Black Death
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The Black Death was a plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the most fatal pandemics in human history, leading to the death of up to 50 million people, around 30% to
Yersinia pestis (200 × magnification), the bacterium that causes plague
The Oriental rat flea (Xenopsylla cheopis) engorged with blood. This species of flea is the primary vector for the transmission of Yersinia pestis, the organism responsible for spreading bubonic plague in most plague epidemics. Both male and female fleas feed on blood and can transmit the infection.
Oriental rat flea (Xenopsylla cheopis) infected with the Yersinia pestis bacterium which appears as a dark mass in the gut. The foregut (proventriculus) of this flea is blocked by a Y. pestis biofilm; when the flea feeds on an uninfected host Y. pestis is regurgitated into the wound, causing infection.
Skeletons in a mass grave from 1720 to 1721 in Martigues, near Marseille in southern France, yielded molecular evidence of the orientalis strain of Yersinia pestis, the organism responsible for bubonic plague. The second pandemic of bubonic plague was active in Europe from 1347, the beginning of the Black Death, until 1750.
The crisis of the late Middle Ages was a series of events across Europe during the late Middle Ages. These events involved extensive demographic collapse, political instability, and religious upheaval
Black Death
…the late Middle Ages (the first one being the Great Famine of 1315–1317). There were further outbreaks throughout the Late Middle Ages. Due to the crisis of the late Middle Ages, the European population did not regain its 14th century level until the 16th century. Outbreaks of the plague recurred around the world until the early…
Europe and the surrounding areas in the 14th century
Richard II of England meets the rebels of the Peasants' Revolt of 1381.
Joan of Arc during the Siege of Orléans (1428–1429)