Medieval Times Script - Casey Boswell - 8G

OPENING
Hail fellow, and welcome to 'Medieval Times'.
The show that brings you the miserable news of our Dark Ages.
LEAD
On today's topic, the reason why your neighbours are dropping like flies.
Thats right,
TOPIC
The Black Death. Also known as the 'danse macabre', or 'dance of death'.
The plague that has hit Medieval Europe and spread like wildfire, infecting everyone it
touches.
The disease is just another disaster to affect Europe. Already the continent is suffering from
terrible famine, poverty and war.
These events are making our time live up to it's name... how depressing.
Moving on!
MORTALITY
So what makes the Black Death so deadly?
The plague actually involves three different strains of disease:
The most common and visual is the Bubonic Plague. It's black and gruesome symptoms gives
the epidemic it's name.
The second is the Pneumonic Plague, which infects the respiratory system.
And lastly, the Septicaemic Plague. Which infects the blood.
All of these are deadly, but are they survivable?
Well, I have some good news for you!
The Bubonic Plague mortality rate is 50%! Thats right, there is hope! Although I wouldn't really
count on it, but you can hope all you want.
The Pneumonic Plague mortality rate on the other hand, is 90%. So yeah... there is a chance,
but I wouldn't hold your breath.
And the Septicaemic Plague... well, you're dead.
CONTAGIOUS
Don't worry about that though, it's the Bubonic Plague you want to worry about.
It's this dreadful disease that is dominating the Black Death. It's awfully painful and contagious.
Just being in contact with the infected leads to you being immediately infected your self.
And from there, you will likely be dead within 4 days.
SYMPTOMS
On the first day of being infected, the victim would experience a high fever, aching limbs and
fatigue.
Very soon, blisters and boils would appear on the arms, legs, groin and neck.
Swollen and black, the boils grow to the size of a walnut, then to the size of an egg.
And ooze puss and blood.
They are very painful and irritate the body, and can cause the victim to vomit blood.
After a day or two, the infected would have violent shivering fits and become so weak the
victim cannot stand nor sit.

To make matters worse, the disease also attacks the nervous system, which makes the victim
crazed and delusional with fever.
By the fourth day of infection, the disease has usually already claimed its victims life.
BACTERIA
What kind of deadly bacteria is behind all these horrible symptoms in the Black Death?
The answer is Yersinia Pestis.
It is not known for sure where this bacteria is from, but sources tell that it originated in Gobi
Desert, Mongolia.
And that there have been several small outbreaks of the disease around Asia in the past.
Any of these could have been the starting flame of the disastrous epidemic today.
ARRIVAL
So how did the Black Death come upon our shores in the first place?
The plague was first sighted at a port in Messina, Sicily in October 1347.
Genoese ships were docking at the port, when it was visible to the men on shore that the
sailors on the ships were either dead or were terribly sick with a very deadly illness.
The ships had come from across the Black Sea, fleeing from a war with the Mongolians that
were infected by the plague.
The harbour masters tried to stop the ships from docking, but it was too late.
We would ask the witnesses in for more information, but everyone who came in contact with
those sailors were dead within a few days from the infection.
In only a week, the new and frightening disease had spread through the city of Messina.
And within a month, it had infected the whole of Sicily itself!
And of course, from there, the Black Death went on to infect the rest of Europe.
SPREAD
How is it spreading so fast?
There are three things that contribute to the Black Death's ride of death.
The first is the rats,
The second is the fleas,
And third... Well, is us.
An infected rat could be immune to the disease, so it ends up running around carrying the the
Black Death on its back.
There are rats everywhere, scuttling through streets and even hopping onto a ship that might
travel to a place far away, spreading the disease amongst themselves.
Fleas are everywhere too. A flea would bite an infected rat, to find the infection in the blood
stops it from swallowing. Immediately the flea would jump onto a humans clothes or skin and
bite, infecting the person.
It is common among victims of the plague to have visible flea bites.
Infected fleas still cling to dead people's clothes, which are then sold and passed on.
The Black Death is very contagious, it can be spread through humans as simple as a touch or
a sneeze.
Reality is, if you are caring for an infected loved one and he or she coughs on you, you are
dead.
There are many people in the streets and family homes, which makes escaping the Black
Death very hard.
Also the fact that the conditions we are living in are not helping slow the plague.
Poo covered streets, dirty water, dirty clothes, etc.
Not that we know that though.

DARK AND ILL AGES

It doesn't help that pretty much everyone in Europe is vulnerable to the plague.
Our population is very high these days, and it has left everyone in famine and poverty and
war.
This makes everyone weaker and more vulnerable to the epidemic. Our bodies are hungry
and weak, which means they don't have the strength to fight a deadly disease.
So more people will get infected, cough on someone, get them infected, and die, and... You
get the memo.
CORPSES
So there are lots of dead bodies.
Hundreds of corpses are being hauled off the streets and into carts to get buried EACH DAY.
Holy ground to bury your loved ones is no longer available.
The corpses have to be abandoned or buried outside the city walls in mass graves.
In some cases, the bodies are being used as a weapon in wars.
The dead from the plague are catapulted over an enemy city's walls to infect the people
within, effectively causing death and havoc.
HELL ON EARTH
Many believe it's the end of the world, all this death caused by a horrific and deadly illness.
It is believed that the Black Death is a punishment from for all of mankind's sins.
So the people have turned to God, desperate for forgiveness.
Thousands of Jews have been eliminated due to the beliefs that the people should be
cleansed of sins.
There are many rumours of cures and ways to hold off the Black Death.
The disease may be contracted by breathing bad air, so carry some nice smelling herbs and
flowers.
It is advised not to eat meat or figs, for they may open the pores of your skin and allow the
plague to infect you.
Bathing and exercising will also open the pores, so don't do that.
Lastly, avoid sad thoughts about death and disease!
If you are infected, our doctors have a couple treatments to help.
Such as bloodletting and rupturing and draining the boils on the body to draw the poison out.
Some simply turn to God for a cure.
FUTURE
You are probably wondering what kind of good could ever come out of this disaster.
Well, quite a few things actually.
With the Black Death pretty much killing everyone, our population is decreasing dramatically.
Killing one third of the human population to be exact, 20 million people.
This is horrible, but it may just help create a better future. Think about it.
- Socially, the smaller population will bring Europe out of it's awful famine and poverty.
Less people, more food, money and land to go 'round.
- Biologically, the survivors of the Black Death will pass on their strong genes, strengthening
mankind.
- As for wars, some might withdraw due to a lack of soldier force.
- Finally, all these changes might just lead to the extinction of the Feudalism System in the
future. With the chaos of the plague, it would likely break the control over the system.

So if you are dying, you can pass away easily knowing you are contributing to a better future.
A future that is out of the Dark Ages.
CAUTION
In the meantime, if you want to survive, be careful.
You never know if you are safe from the disease's clutches... including me.
REFERENCES
http://www.medievalswansea.ac.uk/cy/blog/medieval-faces/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Death
http://www.history.com/topics/black-death
youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySClB6-OH-Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7OWLohZ_fs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kScxc9DPrnY
front imagehttp://caiomm.deviantart.com/art/Medieval-Fair-The-Good-Knight-414785139