The Black Death

A lot of people called it the Black Death, because

after that the tips of your fingers and toes and
your nose often turn black. But the real name is
“bubonic plague”. It was one of the most feared
diseases of the ancient and medieval
worlds. Nobody could tell what caused it, and most
people who got it died within a few days, screaming in
pain. And when one or two people in a village got it,
usually it spread to everyone else, and many of them
died. The plague caused a fever and black spots (called buboes) sometimes on your
chest, and sometimes great big black swellings on your armpits and at the top of your
legs. These swellings got hard like rocks and hurt, and then in a day or
two people usually died. There was no effective treatment,
though of course people tried all kinds of things,
from magic to religious practices or surgery. Sometimes
medieval inhabitants did get better on their own, if
they had good nursing care and were very healthy, to
begin with. But most of the infected medieval beings died,
especially the poor ones (one out of three at least, mainly
those who didn't have good food to eat).

Today we do know what causes bubonic plague: it's a bacterium. Fleas carry it in
the blood they suck; if a flea bites an infected human or animal (usually rats) and then
it bites you, then you'll get it too. People do still get bubonic plague, even today. But
today we can cure it with antibiotics, and so most beings that get it live.

Feudal circumstances were ideal for poverty & disease conditions. It was because, as
the main source of wealth was not production but fights, in those long wars –as
the Hundred Years' War- most soldiers fighting the war for too much time had
completely wrecked their farms. Besides, trade had to do with this terrible sickness
since it was being spread along Mongol trade routes from China through Central Asia
and finally to Europe beginning in 1328 AD. Partly because of this plague, the Mongol
Empire collapsed in Central Asia. It may also be true that because so many people had
died in Europe, the survivors were richer and better fed* and that this led to the
Renaissance. (* In pages 46/7/8 from Mc Dowall, look for data about (a) “The socio-
economic consequences of the pest and the Hundred Years´ War”)

Class exercise: Join in groups of 3 or 4 mates & answer (a), in a not more than a ten
line paragraph. (b) Share the results of your home video exercise & rewrite a common
answer in a not more than a four line paragraph.

Home video exercise: In page 48, Mc Dowall says: “It is surprising that English never
rebelled against Edward III. He was an expensive king … but Edward III handled
people with skill”. Watch again the video about Edward III (1312-1377) and extract
information to back this assertion up.

Reasons for the Hundred Years’ War (1437*) (French supported the Scottish Celtic
clans’ raids against England & England was then a busy commercial country thanks to
Flemish weavers –a year bfre Edw. had taken control of it. The French king had
arrested E. merchants in Flanders)

1) What were the shifts in the feudal paradigm/system that Edward

generated? (Etymology of the feudal paradigm. Consider the “Scutage” &
payment to low-class archers)
2) After defeating the French in Calais, what practice did Edward decide to start
developing? What was its aim? (The “Theatre of Royalty”: he showed himself
in a square, as a mighty victorious king but merciful at the same time due
to the Queen’s intercession. The life of the king was turned into public
performance & his court was the home of chivalry & his knights were given
parts in the drama. It was a brilliant device of joining together war, taxation
& loyalty)
 3) Was the Hundred Years’ War connected in any way to the Pest growth? (Yes,
Edward employed farmers as war archers for too much time so their farms
decayed & the vector’s number –rats- greatly grew).
4) How did Edward manage to make people pay taxes to go on with go on with
the Hundred Years’ War amidst the times of the Pest? (Edward created “The
Order of the Garter”. Its aim was to make the “Theatre of Royalty” grow
grandeur. Two teams participated in chivalric tournaments. At the same
time, his nobles played the Arthurian drama in Saint George’s Chapel at
Windsor. The nobility would be more bound to him by chivalric dreams. The
town merchants watched the whole spectacle & everybody was ready to pay
war taxes).
5) What happened to the Br. power-sphere after Edward died?
6) The book says “It is surprising that English never rebelled against Edward III.
He was an expensive king … but Edward III handled people with skill”.
What was/ were the “spheres” that Edward most skillfully handled? Info–
psycho- socio-sphere.
7) Mind-map center: Edward as manipulator or of:

• Power-sphere: War commander

• Info-sphere: The Theatre of Royalty – The Order of the Garter – The
Arthurian Drama – The Code of Chivalry -
• Socio-sphere: 2nd & 3rd states maneuverer (3rd State archers, merchants’
audience; 2nd state Theatre of Royalty participants)

QUESTIONAIRE (for the oral participation of: Milagros, Carolina, Agostina, Sofía, etc)
Read the book & watch the video to be able to answer it!

1) What were the changes / shifts in the original feudal

paradigm/system that Edward generated?
2) After defeating the French in Calais, what practice did Edward
decide to start developing? What was its aim?
3) Was the Hundred Years’ War connected in any way to the Pest
growth? (Besides, revise what were the original causes of the War
& say if it foster any change/s in the king’s image)
4) Amidst the times of the Pest, how did Edward manage to make the
people who paid taxes give him money to go on with go on with
the Hundred Years’ War?
5) What happened to the Br. power-sphere after Edward died?
6)