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The Black Death: Name, Symptoms, and Horror

The Black Death (1347–1351) was the deadliest pandemic in recorded history, killing 30–60% of Europe's population. Its name and symptoms are inseparable.

Why "Black Death"?

Contemporary term: Pestis nigra (Latin), morte nera (Italian). "Black" referred to the hemorrhagic necrosis—dark purple/black blotches on skin from disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and gangrene in buboes/extremities.
Metaphorical: The sheer mortality cast a "black" pall over society.
Later naming: "Black Death" popularized in 16th–17th c. (vs. "Great Plague" or "Great Mortality" used at the time).

Symptoms by Form (Yersinia pestis)

Form	Transmission	Key Symptoms	Mortality (untreated)
Bubonic (most common)	Flea bite (rat→human)	Sudden fever, chills, headache, weakness, painful swollen lymph nodes (buboes) in groin/armpit/neck (egg-to-apple size), gangrene at extremities	30–60%
Septicemic	Flea bite / contact with infected fluid	Fever, chills, extreme weakness, abdominal pain, shock, DIC → blackening skin/organ failure (no buboes)	Near 100%
Pneumonic	Airborne droplets (person-to-person)	Rapid pneumonia: fever, cough, bloody sputum, respiratory failure. Fastest killer (24–48 hrs).	Near 100%

Other Signs

Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, delirium, coma. The "black" skin lesions—especially on fingertips, nose, toes—were the visceral hallmark that seared the name into history.

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Africa