The Black Death

What it is

This is a pictorial map titled The Black Death, watercolour work by Monro Orr. It shows the history and distribution of the Black Death across Europe, Africa and Asia. The image in the archive is a black-and-white reproduction. It has allegorical figures, a winged skeletal figure, a hooded figure, a bishop, and small scenes of plague around the border. Its caption calls it a pictorial diagram of the Black Death. The image comes from the Iconographic Collections record.

Why it matters

Maps like this turn a long event into a picture that students can read at a glance. Because the map was made in modern times, it reflects how a later author understood the spread of the plague, not how people at the time saw it. It is useful for studying the event's geography and for comparing it with older written accounts.

Look closer

• Which places does the map show, and how are the plague scenes placed around its edges?
• What do the allegorical figures suggest about how the author wanted viewers to feel?
• What does a map like this leave out about the individual people who suffered?