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The Infographics Show, What Happened to All the Bodies of Black Death Plague Victims?

What Happened to All the Bodies of Black Death Plague Victims?

When the Black Death Plague hit medieval England, it left a trail of destruction in its wake.

Up to half of the population was wiped out by the plague, which makes you wonder - what

happened to all the bodies of Black Death plague victims?

Imagine this - the year is 1348, and you are just a poor, humble monk from a small parish

in the countryside near London, England.

You live an ordinary monk's life, serving the poor rural people.

But today is no ordinary day.

Today, you've taken the long journey from the countryside into the city to attend the

Royal Courts.

You can scarcely believe it, but today you are going to be speaking to the King of England!

You can't help but be excited, even if your mission here is a grim one.

After waiting for hours in a crowded outer chamber, you are finally summoned into His

Majesty's presence.

You're sweating profusely under your monk's robes as you focus on making it through the

formalities without embarrassing yourself or accidentally insulting the King.

“Your Majesty,” you say, “There is a plague preying upon your loyal subjects.

The first sign of illness is a sudden fever and weakness, which quickly progresses to

swollen lumps in the armpits, neck or groin, followed by a blackening of the skin.

Most who catch this dreadful disease die a horrible, painful death within just a few

days.”

“Yes, yes,” the King says, irritably.

“I'm aware of this pestilence.

There have been reports from all over the realm for months now.

What exactly do you expect me to do about it?

Shouldn't you monks be praying about it or something?”

Uh oh!

This isn't going the way you had hoped it would.

You scramble to turn things around.

“Of course, your Majesty is right.

Your faithful people do not blame you for the plague, nor do they expect you to end

it.

Sire, the reason I've come all this way is rather more...practical.”

“Well, what is it then?” he growls.

“Get on with it!”

“It's the bodies, Sire,” you say in a rush.

“They are piling up faster than we can bury them.”

“Well, get some more grave diggers!” shouts the King.

“Of course, your Majesty, excellent advice.

But, ah… the thing is...we are quite rapidly running out of room for the bodies in our

graveyard.

In the last week we've had dozens of deaths in just our small parish alone, and it's

only getting worse by the day.

The huge number of bodies that must be buried are quickly filling up our little graveyard,

and threatening the prime plots reserved for our gracious nobles.

We'll be out of space completely in a matter of days at this rate!”

Now the King actually looks worried.

“We knew that this plague was bad,” he says, “but we had no idea it was this deadly.

We've heard of a few cases around the city, but nothing like what you describe.

If what you say is true, and if it were to spread to the cities, we would be drowning

in bodies!”

The King is quiet for a few moments, as he ponders all that you've told him.

Finally, he looks at you and says:

“It's settled, then.

Monk, I am making you my official Master of Body Disposal.

You are charged with overseeing all aspects of the handling and disposal of the bodies

of the victims of this dreadful plague.

You have the full backing of the Crown and all of our resources available to you, so

there is no excuse for failure.”

You can't believe it.

You don't know what you were expecting, but it wasn't this.

You're grateful you'll have the resources you need to help your parish, but the new

responsibility you have is daunting, to say the least.

The King has already dismissed you and moved on to the next petitioner, so you carefully

leave the chamber - being careful never to turn your back on His Royal Majesty - and

begin the long journey home.

You have a lot to think about.

By the time you arrive back at your church, you are full of plans and ideas.

The first order of business is to use your new power and influence to secure some extra

land.

Using the King's resources, you purchase several acres of land adjoining your graveyard

from a local Lord, and quickly consecrate it, since being buried outside of an official

church graveyard was considered a terrible fate for your eternal soul.

Next, you turn your attention to the burial practices themselves.

Before the plague broke out, people were used to being around death and bodies.

People died at home, their bodies were laid out in the Church for days of prayer and vigils,

and the church's graveyard did double-duty as a public gathering space.

The bond between the living and the dead was strong, and the dead were kept close at hand.

But with the fear of the plague spreading as fast as the disease itself, people are

starting to fear the dead, believing their bodies might spread the disease.

One of the most radical measures you implement is a ban on some traditional funeral practices.

Families will no longer be able to have their loved one's body displayed in the Church,

and family members won't be allowed to attend the burial, which will take place more quickly.

Another huge change will be the shift from individual burials to mass graves.

Instead of individual graves, which take up more time and space, large pits are dug, and

the bodies are wrapped in shrouds and carefully arranged in rows until the pit is full.

You take care to ensure each and every departed soul receives appropriate funeral rites, even

if it's a shared, stripped down, more practical version.

Finally, in a stroke of self-professed brilliance, you sprinkle the earth near the pits with

vinegar, since you believe it helps to stop the spread of the plague.

A few weeks later, although the plague continues to rage, the body situation in your parish

is much more under control.

You're feeling pretty good about yourself and the progress you've made, when a messenger

arrives with an urgent summons from the King.

He wants to see you in London immediately.

This can't be good...

The King barely lets you get through your kneeling and grovelling before he tears into

you.

“You're supposed to be my Master of Body Disposal!

I put you in charge of managing the bodies from this dratted plague.

So why, pray tell, are the bodies piling up in the streets of my city!”

You know you need to act quickly to save your own neck - literally.

