The allusion of ring around the rosy is, the Black death. (The virus looks like red circles) The Black Death originated in China and Central Asia and was transmitted to Europe in 1347 when a Eurasian army attacked a trading port in Crimea. The army catapulted plague-infested corpses into the town to spread the infection. From this trading port, ships carried the disease westward to Mediterranean ports, and from there the disease quickly spread inland.
The pandemic was called the Black Death because of the black spots that developed on the skin of many victims.
The Black Death was thought to be a combination of two plagues: bubonic and pneumonic. Bubonic plague does not spread directly from person to person but from rodent to person or person to person by infected fleas. Pneumonic plague is highly contagious and passes from person to person through droplets from coughs or sneezes.
Living conditions in medieval towns and overcrowding in housing encouraged the spread of disease. Poor sanitation in cities created breeding grounds for rats that carried the disease. Death rates from the Black Death varied from place to place. The disease spread more quickly in populated towns than in the countryside.
Monasteries were devastated by the disease, which passed quickly through the community since monks lived in close contact with one another. They also had many visitors passing through, allowing for more chances of it entering the community.
Those with money and power and the means to leave the areas affected were not immune from the plague. For instance, King Alfonso XI of Castile and Joan, the daughter of English king Edward III, died from the disease.
Death rates from the Black Death varied from place to place. The disease spread more quickly in populated towns than in the countryside.
Monasteries were devastated by the disease, which passed quickly through the community since monks lived in close contact with one another. They also had many visitors passing through, allowing for more chances of it entering the community.
Those with money and power and the means to leave the areas affected were not immune from the plague. For instance, King Alfonso XI of Castile and Joan, the daughter of English king Edward III, died from the disease.
While mortality rates from plague during the Black Death varied in different regions, the total death count is estimated to be 25 million people throughout Europe. The population of western Europe did not return to its pre-1348 level until the beginning of the 16th century.
