The Black Death 1348-49 (9-1 GCSE)

Dealing with The Black Death 1348-1349

The black death was an outbreak of the bubonic plague. The bacteria were carried in the digestive system of fleas who arrived in England on rats carried by merhant ships. It usually killed it's victims within 3-5 days.

Causes of The Black Death

Religious and supernatural

• God deserting mankind, The Black Death was a punishment for the sin in the world.
• Unusual positioning of the planets e.g. In 1345, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn were in a position out of the ordinary which astrologers interpreted as a sign something wonderful or terrible was about to happen

Natural causes

• Miasma (Impure air)
• Breathing in the miasma caused corruption to the bodies humours
• The impure air may have origionated frtom poisonous fumes released by an earthquake or volcano.

Common Beliefs

• Many people blamed the Jewish population, but the jews had been expelled from England in the 13th century, so this was not the case.

Treatments of The Black Death

Supernatural

• Confess your sins and ask God for forgiveness through prayer
• Accept that it is clearly God's will and you are meant to have the illness and no cure will be successful

Natural treatments

• To begin with, physicians tried bleeding and purging…