DBQ Practice
Historical Background: The plague struck Europe in a series of waves beginning in the mid-fourteenth
century. It is estimated that the first wave killed about 25 million people, or one-third of the population of
Western Europe. Sporadic but deadly outbreaks continued throughout Europe into the eighteenth century.
Europeans at the time did not understand the cause of this bacterial infection, which was spread by fleas that
had been infected by their hosts, usually rats. When the rats died, the fleas moved on to infect other hosts,
including human beings. Once infected, a person suffered extreme pain and, within a few days, about 80
percent of those infected died. (AP 1995 Exam)
Document 1: Marchione di Coppo Stefani, The Florentine Chronicle
Marchione di Coppo Stefani was born in Florence in 1336. He wrote his Florentine Chronicle in the late
1370s and early 1380s. Stefani, Marchione di Coppo. Cronaca fiorentina. Rerum Italicarum Scriptores,
Vol. 30. , ed. Niccolo Rodolico. Citta di Castello: 1903-13.
Concerning A Mortality In The City Of Florence In Which Many People Died.
In the year of the Lord 1348 there was a very great pestilence in the city and district of Florence. It was of
such a fury and so tempestuous that in houses in which it took hold previously healthy servants who took
care of the ill died of the same illness. Almost none of the ill survived past the fourth day. Neither
physicians nor medicines were effective. Whether because these illnesses were previously unknown or
because physicians had not previously studied them, there seemed to be no cure. There was such a fear that
no one seemed to know what to do. When it took hold in a house it often happened that no one remained
who had not died. And it was not just that men and women died, but even sentient animals died. Dogs, cats,
chickens, oxen, donkeys sheep showed the same symptoms and died of the same disease. And almost none,
or very few, who showed these symptoms, were cured. The symptoms were the following: a bubo in the
groin, where the thigh meets the trunk; or a small swelling under the armpit; sudden fever; spitting blood
and saliva (and no one who spit blood survived it). It was such a frightful thing that when it got into a house,
as was said, no one remained. Frightened people abandoned the house and fled to another. Those in town
fled to villages. Physicians could not be found because they had died like the others. And those who could
be found wanted vast sums in hand before they entered the house. And when they did enter, they checked
the pulse with face turned away. They inspected the urine from a distance and with something odoriferous
under their nose. Child abandoned the father, husband the wife, wife the husband, one brother the other, one
sister the other. In all the city there was nothing to do but to carry the dead to a burial. And those who died
had neither confessor nor other sacraments. And many died with no one looking after them. And many died
of hunger because when someone took to bed sick, another in the house, terrified, said to him: "I'm going
for the doctor." Calmly walking out the door, the other left and did not return again. Abandoned by people,
without food, but accompanied by fever, they weakened. There were many who pleaded with their relatives
not to abandon them when night fell. But [the relatives] said to the sick person, "So that during the night you
did not have to awaken those who serve you and who work hard day and night, take some sweetmeats, wine
or water. They are here on the bedstead by your head; here are some blankets." And when the sick person
had fallen asleep, they left and did not return. If it happened that he was strengthened by the food during the
night he might be alive and strong enough to get to the window. If the street was not a major one, he might
stand there a half hour before anyone came by. And if someone did pass by, and if he was strong enough
that he could be heard when he called out to them, sometimes there might be a response and sometimes not,
but there was no help. No one, or few, wished to enter a house where anyone was sick, nor did they even
want to deal with those healthy people who came out of a sick person's house. And they said to them: "He is
stupefied, do not speak to him!" saying further: "He has it because there is a bubo in his house." They call
the swelling a bubo. Many died unseen. So they remained in their beds until they stank. And the neighbors,
if there were any, having smelled the stench, placed them in a shroud and sent them for burial. The house
remained open and yet there was no one daring enough to touch anything because it seemed that things
remained poisoned and that whoever used them picked up the illness.