The King has a reputation for separating the heads of those who displease him from their

bodies.

By some miracle, though, you escape with your head intact.

But you also have a huge new responsibility - clearing the bodies of Black Death plague

victims from the King's cities.

You know that you won't be given another chance to redeem yourself.

You get right to work tackling the new challenge of managing bodies in an urban setting.

Although the King told you of the shocking methods he has heard about being used in other

countries, such as burning the bodies or burying them on unconsecrated ground, you can't

bring yourself to violate your religious vows, even in the midst of a plague.

So, you implement the same changes to funeral rites and burial practices as you did in the

countryside, but you quickly realize that much more drastic measures will be needed

in the densely populated urban areas.

You order mass graves to be dug on any plot of available land throughout the city to accommodate

the tens of thousands of bodies.

These plague pits, as they would go on to be known, are much larger and deeper than

the modest mass graves in the countryside.

In some areas, bodies are stacked as much as six feet deep before a pit is filled in.

In the densely populated cities, fear and hysteria can spread just as fast as the disease

itself.

To combat the fear, you implement a law that requires any home with a sick person in it

to be marked with a red cross and the occupants to be sealed inside.

You assign Watchers to keep guard over marked homes to ensure no one leaves and to pass

along supplies.

People are rightfully unnerved at the sight of bodies being moved through the city, so

you hire teams of Searchers and Bearers to handle the bodies at night under the cover

of darkness.

Searchers are people, usually women, whose job it is to examine dead bodies and determine

if they had died of the plague.

Bearers would pull a cart through the city streets at night calling out “Bring out

your dead!” and collecting the bodies of plague victims who had died that day.

Due to the unsavory nature of their jobs, Searchers, Bearers and Grave Diggers were

forced to identify themselves publicly, and remain apart from society - which suited most

of them just fine, as Bearers and Grave Diggers were usually rough, drunken men - they were

even known to rob the corpses of victims.

Sadly, like up to half of the population of England, you, our brave and ingenious Monk,

will not survive the Black Death plague.

Despite your best efforts, an estimated one third to one half of the population of London

died in the plague, so you might have succumbed to the disease yourself - although we wouldn't

be surprised if you met a more...sinister end at the hands of a displeased King.

But your legacy lives on, and modern scientists, architects and even developers continue to

find evidence of your work all over England.

Plague pits have been unearthed all over modern London.

There's the Lincolnshire mass grave with 48 skeletons, including 27 children, stacked

neatly in rows.

Charterhouse Square in Farringdon is the largest mass grave in London, home to an estimated

50,000 victims of the Black Death plague.

Historical records tell us that the Bishop of London purchased a property outside the

city, dubbed “No Man's Land”, to bury plague victims, and that, when it quickly

filled, a local landowner bought the adjacent 13-acre property, where excavations have revealed

bodies stacked 5 feet deep in places.

From historical records, we can also learn about the immediate aftermath of the hasty

mass burials of plague victims.

Sources mention many “annoyances” in the wake of the plague, including “terrible

stenches” as bits of coffins, shrouds and decomposing bodies found their way to the

surface.

Churches spent small fortunes filling and leveling the sites of these plague pits to

deal with the “unpleasantness”.

The East Smithfield cemetery in London was used only during the Black Death of 1348-1349,

so the 600 bodies buried there can tell us a lot about the plague's victims.

From studying these skeletons, we have learned that the death rate among royals and higher

nobility was as low as 5%, compared to 45% among the clergy.

Researchers Sharon N. DeWitte from the University of South Carolina and Marianne Kowaleski from

Fordham University published a paper in 2017 about the Eastfield bodies, and they concluded

that “the elderly, those who were impoverished, and those who suffered relatively poor health

faced higher risks of death than their younger, wealthier and healthier peers.”

The plague left social legacies, too.

The labor shortages resulting from the staggering death rates accelerated the decline of serfdom

and the rise of the peasant class, as new opportunities opened up to poor, indentured

serfs.

The Black Death also drastically changed the way people thought about death - once accepted

as the inevitable conclusion to a well-lived Christian life, death was now a thing to fear,

something that could strike you down without warning and wipe out entire families and communities.

The horrors of what happened to the bodies of Black Death plague victims forever changed

the relationship between the living and the dead.

If you thought this video was fascinating, then you have to check out our other videos,

like this one called “Where Did All The Titanic Bodies Disappear To?”; or, you might

like this other video, instead.

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What Happened to All the Bodies of Black Death Plague Victims? was|||||||Schwarzen||Pest|Opfer |||||||||الطاعون| |||||||||Victims|Victims of plague Was geschah mit all den Leichen der Pestopfer des Schwarzen Todes? Τι συνέβη σε όλα τα πτώματα των θυμάτων της πανούκλας του Μαύρου Θανάτου; ¿Qué ocurrió con todos los cadáveres de las víctimas de la peste negra? Qu'est-il advenu des corps des victimes de la peste noire ? Che fine hanno fatto tutti i corpi delle vittime della peste nera? Kas nutiko visiems juodosios mirties maro aukų kūnams? Co stało się z ciałami ofiar zarazy czarnej śmierci? O que aconteceu a todos os corpos das vítimas da peste negra? Что случилось с телами жертв чумы "черной смерти"? Kara Ölüm Vebası Kurbanlarının Cesetlerine Ne Oldu? Що сталося з тілами всіх жертв чуми чорної смерті? 黑死病受害者的所有尸体都发生了什么? 黑死病死者的屍體都去哪了?

