NBC Learn's Understanding the Black Death

Where did the Black Death start in 1347?

• Southern Italy

• Northern France

• Eastern Germany

• Western Spain

What was a common symptom of the Black Death?

• Swellings in armpits and groin

• Loss of appetite

• Frequent sneezing

• Blurry vision

What did people wear to try to protect themselves from the Black Death?

• Leather boots

• Waxed gowns and beak-like masks

• Woolen cloaks

• Iron helmets

What did Giovanni Boccaccio say about the speed of the Black Death's killing?

• It killed within a year

• It took a month to kill

• It took a week to kill

• It killed so quickly one could have breakfast with the living and dinner with the dead

What caused the Black Death according to 21st-century scientists?

• A virus

• A strain of bacteria called Yersinia pestis

• Mold in the grain

• Bad air

How was the Black Death primarily spread?

• it was airborne

• through contaminated food

• By rats and flea bites

• Through contaminated water

What was one of the social consequences of the Black Death?

• Increased trust in the church

• Decrease in peasant revolts

• Labor shortages and peasant revolts

• More land for farming

What era followed the breakdown of the feudal social order due to the Black Death?

• The Industrial Revolution

• The Age of Exploration

• The Renaissance

• The Roman Empire