The people's Health: medieval era- black death. Flashcards
when did it reach England?
1348.
what did the people call it at the time?
the great pestilence.
what were the 3 types of plague called?
bubonic.
pneumonic.
septicaemic.
what did the bubonic plague cause, what was the death toll and why did it kill a lot?
painful swelling ( buboes.) around armpits and groin.
high temperature.
2/3 victims died in a few days.
35-60%
spread rapidly so communities found it extremely difficult to cope.
how was the pneumonic plague spread, what was it, less or more deadly than bubonic?
spread through coughing, sneezing.
variant.
less.
why did it terrify the people?
didn’t know disease was spread through rats and fleas.
what did the people think caused it?
god’s punishment- sins and allow devil to test faith.
miasma- bad smells.
imbalance of the 4 humours- blood, phlegm, black and yellow bile.
how did the people try to prevent a punishment from god?
prayed, confessed, burned candles in prayer and flagellants whipped themselves.
how did the people try to prevent miasma’s?
carried bunches of flowers or burnt herbs to purify the air.
rich moved to the countryside for pure air.
some shut themselves away.
how did the people try to help themselves If they had the plague?
doctors used blood letting and purging to try and rid people of plague.
tried home-made herbal remedies: camomile lotion on buboes or placed live chicken and toads on them to warm and soften swelling.
what happened due to increasing death rate and what did it resort in?
priests and church couldn’t keep up with death rate and visiting dying or providing funerals.
victims buried in mass graves.
what response was seen by the king?
limited.
what did Edward 111 do in April 1349?
wrote mayor of London ordering to clean streets.
what did the king do?
ordered bishops to organise parades of priests in cities to publicly display prayer and to confess everyone’s sins.
