Black Death Timeline

Black Death was created

Mar 20, 1345

The Black death was a terribly contagious, extensive and terrifying disease. No matter how healthy you were, if you caught the plague, you could go to bed alive in the evening but be dead by the next morning. The plague was spread by fleas which traveled on rats. People who caught the plague would get headaches, fevers and chills. Their tongue would have a white color before it swelled up with lymph nodes. Black ulcers and spots would start growing on the body when blood joined under the skin.

Messina, Sicily caught the plague

Oct 1, 1347

Records say that Europe first caught the plague on October, 1347 in Messina, Sicily. The plague came on trading ships which came from the Black Sea. When the citizens of Messina had found out about the plague which has been spread by the trading ships, they quickly banished those ships from the port. But the plague had already spread throughout the city. Frightened victims would flee to the countryside, spreading the plague around. Those ships then brought the plague to other places in the area.

Ireland caught the Black Death

Jan 1, 1348

In 1348, Ireland caught the Black Death. It hit the English and Norman people harder than it did the Irish people though, since the Irish lived in more isolated places. The effects of the plague weren’t even since the Gaelic Ireland colony wasn’t affected as widely as the Anglo-Irish. The colony’s ports were hit first in the merchandise and trading vessels and were infected by the rats which carry the fleas. (date unknown)

Black Death reached England

Jul 15, 1348

England caught the Black Death in the summer, between June and August, 1348. Bristol is believed to be the first place in England to fall victim of the Black Plague, since Bristol was an important European port and city where a lot of trading ships come to. In between 24th June and 1st August, the Black Death had reached Bristol.

Another death

Sep 2, 1348

On September 2nd, 1348, Joanna, who was daughter of King Edward III was on her way to marry the heir of the throne of Castille when she died of the plague in Bordeaux.

London catches the Black Death

Nov 1, 1348

By the 1st of November, 1348, London caught the Black Plague. More ships came to London through the River Thames which brought more infection to this city. London was a busy and crowded city with poor sanitation and living conditions, which led to the quick spreading of flees and Black Plague, since a lot more people would get the plague and the flees would have a better chance of infecting anyone who’s alive. At least 20,000 deaths in London were recorded by the churches.

A New Vicar

Nov 29, 1348

A new Vicar was appointed on the 29th November, 1348 in Shaftesbury, England in order to replace the last Vicar who was infected by the plague and died.

A Third Vicar

Dec 10, 1348

A third Vicar, also in Shaftsbury in England, to replace another Vicar who also died because of the plague on 10th December, in the same year.

Arrival in Wales and the Midlands

Feb 1, 1349

The Black Death arrived in Wales and the Midlands in spring 1349 and entered the north by late summer. (date unknown)

Yorkshire catches Black Death

Feb 15, 1349

In spring, 1349, Yorkshire (England) caught the Black Death. (date unknown)

A Fourth VIcar

May 12, 1349

A fourth Vicar was appointed in Shaftsbury, England on the 12th May, 1349 when the third Vicar died, also because of the plague.

The peak of the plague

May 15, 1349

During the summer of 1349, the plague reached its peak and a lot more people fell victim of the plague, Edward III wrote a letter to the Mayor of London, ordering the streets of London to be cleaned since the streets were full of dead bodies which were infected by the plague. Edward III said the streets and lanes were “foul with human faces, and the air of the city poisoned to the great danger of men passing, especially in this tine of infectious disease”. (date unknown)

Ordinance of Labourers

Jun 18, 1349

On the 18th June, 1349, the English parliament approved an Ordinance of Labourers in order to keep the pay the same as it was before the plague since a lot of workers died during the plague.

Violations with wages

Jan 1, 1352

In 1352, violations with wages at x2, x3 pre-plague levels were cited by the parliament. In every town, people were ordered to store stocks for offenders. (date unknown)

End of the first outbreak

Jan 1, 1352

When the Black Death was over, Eurasia has already lost at least 1/3 of its population. It's already killed 25 million people in Europe alone.

End of the Black Plague

Feb 2, 1666

There were a few more outbreaks of the plague. In the final outbreak of the plague, which ended on the 2nd of September, 1666, a fire destroyed four-fifths of London. The fire started at King Charles II’s baker's house. It was recorded that about 13.2 thousand houses, 90 churches and 50 livery company halls were burnt/ exploded but only 16 people died. The fire helped stop the spread of the plague, since most of the disease-carrying rats were killed.