ICON: Image of the Black Death
Image of the Black Death
ICON: Image of the Black Death
Image of the Black Death
Medieval Dublin was a busy place. Many of the people who lived within the town walls worked at a trade or a craft. The castle was the centre of activity and the trades and crafts people serviced its needs. They also paid taxes to the castle for the privilege of living within the city walls. Amongst the craftspeople who lived in the town were goldsmiths, carpenters, smiths, butchers and fishmongers. There were also tanners, weavers, coopers, shoemakers, tailors, bakers.
Like all Medieval towns, Dublin was a dirty place. There were no sewers and rubbish was thrown into the streets. People did not have baths or showers regularly or even washed their clothes. There were rats and mice everywhere. Medieval towns were a perfect breeding ground for diseases.
In 1348 the townspeople were given another reason to worry. The Bubonic Plague, or the "Black Death" reached Dublin. The crowded conditions of the city allowed the deadly disease to spread easily. People who wanted to enter the city were forced to remain outside the gates for a number of days until it was clear that they had no symptoms of the infection. This image depicts the horror of the Plague. The living can barely cope with the demands of caring for the sick and burying the dead.