black Death was both an epidemic and a pandemic.

When did it occur? The Black Death was the name given to the disease that spread
throughout medieval Europe from 1348 – 1352, killing around 50% of the population.

How long did it take to kill? It killed swiftly – normally bringing death between 2-7 days
once infection had occurred

What is its scientific name? The Black Death is now known as the Bubonic Plague. The
plague can take three forms; these are Pneumonic, Bubonic and Septicemic.

The Bubonic Plague is caused by a Bacteria called ‘Yersinia Pestis’. This Bacteria is common
in fleas found on rodents in the orient – this is why it is called the Oriental Rat Flea.

The bacteria cause a mutation in the gut of the flea by blocking the passage to its stomach.
When the flea feeds, the blockage causes the flea to regurgitate back into the open wound,
injecting the bacteria into the animal or human host. Of course, the flea is still very hungry
and so frantically tries to feed quickly, all the time regurgitating back into the open wound,
this speeds up the spread of disease.

Thus, a bite from an infected Flea often meant death. The Bubonic Plague had a death rate
of 75%.

How did the Black Death spread from East to West?

We already know from our other topics that at this time in England there had been
monumental religious, political and social change. Alongside this change the West was
steadily growing wealthy through trade and interaction with the East.

This trade and interaction increased hugely during the Crusade’s (a religious war between
Christianity and Islam); the main trade routes in the East had been known as the Silk Roads -
so called because historically they were the main routes to the West for Silk, the treasured
material of the Chinese.

However, in the Medieval Age it was more than just silk that was traded along these ancient
roads. It was also the main artery for cultural interaction and many other goods. Goods were
then put on boats which sailed for Europe and entered the continent through various ports
in France and Italy.

This highway of trade and interaction that was to provide the perfect route for the Plague to
travel swiftly on its path of destruction from East to West, changing from an epidemic to a
pandemic.

As an example of how easily it could spread, there was a famous incident in Kaffa, a city on
the Silk Road that was under Genoese (an Italian city) control but also under siege by the
Mongol’s. The Mongol army was infected by the plague and dying in their thousands. The
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dead bodies were catapulted into the city and this resulted in those within Kaffa being
infected. The Genoese promptly left and sailed for home, scared of the outbreak of an
incurable disease but taking with them the dead bodies, fleas and rats! This was just one of
the ways the plague spread to Europe.

What did people at the time believe caused the Black Death?

An imbalance of the humours. For many years causes and cures of disease were based around the
theory of the Four Humours. We first hear about these humours through Hippocrates in ancient
Greece, then Galen in ancient Rome and this was still the theory in medieval times (around the 14th
century, the time of the plague). It was popular and still believed until the 1800’s.

 According the theory the Humours are the four liquids found in the human body.

 These are: Blood, Phlegm, Black Bile and Yellow Bile.

 Each liquid was linked to one of the base elements

that made up the ancient world according to ancient
scientific belief – Earth, air, fire or water.

 Each of these liquids and elements was linked to a

season of the year.

 A good balance between all liquids, elements and

temperature was essential if health was to be
maintained.

 This diagram shows how they are linked. You can see
from this that in the Winter it is cold and moist which
might produce too much phlegm in the body so a cure
might be to create a warm and dry environment (the opposite of cold and moist) to bring
the level of phlegm down – so sit next to a fire.

The alignment of the planets – These could cause noxious vapours or gases (miasma) that
could disrupt the balance of the four humours. It just so happened that prior to the Black
Death there had been an alignment of Jupiter, Saturn and Mars. This was also believed by
Pope Clement VI.

Common people believed that god was the source of blessing but also the source of
punishment. God had cursed them because of sinful living and this was the reason for the
Black Death – sin, vice, depravity and gambling.

The Jews – Rumours abounded that Jews had been seen poisoning wells in Europe. They did
not seem to be infected at the same rate as everyone else also as they lived under strict
hygiene guidelines. Though, they did die from the plague and were infected.

Fact: Poor sanitation in towns and cities meant that when the Black Death reached urban
areas it was very hard to stop its spread as Rats were everywhere. Bacteria and germs were
simply not known about. This meant when the plague did finally arrive in England death was
imminent as conditions for spreading was perfect.
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How did people try and cure the Black Death?

People sought to show god they were sorry for their sins. To this end they whipped
themselves, drawing blood to show god that they were willing to endure pain for him. The
act of whipping oneself was known as flagellation, so these people were called the
Flagellants. This was mainly confined to the European continent but it did happen in
England. It was hoped god would see the pain they were going through and spare them their
lives. The social effect of this movement was to gather large groups of the population
together, they inspired cruelty, beating those who opposed them and killing Jews. Society
became more militant.

Those who had the Black Death were put into isolation. This was known as quarantine and it
was hoped that by not going near the sick, it would not spread. Often people were
quarantined by being put in a separate room of the house.

To stop the spread of the Black Death those who felt it was caused by the Jews launched
pogroms (raids against the Jews) to try and end the Plague this way. It was thought that
killing the Jews would stop them from spreading the plague further. However, it could have
been that this was simply a way to let off steam in a time of desperate uncertainty.

Now you know the theory of the Four Humours type ‘Cures for the Black Death in the 13th
Century’ into google and see what you find!

What were the effects?

The plague wiped out whole families. Families were an important part of medieval society. When a
family was wiped out it meant that no one was able to inherit land, title, job or title. This weakened
the Feudal System.

People no longer wanted to talk to neighbours, go to church or interact for fear of catching the
disease. Society was falling apart.

People died in such large numbers and so quickly that there was not enough time or resources to
bury them. Because of this mass graves had to be dug and people were buried without dignity. This
changed people views on the rites of burial.

