Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 11 minutes ago
What was it like to die from the Black Death, why was it called the Black Death and how many people did the Black Death kill? These are surely some of the most commonly asked questions about the worst plague in medieval Europe, which raged during the 14th century and in this history of the Black Death documentary from History Calling, I’m going to answer them for you. I’ll also tell you how the Black Death began, where the Black Death began, how long it took to die from the Black Death and why the Black Death disappeared.
The Black Death is also known as bubonic plague and it was caused by the Yersinia Pestis bacterium, carried by fleas on rats then transferred to humans, who could pass it on to other humans. It may have begun in Asia in the late 1330s, but it hit Europe in 1347 and the symptoms were as painful as they were disgusting. The pestilence would cause buboes or pustules on the body, including on the groin, underarms and neck. Later there would be bruises and blotches and the skin would turn black. The buboes explain the name bubonic plague. The black skin explains the name the Black Death. That death could occur within a week to ten days of the initial flea bite and the mortality rate was somewhere between a fifth and two thirds of Europe’s population at that time (estimates differ widely, but even the lowest amongst them still equates to many many millions of deaths).
Bubonic plague would continue to haunt Europe until the 17th century, when it faded out, perhaps because of better immunity to it amongst rats, humans or both, perhaps because of better preventative and control measures.
#BlackDeath #Plague #BubonicPlague
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
How the Black Death affects you
youtu.be/IGd78Gg05q0
Eyam: England’s plague village of 1665
youtu.be/qTmAqbo4wVw
A history of smallpox
youtu.be/h6QDH6k_-RU
The Dancing Plague
youtu.be/nWImzWylwCw
Medicine and illness history playlist
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0E7oXrh07NVR_gi4CVgrSI1
LEARN MORE:
Andrew Doig, This Mortal Coil: A History of Death (2022)
amzn.to/3R8oXwg
[FREE] Rosemary Horrux, The Black Death (1994)
archive.org/details/the-black-death-rosemary-horrox_202308/mode/1up
Kenneth F. Kiple (ed.), Plague, Pox and Pestilence: Disease in History (1997)
amzn.to/4sY9BIh
Want to watch/hear/read more about history (and a whole host of other topics)? Then you might benefit from a free Audible or Prime video trial. They are available from the following links:
AUDIBLE
amzn.to/44MvlMi
AUDIBLE PLUS & AUDIBLE PREMIUM PLUS
amzn.to/42rh3PF
PRIME VIDEO
amzn.to/3LW7ykg
GEAR USED
Apple MacBook Pro Laptop (for video editing): amzn.to/3S6IoRK
Blue Yeti Microphone: amzn.to/3FgEDYq
Go-Pro Hero 13 camera: amzn.to/41H4Xnt
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/3vaVxjU
Memory Card: amzn.to/3KeLZZs
DJI Drone: amzn.to/39hROZm
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Open Street Map copyright information
openstreetmap.org/copyright
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
What was it like to die from the Black Death, why was it called the Black Death and how many people did the Black Death kill? These are surely some of the most commonly asked questions about the worst plague in medieval Europe, which raged during the 14th century and in this history of the Black Death documentary from History Calling, I’m going to answer them for you. I’ll also tell you how the Black Death began, where the Black Death began, how long it took to die from the Black Death and why the Black Death disappeared.
The Black Death is also known as bubonic plague and it was caused by the Yersinia Pestis bacterium, carried by fleas on rats then transferred to humans, who could pass it on to other humans. It may have begun in Asia in the late 1330s, but it hit Europe in 1347 and the symptoms were as painful as they were disgusting. The pestilence would cause buboes or pustules on the body, including on the groin, underarms and neck. Later there would be bruises and blotches and the skin would turn black. The buboes explain the name bubonic plague. The black skin explains the name the Black Death. That death could occur within a week to ten days of the initial flea bite and the mortality rate was somewhere between a fifth and two thirds of Europe’s population at that time (estimates differ widely, but even the lowest amongst them still equates to many many millions of deaths).
Bubonic plague would continue to haunt Europe until the 17th century, when it faded out, perhaps because of better immunity to it amongst rats, humans or both, perhaps because of better preventative and control measures.
#BlackDeath #Plague #BubonicPlague
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
How the Black Death affects you
youtu.be/IGd78Gg05q0
Eyam: England’s plague village of 1665
youtu.be/qTmAqbo4wVw
A history of smallpox
youtu.be/h6QDH6k_-RU
The Dancing Plague
youtu.be/nWImzWylwCw
Medicine and illness history playlist
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0E7oXrh07NVR_gi4CVgrSI1
LEARN MORE:
Andrew Doig, This Mortal Coil: A History of Death (2022)
amzn.to/3R8oXwg
[FREE] Rosemary Horrux, The Black Death (1994)
archive.org/details/the-black-death-rosemary-horrox_202308/mode/1up
Kenneth F. Kiple (ed.), Plague, Pox and Pestilence: Disease in History (1997)
amzn.to/4sY9BIh
Want to watch/hear/read more about history (and a whole host of other topics)? Then you might benefit from a free Audible or Prime video trial. They are available from the following links:
AUDIBLE
amzn.to/44MvlMi
AUDIBLE PLUS & AUDIBLE PREMIUM PLUS
amzn.to/42rh3PF
PRIME VIDEO
amzn.to/3LW7ykg
GEAR USED
Apple MacBook Pro Laptop (for video editing): amzn.to/3S6IoRK
Blue Yeti Microphone: amzn.to/3FgEDYq
Go-Pro Hero 13 camera: amzn.to/41H4Xnt
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/3vaVxjU
Memory Card: amzn.to/3KeLZZs
DJI Drone: amzn.to/39hROZm
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Open Street Map copyright information
openstreetmap.org/copyright
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
