The plague first came to Europe in 1347 when Italian trading ships bought it from the East.

They sailed into harbour with dead and dying men at the oars. Within a few years it had spread through Europe.

Although we don't know exactly how many people it killed, it may have been as many as 25 to 30% of the whole population.

This could have meant as many as 20 million people died.

Plague came in two different forms. The first type was spread by flea bites. These fleas lived on the rats that were everywhere, in towns, villages and on ships.

Black Rat

The symptoms were horrible. First of all big black swellings called buboes appeared in the armpits and groin of the patient. These bled and leaked pus.

Boils and black patches appeared all over the victim. Perhaps this is why it became known as "The Black Death". People usually died of it in about five days.

The second sort of plague was spread by coughs and sneezes. This made the victims cough and sweat and they could die in as little as 24 hours after catching it.

By Henry VIII's time the plague would suddenly appear in towns and villages, kill a lot of people and then disappear again. It was never again as bad as the awful plague of 1347.