ESSAY GUIDE- BODY PARAGRAPHS
PARAGRAPH 1:
This paragraph is
about how
because of the
black plague
many mediaeval
people lost faith in
the church.
One major impact of the Black Plague was that it…
Before the eruption of the Bubonic Plague many people
were….
However, this shifted after the plague began spreading
as ………………
Tertiary Source, ‘The History Channel’ states that,
“USE EVIDENCE FROM THE BANK BELOW..”
This reveals that……………………….
This change was really significant because……………..
EVIDENCE BANK:
“Religious leaders failed their flock as many priests refused to deliver the last rights to the
dying. For many mediaeval people the prospect of dying without this was worse than death
itself, many priests also died.“
“Death rates were so high that many lost faith, as it was rocked. Many of the teachings they
received from the church did not seem applicable or gave them comfort as everyone was
dying.”
“Cultural and religious explorations, a shattered feudal system, the eradication of serfdom and
a new sophisticated economic system, all outcomes of the plague pandemic, contributed to
Europe’s arrival into the Renaissance.”
PARAGRAPH 2:
This paragraph is
about how
because the black
plague was so
deadly and
confronting, many
lost their morals
as their survival
instincts kicked in.
The Black Death led many mediaeval people to
abandon their…………………and ………………………..
Because…..
One example of this was the rise of the Flagellant
Movement where men would ……………because they
felt that …
Tertiary Source, ‘The Plague Documentary’ explains
how, “........................................................................”
This reveals how during these times of crisis people
chose to……
This is a tragic impact that shows the true nature of …
EVIDENCE BANK:
“Some turned into religious zealots who sought penance for their sins by reenacting Jesus’s
suffering. In the streets, they marched, whipping themselves and nailing each other to
crosses.”
“Flagellants attacked and murdered Jewish communities, as they saw them as an affront to
Christianity and used them as a scapegoat. They blamed them for bringing a curse, poisoning
wells and rivers and corrupting the air.”
“They tortured Jewish people for hours and forced them to confess guilt to these charges.
This spread the word that the Jews were responsible for the plague, leading to a widespread
slaughter where they were burnt alive and butchered.”
“This scourge had implanted so great a terror in the hearts of men and women that brothers
abandoned brothers, uncles their nephews, sisters their brothers, and in many cases wives
deserted their husbands. But even worse, and almost incredible, was the fact that fathers and
mothers refused to nurse and assist their own children, as though they did not belong to them”
PARAGRAPH 3:
For this paragraph, you
can choose what topic
you would like to write
about.
You can choose:
T- What was the impact of the Black Death? How did
it happen?
E- What is the source? What does it say? Footnote?
● How The Black
Plague led to new E-What does the source reveal about how people
medical knowledge were affected?
and practice.
OR
L- How did this change people’s lives/ the world?
● How social
structures
changed, with the
collapse of
feudalism.
OR
● How the economy
developed without
the large lower
class.
All evidence came from: Secondary source, Historical Essay, “The Black Death,
an Unforeseen Exchange” by Camryn Frank
EVIDENCE- MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE
“While medical practice was still outlawed for those not affiliated with the Church, more people
turned to independent practitioners, allowing exploration into treatments extending beyond
Church doctrine.”
“Additionally, early forms of quarantine were developed; infected ships were required to wait
in the harbor and those who were sick were not allowed to enter cities.”
“In this setting of confusion, death, and disillusionment, Guy De Chauliac, the Pope’s
physician recorded a carefully abstracted, epidemiologic summary of the plague, emphasizing
both its clinical features and its social impacts. This became a cornerstone reference for
medical practice in the years to come.”
EVIDENCE- SOCIAL STRUCTURES
“In the century leading up to the pandemic, the cost for land rose consistently. Later, after
many landowners died, land was abundant and prices dropped drastically. These lower prices
allowed more people to purchase land that was previously unaffordable, which resulted in
more social mobility.”
“Peasant uprisings continued during the fourteenth century throughout Europe.The peasant
rebellions started as small whispers of discontent, gaining scope 50 quickly, leading to
increased wages and expanded rights.”
“Lacking an assured labor supply, many previously self­-sufficient manors collapsed,
increasing the need for merchants and causing re-urbanization as cities could provide for their
inhabitants without requiring serfdom.”
EVIDENCE-ECONOMY
“The first economic change was the shift in the value of land and goods. Many workers died,
creating difficulties for landowners to produce goods. Obtaining goods through trade also
proved to be difficult because exchange decreased in fear of encountering the disease. Both
caused an inflation in prices for goods.”
“With the demise of the manorial system, Europe began to develop mercantilism, an
economic system where exports increase a nation's wealth. Mercantilism was the precursor to
what we know as Capitalism.”
“The labour market squeeze created a problem for the wool industry, which required a lot of
manual work to clean cloth in a process known as fulling. “It took a week to full a cloth by
hand, with blokes hitting it with hammers,” “You
Enter the breakthrough of the fulling mill, which used water power from rivers. “And they could
do it in a few hours with a machine.”