The Black Death / Edition 1

by Manchester University Press

Overview

From 1348 to 1350 Europe was devastated by an epidemic that left between a third and one half of the population dead. This source book traces, through contemporary writings, the calamitous impact of the Black Death in Europe, with a particular emphasis on its spread across England from 1348 to 1349.

Rosemary Horrox surveys contemporary attempts to explain the plague. The almost universal belief that it was an expression of divine anger at the sins of humankind did not preclude attempts to explain in scientific and medical terms; or to look for human scapegoats. The final third of the book charts the social and psychological impact of the plague, and its effects in the late-medieval economy. The sources illustrate the fear that spread with the disease and the diverse ways that such terror influenced social behaviour.

An invaluable textbook for undergraduate and graduate students of medieval European and English history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780719034985
Publisher:	Manchester University Press
Publication date:	08/11/1994
Series:	Manchester Medieval Sources , #1
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	477,682
Product dimensions:	5.43(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.85(d)

About the Author

Rosemary Horrox is Fellow in History, Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge

Table of Contents

Part one: Narrative accounts

1. The plague in continental Europe

2. The plague in the British Isles

Part two: Explanations and responses

3. The religious response

4. Scientific explanations

5. Human agency

Part three: Consequences

6. The impact of the plague

7. Repercussions

Suggestions for further reading

Index

Editorial Reviews

This is an outstanding collection of documents written by those who lived and died in the mid-fourteenth century: chosen with great skill, translated felicitously and accompanied by commentaries which contain a wealth of informed judgements. It provides an abundance of intimate insights into a society experiencing the most lethal epidemic in recorded history, and is essential as well as fascinating reading for anyone with a serious interest in the middle ages

From the Publisher