Just how deadly was the Black Death
Flagellant movement:
With no understanding of the biology of the disease, many people believed that the Black Death was a kind of divine punishment.
The Black Death arrives in France:
The crowded port provided perfect conditions for further transmission. The Black Death migrated exponentially across France and remained in the country until 1352.
Spread to Italy:
Later in 1347, another vessel arrived in Sicily, the crew barely alive. The disease spread rapidly all over the island.
Fleas:
Human ectoparasites, like body lice and human fleas, according to a recent study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .
Origin of the Black Death:
It made its definitive appearance in Crimea in 1347, brought there by rats traveling across the Black Sea on Genoese merchant ships.
Black rat:
The PNAS report counters conventional wisdom that suggests black rats and their fleas were responsible for the transmission of the disease.
Outbreak:
From Crimea, One ship arrived in Constantinople, where over 90% of the city's population would eventually succumb to the plague.
Deaths in Austria:
The plague had reached Vienna in May 1349. By the end of the year, it had killed about one third of the population.
Germany infected:
The plague arrived in southern Germany from Switzerland in the summer of 1349. By autumn, much of the country was infected.