What was the black death?

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The bubonic plague, more commonly known by the name “The Black Death” or “The Black Plague,” was one of the worst pandemics in recorded history. It peaked in Europe during the Middle Ages (between 1348 and 1350) but it didn’t start there or end there.

There were actually three types of plagues afflicting Europeans during the Black Death. Although they attacked the lungs and shared some common symptoms ? swelling lymph nodes in the neck, groin, and armpits that bled and oozed pus, and freckle-like rashes – there were some differences. The bubonic plague, the most common type afflicting people was known to cause fever, headaches, nausea, vomiting, and joint pain. The pneumonic plague had a mortality rate of 90%. People developed a fever, a cough, and had blood-tinged sputum which became free-flowing as the infection got worse. The septicemic plague, the rarest, had a 100% mortality rate. It caused fevers and purple skin patches. No matter the type of plague, most people died within eight days of contracting the disease.

For many years, scientists assumed that the plague originated in China or Central Asia, and spread to fleas. These fleas then attached themselves to black rats that stowed themselves away on ships. Once the ships landed, the fleas would have a chance to begin biting and infecting any person, spreading the disease that way. This is supported by the fact that the plague seemed to start in port cities and follow trade routes.

It’s believed the Black Death first reached Europe around 1346. From there, it spread to Western Europe and Africa. Europe was already in dire straights – from 1315 to 1317 the Great Famine had hit the country, causing millions of deaths. In the aftermath, the economy was suffering. A typhoid epidemic also emerged as did a pestilence that might have been anthrax in 1318, which targeted sheep and cattle.

Scholars point to either Bristol or Dorset, England, as the first plague hot spot. Wherever it started, it hit during the summer of 1348. Large cities were the places most devastated – the cramped, squalid conditions made it remarkably easy for the disease to spread. In London alone, 30,000 people died, halving the population. For the next two years, the disease continued spreading.

There was little doctors could do to stop the plague, especially with medieval medicine being what it was. When a doctor examined a patient and determined that they had the plague, their house would be marked with a red ‘X’ to warn people away and anyone living in the house – healthy or not – would be locked in to keep them from spreading the disease. “Dead-carts” would be pushed through the city and people would yell “Bring out your dead!” so the bodies could be taken away to be buried.

The death toll is truly staggering. Although there are very few concrete numbers, scholars estimate that between 30 and 60% of Europe’s population died during the outbreak, meaning between 25 and 50 million people. The worldwide death toll is believed to be around 75 million people.

By 1350, the pandemic had ended although the disease did not totally disappear. In fact, it would hit England six more times by the end of the 1300s. The Black Death also had a devastating effect on the country though it is credited with helping to bring about the end of feudalism. With so few people available to work the land, wages and prices rose. Laborers were suddenly a valuable commodity and they were treated as such. The economy itself changed to reflect this as many more peasants were able to find work and moved into cities. It also had an effect on the church’s power – as many as 40% of England’s priests died from the plague and less qualified people took their place, which resulted in a decline in the church’s influence.

• The Black Death
• Onset Of The Black Death
• Brief Overview Of The Plague
• Middle Ages - The Black Death
• Black Death Lecture
• Social and Economic Effects of the Plague
• The Plague And The Health Renaissance
• The Black Plague History And Images
• How The Black Death Got Its Name
• The Plague And Other Countries
• Church's Involvement In The Plague
• Medicine In The Middle Ages
• Impact On Venice
• Plague Pandemic
• Plague Timeline
• Later Pandemics
• Effect On The Economy
• Black Death Resources
• The Famine And The Black Death
• The Plague And The Decline Of Feudal Europe
• Estimated Death Toll
• Arrival Of The Plague
• The Great Plague
• The Bubonic Plague

England was not the only country to suffer through the Black Death, but it was the country that seemed the most devastated by its end.

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Get more facts and information about Black Death from The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English at Encyclopedia.com.