Year 8 History 2019 - Black Death: Home

There are three versions - choose either the Middle School or Senior School versions.

The majority of the population lived in the countryside at the time of the Black Death. Dr Mike Ibeji traces the plague's devastating impact on the rural communities, by examining contemporary village records. 14th century plague.

This BBC article explains that the long term effects of the Black Death were devastating and far reaching. Agriculture, religion, economics and even social class were affected. Contemporary accounts shed light on how medieval Britain was irreversibly changed.

BBC Online has devised this description of the arrival and spread Black Death in Britain (1348 - 1350).

This site gives a brief summary about the Black Death: the origins of the plague in China, its spread to Europe and the impact on European economy and society.

An eyewitness account of the ravages of the bubonic plague that swept through Europe in the mid 14th century is given via the introductory text of The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio. A map shows the spread of the plague through Europe and Africa. Boccaccio describes the signs and symptoms of the disease, the varying reactions to disaster, the breakdown of social order, and the mass burials of corpses brought to the church.

This interactive map shows the spread of the Black Death across Europe. Critical thinking questions are suggested for further investigation.

This encyclopaedia article describes the pattern of outbreak of the Black Death - the Asian outbreak, European outbreak, Middle Eastern outbreak, alternative explanations of the causes of the plague, and its consequences.