The present module introduces advanced undergraduates to the events known as the Black Death (1347-1352) and situates them in the broader culture of medieval public health or premodern prophylactics. It is divided into two teaching units of equal length and interchangeable order: premodern public health theory, policy and practice can operate as an introductory context for the various impacts of plague, while an exploration of Black Death can also be a starting point for discussing prophylactic medicine and urban hygiene more broadly. Together they question whether the second plague pandemic triggered any and all preventative interventions, and illustrate Galenic medicine’s overall influence on prophylactic measures at the population level both before and after its onset.