Living Conditions and Political Impact of the Black Death

Living Conditions and Political Impact of the Black Death

By Marja Anderson

Open Ended

Today we are going to learn how the Black Death affected people's lives. So, to start, how has Covid 19 affected/changed your life?

Living Conditions Assist the Spread of the Black Death

​How did hygienic practices help spread the Black Death?

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The Black Death spread quickly and easily throughout Europe and Asia. The hygienic, or health, practices of the times helped to spread the disease. Much of the poor hygiene in medieval Europe was due to a lack of knowledge.

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Multiple Choice

What caused the plague to spread so easily in the Middle Ages?

• Lack of Communication

• Poor Trade

• Poor Hygiene

• Too much medicines

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​For example, many peasants used rushes for their floor covering. Rushes are grass-like plants that grow near the water. They have long, thin, hollow stems. When they are dried, they can be made into floor coverings. However, the bottom layer of the rushes was hard to replace. At the bottom were food scraps and spilled drinks. There also were waste materials from sick babies and pets. This created a breeding ground for germs.

Multiple Select

What was at the bottom of the rush flooring. Choose all that apply.

• animal waste

• food/drink spills

• wood or stone

• human waste

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​People threw food scraps and garbage out of the windows of their homes into the streets below. They even threw out human waste. Open sewers in the street were packed with garbage. Sometimes, the garbage would be pushed into the closest river.

Multiple Select

What was thrown into the streets? Select all that were true.

• Garbage

• Leftover food

• Human waste

• Plastic

​Rats did well and multiplied in the waste. They found shelter and food in the huge piles of trash. As the rat population grew, so did the tiny fleas that lived and fed on the rats’ bodies. Both the rats and the fleas carried the plague. Because rats were very common all over Europe during this time, it was almost impossible to avoid them. People might be able to avoid contact with infected humans, but they could not get away from the rats or fleas.

Multiple Select

If you NEVER met or got near someone with the plague, how could you still get the disease? Choose two

• Infected rat

• Dirty water

• Infected flea

• Rotten Food

Political Impact of the Black Death

How did a reduction in population affect European politics?

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​Before the plague, Europe was still a feudal society. However, as the labor force began to shrink, feudalism began to fall apart. There were fewer surviving farmers competing to work on the land. As a result, paid laborers could demand higher wages. Tenant farmers could demand better treatment, too. They no longer had to give as much service to their lords. They could now leave the lands of one owner and seek better conditions on another farm. They also could move to cities and find work as tradespeople. This decreased the power of landowners. They still depended on tenants to work fields, produce goods, and even serve as soldiers. However, now landowners had to pay workers to stay on the land. Skilled workers in cities also saw their wages go up.

Multiple Choice

Why was the Black Death a GOOD thing for farmers and laborers?

• They banded together and overthrew their overlords

• They could demand higher wages since there were fewer of them

• They were able to finally take a break and get some vacation time

• It was not a good thing at all. They all died and everyone starved

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​Better wages and the ability to move to new jobs in the city gave peasants new chances to move up in social class. Under the strict conditions of feudal life, this had never been possible. The Black Death changed things by reducing the workforce and allowing for new social movement. The existing political structure began to weaken and feudalism began to decline.

Multiple Choice

What did the Black Death allow that had never been possible before?

• Trade

• Agricultural Revolution

• Renaissance

• Social Movement

​The existing social order also was affected by people’s shifting attitudes toward religion. The plague made some people lose faith in God. They questioned why the plague had happened. They asked whether God was truly able or willing to protect them from other disasters. People began to turn away from religion. The Catholic Church began to lose some of its power and influence over people at this time.

​The huge loss of life was only one part of the Black Death. The disease and the suffering it brought caused changes in every part of life in Europe during the Middle Ages. It changed the way people thought and what they believed. It changed the way they organized their society and their lives.

Multiple Select

How did the Black Death affect life in the Middle Ages? Choose all that apply.

• Huge Loss of Life

• People could Change their Social Class

• All Trade Stopped

• Wages increased for Farmers/Laborers

Open Ended

Do you think that the Black Death or Covid 19 had a greater impact on people's lives? Explain.