“Let’s Learn About Personal Hygiene During the Black Plague!”
Because Nothing Says ‘Good Times’ Like Discussing Filth and Disease!
The Black Plague was a devastating pandemic that occurred in Europe between 1347 and 1351. It was caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and spread through fleas on rats. The plague killed an estimated 75 million people, or about one-third of Europe’s population at the time.
Hygiene Practices Before the Black Plague
Personal hygiene habits were not as important as they are today. People did not bathe regularly, and many people did not wash their hands before eating or after using the bathroom. This is because most people believed that water was dirty, so they didn’t want to use it on themselves or their clothes.
People also believed that washing would make them sicker if they had an illness such as the Black Plague. They thought that washing would spread germs around their bodies and make them even sicker than they already were!
The only time people bathed during this time period was when they were sick with an illness like cholera…