When the Black Death Plague hit medieval England, it left a trail of destruction in its wake. ||||||Middle Ages|||||path of devastation||||| |||||||||||rastro|||||sua ||||||mittelalterlichem||sie|||Spur|||in|| ||||||||||||||||stopách ||||الطاعون|||||||||دمار||| ||||ペスト|||||||||||| |||||||||||rastro|||||estela Quando a peste da Peste Negra atingiu a Inglaterra medieval, deixou um rasto de destruição. Когда на средневековую Англию обрушилась чума "Черная смерть", она оставила после себя след разрушений.

Up to half of the population was wiped out by the plague, which makes you wonder - what |||||||消灭了|消失殆尽|||||||| |||||Bevölkerung||||||||||| |||||||أُبيد||||||||| |||||||eliminada||||peste||||| |||||||arrasada|||||||||

happened to all the bodies of Black Death plague victims? ||||||||Black Death victims|

Imagine this - the year is 1348, and you are just a poor, humble monk from a small parish ||||||||||||||||local church community ||||||||||||||||paróquia |||||||||||demütig|Mönch||||Gemeinde ||||||||||||||||رعية ||||||||||||||||教区 Imagina esto||||||||||||monje|||| Imagine o seguinte: o ano é 1348 e você é apenas um pobre e humilde monge de uma pequena paróquia

in the countryside near London, England.

You live an ordinary monk's life, serving the poor rural people. ||||||dienen|||ländlichen| ||||monastic||helping||||

But today is no ordinary day. aber|||||

Today, you've taken the long journey from the countryside into the city to attend the |||||||||||||go to|

Royal Courts. Königliche|

You can scarcely believe it, but today you are going to be speaking to the King of England! ||kaum||||||||||||||| ||تكاد||||||||||||||| ||mal pode||||||||||||||| ||apenas||||||||||||||| ||barely|||||||||||||||

You can't help but be excited, even if your mission here is a grim one. |||||||||||||serious and dire| |||||||||||||sombria| |||sein||||||||||düster| |||||||||||||temná| |||||||||||||مظلمة| |||||||||||||厳しい| |||||||||||||sombría|

After waiting for hours in a crowded outer chamber, you are finally summoned into His |||||||||du||||| |||||||outer chamber||||||| ||||||||||||مُستدعى|| |||||||externa|||||chamado|| ||||||abarrotado/a||||||convocado a su|| Depois de esperar horas numa câmara exterior apinhada de gente, é finalmente chamado à Sua

Majesty's presence. Majestät| the royal presence|

You're sweating profusely under your monk's robes as you focus on making it through the ||hojne|||||||||||| du bist|||||Mönch||||||||| |تتعرق|||||العباءة|||||||| |Estás sudando profusamente|||||hábitos de monje|||||||a través de| ||||||garments||||||||

formalities without embarrassing yourself or accidentally insulting the King. Formalitäten|ohne||||versehentlich|beleidigen|| proper etiquette||||||offending|| Formalidades adecuadas||||||||

“Your Majesty,” you say, “There is a plague preying upon your loyal subjects. |Majestät|||es|||||||| |جلالتك|||||||تفتك|||| ||||||||afligindo|||| ||||||||acechando|sobre|||súbditos leales ||||||||afflicting||||

The first sign of illness is a sudden fever and weakness, which quickly progresses to ||||||||||Schwäche|||fortschreitet| |||||||||||||advances|

swollen lumps in the armpits, neck or groin, followed by a blackening of the skin. enlarged|swollen masses|||underarms|||inguinal region||||darkening of skin||| inchados|caroços|||axilas|||virilha||||||| geschwollene|Lymphknoten|||Achseln|||Leiste||||Verdunkelung||| ||||pazuchách|||trieslo||||||| |تكتلات|||الإبطين|||||||||| ||||脇の下|||||||||| hinchados|bultos hinchados|||axilas|||ingle||||enegrecimiento|||

Most who catch this dreadful disease die a horrible, painful death within just a few ||||schrecklich|||||||||| ||||مروعة|||||||||| ||||terrible|enfermedad terrible||||||||| ||||terrible||||||||||

days.” Tage

“Yes, yes,” the King says, irritably. |||||ärgerlich |||||بغضب |||||in an annoyed manner

“I'm aware of this pestilence. ||||deadly disease ||||Seuche ||||mor ||||الطاعون ||||疫病 |consciente de esto|||

There have been reports from all over the realm for months now. ||||||||world||| ||||||||reino||| ||||aus||||||| ||||||||kráľovstvo||| ||||||||المملكة||| ||||||||領域||| ||||||||reino|||

What exactly do you expect me to do about it?

Shouldn't you monks be praying about it or something?” sollten|||||||| ||you all||in prayer|||| Разве вы, монахи, не должны молиться об этом или что-то в этом роде?"

Uh oh!

This isn't going the way you had hoped it would. das|||||||||würde Все идет не так, как вы надеялись.

