Symptoms & Types
This symptom was most associated with the Bubonic Plague.
Swollen lymph nodes (buboes)
These animals carried fleas that spread the plague.
Rats
Floors in poor homes were often covered with this filthy material.
Straw
These radical Christians whipped themselves during the Black Death.
Flagellants
This failed medieval treatment involved removing blood from the body.
Bloodletting
This form of plague spread through coughing and sneezing.
Pneumonic Plague
These trade networks helped spread the Black Death from Asia to Europe.
The Silk Road and sea trade routes
People believed this activity was unhealthy, so it was uncommon.
Bathing
The flagellants believed this would gain God’s forgiveness.
Self-punishment/self-whipping
Bloodletting was based on balancing these four parts of the body.
The four humours
This visible symptom identified Septicaemic Plague.
Black patches under the skin
This medieval belief claimed the plague was caused by “bad air.”
Miasma
These insects and animals were widespread in medieval towns and spread disease.
Lice, fleas, and rats
This minority group was wrongly blamed for causing the plague.
Jews
This was a short-term effect of the Black Death.
Mass burials and depopulation
Name two common symptoms of the Black Death.
Fever and chills
These poor living conditions made disease spread quickly in medieval towns.
Overcrowding and poor sanitation
Why did overcrowded towns help the plague spread faster?
People lived closely together in cramped conditions
This king protected many Jews who fled to Poland.
King Casimir III
This long-term effect weakened the feudal system.
Labour shortages and worker demands for higher wages
This bacterium caused the Black Death.
Yersinia pestis
Name three causes that helped spread the Black Death.
Trade routes, rats and fleas, and overcrowding
Name two ways medieval towns were unsanitary.
Sewage in the streets and rubbish everywhere
Why did the Church lose influence after the Black Death?
Priests failed to stop the plague and many refused burials
Name two long-term impacts of the Black Death on Europe.
Improved medical knowledge and reduced Church influence