At every church, or at most of them, they dug deep trenches, down to the waterline, wide and deep,
depending on how large the parish was. And those who were responsible for the dead carried them on their
backs in the night in which they died and threw them into the ditch, or else they paid a high price to those
who would do it for them. The next morning, if there were many [bodies] in the trench, they covered them
over with dirt. And then more bodies were put on top of them, with a little more dirt over those; they put
layer on layer just like one puts layers of cheese in a lasagna. . .
Document 2: I Saw the Black Death
"Then the grievous plague penetrated the seacoasts from Southampton, and came to Bristol, and there almost
the whole strength of the town died, struck as it were by sudden death. There died at Leicester in the small
parish of St. Leonard more than 380, in the parish of Holy Cross more than 400; in the parish of S. Margaret of
Leicester more than 700; and so in each parish a great number. Then the bishop of Lincoln gave general power
to all and every priest to hear confessions, and absolve with full and entire authority except in matters of debt, in
which case the dying man, if he could, should pay the debt while he lived, or others should certainly fulfill that
duty from his property after his death. In the same year there was a great plague of sheep everywhere in the
realm so that in one place there died in one pasturage more than 5,000 sheep, and so rotted that neither beast nor
bird would touch them. And there were small prices for everything on account of the fear of death. For there
were very few who cared about riches or anything else.... Sheep and cattle went wandering over fields and
through crops, and there was no one to go and drive or gather them for there was such a lack of servants that no
one knew what he ought to do. Wherefore many crops perished in the fields for want of someone to gather
them. The Scots, hearing of the cruel pestilence of the English, believed it had come to them from the avenging
hand of God, and--as it was commonly reported in England--took their oath when they wanted to swear, "By the
foul death of England."
Meanwhile the king sent proclamation that reapers and other laborers should not take more than they had been
accustomed to take (in pay). But the labourers were so lifted up and obstinate that they would not listen to the
king's command, but if anyone wished to have them he had to give them what they wanted, and either lose his
fruit and crops, or satisfy the wishes of the workmen.
After the pestilence, many buildings, great and small, fell into ruins in every city for lack of inhabitants,
likewise many villages and hamlets became desolate, not a house being left in them, all having died who dwelt
there; and it was probable that many such villages would never be inhabited. In the winter following there was
such a want of servants in work of all kinds, that one would scarcely believe that in times past there had been
such a lack. And so all necessities became so much dearer."
From History of England by Henry Knighton, in Source Book of English History, by E.K. Kendall.
Document 3 - THE BLACK DEATH
Boccaccio's Account of The Plague in Florence - 1347
"Despite all that human wisdom and forethought could devise to avert it, as the cleansing of the city from
many impurities ..., [and] the refusal of entrance to all sick folk, ... and despite also humble supplications
addressed to God ..., towards the beginning of spring ... the doleful effects of the pestilence began to be
horribly apparent by symptoms that shewed as if miraculous.
"[The] maladies seemed to set entirely at naught both the art of the physician and the virtues of the physic;
indeed, ... besides the qualified there was now a multitude of both men and women who practised without
having received the slightest tincture of medical science; in either case ... almost all … died, and in most
cases without any fever or attendant malady.....
"Divers apprehensions and imaginations were engendered in the minds of such as were left alive; inclining
almost all of them to ... shun and abhor all contact with the sick and all that belonged to them.... [T]here
were those who thought that to live temperately and avoid all excess would count for much as a preservative
against seizures of this kind. Wherefore, they banded together, and, disassociating themselves from all
others, formed communities in houses where there were no sick, and lived a separate and secluded life,
which they regulated with much care.... Others ... maintained that to drink freely, to frequent places of
public resort, and to take their pleasure with song and revel ... was the sovereign remedy for so great an evil;
and that which they affirmed they put into practice ..., resorting day and night now to this tavern, now to
that, drinking with an entire disregard of rule or measure, and ... making the houses of others ... their inns....
