The Black Death

“Thanks for the

ride!”

Also Known As…Black Plague

• It was the bubonic plague (named for big black buboes, or swellings, that appeared on victims’ bodies)

• They did not know what caused it

•VERY Contagious

The greatest catastrophe or disaster in the history of the world. It was silent and

invisible. In the Mid-14th Century fleas on rats spread it throughout Europe.

What were the symptoms of the plague?

What caused the plague?

The question that you are probably thinking is...

Who or what caused the Black Death?

The Oriental Rat Flea!

This is your answer!!!

How was the plague transmitted?

We now know that the most common form of the Black Death was the BUBONIC PLAGUE! This disease was spread by fleas which lived on the black rat. The fleas sucked the rat’s blood which contained the plague germs. When the rat died the fleas jumped on to humans and passed on the deadly disease.

Flea drinks rat blood that carries the

bacteria.

Bacteria multiply in flea’s gut.

Flea gut clogged with bacteria.

Flea bites human regurgitates blood into open wound.

Human is Infected with the Plague!

How the Plague was spread

The Mortality

Rate

35% - 70% of each

infected area

(town or country)

died

25,000,000 dead !!!

EFFECTS•Crippled economies of Europe

(many workers died, took a long time to recover)

•Art. Many paintings of the time period center around death and disease

•Children. Song

Medieval Art & the PlagueMedieval Art & the Plague

Medieval Art & the PlagueMedieval Art & the Plague