Black Death

Black Death is set in medieval England in 1348 during the time of the plague or, as they call it multiple times throughout the movie, the pestilence. Ulrich, played by Sean Bean, is a man who has been sent on a mission by the bishop. He must find a remote village that has not yet been ravished by the plague. They believe there is a necromancer there who is using witchcraft to keep it away. As a man of God, he must go retrieve this person for the bishop so they can be questioned and punished. Accompanying Ulrich on this journey is his group of warriors and Osmund, a monk, played by Eddie Redmayne. And so the story unfolds following their journey to this village and the events that happen there...

This movie contains a multitude of realistic details that portray what life would have been like during the Middle Ages, especially during the plague. These include basic details such as the clothes, armor, and weaponry. More importantly than these, the movie portrays larger themes that would have been present in the Middle Ages: religion and superstition.

Here it is clear to see what type of clothing and armor the main characters wear throughout the movie. This portrays that during the Middle Ages, things were a little...drab. Also, if you look closely, you can see that Ulrich (Sean Bean, in the middle) is wearing the best armor. This accurately presents how the leader of the group gets the best armor, and weaponry, whereas the rest get what they can. Osmund, the monk next to Ulrich, wears a brown hooded robe with a rope tied around the middle. This is how Middle Age monks were depicted. Overall I think this movie gives a very 'real' sense of what the men would have been wearing. Even the women are shown in loose, flowing dresses that are associated with the Middle Ages; as shown above on the wonderful Carice Van Houten. 

Another thing that says "Middle Ages!" is definitely the weaponry. As seen in the picture to the left, there is an array of swords and shields. There is almost constant sword fighting and violence throughout the film. This shows how dangerous this time would have really been. They are also travelling with a device resembling an iron maiden, which is a associated with the Middle Ages as a torture device. Once again, the film is trying to accurately portray the Middle Ages.


Religion plays an extremely large role throughout this entire movie; from the very beginning scenes in the monastery to the very end where Osmund is on a religious mission of revenge. The characters say, more than once, that God has sent the plague to punish them. They are on a religious journey to find this village with the witch and bring them to justice. It all deals with God. I think this shows more about the Middle Ages than any of the aesthetics can. Christianity was prevalent during this time and this movie portrays that very well. The village they find is one without God. Instead, a woman named Langiva (Carice Van Houten, the 'witch') is their leader. This causes Ulrich to believe they must all be punished. Instead, his group is the one that gets punished...(Poor Sean Bean)

Speaking of witches, superstition is another extremely important theme throughout this film. Not only does everyone believe God sent the plague, but they believe that a majority of women are witches. This is another huge part of the Middle Ages that people think of. They were sure to include this in the movie. While on the journey to the village they find a group of people in the forest about to burn a woman they claim is at fault for the death of half their village. The woman claims she didn't do it and she probably didn't seeing as a majority, if not all, of the women they burned in the Middle Ages had never done anything wrong. Langiva, the only one who could be considered a witch, escapes in the end...of course. 


So what does the viewer feel like they know about the Middle Ages after watching this film? A lot. This film heavily relies on depicting the Middle Ages in a realistic way. I think it leaves the viewer with a lot to think about and even more to be thankful for. 

This movie is on the wonderful world of Netflix. Watch it. It's fairly good. 8/10. 9/10 with rice. Here's the trailer if you aren't convinced...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sj3Jw1DLGpA