[T]he owners, seeing death imminent, became as reckless of their property as of their lives, so that most of
the houses were open to all comers....
"In this extremity of our city’s sufferings and tribulation the venerable authority of laws, human and divine,
was abused and all but totally dissolved, for lack of those who should have administered and enforced them,
most of whom, like the rest of the citizens, were either dead or sick or so hard beset of servants that they
were unable to execute any office....
"Not a few ... kept a middle course.... [walking] abroad, carrying in their hands flowers or fragrant herbs or
... spices, which they frequently raised to their noses ... because the air seemed to be everywhere laden and
reeking with the stench emitted by the dead and dying, and the odour of drugs. Some again, the most sound,
perhaps, in judgement, ... negligent of all but themselves, deserted their city, their houses, their estates, their
kinfolk, their goods, and went into voluntary exile, or migrated to the country, as if God ... would not pursue
them with His wrath wherever they might be....
"Tedious were it to recount how citizen avoided citizen, how among neighbours was scarce found any that
showed fellow-feeling, how ... brother was forsaken by brother, nephew by uncle, brother by sister and,
oftentimes, husband by wife; nay what is more and scarcely to be believed, fathers and mothers were found
to abandon their own children ... as if they had been strangers.
"Many died daily or nightly in the public streets. [O]f many others, who died at home, the departure was
hardly observed by their neighbours, until the stench of their putrefying bodies carried the tidings; and what
with their corpses and the corpses of others who died on every hand the whole place was a sepulchre. It was
the common practice of most of the neighbours, moved no less by fear of contamination ... than by charity
towards the deceased, to drag the corpses out of the houses with their own hands, ... and to lay them round
in front of the doors, where any one that made the round might have seen, especially in the morning, more
of them than he could count. [A]fterwards they would have biers brought up or, in default, planks whereon
they laid them ... one bier sufficing for husband and wife, two or three brothers, father and son, and so
forth.... Nor, for all their numbers, were [they] honoured by either tears, or lights, or crowds of mourners....
".... For each graveyard, as soon as it was full, [they dug] a huge trench in which they laid the corpses as
they arrived by hundreds at a time, piling them up as merchandise is stowed in the hold of a ship...."
Document 4: How Many Of The Dead Died Because Of The Mortality Of The Year Of Christ 1348
Now it was ordered by the bishop and the Lords [of the city government]that they should formally inquire as
to how many died in Florence. When it was seen at the beginning of October that no more persons were
dying of the pestilence, they found that among males, females, children and adults, 96,000 died between
March and October.
Document 5: How They Passed Ordinances Concerning Many Things In Florence
In the said year, when the mortality stopped, women and men in Florence were unmindful of [traditional
modesty concerning] their dress. And ordinances were passed concerning this giving authority to the Judge
of the Grascia to enforce these ordinances. The tailors made such boundless demands for payment that they
could not be satisfied. Authority was granted [to the judge] that he should handle all matters himself.
Servants were so unhappy about the very high prices [they paid] that it was necessary to make great efforts
to restrain [the price rises]. The workers on the land in the countryside wanted rent contracts such that you
could say that all they harvested would be theirs. And they learned to demand oxen from the landlord but at
the landlord's risk [and liability for any harm done to the animal]. And then they helped others for pay by
the job or by the day. And they also learned to deny [liability for] loans and [rental] payments. Concerning
this serious ordinances were instituted; and [hiring] laborers became much more expensive. You could say
that the farms were theirs; and they wanted the oxen, seed, loans quickly and on good terms. It was
necessary to put a brake on weddings as well because when they gathered for the betrothal each party
brought too many people in order to increase the pomp. And thus the wedding was made up of so many
trappings. How many days were necessary and how many women took part in a woman's wedding. And
they passed many other ordinances concerning [these issues].
Document 6:
Document 7
Nicolas Versoris, French author, Book of Reason, 1523
Since the rich fled, death was principally directed towards the poor so that only a few of the Paris porters
and wage-earners, who had lived there in large numbers before the misfortune, were left.