People were not willing to go to near the dead for fear of catching the disease and so people were
left to rot in their houses.
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A lack of labour from so many deaths meant fields were often untilled and harvests not taken in.
Hunger was fairly common. Due to a lack of labour cattle and other animals roamed the countryside
untended.

Due to the relaxing of social norms people often ignored the property boundaries of others. People
would group in houses, drinking and often one couldn’t tell who the owner was as he or she may
have died or simply did not care.

The Church was not spared – 50 % of priests died from the plague. This led to some, who saw god as the cause
of the Black Death, to question the behavior of priests. Replacement priests were of poorer quality.
Replacement monks often could not speak Latin leading to service in English.

Due to the lack of priests sometimes those who died could not hear the Last Rites – meaning they
could not receive absolution and meet god with a clean soul. In response to this the Pope declared
that if no priest could be found then laypeople could read the dying their last rites and hear
confession. This led to increased independence from the Church and people questioning the
authority of the Church.

The decrease in available workers meant the Feudal System was weakened as so many had died.
This meant peasants who were previously tied to land and their lord could bargain for more pay and
or better working conditions. To stop peasants roaming the countryside looking for better conditions
the Government introduced the Statute of Labourers stating no Lord could pay wages better than
those of 1346. Employers often ignored this.

Anger at the fact peasants could not get better pay and working conditions due to government
regulation led to the Peasants Revolt of 1381 where peasants rose up in protest against the Statute
of labourers and power of the Lords.

70,000 people died in London.

3000 villages were deserted.

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The morale of the country took a severe drop as people were unsure what was happening, why it
was happening and how they could fix it. People felt that they could die at any time and this led to a
type of panic all over the country. The rules and norms of society were breaking down.

50% of the population died (around 1.5 million people). It took over 200 years for the population to
recover.

Some lords turned to sheep farming instead of growing crops, as it was less labour intensive. This led
to an increase in the quality of sheep breeding and therefore, sheep.

Medical knowledge improved. Doctors realized they had to rely less on astronomy and religion for
cures. Attitudes changed in the long term.

Towns welcomed newcomers as they need more hands to work and contribute. This meant people
were free to move around the country and better themselves. Numbers in towns increased
(urbanisation). This weakened the Feudal System.

Trade was affected with Europe. Some ways were that goods such as salt, iron and canvas increased
in price. The price of cattle and sheep dropped as there was no one to buy them.

How could I use this in an essay?

Choose an event which caused major changes in English/British life. Explain why people won and lost
because of that event.

Here you would choose the Black Death and write about the winners and losers of the change it
caused.

1. All people who were not members of the clergy won as they began to rely less on the Church
due to religious change. (Decision to allow lay people to grant Last rites, Lack of priests,
Church services in English increased accessibility to the bible)
2. Peasants and women gained as they were able to increase their mobility and charge more
for their services. (50% death rate, breakdown of feudal system, increased demand from less
available workers, Statute of Labourers. Women became independent and paid workers due
to the lack of men’s labour available)
3. The whole of society lost in some way due to the famine and mass death caused by the Black
Death. (Huge death toll, breakdown of Feudal system meant farms and crops untended, lack
of food production, famine)
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4. You could have a further paragraph based on the way Agriculture was forced to take a step
forward so farmers won in the long term.

Read on below to understand what a paragraph might look like when you expand on it.

How do I expand when writing in full?

You must use your knowledge and understanding to explain your point with evidence and ensure
you are showing how it answers the question (This is easy to do in the final sentence of the
paragraph through a link back to the point sentence. See the examples paragraphs below.

A Paragraph for point 1 might look like this:

The Church did not escape the Black Death unharmed either. The reliance of
the population on religious teachings took a big blow, which meant ordinary
people gained in independence from the church. The plague had wiped out
many priests and to those who felt god was causing the plague as a
punishment, this did not reflect well on the behavior of those priests. Often
priests would not come to read the Last Rites to members of their parish,
sometimes because they felt it was too dangerous, sometimes because they
were dead or at other times it was because the living were dying at such a rate
they could not be in many places at once. For whichever reason, the Pope was
so concerned he gave permission for a layperson to read the Last Rites. This
was huge as from here on people began to question whether they needed
priests, as they seemed to have been able to take care of themselves. Another
significant religious change was that Church services were often now held in
English rather than Latin. This was due to the fact that new priests could often
not speak Latin as they were ordained so quickly and were less well trained.
This gave ordinary people better access to the church and its teachings, which
along with the fact priests seemed to be in short supply increased their
freedom from the church, in other words, they won because of the situations
the Black Death created.
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And a paragraph for Point 2 might look like this;

In the medium term the social impact was huge as peasants gained the ability
to move around the countryside and charge more for their services. Nearly
50% of the population had died. Family units were destroyed meaning many
family names had died out. Up to 3000 villages lay deserted. This left big holes
in the Feudal System, which relied on the oaths and agreement between Lord
and vassal. In some situations both had died and this meant land was free for
new lords to inherit. It also meant old agreements didn’t need to be honoured
and peasants were now able to roam the countryside, free from their feudal
ties. Towns welcomed newcomers, as they needed their labour. This gave
peasants the opportunity to bargain for better pay and working conditions. It
was a sellers’ market and labour was hard to come by so peasants were able to
increase their worth. Whilst this was a positive for peasants it was a negative
for the government who needed cheap labour and harvests due to a lack of
money through population loss. Therefore they passed the Statute of
Labourers stating that no peasants could ask for pay better than the rate in
1346. The Peasants were disgusted at this restriction and this sowed the seeds
of the Peasants Revolt in 1381. It is clear that because the government had to
pass this Statute peasants were taking advantage of the change caused by the
Black Death.