primarysourcesblackdeath

=Read This First=

[|i Buried My Children With My Own Hands]
1. Answer the following questions. Besides the fact of death itself, what other problems caused by the Black Death did the author of this story identify? 2. What could be some other social or economic problems caused by the Black Death?

=Health Laws and Ordinances=

Laws for Pistoia

 * 1) Read the document //above// and answer the questions below. Download and print the PDF to answer your questions.

Part One

 * 1) What does the document state?
 * 2) What elements within the document have likely connections to the plague and its effects? In what way?
 * 3) In what ways, if any, does the document differ from other first- or secondhand accounts the class has read?
 * 4) What possible sources of bias or unintentional inaccuracy should be taken into account?

Part Two

 * 1) What do the ordinances say?
 * 2) Which ordinances, if any, would likely have reduced deaths from the plague? Which, if any, would not?
 * 3) What do the ordinances suggest the council believed about how the plague spread?
 * 4) Which occupations would be affected by the ordinances?
 * 5) Which occupations would likely suffer as a result of the ordinances?
 * 6) Which might actually prosper?
 * 7) Which procedures required by ordinances XIV-XXII would you recommend be continued after the plague is gone, if you could advise the citizens of Pistoia (armed with our knowledge of sanitation and disease)?
 * 8) Assuming ordinances XIV-XXII remained in effect after the plague, how would life have changed (compared to the years before the Black Death) for those to whom the ordinances apply?

=The Effects of the Black Death=
 * 1) ==In the Wake of the Black Death: Effects==
 * 2) ==Ordinance of Laborers==
 * 3) ==Statute of Laborers==

Part One
Read //In the Wake of the Black Death//from paragraph 7, "Masters and merchants petitioned their governments to intervene" to paragraph 9, "which denounced the corruption of officials and the clergy."
 * 1) What does the document state?
 * 2) What elements within the document have likely connections to the plague and its effects? In what way?
 * 3) In what ways, if any, does the document differ from other first- or secondhand accounts the class has read?
 * 4) What possible sources of bias or unintentional inaccuracy should be taken into account?

Part Two
Read the //Ordinance of Labourers// and //The Statute of Labourers//
 * 1) The Ordinance of Labourers mentions the plague ('pestilence') in the first paragraph. What does the document say about the connection between the plague and the problems the ordinances are supposed to address?
 * 2) Who is considered a laborer? Who is not?
 * 3) In what ways do the ordinances attempt to regulate laborers?
 * 4) In what ways do the ordinances attempt to regulate tradesmen? In what ways do the ordinances attempt to regulate employers of laborers?
 * 5) Who is responsible for enforcing the ordinances?
 * 6) How/Where are the ordinances supposed to be circulated?
 * 7) In what ways does the Ordinance of Labourers reflect changes in society? In what ways does the Ordinance of Labourers attempt to prevent changes in society?
 * 8) How does the The Statute of Labourers attempt to enforce the Ordinance of Labourers?
 * 9) What does the The Statute of Labourers suggest about the attitude of commoners toward the nobility?
 * 10) What does the The Statute of Labourers suggest about the attitude of the nobility toward commoners?
 * 11) In what ways do the Ordinance of Labourers and The Statute of Labourers suggest life is different in England as a result of the Black Death?

=Long Term Effects of The Black Death=

Part One
Read a brief modern summary of the events, //In the Wake of the Black Death,// starting with the words "the decline in populations and inflation" in paragraph 9, and ending with "although the poll tax was abolished." in paragraph 19.
 * 1) What does the document state?
 * 2) What elements within the document have likely connections to the plague and its effects? In what way?
 * 3) In what ways, if any, does the document differ from other first- or secondhand accounts the class has read?
 * 4) What possible sources of bias or unintentional inaccuracy should be taken into account?

Part Two

 * R**ead accounts of the revolts known as the //The Jacquerie (1358)// and the //Peasants' Revolt 1381// each written by someone who lived at the time.
 * 1) ==The Peasants' Revolt==
 * 2) ==[|The Jacquerie]==

The following specific questions should guide your reading:
 * 1) What were the demands of Wat (Walter) Tyler?
 * 2) What about Wat's behavior indicated a change in attitude toward the nobility?
 * 3) What did the king promise?
 * 4) What happened when Wat was arrested?
 * 5) How did the king deal with his rebellious subjects?
 * 6) Which of the king's promises did he keep?

Additional Readings (Primary Sources)

 * 1) Jean de Venette on the Progress of the Black Death
 * 2) The Onset of The Black Death
 * 3) The End of the Middle Ages - Economic Effects of The Black Death
 * 4) Florentine Chronicle - How Many Died

Additional Readings (Secondary Sources)

 * 1) Social and Economic Effects of the Plague
 * 2) The Peasants' Revolt of 1381
 * 3) Satan Triumphant: Black Death