Text Black Death: the disease

TLF ID M011223

The resource is about the plague, the disease known as Black Death in 14th-century England. It describes the three variations of the disease: bubonic, pneumonic and septicaemic, and the causes and symptoms of the disease. It also considers the origins of the bacteria, the conditions needed for an epidemic to occur and the various responses of groups to the disease. It includes text, two primary source documents, images and quotation boxes.





Educational details

Educational value
  • This resource is useful for addressing the Australian Curriculum: History content description in year 8 relating to the causes and symptoms of the Black Death. It outlines the origins and causes of the disease, tracing its emergence to an increase in the number of bacilli in the stomach of fleas, and describes the symptoms of each of the three varieties of the disease.
  • This resource is useful for addressing the Australian Curriculum: History content description in year 8 relating to the responses of different groups in medieval society. It includes a number of different explanations for the plague given by different groups. In Europe the Jews were blamed whereas in England the Bishop of Winchester declared that the sins and evil of people had provoked God's wrath resulting in the plague as punishment.
  • This resource is useful for the development of history skills relating to the origin and purpose of primary sources. It includes the edict from Bishop Edendon of Winchester and a description of the symptoms of the disease from an anonymous source. Students analyse both documents for their content, purpose, author and audience.
Year level

8

Learning area
  • History

Other details

Contributors
  • Copyright Holder
  • Name: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
  • Organization: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
  • Address: UNITED KINGDOM
  • URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk
  • Publisher
  • Name: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
  • Organization: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
  • Description: Publisher
  • Address: UNITED KINGDOM
  • URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk
  • Resource metadata contributed by
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organisation: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Address: AUSTRALIA
  • URL: www.esa.edu.au
Access profile
  • Generic
Learning Resource Type
  • Text
  • Image
Rights
  • Resource: BBC © 2012, except where indicated otherwise. You may download, copy and communicate this material for free, and use it in digital and hardcopy format for non-commercial educational use in Australian schools and TAFE institutions, provided you retain all acknowledgements associated with the material. 'Interactive' image: © Education Services Australia Limited 2012. You may copy, communicate and adapt this image for non-commercial educational purposes provided you retain all acknowledgements associated with the image.