The Black Death - 1348

• The Black Death ( plague) began in Asia and spread to Britain through trade routes

• It spread rapidly through Britain, reaching the north, Scotland and Ireland by the end of 1349

• The plague was mostly spread by fleas living on rats however this was unknown to the people

• The Black Death took three forms:

  • Bubonic plague

    • Symptoms included buboes ( swelling of armpit and groin)

    • fever

    • fluid filled blisters

    • death in a few days

  • Septicaemic plague

    • Bleeding

    • Diarrhoea and vomiting

    • Fingers, toes and nose turn black

  • Pneumonic plague

    • Coughing up blood

    • Chest pains and trouble bleeding

    • Death in two days

Beliefs about the cause of the plague:

• People believed that the plague was God punishing the people for their sins

• Unusual movements of planets

• Miasma, an invisible poison of the air

• Out of balance four humours

Responses to the Plague:

• Tying live toads or chickens to the buboes to draw out the disease was a common treatment

• Blood letting to balance the humours was a common treatment

• Moving to the countryside in the hope of finding pure air

• Burning rosemary in homes to purify the air

• The church encouraged people to confess their sins and ask for forgiveness

• People shut themselves away in their homes

• Flagellants whipped themselves in the hope of forgiveness from God

• Some householders forced lodgers out on to the streets if they showed any signs of disease