Transcript The most terrible of terrors. What makes a good story

“The most terrible of terrors”
What makes a good story about the Black Death?
buboes -
Glossary
swellings caused by bubonic plague
bubonic -
an acute infectious disease characterised by the
formation of buboes
plague any widespread and usually highly contagious disease
with a high fatality rate
historical story an imaginative use historical facts and events, using a
narrative style of writing
standard of living - how well a person lives
Cathedral the home church of a Bishop
Statute of Labourers - a new law passed in 1251, which tried to get labourers
to work for the wages that they had earned before the
Black Death.
©OG Scott
www.scotts.me.uk
“The most terrible of terrors”
What makes a good story about the Black Death?
Step One - What happened when the plague reached Melton
The name of my character is … The people in my family are … (make up
some people, names from the Bible were very popular, ages, personalities)
Our house is … (describe a medieval cottage, are you well off or poor?)
We earn our living … (farming, describe the work you do in the fields at this
time of year).
The first people in Melton to get the plague were … (give their names and a
description of what they were like).
When they caught the plague we could not believe what happened to them …
(use page 26 to help you).
People tried all sorts of cures to get rid of the horrible disease …
(use page 27 to help you).
©OG Scott
www.scotts.me.uk
“The most terrible of terrors”
What makes a good story about the Black Death?
Step Two - What people believed
Sent by God
Pray to God for forgiveness, go on a pilgrimage to a religious place, walk
through the streets singing hymns and whipping themselves to show how
sorry they were.
Bad Air
Carry a bunch of herbs, burn sweet smelling wood in their houses, stay away
from slaughter houses, stagnant water and rubbish heaps.
Person to Person
force the sick to leave the village, run away from infected people, bury the
clothes of plague victims, burn the clothes of plague victims.
©OG Scott
www.scotts.me.uk
“The most terrible of terrors”
What makes a good story about the Black Death?
Step Two - What people believed
Sent by God
Pray to God for forgiveness, go on a pilgrimage to a religious place, walk
through the streets singing hymns and whipping themselves to show how
sorry they were.
Bad Air
Carry a bunch of Herbs, burn sweet smelling wood in their houses, stay away
from slaughter houses, stagnant water and rubbish heaps.
Person to Person
force the sick to leave the village, run away from infected people, bury the
clothes of plague victims, burn the clothes of plague victims.
©OG Scott
www.scotts.me.uk
“The most terrible of terrors”
What makes a good story about the Black Death?
Step Two - The Village Meeting
So many people in the village are dying that the Priest called a meeting in the Church.
Some people said that this would help to spread the disease because … (explain what
the people who believed that the disease was spread from person to person would have
said).
Other people believed that the disease was spread by bad air, because people who
lived in such places sometimes caught it first. They said that we should … (explain
what the people who believed that the disease was spread from person to person would
have said).
The Priest called for silence and said that we should all pray to God to forgive us. He
said that God had sent the plague as a punishment. He said that there were other ways
we could show God how sorry we were … (write about the other things that the Priest
would have suggested).
Finally the meeting came to an end. The village had decided to …… . We chose to do
this because … . In the weeks that followed (explain what happened
in the village as more people continued to die of the Plague).
©OG Scott
www.scotts.me.uk
“The most terrible of terrors”
What makes a good story about the Black Death?
Step Three – What happened to the survivors of the Plague in Melton
So many people have did of the disease and life will never be the same again …
(explain about the fear and horror of watching your friends and family die. Write about
what it would have been like to wonder if you were going to catch the plague. Did any
of the ideas from the village meeting actually work?).
After the plague we were all better off. The price of food and other goods fell. This
meant that … (explain how there was more to go round and how you benefitted).
The shortage of labourers meant that wages went up. The government passed a new
law called the Statute of Labourers. It said … (write about how the law tried to keep
down wages).
We had more land and managed to escape from labour service on the Lord’s land. (use
page 31 to explain what happened and how this made you better off.).
Finally, we all had a better standard of living after the Black Death.. (use page 31 to
explain what happened and how this made you better off.). The only person who was
worse off was …(write about why the Lord was worse off after the Black Death).
©OG Scott
www.scotts.me.uk