Plague, Plague Information, Black Death Facts, News, Photos -- National Geographic Plague is a bacterial infection found mainly in rodents and their fleas. But via those fleas it can sometimes leap to humans. When it does, the outcome can be horrific, making plague outbreaks the most notorious disease episodes in history. Most infamous of all was the Black Death, a medieval pandemic that swept through Asia and Europe. The first well-documented pandemic was the Plague of Justinian, which began in 541 A.D. The cause of plague wasn't discovered until the most recent global outbreak, which started in China in 1855 and didn't officially end until 1959. The animal reservoir for plague includes mice, camels, chipmunks, prairie dogs, rabbits, and squirrels, but the most dangerous for humans are rats, especially the urban sort. Types of Plague Bubonic plague, the disease's most common form, refers to telltale buboes—painfully swollen lymph nodes—that appear around the groin, armpit, or neck. Plague Today Plague still exists in various parts of the world.
EyeWitness To The Middle Ages and Renaissance Life in a Christian Monastery, ca. 585"When he was dead his body was not placed with the bodies of the brethren, but a grave was dug in the dung pit, and his body was flung down into it. . . " Crime and punishment in a medieval monastery: the monastery's Abbott provides insight into the monastic life. The Vikings Discover America, ca. 1000"There was no want of salmon either in the river or in the lake." Five hundred years before Columbus, the Vikings discover a New World. Invasion of England, 1066The Norman conquest of Anglo-Saxon England described through the images of the 900 year-old Bayeux Tapestry. Anarchy in 12th Century EnglandThe Anglo-Saxon Chronicle paints a sobering picture of life in 12th century England that contrasts strikingly with Hollywood's image of the Middle Ages. The Murder Of Thomas Becket, 1170The killing of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Crusaders Capture Jerusalem, 1099The assault and capture of the Christian "Navel of the World"