The Black Death

A series of maps by your guide depicting how the dreaded 14th-century plague spread through Europe

A quick introduction to the horrific plague of the 14th century known as the Black Death, with links to further resources, here at the Medieval History site.

A series of maps depicting the routes the disease took during the Black Death of the 14th century.

From your About.com Guide, a three-part examination of the causes, course and effects of the Black Death. 

Your Guide's review of The Black Death - A Personal History, John Hatcher's social history of the devastating plague in 14th century England.

A graphic description of Black Death symptoms and causes of the disease.

A 15-question quiz to test your knowledge of the disease, its arrival in Europe, and the events it triggered.

Should you forget to get innoculated before you travel back to the 14th century, you'll need to take some measures to avoid the deadly Bubonic Plague.

A brief introduction to the advent of plague in 14th-century Europe is followed by an extract of Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron describing the epidemic's effects on Florence in graphic detail.

23 concise pages on the origins, spread, and effects of the plague on western Europe, by Dr. E. L. Knox at his History of Western Civilization course.

Evocative article by Steven Kreis at the History Guide offers images and a map to illustrate the course of the devastating fourteenth-century plague.

Ian Munro clearly and lucidly debunks the myth that the "Ring around the Rosie" children's rhyme is somehow connected to the plague. The page includes links to early variations on the rhyme and a much more extensive, if somewhat rambling, article by Philip Hiscock.

This series of maps depicting the course the plague took through Europe in the mid-fourteenth century was created by your Guide.