You scramble to turn things around. du||||| |تسعى|||| |apressar-se|||| |te apresuras|||| |hurry|||| Está a esforçar-se para dar a volta à situação. Вы пытаетесь переломить ситуацию.

“Of course, your Majesty is right.

Your faithful people do not blame you for the plague, nor do they expect you to end dein|||||||||||||||| |loyal and devoted||||hold responsible||||||||||| |||||||||疫病||||||| |fieles||||culpar|||||||||||

it.

Sire, the reason I've come all this way is rather more...practical.” Your Majesty||||||||||| سيدي||||||||||| |||||||||más bien|| Senhor|||||||||||

“Well, what is it then?” he growls. ||||||he snarls ||||||rosna ||||||knurrt ||||||mrmlie ||||||يُزَمْجِر ||||||gruñe "Então, o que é que se passa?", rosna.

“Get on with it!” Mach||| |||¡Sigue con eso! "Vamos a isso!" "За дело!"

“It's the bodies, Sire,” you say in a rush. ||||du|||| ||||||||"apresuradamente"

“They are piling up faster than we can bury them.” sie||||||||| ||يتراكم||||||ندفن| ||amontonando||||||enterrar| ||accumulating|||||||

“Well, get some more grave diggers!” shouts the King. |hol dir||||Gräber|ruft|| |||||حفاري القبور||| |||||墓掘り||| ||||sepultureros|cavadores de tumbas||| |||||grave excavators|||

“Of course, your Majesty, excellent advice.

But, ah… the thing is...we are quite rapidly running out of room for the bodies in our |||||wir|||||||||||| |||||||bastante|||||||||| Но, ах... дело в том, что... у нас быстро заканчивается место для тел в нашем

graveyard. Friedhof graveyard Cementerio.

In the last week we've had dozens of deaths in just our small parish alone, and it's ||||||||||||||||es ||||||||fatalities|||||||| |||||||||||||教区||| ||||||docenas|||||||||| |||||||||||||paróquia|||

only getting worse by the day. nur|||||

The huge number of bodies that must be buried are quickly filling up our little graveyard, |||||||||||occupying|||| ||||||||enterrados|||||||

and threatening the prime plots reserved for our gracious nobles. |threatening to|||valuable lands|set aside|||kind and noble|nobility ||||terrenos principais||||| und||||||||gnädigen| ||||pozemky||||| |يهدد|||||||المحسنين| |amenazando||principales|parcelas principales|||||

We'll be out of space completely in a matter of days at this rate!” wir werden|||||völlig||||||||

Now the King actually looks worried.

“We knew that this plague was bad,” he says, “but we had no idea it was this deadly. |||||||||||||||||lethal or fatal

We've heard of a few cases around the city, but nothing like what you describe.

If what you say is true, and if it were to spread to the cities, we would be drowning ||||||und||||||||||||ertrinken ||||||||||||||||||overwhelmed by water ||||||||||||||||||afundando |||||||||||propagarse|||||||ahogándonos

in bodies!”

The King is quiet for a few moments, as he ponders all that you've told him. ||||||||||thinks deeply about||||| ||||||||||考える|||||

Finally, he looks at you and says:

“It's settled, then. es ist|| |Está decidido.| "Значит, все решено.

Monk, I am making you my official Master of Body Disposal. |||||||Meister||| ||||||||||التخلص ||||||||||Handling remains

You are charged with overseeing all aspects of the handling and disposal of the bodies ||||supervising|||||management||||| ||responsável||supervisionar|||||manuseio||destinação||| Sie|||||||||||||| ||||الإشراف على|||||التعامل||||| ||||監督する|||||||||| ||encargado||supervisar|||||manejo||eliminación|||

of the victims of this dreadful plague. ||||dieser|| ||||||疫病 |||||terrible|

You have the full backing of the Crown and all of our resources available to you, so Sie|||||||||||||verfügbar||| ||||دعم|||||||||||| ||||apoyo total|||||||||||| ||||support|||monarchy|||||||||

there is no excuse for failure.”

You can't believe it.

You don't know what you were expecting, but it wasn't this. du|||||||||| ||||||anticipating|||| ||||||esperando||||

You're grateful you'll have the resources you need to help your parish, but the new du bist||||||||um|||||| |agradecido/a|||||||||||||

responsibility you have is daunting, to say the least. ||||intimidating|||| ||||assustadora|||| ||||ernsthaft|||| ||||مرعبة|||| ||||daunting|||| ||||abrumadora||||

The King has already dismissed you and moved on to the next petitioner, so you carefully ||||||||||||individual||| der||||||||||||Bittsteller||| ||||||||||||žiadateľ||| ||||||||||||مُقدّم الطلب||| ||||||||||||請願者||| ||||despedido||||||||siguiente solicitante|||

leave the chamber - being careful never to turn your back on His Royal Majesty - and

begin the long journey home.

You have a lot to think about.

By the time you arrive back at your church, you are full of plans and ideas.

The first order of business is to use your new power and influence to secure some extra |||||||||||und|||||

land.

