The Black Death: The World's Most Devastating Plague

By: Dorsey Armstrong, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Dorsey Armstrong

Many of us know the Black Death as a catastrophic event of the medieval world. But the Black Death was arguably the most significant event in Western history, profoundly affecting every aspect of human life, from the economic and social to the political, religious, and cultural. In its wake the plague left a world that was utterly changed, forever altering the traditional structure of European societies and forcing a rethinking of every single system of Western civilization: food production and trade, the church, political institutions, law, art, and more. In large measure, by the profundity of the changes it brought, the Black Death produced the modern world we live in today.

While the story of the Black Death is one of destruction and loss, its breathtaking scope and effects make it one of the most compelling and deeply intriguing episodes in human history. Understanding the remarkable unfolding of the plague and its aftermath provides a highly revealing window not only on the medieval world but also on the forces that brought about the Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation, and modernity itself.

Speaking to the full magnitude of this world-changing historical moment, The Black Death: The World's Most Devastating Plague, taught by celebrated medievalist Dorsey Armstrong of Purdue University, takes you on an unforgettable excursion into the time period of the plague, its full human repercussions, and its transformative effects on European civilization. In 24 richly absorbing lectures, you'll follow the path of the epidemic in its complete trajectory across medieval Europe. Majestic in scope and remarkable in detail, this course goes to the heart of one of Western history's most catalytic and galvanizing moments, the effects of which gave us the modern world.

©2016 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2016 The Great Courses

"The horseman on the white horse was plague"

You would be surprised at how many times plague comes up in every day conversation.

I finished Dorsey Armstrong, PhD’s The Great Courses “The Black Death: The World’s Most Devastating Plague” (2016) about a month ago, and I have been too busy with summer camping and hiking to finish writing the review. It’s surprisingly relevant for a disease that first appeared several centuries BCE (Before Common Era).

There it was at Kern River, where the United States Forest Service posted a notice to be careful about feeding mice and rats because they carry plague and Hantavirus. (Actually, thanks to Dr. Dorsey, I know that isn’t quite accurate: fleas that live on mice and rats that can carry plague.) The plague worked its way into a political conversation about fire and fury, death and destruction. Thanks to an earlier listen to Dr. Robert Garland’s The Great Courses “Living History: Experiencing Great Events of the Ancient and Medieval Worlds” (2015), I could compare the most significant military victories and losses from millennia ago – and discuss how the plague was a far more lethal enemy. There it was a few days ago in the news with the alarming headline, “Fleas are testing positive for the plague in parts of Arizona” ABC News, August 12, 2017). Well, of course they do – they probably always do.

Plague is fascinating and frightening in an almost atavistic way. We as humans have a collective memory and a shared horror of a time when an estimated one third to one half of the world’s population died horribly agonizing, but fairly quick deaths. Dr. Dorsey persuasively argues that there were probably three types of plague active: bubonic; septicemic; and pneumonic. She also points out that there wasn’t a single plague year or even several years: it kept recurring, spreading as ancient Greeks and Romans, and then later other Europeans traveled and traded.

Plague is endemic (meaning it’s found routinely in a certain area), but not pandemic (meaning it’s a disease prevalent in a whole country, or the world). It still scares, but it should only scare to the extent that anyone potentially exposed to plague who shows the signs and symptoms described in “The Black Death” should make sure their doctor knows. It’s treatable by antibiotics like Cipro.

I noticed that there’s a The Great Courses “Mysteries of the Microscopic World” (2011) by Dr. Bruce E. Fleury that features a lecture on the Influenza Epidemic of 1918. I think I’m going to have to try that one next.

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Tragic & fascinating

Absolutely loved this lecture series. I can't stop recommending it to friends.
We learn so little in school about plagues - and certainly not enough about the social effects. I had no idea how much the Black Death shaped the world - not just the millions dead, but the arts, religion, social norms.

Liked Prof's presentation

Dorsey Armstrong's presentation was great. I have studied history for years years on an amateur basis and found many of my knowledge gaps filled. Now I actually know what a market town is.

Powerful and well done

This was a great listen! So informative and well done. Give it a listen it's worth it

Amazing course

Great narrator. More in depth than I thought, but not too in depth to get lost. Another great course.

Love the humor

Yes, I know it's not a funny topic, but the Professor's sense of humor helps lighten it a bit. I also appreciate the fact that she said that people of this time were not stupid. We may have more information than they did, but they were perfectly capable of putting two and two together and usually getting close to four. Highly recommended.

informative and not boring. WOW! amazing.

I loved it and learned so much. definitely worth it! Each chapter explores a different aspect of the great mortality. How it arrived. How it traveled. The effect it had on the church. The various documents that were collected during it. The socio economic developments and persecutions. An easy lecture to listen to and very engaging. I loved it.

Informative and Entertaining

I initially listened to this free from the library and like it so well that i bought it. It is so interesting! I learned many new thing about the plague. The narrative was less lecture and more like a story. I did not feel bored, bogged down, or overwhelmed once. I highly recommend.

Highly recommend

This book was fascinating. I recommend it to anyone with an interest in epidemiology or Medieval history.

Really excellent series!

Well research and presented. Covers unexpected consequences of the Black Death. Most of this was new to me and I feel like I now have a better understanding just how devastating and yet, influential this time was as all civilization.