The Black Death

Research another pandemic—either the Spanish Flu of 1918, or the Covid pandemic of 2020. How has reading The Black Death contributed to your understanding of how a society should react to a global pandemic or health crisis? How were medieval reactions to the Black Death similar to those of the recent past? How were they different?

How did the limited state of medieval medical knowledge contribute to the spread of the Black Death? Why did superstition and disinformation spread in the absence of scientific understanding?

Compare and contrast the difference in response between members of the medical and scientific community and the members of the institutional Church.

Explain how the Black Death affected Jewish communities of medieval Europe. How did this marginalized group respond to antisemitic violence and persecution?

Examine the rise of the Flagellants. Why did this movement become popular with common people? Why was it eventually condemned by the Catholic Church?

How did the high mortality rate affect agricultural practices in Europe?

Why did the Black Death change how the average medieval citizen saw the Church and the clergy?

Research what we know about the plague’s progress in a large city in continental Europe and compare this to its effects on London.