Using the King's resources, you purchase several acres of land adjoining your graveyard ||||||||||susediace|| ||||du|||Hektar||||| ||King's|||||units of land|||next to|| |||||||أفدنة|||المجاورة|| ||||||||||adyacente a||

from a local Lord, and quickly consecrate it, since being buried outside of an official ||||||weihen||da|||||| ||||||make sacred|||||||| ||||||聖別する|||||||| ||||||consagrar rápidamente|||||||| ||||||consagrá-la|||||||| de um Senhor local, e consagrá-la rapidamente, uma vez que o facto de ser enterrada fora de um local oficial

church graveyard was considered a terrible fate for your eternal soul. |||||schreckliches||||| ||||||مصير|||أبدي| ||||||destino terrible|||| |||||||||everlasting| O cemitério da igreja era considerado um destino terrível para a sua alma eterna.

Next, you turn your attention to the burial practices themselves. |||||||interment|| |||||||埋葬|| |||||||prácticas funerarias||

Before the plague broke out, people were used to being around death and bodies. ||||||waren||||||| Prior to|||emerged|||||||||| ||||||過去形|||||||

People died at home, their bodies were laid out in the Church for days of prayer and vigils, |||||||||||||||||Wachsamkeiten |||||||||||||||صلاة||يقظات |||||||||||||||||watchful prayers

and the church's graveyard did double-duty as a public gathering space. ||||vermochte||||||| ||الكنيسة||||||||| ||||||served dual purpose||||| ||||||||||espacio de reunión|

The bond between the living and the dead was strong, and the dead were kept close at hand. die||||||||||und||||||| |connection|||||||||||||||| |El vínculo||||||||||||||||

But with the fear of the plague spreading as fast as the disease itself, people are |||||||spreading|||||||| |||miedo||||||||||||

starting to fear the dead, believing their bodies might spread the disease.

One of the most radical measures you implement is a ban on some traditional funeral practices. ||||radikal||||||Verbot||||| |||||||put into action|||||||ceremonial rites| ||||根本的な|||実施する|||禁止||||| |||||medidas||||||||||

Families will no longer be able to have their loved one's body displayed in the Church, ||||||||||||viewed||| ||||||||||||عرضه||| ||||||||||||expuesto|||

and family members won't be allowed to attend the burial, which will take place more quickly. ||||||||||die|||||

Another huge change will be the shift from individual burials to mass graves. |||wird||||||||| ||||||||||||قبور ||||||cambio|||||| ||||||||||||burial sites

Instead of individual graves, which take up more time and space, large pits are dug, and ||||||||||||Gruben||gegraben| |||tomb sites|||||||||mass graves||excavated| ||||||||||||fosas grandes||excavados|

the bodies are wrapped in shrouds and carefully arranged in rows until the pit is full. |||enveloped||burial cloths||||||||grave or burial site|| |||||lençóis mortuários|||||||||| ||sind|||||||in|||||| |||||plachtách|||||||||| |||||||||||||القبر|| |||||||||||||穴|| |||||mortajas|||dispuestas cuidadosamente|||||fosa|| os corpos são embrulhados em mortalhas e cuidadosamente dispostos em filas até o fosso ficar cheio. Тела заворачивают в саваны и аккуратно укладывают в ряд, пока яма не заполнится.

You take care to ensure each and every departed soul receives appropriate funeral rites, even ||||||||||erhält|||| ||||||||الراحل|||||الطقوس| ||||||||||receives appropriate|||funeral ceremonies| |||||||||||||儀式| ||||||||alma fallecida||||||

if it's a shared, stripped down, more practical version. wenn|||||||| ||||simplified|||| ||||reduzida|||| |||compartida|reducida|||| если это общая, урезанная, более практичная версия.

Finally, in a stroke of self-professed brilliance, you sprinkle the earth near the pits with ||||||vyhlásenej|geniálnosti|||||||| |||||||عبقرية||ترش|||||| |in|||||||||||||| ||||||claimed by oneself|intellectual insight||scatter lightly|||||| |||golpe de ingenio||||||espolvoreas con tierra|||||| Наконец, в порыве самозабвенной гениальности, вы посыпаете землю возле ям

vinegar, since you believe it helps to stop the spread of the plague. Essig|da||||||||||| الخل|||||||||||| vinegar||||||||||||

A few weeks later, although the plague continues to rage, the body situation in your parish |||||||||rages||||||

is much more under control.

You're feeling pretty good about yourself and the progress you've made, when a messenger |||||||||||||Bote |||||||||||||رسول

arrives with an urgent summons from the King. |||dringenden|||| comes in||||message or order||| ||||استدعاء||| ||||intimação urgente||| ||||citación urgente|||

He wants to see you in London immediately.

This can't be good...

The King barely lets you get through your kneeling and grovelling before he tears into ||hardly ever||||||bending on knees||begging submissively|||| ||||||||ajoelhamento||humilhação|||| |||||durchkommen||||||bevor|er|| ||||||||||uctievanie|||| ||||||||||這い蹲る|||| ||||||||arrodillarte y suplicar||suplicar de rodillas|||| O Rei mal vos deixa ajoelhar e ajoelhar antes de vos rasgar Король не дает вам преклонить колени и поклониться, прежде чем врывается в Kral, diz çökmenize ve yaltaklanmanıza zar zor izin veriyor

you. Sen.

