The Black Death

The Black Death was a epidemic plague that hit Europe in the mid-14th century. It was spread primarily by rodents and fleas. Because cleanliness was not a common habit, rats were common is households. The plague started in Europe’s major trading cities and then moved on to the countryside. The disease’s symptoms large boils on the skin, then fever, chills, vomiting and aching. The spots would turn black then the person would die in about days normally right after. People were scared when the plague came to thier towns because it was so contagious. Doctors had been at a loss of how to treat people and dangerous practices like bloodletting were tried. Due to lack of understanding of germs most people did not understand how easily the plague spread. Some people thought that The Black Death was a judgment from God. While it did no good some people would publicly whip themselves. It raised the spirits of the people but it did nothing to stop the plague. The Black Plague killed tons of people and affected Europe greatly. The children’s nursery rhyme ” Ring Around The Rosie” is based off The Black Death. The first line: Ring Around the Rosie = The Red Spots that would appear if the person had the plague. The next line: Pocket full of posies = The smell of the dead was too much for people sometimes so they’d stuff thier pockets full of flowers. The third and final line: Ashes, ashes, we all fall down = The dead would pile up so fast that they couldn’t bury them all, so some bodies had to be burned.