What is What were the symptoms of the Black Death??

The Black Death — GCSE History Revision

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The basics

Setting the Scene

📖 Setting the Scene

It arrived in 1348, carried by fleas on rats in ships from Asia. Within two years, the Black Death killed between 30-50% of England's population — perhaps 2 million people. Victims developed black swellings (buboes) in armpits and groin, vomited blood, and usually died within days. Nobody understood why. Doctors wore bird-like masks filled with herbs, believing this would protect them from bad air. Some towns lost 80% of their population. Entire villages disappeared. Medieval medicine had no answer — because it didn't understand the cause.

▶ The Black Death - OverSimplified (10 mins)

What were the symptoms of the Black Death?: Buboes (swellings in armpits/groin), black blotches on skin, fever, vomiting blood — most victims died within days

Key terms

History glossary

What were the symptoms of the Black Death?: Buboes (swellings in armpits/groin), black blotches on skin, fever, vomiting blood — most victims died within days

Exam tip

Earn the mark scheme marks

📝 Exam Technique: The Black Death as a Turning Point?

For significance questions : Did the Black Death change medicine? The answer is complex:

YES (short-term changes): Some doctors started questioning Galen (his cures didn't work); some began recording symptoms more carefully

NO (continuity): Same theories (miasma, humours, God) used to explain later plagues; Church still controlled medical education

SOCIAL change: Labour shortages → peasants demanded higher wages → contributed to Peasants' Revolt 1381

Conclusion: Black Death exposed the failure of medieval medicine but didn't immediately change it — that took the Renaissance

Paper 2 focus: "Explain the significance of the Black Death for the development of medicine" (8 marks) — show both the short-term impact AND why real change was delayed until the Renaissance

🏫 Edexcel 1HI0/10 — Medicine in Britain (Paper 1, Option 1HI0/10): This topic is tested on Paper 1 alongside the Historic Environment (Western Front). Edexcel question types differ from AQA:

"Describe two features of..." (4 marks) — Identify a feature (1 mark) + supporting detail (1 mark). Write two separate PEEL-style paragraphs. No evaluation needed.
"Explain why..." (12 marks) — Explain two or three reasons with specific evidence. Level 3 (7–9 marks) requires explained reasons; Level 4 (10–12 marks) requires explanation showing how factors connect or reinforce each other.
"How far do you agree that..." (16 marks + 4 SPaG) — Extended writing. Two sides: evidence FOR the statement, evidence AGAINST. Reach a supported judgement. Level 4 (13–16 marks) requires a consistently argued judgement. SPaG marks reward accurate spelling of key historical terms.

Now try it yourself

Quiz · Question 1 of 8

In which year did the Black Death first arrive in England?

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Role of the Church