Explain by relative location on pg 37which role each person plays in the Middle Ages

The Black Death

The Triumph of Death by Pieter Bruegel

What do you see?

Describe the landscape.

What kinds of things are people doing?

What elements of the picture seem unrealistic?

What elements of the picture seem realistic?

What feelings does this painting evoke?

What kind of story do you think the artist is trying to

tell?

What was the Black Death?• Deadly plague in Europe 1346-

1352• Plague-disease that spreads quickly

and kills many people• Caused by form of bacteria carried

by fleas• Appeared in three forms

– Pneumonic-attacked lungs and caused coughing and sneezing fits

– Septicemic- traveled in bloodstream causing black spots under the skin

– Bubonic- most common which caused egg-sized swellings

How did the Black Death spread throughout Europe?

• Began in Gobi Desert and spread over trade routes along the Silk Road

• Mongols attack Caffa on the Black Sea– Caffa trades with Genoa

merchants– They carry plague to Sicily

• Merchants brought rats to Europe with trade goods

• 1st appeared in Italy and spread for 6 years

Why couldn’t people stop the spread of the Black Death?

• People were ignorant of its causes- blamed stars, infected clothing, God’s anger at sinners or Jewish people

• Tried ineffective cures- pomanders, flagellation (whipping one’s self), repentance of sins, and killing Jews

• No cure worked

How did the Black Death change life in Europe?

• 38 million people may have died in Europe (1 out of 2 people)

• Subsided in 1350s, with periodic flare-ups

• Ruined Europe’s economy– Trade stopped and wages went up

– Food prices fell

– Serfdom broke down

– Peasants and urban workers revolted and demanded more freedom

– Towns grow

– Reduced the power of the feudal lords

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZy6XilXDZQ