Closure: Actively read the PPT surrounding the Bubonic Plague (individually, students will review slides 1-25)

1. What did you learn about the Bubonic Plague?

2. What conclusions can we make as we carefully assess the causes & long-term impacts.

3. What does this “historical episode” say about Medieval Europeans and their comprehension of diseases – both causes and effects, and in terms of dealing with epidemics like the “Black Death?”

4. What role did the “growth of towns” play in the rapid spread & death of over 1/3 of the inhabitants throughout Western Europe?

5. Do you think a similar epidemic may have similar outcomes/impact on contemporary American society? Why, or why not? If any, what might the president, other leaders, and medical professionals recommend/do differentially?

The Spread of the Black Death (See

the map on p. 329).Now, based on the

map, what assessments can be made surrounding

the plagued? Where did it spread

the most? Why?

The Path of the Plague• Traveled on trade routes and caravans• Generally from south to north• And east to west• Passing through

– Italy– France– England– Germany– Denmark– Sweden– Poland– Finland– Greenland

The origins of the disease

The Path of the Plague• Erupted in Gobi

Desert, late 1320’s• Epidemic in Europe in

6th century but dormant since then

• Reached the shores of Italy in 1348

• Spread in every direction, primarily westward

• Lasted 3 years

Plague/Black Death: • Took out 54 million• 1/3 of population wiped out• Defining event(s) of the Middle

Ages• Spread by fleas which lived on rats• A lack of cleanliness added to their

vulnerability: crowded with poor sanitation; ate stale or diseased meat; primitive medicine (people were often advised to not bathe b/c open skin pores might let in the disease).

• Highly contagious disease nodules would burst around the area of the flea bite.

In 1347, Italian merchant ships returned from the Black Sea, one of the links along the trade route between Europe and China. Many of the sailors were already dying of the plague, and within days the disease had spread from the port cities to the surrounding countryside. The disease spread as far as England within a year.

Section 5

A Time of Crisis

The plague was spread by fleas carried by rats.

Economies failed as

the cost of labor

soared and inflation

occurred.

People revolted

and social unrest

became the norm

for 100 years.

When plague struck, normal

life broke down. People fled

cities, hid in their homes,

turned to witchcraft, and

blamed Jews.

The Rat Flea• The flea drinks rat’s

blood• The bacteria multiplies

inside the flea• The flea’s stomach is

blocked• The flea is very hungry• The flea voraciously

bites a host = a human• The flea is unable to

satisfy its hunger• The flea continues to

feed• Infected blood carrying

the plague bacteria is flowing into the human’s wound

• The rat dies• The flea dies of

starvation• The human dies

Symptoms of the Plague• The plague began with

headache and fever, along with chills, nausea, vomiting, and stiffness.

• Within a day or two, the swellings appeared. They were hard, painful, burning lumps on his neck, under his arms, on his inner thighs. Soon they turned black, split open, and began to ooze pus and blood. They may have grown to the size of an orange.

Efforts to stop the Plague• Scents -

incense and aromatic oils

• Sound – church bells

• Sound – cannons

• Talismans• Here: burial

in coffins

Efforts to stop the Plague

• Quarantine was the best method• Avoiding the sick• The wealthy fled to the countryside (Isaac Newton)• Pope Clement VI in Avignon sat between two large

fires to breathe pure air. The plague bacillus is destroyed by heat, so this worked!

Popular Medical “Cures”for the Plague

• Doctors wore strange costumes

• Bathing in human urine• Wearing excrement• Placing dead animals in

homes • Wearing leeches• Drinking molten gold

and powdered emeralds • Burning incense to get

rid of the smell of the dead

A costume worn by

doctors to ward off the Plague

Impact of the Black Plague - Economy

• Outlawed large-scale fishing•  Some monarchs instituted measures that prohibited

exports of foods•  Set price control on grains• Caused a recession in the European Economy• Peasants had more job opportunities due to population

drop• Surviving workers had benefit after the plague•  Changed economy from self-regulated to government

controlled

Black Death caused a major drop in population which altered the economy

SOCIOECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE BLACK DEATH

• Fewer workers = more jobs = higher pay• More buying of luxuries:

– Less people in families to share inheritance– People scared could die at any time

Impact of the Black Plague - Political

• Depopulation caused by plague weakened peasants holdings• Authorities tried to stop the rising price of labor by setting

limits• Political failure, war, and the disease set up the scene for

tragedy

The Black Death killed off many political ties between peasant and noble

Impact of the Black Plague - Social

• Europeans that were isolated were safer• Monks and priests were heavily affected

o Treated victims of plagueo Had little to no knowledge of plague

• Many attacks against Jewish communitieso No explanation; needed scapegoatso Thought plague was God's rage

•  Hundred Years' War devastated Europe even further

The killing and destruction of scapegoats was very common in the time of the plague.

Impact of the Black Plague - Religion

• People believed that the plague was an act of god's wrath• Many lost faith• People believed Flagellants were helping more than religious

leaders• Their efforts actually hurt more than they helped• Jews were blamed for the outbreak and attacked• Pope Clement IV granted remission of sins to all who died in

the Black Plague

Many prayed for the loss of their loved ones

EFFECTS ON MEDIEVAL PSYCHE1. Doubting the Church

► Shook confidence in the Church► Couldn’t get God’s assistance for the people► Even clergy dying of Plague

2. Obsession with Death► Physical death became closer, presence of sudden

painful death► Pessimism/preoccupation with death► Leads to fascination with death because daily sight in the

streets► Elaborate funerals and single graves► Mood of decay and death in art

Religious Consequences

• Persecutions of the Jews – scapegoats

• Massacres and burnings• By 1351, 60 major and 150

smaller Jewish communities had been exterminated

• Lepers were also targeted• Jews expelled, moved to

Poland & Lithuania

There's a set outift...?

• Black Plague doctors of the time had an outfit• Doctors usually were spreaders of disease

o Produced places for fleas to spreado Ironically more harm than worth

• Wide-brimmed hat close to the head• Primitive gas mask that looks like crow mask• Long and black overcoat• Wooden cane• Leather breeches  (to protect legs from disease)

Flagellants

• Became very popular during Black Plague• Believed the plague was due to god's wrath• Traveled from town to town and beat themselves to represent

the sufferings of Jesus and to pay for the sins of the rest of the world

• Citizens began to believe that the Flagellants were more effective than church leaders

• They were more harm then help

Flagellants whipping themselves in order to show the sufferings of Jesus

How it ended the Middle Ages

• Less serfs (peasants) for work --> increased labor prices• Landlords unhappy• No choice but to pay serfs more money• People could soon buy themselves from serfdom• Many new revolts occurred

o In accordance to moneyo Workers felt they deserved more

A painting of a serf that is working the fields of a manor. Many uprisings occurred because of situations such as these.

Consequences for Populations

• Approx. 25 million deaths in Europe• Between one third and one half of

European population died 1348-1350• 25% of villages depopulated• 45-75% of Florence died in one year• In Venice, 60% died over 18 months

And Now?• The bubonic Plague still exists

– Conduct your own research. Don’t take my word for it.

• Quite common among rodent populations

• A cure is known today – but the disease moves very quickly

• The Plague is still with us