G07: I&S How Dark were the Dark Ages?: Black Death

This is a topic page about the black death with links to articles and other research pages. Includes a mind map. A good place to start your research.

Between 1347 and 1351 a great epidemic known as the Black Death ravaged Europe. This pandemic took a proportionately greater toll of life than any other known epidemic or war up to that time. The Black Death is widely believed to have been the result of plague that was caused by infection with the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Most scientists think that this bacterium was first passed from infected rodents to humans through the bite of fleas. Then it spread quickly from one person to another.

The Black Death was an infamous plague causing an estimated 20 million deaths in Europe. Its spread and impact is disputed, but it does give an insight into a medieval way of life.

Pandemic II is an online game where your goal is to create a disease that kills as many people as possible. You choose between a Virus, Bacteria, or Parasite and do your best to make sure the disease spreads as far and wide as it can. You want to create a pandemic. This game will get students thinking about different types of diseases, various symptoms of diseases, how diseases can spread, and how we can go about preventing, or stopping, the spread of the diseases. It allows students to interact with possible consequences if communities are not properly vaccinated, or prepared to fend off a pandemic.