BLACK PLAGUEIt was

the worst of times…

It was…well, the worst of times.

How so, you ask… Whitechurch:- John le Strange died - 20th August 1349. - His oldest son, Fulk, died - August 30 (2 days before inquest)- Before an inquest could be held on Fulk's estate, his brother Humphrey died. - John, the third brother, survived - inherited worthless land because all tenants were dead

Plague Recurrences Avg. 30-45% of the general

populace died 1348-50

Some villages, 80% or 90% of population died (in Kilkenny death-rate = 100%

1350 not the end

Plague recurred in 1361-64, 1368, 1371, 1373-75, 1390, 1405 and continued into the fifteenth century

How the plague spread around Britain The Black Death killed between 30-45% of

the population between 1348-50. 1317: Great Famine in England May 1337: Declaration of the Hundred Years

War by Edward III. June 1348: Black Death arrives at

Melcombe Regis (Weymouth) Aug 1348: Black Death hits Bristol Sept 1348: Black Death reaches London Oct 1348: Winchester hit Jan-Feb 1349: Plague spreads into E. Anglia

and the Midlands.

April 1349: Plague known in Wales. May 1349: Halesowen hit. 18th June 1349: Ordinance of

Labourers July 1349: Plague definitely hits Ireland. Autumn 1349: Plague reaches Durham.

Scots invade northern England and bring back plague with them.

Spring 1350: Massive outbreak of plague in Scotland.

Sept 1350: First pestilence dies out. 9th Feb 1351: Statute of Labourers

1361-64: Second Pestilence: 'The Plague of Children'

1367: Birth of Richard II in Bordeaux. 1368-69: Third Pestilence 1371-75: Fourth Pestilence (variously

dated 1371 or 1373-5) 1381: The Peasant Revolt The plague returned in a series of

periodic local and national epidemics - only finally ended at end of the 17th century.

Symptoms1) Rise of buboes2) Convulsions3) Rise of temperature (101

to 107)4) Vomiting5) Splitting Headache &

Giddiness6) Intolerance to light7) Pain in the lower

abdomen, back and limbs8) Insomnia, apathy, and

delirium.

9) Eyes turn red 10) Blood dark, thick, greenish pus 11) Skin begins to turn black (blood & pus)12) Tongue swells and is covered with a white fur except on tip 13) Later tongue turns dry and fur becomes yellow or brown14) Constipation usual but if diarrhea is worse 15) Death anywhere from 24 hrs. to days from ruptured boils or takeover of bacteria

Most common way spread: coughing, spittle

End Result…Peasant Feels…

Like he’s having a melt down…

Medicine in Middle Ages is not exactly helpful People felt a little let

down – so they

1)Ran away2)Tortured + killed

Jews3)Beat themselves –

flagellants4)Soaked boils in

vinegar – hot onions5)Let blood6)Lanced buboes7)Stopped bathing8)Stopped breathing

fresh air9)Abandoned their

families

Living Conditions No running water Rushes on floors health hazard

Clay floor strewn with straw – bottom layer sometimes left undisturbed for 20+ yrs.

Harbored vomit, expectorate, urine + feces (human, dog, etc…), ale, fish remnants, etc…

It gets even better… Amputations cauterized with pitch Teeth pulled no anesthetic Childbed fever – high mortality rate Dysentery (bloody flux) Syphilis Tuberculosis Influenza

Life Expectancy 30-50% died before adulthood Mid-40s = usual life span if

didn’t die in war & maintained good health

65 burials (400 to 1000 A.D.) from Anglo-Saxon cemeteries in England and found none who lived past 45

Kings did better – 48 – 51 yrs.

Into this mess was born an intellectual giant… Geoffrey Chaucer – born

c. 1340-43 in London Affluent merchant class

family (wine) Mixed with royalty his

whole life. Died age 60 + first poet

to be interred in Poet’s Corner at Westminster Abbey

The Father of English

Literature