Name _________________________ Date __________ P. _______
The Black Death
The “Black Death”, also known as the bubonic
plague, was one of the most devastating pandemics in
human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and
1350. The Black Death is thought to have started in
China or central Asia, before spreading west. It is
estimated to have killed 25 million people or 30% of the
population of China. The plague then travelled along
the Silk Road and reached Europe and killed 30-60% of
Europe’s population.
The Plague of Justinian in the 6th and 7th
centuries is the first known attack on record and marks the first recorded pattern of the bubonic
plague. Most descriptions say that 40-50 percent of the population of Constantinople died, and
half of Europe’s population was wiped out. It wasn’t until the 14th century that the Black Death
reemerged stronger than ever.
The plague is generally thought to be caused by Yersinia pestis commonly present in
fleas carried by rodents. These rodents were then moved throughout Asia and Europe through the
trade routes and cargo ships. At the height of the infection, trade and economies were crippled as
traveling grinded to a halt. Wherever it went, the plague left behind empty cities and bodies.
Victims would often find large buboes, or painful tumors, appear on their bodies which
oozed pus and bled. Some were as large as eggs or apples. The flesh on the fingers and toes
would turn black, peel, and die. This was followed by fever and vomiting of blood, capped off
with muscle spasms. Most people died within two to seven days after infection.
Victims would beg priests and village leaders to pray for and heal their sickness. They
could not understand why God would be punishing them in such a horrific way. In response
Europeans began blaming various groups like the Jews, friars, foreigners, beggars, and lepers as
the cause and religious fanaticism bloomed. As a result there were many attacks on Jewish
communities and thousands of Jews were murdered.
The Primary Source
Your Translation
“The violence of this disease was such that the
sick communicated it to the healthy who came
near them, just as a fire catches anything dry
or oily near it.
To speak to or go near the sick brought
infection and a common death to the living;
and moreover, to touch the clothes or anything
else the sick had touched or worn gave the
disease to the person touching.
One citizen avoided another, hardly any
neighbor troubled about others…such terror
was struck into the hearts of men and women
by this calamity, that brother abandoned
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.
In this suffering and misery of our city, the
authority of human and divine laws almost
disappeared, for like other men, the ministers
and the executors of the laws were all dead or
sick or shut up with their families, so that no
duties were carried out. Every man was
therefore able to do as he pleased.
Dead bodies filled every corner. Most of them
were treated in the same manner by the
survivors, who were more concerned to get rid
of their rotting bodies than moved by charity
towards the dead.
1. How did the speaker believe the disease was spread?
2. Why was every man able to do as he pleased?
3. What happened to the family dynamic during the plague?