The Black Death

The History and Legacy of the Middle Ages' Deadliest Plague

By: Charles River Editors

Narrated by: Katherine Thompson

If it is true that nothing succeeds like success, then it is equally true that nothing challenges like change. People have historically been creatures of habit and curiosity at the same time, two parts of the human condition that constantly conflict with each other. This has always been true, but at certain moments in history it has been abundantly true, especially during the mid-14th century, when a boon in exploration and travel came up against a fear of the unknown. Together, they both introduced the Black Death to Europe and led to mostly incorrect attempts to explain it.

The Late Middle Ages had seen a rise in Western Europe's population in previous centuries, but these gains were almost entirely erased as the plague spread rapidly across all of Europe from 1346-1353. With a medieval understanding of medicine, diagnosis, and illness, nobody understood what caused Black Death or how to truly treat it. As a result, many religious people assumed it was divine retribution, while superstitious and suspicious citizens saw a nefarious human plot involved and persecuted certain minority groups among them.

©2014 Charles River Editors (P)2015 Charles River Editors

Very interesting

Accounts from people who lived through the Black Death. Very interesting how they describe the mass population, dealing with the plague and how peoples habits changed.

Easy to understand

A clear explanation of the scope and importance of the Black Death with an emphasis on the changes it caused in Medieval Europe.

No more than a passable introduction

If you have no prior knowledge of this traumatic time in Western European history, this will serve as a passable introduction, but if you have done some reading on the topic it may add little to your knowledge.
Listen to the sound clip before buying, just to check that the narrator doesn't grate on your exposed nerve endings. I neglected to do so and regretted that oversight.