“You're supposed to be my Master of Body Disposal! du bist|solltest||||||| ||||||||التخلص

I put you in charge of managing the bodies from this dratted plague. ||||||overseeing|||||cursed| ||||||a gestão|||||maldita| ich|||||||||||verfluchten| |||||||||||preklatej| |||||||||||الملعونة| |||||||||||忌々しい|

So why, pray tell, are the bodies piling up in the streets of my city!” also|||||||sich häufen||||||| |||||||تتزايد|||||||

You know you need to act quickly to save your own neck - literally. ||du||||||retten|||| ||||||||||||literalmente

The King has a reputation for separating the heads of those who displease him from their ||||notorious image||removing||||||anger||| ||||||||||||desagradam||| ||||Ruf||trennen|||||diejenigen|||| ||||||فصل||||||يُغضب||| ||||||||||||不快にさせる||| ||||||||||||desagradarle|||

bodies.

By some miracle, though, you escape with your head intact. bei|||||||||intakt |||||||||سليمة |||||||||無傷で |||||||||unharmed

But you also have a huge new responsibility - clearing the bodies of Black Death plague ||||||||räumen|||von||| ||||||||إزالة||||||

victims from the King's cities.

You know that you won't be given another chance to redeem yourself. |||||||||um|| ||||||||||ت redeem| ||||||||||自分を取り戻す| ||||||||||redimirte| ||||||||||make amends|

You get right to work tackling the new challenge of managing bodies in an urban setting. |||zum|||||||||||| ||||||||||||||city environment| |||||enfrentando|||||||||| |||||abordando||||||||||entorno urbano Começa imediatamente a trabalhar, enfrentando o novo desafio de gerir organismos num ambiente urbano.

Although the King told you of the shocking methods he has heard about being used in other Aunque|||||||impactantes||||||||| Apesar de o Rei vos ter falado dos métodos chocantes que ouviu dizer que foram utilizados noutros

countries, such as burning the bodies or burying them on unconsecrated ground, you can't |||||||interring|||Not blessed ground||| ||||||||||não consagrada||| ||||||||||unheiligem||| ||||||||||غير المقدس||| ||||||||||聖別されていない||| ||||||||||no consagrado|||

bring yourself to violate your religious vows, even in the midst of a plague. |||brechen|||Eide|||der|||| |||انتهاك|||||||||| ||||||誓い||||||| ||||||votos||||||| |||break|||solemn promises||||during|||

So, you implement the same changes to funeral rites and burial practices as you did in the ||||||||Riten||||||||

countryside, but you quickly realize that much more drastic measures will be needed |||||||||Maßnahmen||| ||||||||جذرية|||| ||||||||extreme||||

in the densely populated urban areas. in||||| ||highly populated||| ||人口密度の高い|||

You order mass graves to be dug on any plot of available land throughout the city to accommodate ||Massen|||||||Stück|||||||| |||||||||||||||||تستوعب |||||||||||||||||provide space for Вы приказываете вырыть массовые захоронения на любом свободном участке земли по всему городу, чтобы разместить

the tens of thousands of bodies. die||||| |tens||||

These plague pits, as they would go on to be known, are much larger and deeper than diese|||||||||||||||| Estes fossos da peste, como viriam a ser conhecidos, são muito maiores e mais profundos do que

the modest mass graves in the countryside.

In some areas, bodies are stacked as much as six feet deep before a pit is filled in. ||||||||||||||حفرة||| |||||gestapelt|||||||||||| |||||piled up|||||||||||| |||||empilhadas|||||||||||| |||||apilados|||||||||||| Nalgumas zonas, os corpos são empilhados até dois metros de profundidade antes de se encher uma fossa. В некоторых районах тела складывают на глубину до шести футов, прежде чем засыпать яму. Bazı bölgelerde, bir çukur doldurulmadan önce cesetler altı fit derinliğe kadar istiflenir.

In the densely populated cities, fear and hysteria can spread just as fast as the disease In|||||||Hysterie|||||||| |||||||الهستيريا|||||||| |||||||ヒステリー|||||||| |||||||panic||||||||

itself.

To combat the fear, you implement a law that requires any home with a sick person in it Um||||||||die||||||||| |||||||||mandates that|||||||| |対抗する||||||||||||||||

to be marked with a red cross and the occupants to be sealed inside. |||||||||Insassen|||| ||indicated|||||||people inside|||enclosed| ||||||||||||مُختومين| |||||||||居住者|||| ||||||||||||sellados dentro|

You assign Watchers to keep guard over marked homes to ensure no one leaves and to pass du|||zu||||||||||||| |تعيّن|المراقبون|||||||||||||| |asignar||||||||||||||| ||guardians||||||||||||||

along supplies. neben| |the supplies

People are rightfully unnerved at the sight of bodies being moved through the city, so |||disturbed||||||||||| |||inquietas||||||||||| ||zu Recht|||||||||||| |||znepokojený||||||||||| |||مضطربين||||||||||| ||con razón|inquietos||||||||||| As pessoas ficam, com razão, enervadas com a visão de corpos a serem transportados pela cidade, por isso Люди справедливо нервничают при виде тел, которые перевозят по городу, поэтому

you hire teams of Searchers and Bearers to handle the bodies at night under the cover ||||Suchenden||||||||||| ||||الباحثين||حاملي||||||||| ||||body handlers||Body carriers||||||||| contrata equipas de carregadores e de carregadores para tratar dos cadáveres à noite, a coberto

of darkness. |absence of light

Searchers are people, usually women, whose job it is to examine dead bodies and determine ||||||||||||||bestimmen ||||||||||||||تحديد ||||||||||||||establish cause of death

if they had died of the plague.