Document 8 -S. Pepys
"It struck me very deep this afternoon going with a hackney coach from my Lord Treasurer's down
Holborne, the coachman I found to drive easily and easily, at last stood still, and came down hardly able to
stand, and told me that he was suddenly stuck very sick, and almost blind, he could not see. So I 'light and
went into another coach with a sad heart for the poor man and trouble for myself lest he should have been
struck with the plague, being at the end of town that I took him up; But god have mercy upon us all!"
Document 9 -Unknown
"Realizing what a deadly disaster had come to them the people quickly drove the Italians from their city.
However, the disease remained, and soon death was every where. Fathers abandoned their sick sons.
Lawyers refused to come and make out wills for the dying. Friars and nuns were left to care for the sick, and
monasteries and convents were soon deserted, as they were stricken, too. Bodies were left in empty houses,
and there was no one to give them a Christian burial."
Document 10 Johann Weyer, German physician, The Deceptions of Demons, 1583
About 40 people at Casale in Western Lombardy smeared the bolts of the town gates with an ointment to
spread the plague. Those who touched the gates were infected and many died. The heirs of the dead and
diseased had actually paid people at Casale to smear the gates in order to obtain their inheritances more
quickly.
Document 11 A Description of the Plague Michael Platiensis (1357),
. . . Not only all those who had speech with them died, but also those who had touched or used any of their
things. When the inhabitants of Messina discovered that this sudden death emanated from the Genoese ships
they hurriedly ordered them out of the harbor and town. But the evil remained and caused a fearful outbreak
of death. Soon men hated each other so much that if a son was attacked by the disease his father would not
tend him. If, in spite of all, he dared to approach him, he was immediately infected and was bound to die
within three days. Nor was this all; all those dwelling in the same house with him, even the cats and other
domestic animals, followed him in death. As the number of deaths increased in Messina many desired to
confess their sins to the priests and to draw up their last will and testament. But ecclesiastics, lawyers and
notaries refused to enter the houses of the diseased.
Soon the corpses were lying forsaken in the houses. No ecclesiastic, no son, no father and no relation dared
to enter, but they hired servants with high wages to bury the dead. The houses of the deceased remained
open with all their valuables, gold and jewels. . . . When the catastrophe had reached its climax the
Messinians resolved to emigrate. One portion of them settled in the vineyards and fields, but a larger portion
sought refuge in the town of Catania. The disease clung to the fugitives and accompanied them everywhere
where they turned in search of help. Many of the fleeing fell down by the roadside and dragged themselves
into the fields and bushes to expire. Those who reached Catania breathed their last in the hospitals there.
The terrified citizens would not permit the burying of fugitives from Messina within the town, and so they
were all thrown into deep trenches outside the walls.
Document 12 ("Doctor Beak of Rome"), engraving by Paul Fürst, 1656.
Choose one of the documents
Who created the document? What does this document say about the author? Describe the author or artist as
completely as possible. Base your description on the contents of the document
Where and when was the source produced? What event(s) and/or era(s) provide the backdrop and context
for the document?
What do you already know that would further your understanding of the source?
For whom was the source created?
Why was the source produced at the time it was produced? What does the speaker hope to accomplish?
What is the source trying to convey?
Why is this source important? What does it say about the era in which it was created?
Summarize the narrator's or artists description of the spread and effect of the disease
Based on the document, how did people respond to the disease and try to protect themselves from it?
Based on the document, explain who benefited financially from the ravages of the plague and how.
DBQ Question
Analyze how the Black Death disrupted the status quo of the economy and society of early modern Europe.
Discuss how various groups may have benefitted from the spread of the Plague through Europe. Use at
least six documents for your arguments.
