English 11 Name: ______

Those Dirty Rats!

Background Reading to the Medieval Age

Directions: Answer the questions below based on the video “Rat Attack” and on your reading of the two articles about the black plague, “How a Mysterious Disease Laid Low Europe’s Masses” and “The Black Death in England 1348-1350.” You may find the video and these articles on the CHS website for this class in the folder entitled “Medieval Literature.” The articles are listed as “Black Plague – Article 1” and “Black Plague – Article 2”; the video as “Rat Attack.” Your answers should be written on a separate sheet of paper, or submitted electronically.

Questions for “How a Mysterious Disease Laid Low Europe’s Masses”

  1. List several of the amazing abilities of the black rat.
  1. How is the Yersinia pestis bacillus transmitted from host to flea to host?
  1. What are the first symptoms of bubonic plague?
  1. Describe the effect of bubonic plague on a victim by the fourth or fifth day of the disease.
  1. How does the song “Ring Around the Rosie” relate to the plague?
  1. Provide a quote from the article that emphasizes how devastating the plague was and how quickly a person could die.
  1. List several way people tried to ward off the plague to avoid contracting the disease.
  1. What were some of the negative effects of the plague on medieval society?
  1. Many theories developed about the cause of the plague. What was one of them?
  1. How many actual forms of the plague exist?

Questions for “The Black Death in England 1348-1350”

  1. If the black plague began in the Far East, how did it arrive in England?
  1. What were other names for the black plague during the Medieval Age?
  1. Where was the effect of the plague the worst?
  1. What percentage of England’s population died as a result of the plague of 1348?
  1. From a religious point of view, what was one of the worst aspects of the plague?
  1. When did England finally become “free of serious plague epidemics”?
  1. What were some of the benefits of the plague on medieval society?

Questions for “Rat Attack”

  1. What is “mautam”?
  1. How often does “mautam” occur?
  1. What follows the “mautam” that has caused Indian folklore and superstition?
  1. How many rats per acre does biologist Ken Aplin estimate are burrowing in the bamboo forest he observes?
  1. What will the black rat eat when food is scarce?
  1. How many rats can a single female rat feasibly produce in a cycle?
  1. What seems to trigger the rat attacks?
  1. What occurred in India 48 years ago that, in effect, was as devastating as the black plague and also can be blamed on the rat population?
  1. How does Alpin track the population growth of the rats?
  1. In six months’ time, Alpin estimates that the rat population grew from approximately 100 rats to how many?
  1. According to Alpin, what determines whether or not a “fourth pulse” of rats will occur?

Question for Consideration

Having now learned a bit about rats, the damage rats can cause, and the bubonic plague they can carry, imagine that you are living in the Middle Ages and have either experienced or heard first-hand accounts of the plague. You and your family are now getting ready to take a pilgrimage to Canterbury, to visit the shrine of the holy Saint Thomas. There have been rumors from other pilgrims of healings occurring at the shrine or even on the journey home. What are your thoughts as you prepare for this journey? What do you hope for as a result of your pilgrimage? What have you seen and experienced that you hope to find relief from? Write your thoughts in a brief paragraph below.