Bearers would pull a cart through the city streets at night calling out “Bring out Träger|würden||||||||||||| Os portadores puxavam uma carroça pelas ruas da cidade à noite, gritando "Tragam

your dead!” and collecting the bodies of plague victims who had died that day. os vossos mortos!" e recolher os corpos das vítimas da peste que tinham morrido nesse dia.

Due to the unsavory nature of their jobs, Searchers, Bearers and Grave Diggers were |||unpleasant or distasteful|||||||||| |||unappetitlich||||||||||waren |||nepríjemnej|||||||||| |||غير مرغوب|||||||||الحفارون| |||好ましくない|||||||||| |||desagradable|||||||||| Devido à natureza desagradável das suas funções, os Searchers, Bearers e Grave Diggers eram

forced to identify themselves publicly, and remain apart from society - which suited most gezwungen|||||und|||||was|| ||||públicamente||||||||

of them just fine, as Bearers and Grave Diggers were usually rough, drunken men - they were |||||||||||hrubí|||| |||||||||||raue|betrunkene||| ||||||||||||سكارى||| |||||||||||rudos|borrachos||| ||||||||||||intoxicated|||

even known to rob the corpses of victims. |||||bodies|| |||||الجثث|| |||robar|||| até conhecidos por roubarem os cadáveres das vítimas.

Sadly, like up to half of the population of England, you, our brave and ingenious Monk, |wie|||||||||||||ingeniöser| ||||||||||||||clever and resourceful| Lamentablemente||||||||||||||| Infelizmente, tal como cerca de metade da população de Inglaterra, o senhor, o nosso corajoso e engenhoso Monge,

will not survive the Black Death plague.

Despite your best efforts, an estimated one third to one half of the population of London ||||eine||||||||||| Apesar dos seus melhores esforços, estima-se que um terço a metade da população de Londres

died in the plague, so you might have succumbed to the disease yourself - although we wouldn't ||||||||podľahol||||||| ||||||||gestorben||||||| ||||||||استسلمت||||||| ||||||||かかった||||||| ||||||||gave in||||||| morreu com a peste, por isso é possível que tenha sucumbido à doença - embora não o façamos

be surprised if you met a more...sinister end at the hands of a displeased King. |||||||zlovestný|||||||| ||ob|||||||in|||||| |||||||شرير|||||||| |||||||siniestro|||||||descontento| |||||||malevolent|||||||angry| Ficaria surpreendido se tivesses um fim mais... sinistro às mãos de um Rei descontente.

But your legacy lives on, and modern scientists, architects and even developers continue to |||||||||||المطورون|| ||Vermächtnis|||||||||Entwickler|| ||heritage||||||designers|||software creators|| ||legado|||||||||||

find evidence of your work all over England.

Plague pits have been unearthed all over modern London. ||||ausgegraben|||| ||||اكتشفت|||| ||||descobertas|||| ||||dug up|||| Foram descobertas covas de peste por toda a Londres moderna.

There's the Lincolnshire mass grave with 48 skeletons, including 27 children, stacked ||Lincolnshire||||||| ||||||Skelette||| ||لينكولنشاير||||هياكل عظمية||| ||Lincolnshire location||||remains||| ||リンカンシャー|||||||

neatly in rows. úhľadne|| ordentlich|| de forma ordenada|| Ordenadamente en filas.||

Charterhouse Square in Farringdon is the largest mass grave in London, home to an estimated Charterhouse|||Farringdon||||||||||| historic site|||London district||||||||||| |||فارنجدون|||||||||||

50,000 victims of the Black Death plague.

Historical records tell us that the Bishop of London purchased a property outside the |||||||||erwarb|ein||| ||||||Bishop of London|||acquired|||| |||||||||اشترى|||| ||||||ロンドンの司教|||||||

city, dubbed “No Man's Land”, to bury plague victims, and that, when it quickly |genannt|||||||||||| |nicknamed|||||||||||| |apodada||||||||||||

filled, a local landowner bought the adjacent 13-acre property, where excavations have revealed ||||||next to|acreage|||archaeological digs||uncovered gefüllt|||||||Acre|Grundstück||Ausgrabungen|| |||poľnohospodár||||||||| |||||||فدان|||الحفريات|| ||||||||||発掘調査|| |||propietario local||||||||| preenchido, um proprietário local comprou a propriedade adjacente de 13 acres, onde as escavações revelaram

bodies stacked 5 feet deep in places. corpos empilhados a 5 pés de profundidade em alguns sítios. трупы, сложенные в штабеля глубиной в 5 футов.