Document Based Question Essay Assessment Rubric
This is the rubric used by the College Board
DBQs are scored on a scale of 1 to 9 using the following rubric:
BASIC CORE:
(A) Has acceptable thesis that directly addresses the question
(B) Uses a majority of documents
(C) Addresses all parts of the question
(D) Demonstrates understanding of the documents by using them to support an argument (may misinterpret
no more than one document)
(E) Analyzes bias or point of view in at least three documents
(F) Analyzes documents by grouping them in at least three ways
The student will earn 1 point for successfully completing each of the above tasks. The student must earn all
six points in order to advance to the Expanded Core. Failure to earn a total of six points in the Basic Core
will leave the student with a score reflective of the number of tasks which were successfully accomplished.
EXPANDED CORE:
Students may earn 1, 2 or 3 points for successfully demonstrating any, all or some of the following points:
(G) Has clear, analytical, and comprehensive thesis
(H) Uses all or almost all documents
(I) Addresses all parts of the question thoroughly
(J) Uses documents persuasively as evidence
(K) Shows careful and insightful (nuanced) analysis of the documents
(L) Analyzes bias or point of view in at least four documents cited in the essay
(M) Analyzes the documents in additional ways (e.g., additional groupings).
(N) Brings in relevant outside historical information
Some things to remember:
- Be sure to underline key words in the question prompt to help focus on what you are looking for
- Look for POV immediately as well as the validity of the various documents; try to anticipate what kinds of
POV to look for by the question prompt
- The College board has been pushing the concept of Change Over Time, see if it exists - Some common
errors (please do not repeat):
 Simply summarizing each document
 Failing to determining significance of a given document
 Taking documents as simply fact instead of interpretations, opinions and such
 Do not write in third person by using personal pronouns, making self-references to paper, etc
 Create a laundry list and just list document after document with no analysis
 Spend more time on the hook then on the thesis (hooks should not be more than one sentence)
 Include wrong facts in the paper

Include no attribution (i.e. Guemmer states that)
Purpose: Currently DBQs are scored using Core Scoring. The major difference is that well-written essays
that may read well on a holistic basis may not receive full credit. Structure your response accordingly.
Scoring: This means that essays will be scored using two parts, Basic Core and Expanded Core.
AP
Basic
Point
1. Has an acceptable and explicit thesis that directly answers the question. Thesis MAY NOT
just restate the question.
 Not a simple rewording of the question or historical background.
2. Uses a majority of the documents individually and specifically by referring to anything
within the document box.
 It is not ok simply to write “in doc. 10 . . . “
 A majority is at least 1 more than half of the documents.
3. Demonstrates understanding of the basic meaning of a majority of the documents (may
misinterpret no more than one document)

May misinterpret the content of no more than one (1) document; a major misrepresentation is
one that leads to an inaccurate grouping or a false conclusion.
4. Supports the thesis with appropriate interpretations of a majority of the documents.

Documents must be used to support an argument, not just a laundry list of the docs.
5. Analyzes bias or point-of-view in at least three (3) documents.

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Relates authorial point-of-view to author’s place politically and/or by nationality OR
Evaluates the reliability of the source OR
Recognizes the different kinds of documents serve different purposes OR
Analyzes tone or intent of documents OR
Analyzes Point-of-view in one document and gives consistent attribution.
6. Analyzes documents by explicitly grouping them in at least three appropriate (3) groups.
 A group consists of 2 or more doc’s
 Groups must be related to the question—can’t be “random” groupings
Expanded (1 – 3 points added to a total of 9 points)
 Must earn all six (6) points in the basic core before earning points in the expanded core.
 Additional points are earned for excellence in ONE, or All of the following:

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


A clear, analytical, comprehensive thesis
Persuasive use of documents as evidence
Additional groupings or other forms of analysis
Analysis of POV or bias in at least four (4) documents
Relevant outside historical content woven into analysis of documents
Use of all or almost all documents
Careful and insightful analysis of the documents
Grading
Each AP point = 5.5 Grading points
6 AP points = 33 Grading points = 66%