The Black Death

The Black Death, also known as the Bubonic Plague, was one of the most devastating occurrences in the history of mankind, decimating the population of Europe by 25% to 50% within a period of 3 years.

The Black Death originated in China and was carried to Italy by 1347. From there, it spread like wild-fire.

Contrary to popular belief, the bubonic strain of the plague that caused dark swellings on groins and arm-pits was not the only manifestation of the disease. In actual fact, there were three strains of the plague, of which the bubonic one being the 'least dangerous', giving the infected person a life expectancy of one week from contagion. Some people even managed to survive this strain.

The other two strains were more fatal. One was a pneumonic strain that attacked the respiratory system. It was highly contagious and spread through exhalations. The third strain attacked the blood system and those who were infected died literally overnight.

Rattus Rattus - the black rat responsible
for the spreading of the Black Death

The Black Death wrought havoc in all aspects of life, not least because, with the very limited medical knowledge available at the time, no one had any idea how this pestilence was transmitted or what was causing it. Today we know that fleas carried by rats (the rattus rattus) were one way that the disease spread, but back in the 14th century many thought that the Black Death was God's punishment on mankind.

Any remedies proposed by doctors were useless to say the least. Many were downright ridiculous, and included sitting in sewers and applying shaved chicken bottoms to the swellings. For more bizarre plague cures propagated at the time, refer to Terry Deary's hilarious, but extremely well-informed Plague and Peril from the Horrible Histories Gory Story series:


Many sick people were abandoned and left to die miserably on their own by their very relatives. Rich people escaped to the countryside. Some survived, others just carried the contagion with them and spread it wherever they passed.

Eyewitness accounts of the plague tell us that the dead littered every corner of towns and villages. People who died in their houses were discovered when their neighbors smelled the stench of their rotting corpses. Dead, and sometimes dying, people were massed into common burial pits and their belongings and houses burned.

While the Black Death seemed to run its course after three devastating years, it did not completely die out, and sporadic bouts continued to occur from time to time for centuries later.

For an eyewitness account of the plague, read Boccaccio's description in The Decameron: http://www.themiddleages.net/life/decameron.html

Ken Follett's 'Pillars of the Earth'

Donald Sutherland as Bartholomew

Check out the trailer and info about Ken Follett's masterpiece in the Books and Movies sections.

Medieval Camp

Spice Stall at a Medieval Market

Source: http://www.flosetleo.org/artigianato.html

Frutta e Sale al Mercato Medievale

Fruit and salt at a Medieval market in Italy
The Italians are renowned for their precision in re-enactments. This event is taking place at the Mercato delle Gaite in Bevagna, which is a small town in the province of Perugia, south of Assisi.
The commentator is speaking about the importance of spices in medieval markets because they were a mark of distinction between rich and poor.
The guy selling cloth says that he has come a long way to sell his wares, and that he had to pay a tax to set up a stall. The shears that he uses to cut the fabric were also used for shearing sheep.
At the scribe's stall, a woman is dictating a letter to her brother asking him to return some money she has loaned him, and at the fruit stall they're selling apricots, peaches and cherries. In medieval times, the fruit would not have looked as 'nice' as it does today, but the lady commentator also notes how precise the wares at this market are since items like potatoes, cocoa, turkey and chilli peppers had not been 'discovered' yet. That would occur a few centuries later after Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492.
Finally they arrive at the salt stall. Salt was considered to be 'white gold' in the Middle Ages for two main reasons. The first was that it was used to preserve food and secondly because it was actually used as currency in the exchange of goods.
More from the Italian Medieval Market later on ...

Black Death

 Black Death stars Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne, Carice Van Houten, Rupert Friend and Kimberley Nixon. Set in an apocalyptic medieval world, "Death" details the story of a band of brothers whose quest is to hunt down a necromancer against the backdrop of the first outbreak of bubonic plague in England.