Plague 101
The plague came to Europe during this century
What is the 14th century?
Of the three types of plague, this one is attributed to the plague pandemic in Europe.
What is the bubonic plague?
These insects carried the bacteria that caused the plague
What are fleas
This alcoholic drink, made from barley, became more affordable after the plague.
What is beer?
The plague became known by this name, referring to the tissue death caused by the disease.
What is the Black Death?
This bacterium was responsible for causing the plague
What is Yersinia pestis?
This contaminated crop likely brought the plague to Europe.
What is grain?
This ethnoreligious group was falsely blamed for the plague in Europe
Some historians estimate that the plague killed up to this percentage of Europe’s population
What is 60 percent?
The swollen lymph nodes (buboes) caused by the plague could get as large as this fruit
What is an apple?
The plague travelled from Asia to Europe along this waterway
What is the Black Sea
The government of this Italian city set up a quarantine and demanded better sanitation during the Plague
What is Pistoia
This period of food scarcity and hunger weakened Europe before the plague arrived
What is the Great Famine?
According to Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio, these marks appearing on the skin were "a certain sign of death"
What are black and purple spots?
These rodents, used by Mongol armies for food and fur, were linked to the spread of the plague
What are marmots?
The plague popularized this theme in art, literature, and performance
What is the Dance of Death?