This programme focuses on the Black Death. The conditions in medieval towns are related to the spread of disease. Medieval herbal medicine as practised by the monks is examined, and its failure to cure the Black Death is highlighted. The story of how Walter de Burgh starved to death in Northburgh Castle is told.

The programme should enable students to:

• know the role of the gallowglass in the decline of Anglo-Norman authority in Ireland
• know and understand how the Black Death spread
• understand how herbal medicines were made and why they could not cure the Black Death
• recognise the symptoms of the plague
• retell the story of Walter de Burgh
• know about the Anglo-Norman legacy in Ireland