The Black Death
Eight thematic chapters guide the reader through the medical perspective of the plague-- medieval and modern--and to the plague's impact on society, cities, individuals, and art of the time. Medieval doctors named miasmatic vapors--bad air --as a primary cause of infection, along with an improper balance of the four Humors--blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile, often caused by ominous astrological alignments; or so they believed. Scapegoats, often Jews, were persecuted and murdered as frightened people desperately sought somebody to blame for the spread of the plague. Others assumed the plague was God's punishment of wicked humanity, and roamed the countryside in groups that would flagellate themselves publicly as an act of atonement. An annotated timeline guides the reader to the key events and dates of this recurring disaster. Nine illustrations show how artists represented the plague's impact on the self and society. Twelve primary documents, half of them never before translated into English, come from eyewitnesses ranging from Constantinople, Damascus, Prague, Italy, France, Germany, and England. A glossary is provided that enables readers to quickly look up unfamiliar medical and historical terms and concepts such as Bacillus, Verjuice, and Peasants' Revolt of 1381. An annotated bibliography follows, divided by topic. The work is fully indexed. |
Cosa dicono le persone - Scrivi una recensione
Sommario
The Black Death and Modern Medicine | 15 |
The Black Death and Medieval Medicine | 33 |
Effects of the Black Death on European Society | 57 |
Psychosocial Reactions to the Black Death | 73 |
European Art and the Black Death | 89 |
Individual and Civic Responses in Cairo | 103 |
The End of the Black Death and | 123 |
Primary Documents | 151 |
Compendium de epidemia Book 2 1348 | 159 |
An Essay | 173 |
Disputation Betwixt the Body and Worms | 179 |
The Jews of Strassburg February 1349 | 186 |
Glossary | 193 |
199 | |