Table of Contents
Foreword
Preface
A Note about the Text and Translations
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PART ONE
Introduction: The Black Death in History
The Black Death as Historical Event
Historical Significance of the Black Death
Studying Medieval Sources
PART TWO
The Documents
1. Geographical Origins
Nicephorus Gregoras,
Byzantine History, ca. 1359
Abu Hafs ‘Umar Ibn al-Wardi,
Essay on the Report of the Pestilence, ca. 1348
Giovanni Villani,
Chronicle, ca. 1348
Louis Sanctus,
Letter, April 27, 1348
2. Symptoms and Transmission Michele da Piazza,
Chronicle, 1347–1361
Giovanni Boccaccio,
Introduction to The Decameron, 1349–1351
Louis Sanctus,
Letter, April 27, 1348
John VI Kantakouzenos,
History, 1367–1369
3. Medical Responses Medical Faculty of the University of Paris,
Consultation, October 6, 1348
Alfonso de Córdoba,
Letter and Regimen concerning the Pestilence, ca. 1348
Gentile da Foligno,
Short Casebook, 1348
Jacme d’Agramont,
Regimen of Protection against Epidemics, April 24, 1348
AbuJa ‘far Ahmad Ibn Kha tima,
Description and Remedy for Escaping the Plague, February 1349
Gui de Chauliac,
Great Surgery, 1363
4. Societal and Economic Impact Francesco Petrarch,
Letters on Familiar Matters, May 1349
Giovanni Boccaccio,
Introduction to The Decameron, 1349–1351
Agnolo di Tura,
Sienese Chronicle, 1348–1351
Jean de Venette,
Chronicle, ca. 1359–1360
Ahmad Ibn ‘Ali al-Maqri zi,
A History of the Ayyubids and Mamluks, 15th Century
City Council of Siena,
Ordinance, May 1349
The Córtes of Castile,
Ordinance, 1351
Wiltshire, England, Assize Roll of Labor Offenders, June 11, 1352
5. Religious Mentalities Gabriele de Mussis,
History of the Plague, 1348
Michele da Piazza,
Chronicle, 1347–1361
Simon Islip, Archbishop of Canterbury,
Effrenata (Unbridled), May 28, 1350
Hamo Hethe, Bishop of Rochester, and Thomas de Lisle, Bishop of Ely,
Post -Plague Parish Poverty, July 1, 1349, and September 20, 1349
Libertus of Monte Feche,
Last Will and Testament, September 21, 1348
‘Imad al-Din Abu ’l-Fida ‘Isma ‘ilb. ‘Umar Ibn Kathir,
The Beginning and End: On History, ca. 1350–1351
Abu Hafs ‘Umar Ibn al-Wardi,
Essay on the Report of the Pestilence, ca. 1348
Lisan al-Din Ibn al-Khatib,
A Very Useful Inquiry into the Horrible Sickness, 1349–1352
6. The Psyche of Hysteria The Flagellants
Heinrich of Herford,
Book of Memorable Matters, ca. 1349–1355
Fritsche Closener,
Chronicle, 1360–1362
Gilles li Muisis,
Chronicle, 1350
King Philip VI of France,
Mandate to Suppress the Flagellants, February 15, 1350
Jewish Pogroms King Pedro IV of Aragon,
Response to Jewish Pogrom of Tárrega, December 23, 1349
Takkanoth (Accord)
of Barcelona, September 1354
Interrogation of the Jews of Savoy, September– October 1348
Mathias of Neuenburg,
Chronicle, ca. 1349–1350
Konrad of Megenberg,
Concerning the Mortality in Germany, ca. 1350
Pope Clement VI,
Sicut Judeis (Mandate to Protect the Jews), October 1, 1348
7. The Artistic Response The Dance of Death
The Great Chronicle of France, ca. 1348
John Lydgate,
The Dance of Death, ca. 1430
Death as Chess Player, St. Andrew’s Church, Norwich, ca. 1500
Transi Tombs
François de la Sarra,
Tomb at La Sarraz, Switzerland, ca. 1390
Archbishop Henry Chichele,
Tomb at Canterbury Cathedral, ca. 1425
A Disputacioun betwyx the Body and Wormes, ca. 1450
APPENDIXES A Chronology of the Black Death (1347–1363)
Questions for Consideration
Selected Bibliography
Index