The Later Middle Ages

The Black Death, The Hundred Years War, and the Great Schism

The Black Death (1347)

• Historians think that the plague arrived in England during the summer of 1348. During the following autumn it spread quickly through the south west. Few villages escaped. Churchyards were full with bodies.

• The plague spread quickly during the winter of 1348-1349 to the north of England. By 1350, nearly the whole of Britain was infected with the plague.

Who was the culprit?

• Bubonic plague was carried by fleas on Asian black rats and brought to Europe on ships returning from Asia

• Why were ships coming from Asia during this time?

Symptoms of the Plague

Causes

• Overcrowding• Poor Sanitation• Food Supply• Poor Hygiene

Overcrowding

• Overcrowding in cities and homes facilitated the spread of the disease

• Many aristocratic families slept in one room and many prosperous peasant families slept in one bed for warmth; less prosperous peasants were even worse off

• Why would overcrowding help with the spread of the disease?

Sanitation

• Poor sanitation in cities: garbage-filled streets, human excrement, and dead animals

Food Supply

• Widespread malnutrition prior to the plague led to poor health (e.g. lower immune systems) that made people more susceptible to the disease

• 25% harvests in early 14th century were poor as torrential rains destroyed wheat, oats, and hay crops; some instances of cannibalism occurred

Water Supply

• Poor hygiene also played a significant role

• Many people believed (correctly) that their water was contaminated and feared taking baths

Cures?

• The swellings should be softened with figs and cooked onions. The onions should be mixed with yeast and butter. Then open the swellings with a knife

• Take a live frog and put its belly on the plague sore. The frog will swell up and burst. Keep doing this with further frogs until they stop bursting. Some people say that a dried toad will do the job better

• How useful do you think these medieval cures actually were? What do these ideas explain knowledge of the disease during this time?

Results• Loss of 1/3 of European population (mostly in cities) • Economy in towns suffered significantly (while the

countryside was less affected by the plague • In some areas workers enjoyed higher wages as the supply

of workers was depleted • Best of the clergy died (staying behind to help the sick) • Jews were often blamed for the plague and thus persecuted • Literature and art reflected pessimism• Population did not reach pre-plague level until the mid-16th

century

Art

• Dance of Death by Micheal Wolgemut (1493)

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