From historical records, we can also learn about the immediate aftermath of the hasty ||||||||||consequences following event|||quick and rash ||||||||||consequência imediata|||apressada ||||||||||Folgen|||eiligen ||||||||||následkoch|||ponáhľajúcej ||||||||||عواقب|||عاجل ||||||||||結果||| ||||||||||Consecuencias inmediatas|||precipitado/a

mass burials of plague victims. |Gräber||| |دفن|||

Sources mention many “annoyances” in the wake of the plague, including “terrible |||nepríjemnosti|||||||| Quellen|||Ärgernisse||der|||||| |||الإزعاجات|||||||| |||molestias|||||||| |||frustrations|||||||| As fontes mencionam muitos "aborrecimentos" na sequência da peste, incluindo "terríveis

stenches” as bits of coffins, shrouds and decomposing bodies found their way to the foul odors||||decaying caskets|||decaying|||||| os fétidos|||||mortalhas|||||||| Gestank||||Särgen|Leichentücher|||||||| smrady|||||plachty|||||||| روائح كريهة|||||الأكفان||تحلل|||||| |||||||腐敗する|||||| hedores||trozos||ataúdes|mortajas|||||||| fedores", à medida que pedaços de caixões, mortalhas e corpos em decomposição iam chegando ao

surface. top layer

Churches spent small fortunes filling and leveling the sites of these plague pits to ||kleine||||ebnen||||||| Churches||||||smoothing out||||||| |||ثروات|||||||||| ||||||nivelando||||||| As igrejas gastaram pequenas fortunas a encher e a nivelar os locais destes fossos da peste para

deal with the “unpleasantness”. |||Unannehmlichkeit |||الانزعاج |||desagradável |||la incomodidad |||discomfort

The East Smithfield cemetery in London was used only during the Black Death of 1348-1349, ||Smithfield||||||||||| |||Friedhof|||||||||| ||سميثفيلد||||||||||| ||Smithfield area|graveyard||||||||||

so the 600 bodies buried there can tell us a lot about the plague's victims. ||||||||||||der Pest| ||||||||||||الطاعون| ||||||||||||disease's|

From studying these skeletons, we have learned that the death rate among royals and higher ||||||||||||kráľovských|| ||||||||die|||||| ||||||||||||nobility||

nobility was as low as 5%, compared to 45% among the clergy. nobility class|||||||||religious leaders der Adel|||||||unter||Klerus šľachta|||||||||duchovenstvo |||||||||رجال الدين |||||||||聖職者 |||||||||clero

Researchers Sharon N. DeWitte from the University of South Carolina and Marianne Kowaleski from |Sharon||DeWitte||||||||Marianne|Kowaleski| |Sharon DeWitte|N(1)|<DeWitte>||||||University of South Carolina||Marianne Kowaleski|a surname| |شارون||دي ويت||||||كارولينا|||كوالسكي|

Fordham University published a paper in 2017 about the Eastfield bodies, and they concluded Fordham||||||||Eastfield|||| Fordham University||||||||Eastfield remains||||determined فوردهام||||||||Eastfield|||| ||||artículo académico||||||||

that “the elderly, those who were impoverished, and those who suffered relatively poor health ||||||financially disadvantaged||||experienced||| ||||||empobrecidos||||||| |||die|||verarmt||||||| ||||||chudobní||||||| ||||||المعوزين||||||| ||los ancianos||||empobrecidos|||||||

faced higher risks of death than their younger, wealthier and healthier peers.” |||||||||||rovesníci ||||||||more affluent|||age group ||||||||أغنى|||

The plague left social legacies, too. ||ließ||| ||||إرثًا| ||||lasting impacts| A peste também deixou legados sociais.

The labor shortages resulting from the staggering death rates accelerated the decline of serfdom |workforce|lack of workers||||overwhelmingly high||death rates|||decrease||forced labor system ||||||assombrosas|||||||servidão feudal die||||||starrenden|||beschleunigten|||| ||||||ohromujúcich|||||||poddanstvo |||الناجمة|||المذهلة|||||||العبودية ||escasez de mano de obra||||asombrosas|||||||servidumbre feudal A escassez de mão de obra resultante das taxas de mortalidade espantosas acelerou o declínio da servidão

and the rise of the peasant class, as new opportunities opened up to poor, indentured ||increase|||working class|||||||||bound by contract |||||classe camponesa|||||||||servos contratados |der||||||als|||||||verpflichtete |||||roľníckej|||||||||podmienení ||||||||||||||مستأجر |||||campesino|||||||||"endeudado" и рост крестьянского сословия, когда новые возможности открылись для бедных, наемных работников.

serfs. poddaní Feudal laborers الأقنان servos rurais siervos.

The Black Death also drastically changed the way people thought about death - once accepted ||||significantly|||||||||

as the inevitable conclusion to a well-lived Christian life, death was now a thing to fear, ||unvermeidliche|||||||||||||| ||||||||Christian life||||||||

something that could strike you down without warning and wipe out entire families and communities. |das||||||||||||| |||||||||destroy||||| |||golpear repentinamente||||||arrasar con|||||

The horrors of what happened to the bodies of Black Death plague victims forever changed |Horroren||||||||||||| |terrifying events|||||||||||||

the relationship between the living and the dead.

If you thought this video was fascinating, then you have to check out our other videos,

like this one called “Where Did All The Titanic Bodies Disappear To?”; or, you might ||||||||Titanic|||||| ||||||||تيتانيك|||||| ||||||||||vanish|||| ||||||||Titanic||||||

like this other video, instead.