---
title: "The Black Death"
description: "The Black Death, which reached England in 1348: plague, its symptoms and routes of spread, its heavy death toll, and how worker shortages helped some survivors seek higher pay"
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/the-black-death-mt_8oAzr0WxRb
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/the-black-death-mt_8oAzr0WxRb.md
retrieved: 2026-10-19
---

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# The Black Death

The Black Death, which reached England in 1348: plague, its symptoms and routes of spread, its heavy death toll, and how worker shortages helped some survivors seek higher pay

Subject: History · Area: Medieval Times · Ages 7 to 9
Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/the-black-death-mt_8oAzr0WxRb

## Ready when they can

- Describe what the Black Death was and at least two symptoms
- Explain that plague can spread through bites from infected fleas and, when it infects the lungs, through droplets from a sick person's cough
- Explain how fewer workers helped some survivors seek higher wages, while rulers and landowners tried to limit these changes

## Lesson: The Black Death

The Black Death was a deadly outbreak of plague caused by bacteria. It reached England in 1348. The outbreak spread through much of Europe between 1347 and 1351. One form caused fever and painful swollen lumps called buboes. Many people died.

Fleas carrying plague bacteria can infect people through bites. They may live on rats and other animals. If plague infects the lungs, droplets from a cough can infect someone nearby. These are two different routes. Not every person with plague spreads it by coughing.

*(drawing: A flea can carry bacteria from an animal to a person through a bite.)*

*(drawing: When plague infects the lungs, droplets from a cough can infect someone nearby.)*

Many people died, leaving fewer workers. Landowners still needed people to work their fields. This helped some survivors ask for higher wages. Pay rose in many places over time. Rulers and landowners tried to limit wages and keep workers from leaving. The plague did not make every survivor richer or free every serf.

*(drawing: With fewer workers available, some survivors could bargain for better pay.)*

**Example.** To find half of a group, split it into two equal groups. Half is one group. In a made-up example, a village has 12 people and half survive. Split 12 into 6 and 6. One group has 6 people, so 6 survive. This is not a death-rate record from a real village.

**Recap.** Plague can spread through infected flea bites or droplets from a cough when it infects the lungs. Worker shortages helped some survivors seek higher pay, but restrictions remained.

## Practice

8 questions on this page, each with its working shown.

## Needs first

- [Medieval Pyramid of Power](https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/medieval-pyramid-of-power-mt_bjlY5TE1y-)
- [Village Life](https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/village-life-mt_PThM5P7Umd)

## Opens up

- [When Plague Crossed a Continent](https://lightmysky.com/learn/history/when-plague-crossed-a-continent-mt_852vI5oN6Y)