The Black Death
Document 1
Spread of the Black Plague in Europe
1) Where does the plague appear to have started?
2) What areas were not (or minimally) affected?
3) What does the map indicate about how quickly it spread?
Document 2
Area
England/Wales
Scotland
Ireland
France
Holy Roman Empire
Spain
Italy
Total
Pre-Plague
Population
3.7 Million
500,000
800,000
13 million
17 million
7 million
10 million
53.2 million
Post-Plague
Population
2.5 Million
400,000
600,000
8.2 million
12.5 million
5 million
7 million
37 million
1) How does this add to information in the previous document?
Population Decline
32%
20%
25%
37%
26%
29%
30%
30%
Document 3
1) What emotions do you think this painting is meant to evoke?
2) What is meant by the skeleton pulling on his sleeve?
3) What status might this person be?
4) Why does he have his belongings on his back?
Document 4
'Then the dreadful pestilence made its way along the coast by Southampton and
reached Bristol, where almost the whole strength of the town perished, as it was
surprised by sudden death; for few kept their beds more than two or three days, or
even half a day.' - Henry Knighton, Chronicon
1) What is the author implying about the impact on communities in England?
Document 5
1) What are the skeletons doing?
2) Why do you think they are acting this way?
3) What does this say about the beliefs of death at the time?
Document 6
One citizen avoided another, hardly any neighbour troubled about others, relatives never or
hardly ever visited each other. Moreover, such terror was struck into the hearts of men and
women by this calamity, that brother abandoned brother, and the uncle his nephew, and the
sister her brother, and very often the wife her husband. What is even worse and nearly
incredible is that fathers and mothers refused to see and tend their children, as if they had not
been theirs.
1) How did the plague tear apart families and neighborhoods?
2) What impact would this have on societies?