The Black Death in Britain
The Black Death that swept medieval Britain: what people believed caused it, how they tried to treat it, and how they tried to prevent it, set against the dirty towns and cleaner monasteries of the time.
Use it, the way the marks are given
Free interactive practice at using the material, which is what the marks are for.
Start revising freeWhat you'll cover
A plague reaches Britain
In the middle of the fourteenth century a terrible disease known as the Black Death spread across Britain. With no knowledge of germs, people explained it and fought it using the ideas of their time. This module looks at what they believed caused the plague, how they tried to treat it, and what they did to try to stop it spreading.
Plague words to know
Learn these before you sort the beliefs and responses.
Two kinds of explanation
People explained the Black Death in two different ways.
Label the belief or the response
In the exam, take each idea and label it. Is it a believed cause, an attempted treatment, or an attempt at prevention? Then say whether a cause is supernatural, from God or the stars, or natural, from the air or the body. When you report a religious belief, write it as what people thought, not as fact.
Match the believed cause
- a punishment from God
- the position of the stars
- bad air, or miasma
- an imbalance of the humours
- a supernatural cause tied to sin
- a supernatural cause read from the sky
- a natural cause blamed on smells
- a natural cause inside the body
Treatment or prevention?
- bleeding a patient
- giving herbal remedies
- lighting bonfires in the streets
- holding prayers and processions
- a treatment to rebalance the body
- a treatment thought to fight the illness
- a prevention to clear the bad air
- a prevention aimed at Gods mercy
Why light bonfires?
Some towns lit bonfires during the Black Death. Given what people believed, why did they do this?
- They thought the smoke would clear the bad air that carried the disease.
- They knew fire killed the germs.
- They simply wanted to keep warm.
- They needed light at night.
Spot the supernatural beliefs
Select the TWO beliefs about the Black Death that were supernatural.
- People believed it was a punishment from God.
- Some blamed the position of the stars.
- Some blamed bad air, or miasma.
- Some blamed an imbalance of the humours.
Count the survivors
Imagine a small village of 6 households. In an outbreak, 2 households are lost. Subtract to find how many households remain. What is the answer?
Order a town response
Put a medieval town response to the plague in order, earliest first.
- Hear the plague is nearby
- Order the streets to be cleared
- Hold prayers for mercy
- Keep away from the sick
Complete the account
Many people believed the Black Death was a _____ from God, while others blamed bad air, which they called _____. To treat it, doctors tried _____ a patient to rebalance the humours. To prevent it, some towns cleared filth and lit _____ to clean the air.
Spot the prevention attempts
Tap the TWO actions that were attempts to PREVENT the plague spreading.
- clearing filth from the streets
- keeping away from the sick
- bleeding a patient
- giving herbal remedies
Label the response
Read each response to the Black Death and choose the best label.
- A doctor bleeds a patient to try to rebalance the four humours. What is this?
- A town clears rubbish from the streets to remove what people think is bad air. What is this?
- A preacher says the plague is a punishment sent by God for peoples sins. What kind of belief is this?
Explain the response
Explain how people in medieval Britain understood the Black Death and how they tried to deal with it.
- Describe one supernatural and one natural believed cause, reported as what people thought
- Describe one way people tried to treat the disease
- Describe one way people tried to prevent it spreading