Julia Burke

SLM-521

Web Dropin #3

July 2, 2009

The Plague

(Retrieved from http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/medieval/history/highmiddle/plague.htm )

The Plague of Fourteenth Century (1300s) Europe had many names: the Black Death; the Black Plague; the Great Mortality; and the Pestilence—to name but a few. In this activity we will investigate the causes of this horrible disease and its impact on Medieval Europe and ultimately the course of European history.

Part One: Read the following web pages and answer the questions below.

Middle Ages—The Black Death/Bubonic Plague (http://medievaleurope.mrdonn.org/plague.html)

The Black Death: Bubonic Plague (http://www.themiddleages.net/plague.html)

Spreading of the Black Death (http://www.themiddleages.net/life/blackdeath.html)

1. What was the plague?

a. What were the symptoms?

b. What was the progression of the disease? (What happened to people who got it?)

c. What were the different forms of the disease?

2. What caused the disease?

a. What did medieval people believe?

b. What does 21^st century science tell us?

c. How did it spread?

3. Go to the web page http://www.themiddleages.net/plague.html, scroll down to “Black Death—Disaster Strikes” and using some graph paper and the population statistics, draw and label a line graph representing the changing population of Europe during the years AD 1000 through AD 1352.

Part Two: Geography—Using the map provided, answer the following questions concerning the spread of the Plague throughout the European continent.

(Retrieved from: http://web.presby.edu/~rrheiser/lectures/17lma.htm)

1. What information is included on this map?

2. Where did the plague originate?

3. What do the black arrows represent?

4. Based on your previous answer, explain how the plague travelled across Europe.

5. How long did it take for this outbreak to spread across the continent?

6. What do your answers to questions #3, 4, and 5 tell you about transportation in medieval Europe?

Part Three: Effects of the Black Death on European Society

Using the information contained in Parts One and Two of this activity, write an essay describing the effects of this outbreak of the plague on European society—how did people react and why? Make sure to explain your examples.

Part Four: Think about it . . .

The experiences of people in the past seem very foreign and removed from our own experiences today but can you think of any modern day examples of similarities between our time and theirs? Explain.

Woodcut of a plague doctor

(Retrieved from: http://www.themiddleages.net/plague.html)