Experts studying remains of victims buried in 14th century say bubonic plague was not an indiscriminate killer
When the Black Death hit London in autumn 1348, it caused a wave of devastation, with more than half the city’s population thought to have been killed. But a study has now found women with Black African ancestry could have had a greater risk of death than others.
Research has previously demonstrated that, far from being a homogeneous white society, medieval England – and its capital – had considerable diversity. As well as residents hailing from the far reaches of Europe, documentary and archaeological evidence has revealed people of Black African ancestry and dual heritage lived in London.
About Author
More Stories
I keep fantasising about living in total solitude in a forest
Microsoft unveils chip it says could bring quantum computing within years
Five years on from the pandemic, the right’s fake Covid narrative has been turbo-charged into the mainstream | Laura Spinney