The Plague
Reactions
The Church
Medieval Health
Changes
100
What insect carried the Plague across Europe?
Fleas
100
What does the word 'scapegoat' mean?
Blaming someone (or a group) for a problem they did not cause.
100
What was the general reason given by the Church for all sickness?
God's punishment (He is unhappy with your behavior)
100
What does the word 'sterile' mean?
Clean or pure (no bacteria)
100
What is the name of the era that followed the Middle Ages?
The Renaissance
200
What mammal did the fleas often travel upon from place to place?
Rats
200
What group was scapegoated by Christians during the Plague?
The Jews
200
What practice (that is common today) did the Church forbid, thus making it hard for Medieval scientists to study the human body?
Autopsy (cutting open bodies for scientific research)
200
Why didn't Medieval doctors 'sterilize' their equipment?
They didn't know about germs and bacteria.
200
What does 'renaissance' mean?
Rebirth, new beginning, etc.
300
How dis the rats get from place to place, causing the Plague to spread so far so quickly?
Ships and trade routes. They traveled with merchants brining products from place to place across seas and roads.
300
What were the two 'contrasting' reactions that we read about in Boccaccio's text?
People either hid away and tried to live 'holy' and simple lives, or they partied every day like it was their last.
300
What was the role of Monks and monasteries in Medieval medicine?
Monasteries had simple hospitals attached to them, and monks performed medical services for the poor. Monks were generally the most educated people around and were often the best doctors, too.
300
What are three things that Medieval doctors believed caused sickness?
Humours, bad smells, bad luck, evil spirits, bad behavior, God, etc.
300
Name three things that were 'reborn' during the Renaissance?
Science, philosophy, art, literacy, education, humanism, etc.
400
About what percent of Europe's population died?
One-third
400
Explain how fear led people to behave selfishly.
Fear of getting sick caused people to leave their families and friends to die alone.
400
What basic Christian practice (tradition) broke down because of the number of dead bodies piling up during the Plague?
Proper burial (one at a time with funeral services)
400
What did bleeding, trepanation, and the cure for a sore tooth all have in common?
They all focused on trying to release something 'bad' from the sick body.
400
What did the Black Death change about how people saw the Catholic Church?
They stopped relying so completely on the Church for information. They questioned the Church's answers and ideas more. They relied on themselves more to find answers and solve problems.
500
Why was the Plague called the 'Bubonic' plague?
One of the symptoms was large boils (like big blisters) called 'buboes' that were very painful.
500
Who were the 'flagellants,' and why did they do what they did?
They are a group that travelled around whipping themselves because they thought that God was punishing everyone with the Plague. So they were attempting to punish themselves by whipping themselves instead.
500
Name something that helped lead people to question the idea that the Plague was God's punishment?
1. Good people died (including Priests and monks) 2. Bad people survived 3. Priests stopped going to see the sick because they were scared to die 4. 'Solutions' like praying and holy water did not work 5. Etc.
500
Describe one basic flaw (mistake) in the logic behind how Medieval people decided if a 'cure' worked or not.
1. They assumed that if a person got better, it MUST be because of the treatment (even if the treatment had nothing to do with it) 2. They did not allow for the idea that the cure DID NOT work. It either worked or it was the person's fault.
500
Why (and how) did the deaths of millions of poor workers lead to a major change in the ability of poor people to have some control and influence over their own lives?
Fewer workers meant that each worker had more value. Lords had to treat their workers better, or those workers might find somewhere else to go. Since there was a lot of work to be done (and fewer people to do it), workers were able to pick and choose jobs based on their own needs. This led to workers having more power, control, and value.
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