Year 7 Christmas Holiday Homework: the Black Death and It Impact

Year 7 Christmas Holiday Homework: The Black Death and it Impact

The Black Death first appeared in China in 1330. Europe was buying silk and spices from China, meaning the disease moved along an established trade route. The disease reached Europe through Italy, eventually coming into England in 1348 through the south coast. The Black Death was carried by fleas. If fleas could not find a rat to live on, they would cling onto cloth instead. Italy was a major centre of trade in Europe, from which ships were sent carrying cloth. England imported a lot of this cloth, so by 1348 the Black Death had arrived. The ships that carried goods were also very dirty, meaning that some rats lived on the ships themselves, providing another way for the disease to spread.

Rats were a common sight in the Middle Ages. This is because there was no proper rubbish disposal or sewage system. People did not understand that disease was caused and spread by germs and so the streets were very dirty. This meant that there were a great number of rats, meaning that the disease could spread faster. Trade was also conducted in a very unhygienic way. For example, Butchers would throw animal carcasses into the streets. This meant that the rat population, and therefore the flea population, remained large enough for the disease to spread a few more miles every day. When an infected flea bit someone they would catch the Black Death (the bubonic plague). The symptoms of this would be unbelievably painful and unpleasant. These would include huge boils, called buboes, which would spread all over the body. Most of the people who caught the disease died after only three days. There was nothing that doctors at the time could do for them. The fact that the Black Death could be easily spread from person to person explains why so many people caught it in such a short space of time.

Historians disagree exactly how many people died as nobody was counting deaths in the same way that we do today. However, using the few records available, historians estimate that between one third (33%) and one half (50%) of people in England (and most parts of Europe) died from the disease during these two years. Peasants were particularly likely to catch and die from the Black Death because they worked the longest hours, lived in the dirtiest conditions and ate the poorest diets. The most vulnerable age group were children and the elderly. This is because they had the weakest immune systems to defend themselves against the plague with. This meant that even those lucky enough to survive often had to go through the pain of seeing their beloved sons and daughters die.

The rich nobility were in the best position out of everyone to be able to deal with the Black Death. Some methods aimed to prevent people from catching the disease. This means stopping people from catching the plague in the first place. Other methods focused on curing the disease. This meant helping people to get better after they had already caught the plague. Today the plague can be easily treated by simple antibiotics, but these were not invented until about 600 years after the Black Death.

The richest in society always had access to a more balanced diet made up of fresh ingredients such as fruit, vegetables and fish. These foods contained vitamins, proteins and other nutrients that would strengthen their immune systems. This meant that their bodies’ defences against catching diseases were stronger and more likely to keep diseases out and stop the person from catching it. Although people at the time didn’t fully understand that eating these foods was good for keeping disease away, it certainly would have helped richer people to stay healthy.

Rather than eating, doctors during the middle ages concentrated on giving more advice about what people smelt. They believed that the plague was spread by bad air (known as miasma) which had a terrible smell. They therefore advised their patients to keep bad smells away by making the space they lived in smell nice by using strong-smelling herbs such as rosemary, mint and thyme. Although nice smells are linked to cleanliness, the smells themselves would have had no effect at all. This is because the disease was spread by germs instead of the air itself. A common medicine recommended by doctors to people who had caught the plague was treacle. This is made from sugar (making it expensive in the middle ages). Doctors thought it had to be left for 10 years before it could cure the disease. This remedy actually makes some sense as disease-fighting mould would have grown in the syrup and matured over time. This might have been enough to help patients recover from some minor infections, but would not have been strong enough to help someone recover from the plague. Of all the things that helped the rich avoid the Black Death, it was probably living in castles that were most effective. Castles were cleaner than most homes and people could be easily kept out meaning that the rich could stay away from plague victims- massively reducing their chance of catching the disease.

Today people of many faiths live together: Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Jews and Buddhists. In Medieval times it was different. Almost everyone was Christian. The one exception was a small group of Jewish people. When these people caught the plague they suffered as much as the Christian did. However, they also suffered greatly because many Christians blamed them for the disease itself. This meant that many Jews were tortured and murdered during the Black Death.

For hundreds of years, the Church had encouraged people to mistreat the Jews. An example of this is how priests told their followers that Jews were responsible for Jesus being crucified. Because of this, the Church forced Jews to wear badges on their clothes as a punishment which showed everyone around them that they were Jewish. This meant that Christians around them who believed their priests could easily spot them and attack or insult them. Another reason that Jews were affected so badly was because even though people didn’t understand what had caused the Black Death they desperately wanted to find someone to blame. For example, in the early days of the Black Death some mysterious powder was found in the home of a Jewish woman. Although the powder was probably only an exotic spice this woman was tortured until she admitted that the powder was poison that she had put in a well to spread the sickness. She probably only admitted to this to make the torture stop. This confession finally meant that the Christians had a scapegoat, or someone to blame for the disease.

Finally, Christians and Jews had lived very separate lives. For example, cities across Europe forced Jews to live in their own areas of the city, called Ghettos. Because Jews and Christians weren’t able to be friends with each other rumours began to spread about the Jews. As people didn’t know the truth, these rumours got out of hand and soon many Christians believed that Jews were evil and wanted to do harm to Christians. Comprehension Questions (Complete in your book)

 Copy out each question in your book and write a brief answer underneath

1. How did the Black Death get to England?

2. What year did the Black Death arrive in England?

3. How did the Black Death get transferred to people?

4. What were the symptoms of the Black Death?

5. What could doctors do to treat the Black Death?

6. How many people died of the Black Death in England?

7. Who were the most likely people to die of the Black Death?

8. Why were the rich nobility more likely to survive?

9. What did most people in the Middle Ages believe caused the Black Death?

10. How successful was 10-year old treacle at fighting the Black Death?

11. What was most successful way to avoid the Black Death? 12. What religion were most people during the time of the Black Death?

13. What is a scapegoat?

14. Why were Jews blamed for the Black Death?

15. What is a ghetto?

Source Questions

 Answer using a PEEL paragraph for each Source. Write the PEEL in your book

Question 1

Read Source A and answer the question underneath

Source A: Taken from an Italian visiting England in 1360

Some did not shut themselves in, but went about, some carrying flowers in their hands, some fragrant herbs... which they frequently smelled, thinking it good to comfort the brain with such odours.

What does the writer of Source A say about what people believed caused the Black Death?

Question 2

Read Source B and answer the question underneath

Source B: From a History website in 2017 The effect was at its worst in cities, where overcrowding and primitive sanitation aided its spread. On November 1 the plague reached London, and up to 30,000 of the city's population of 70,000 inhabitants succumbed.

Why does Source B suggest that the effects of the Black Death were worst in cities?

Question 3

Read Source C and answer the question underneath

Source C: From the Statute of Labourers in 1351 (a law about workers)

Because so many workers have died in that pestilence (plague), some workers, knowing they are very valuable, are not willing to work unless they receive excessive [high] wages…Every man and woman of our kingdom of England must only take the wages that they used to receive before the Black Death. Nobody should earn more than two shillings.

What does Source C say peasants should get paid?

Extension: Write another paragraph saying why it says this