The black death

The bubonic plague (The black death) was the worst disease to effect europe in the middle ages. This peaked between 1347 and 1350 and is estimated to have killed a third of the world population.

The plague was carried by fleas via ships’ rats from the black sea area.

The symptoms included oozing swellings all over the body, darkly coloured skin and the filling of the lungs with phlegm. It was extremely contagious by sneezing, coughing or touching dead bodies.

It spread quickly in towns, and as it worsened bodies were simply left in the street to be collected, this simply caused it get even worse. Once people contracted they had a 70-80% chance of dying in a week.