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The Black Death (Manchester Medieval Sources) 1st Edition

by Rosemary Horrox (Author)

4.5 80 ratings

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This series provides texts central to medieval studies courses and focuses upon the diverse cultural, social and political conditions that affected the functioning of all levels of medieval society. Translations are accompanied by introductory and explanatory material and each volume includes a comprehensive guide to the sources' interpretation, including discussion of critical linguistic problems and an assessment of recent research on the topics covered.

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, which was universally regarded as an expression of divine vengeance for the sins of humankind. Moralists all had their particular targets for criticism. However, this emphasis on divine chastisement did not preclude attempts to explain the plague in medical or scientific terms. Also, there was a widespread belief that human agencies had been involved, and such scapegoats as foreigners, the poor and Jews were all accused of poisoning wells. The final section of the book charts the social and psychological impact of the plague, and its effect on the late-medieval economy.

ISBN-10

0719034981
ISBN-13

978-0719034985
Edition

1st
Publisher

Manchester University Press
Publication date

August 11, 1994
Language

English
Dimensions

5.43 x 0.85 x 8.5 inches
Print length

384 pages
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Editorial Reviews

Book Description

Surveys contemporary responses to the Black Death.

From the Inside Flap

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

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Manchester University Press; 1st edition (August 11, 1994)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0719034981
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0719034985
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.43 x 0.85 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #552,812 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #308 in European History (Books)
- #2,391 in Great Britain History (Books)
- #3,836 in Historical Study (Books)

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4.5 80 ratings

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An outstanding collection of contemporary accounts

Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2008

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Horrox has collected and translated dozens of first-hand accounts of the Black Death of 1348 - 1350. The first quarter of the book is comprised of narrative accounts of the arrival and devastation of the plague, from its arrival in Italy to its spread into Britain. The middle half shows the various responses (medical, religious and scientific) to the mortality, the final quarter of the book examining its reprocussions.

All of the accounts presented here are from eye-witnessess to the terrible virulence and mortality of the Black Death. Although the majority of the documents are from Britain, there is a tremendous amount of similarity among them - the fear, shock, sadness and sense of fatalism as the disease ravaged Europe and the panic and social and economic dislocation that resulted. As a historian, I was fascinated; lay readers will almost certainly be similarly riveted by these accounts and the eerily familiar tone of the voices.

13 people found this helpful

Excellent Resource

Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2013

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I have used this text in a literature class focused on writing about and in the wake of the 14th century plague. While there are other collections of primary sources on plague, the aspects of Horrox's work that make her edition superior are: 1) her breakdown of "narrative accounts" by geography, distinguishing between accounts from continental Europe and the British Isles--very useful in reminding students of differences among medieval cultures, and; 2) her own excellent introductions to each of the main sections ("Narrative Accounts," "Explanations and Responses," and "Consequences"). Horrox is a fine writer who imparts a lot of information with clarity and grace. Her engaging prose style helpfully explains the context of these writings and stimulates one's further interest.

11 people found this helpful

Yersinia Pestis, you take my breath away!

Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2010

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I purchased The Black Death on a whim to expand upon a wider interest in Medieval Europe, and what I thought was going to be an interesting yet possibly dry academic tome turned out to be an engrossing and entirely captivating presentation of contemporary accounts of the Black Death (one of the deadliest pandemics in Human history) and the devastation it wrought, specifically in England where it devoured nearly half of the population between 1348 and '49. To say the accounts presented herein are absolutely surreal would be an understatement of pandemic proportions. The Black Death is beyond excellent, endlessly (albeit horrifically) fascinating, and highly recommended for both casual and academically inclined readers!

4 people found this helpful

Doesn't offer too many perspectives about the European plague years.

Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2017

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This book is a compilation of first-hand narratives (primary sources) by people who lived through the European plague. It's not a story about those years but would be useful for someone trying to get some idea about how a few people thought and reacted. Unfortunately, the narratives are extremely repetitive since very few during that time could write. It was primarily clergy who were literate and mostly they all have the same thing to say about it. And that is that a lot of people died and plague was visited on the land by an angry God out to punish everyone for their sins. And that's it in a nutshell. You get very little other perspective or details (those who might have had it couldn't write) and it makes for a really dull read. I had thought there would be a variety of narratives but there just aren't and so I was disappointed.

7 people found this helpful

Probably not for the first time reader about the Black Death

Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2014

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This is not for the casually interested reader, as it is comprised of primary source material. First time readers on the subject would be better off reading another book, such as Barbara Tuchman's great tome, "A Distant Mirror: the Calamitous Fourteenth Century." But any who are fascinated by the Great Mortality, as it was called contemporaneously, will find this a useful addition to their reading.

2 people found this helpful

Dance With The Reaper.

Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2013

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This is more than a history book about a plague. Nothing has really changed with time. Whenever a natural disaster occurs there is no shortage of people lining up to blame it on sin. Sad that these things are still happening. Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it.

One person found this helpful

Very dry. Reads like an academic research paper.

Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2019

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Very dry. Reads like an academic research paper. Also, many of the documents translated into 'modern' English are still very difficult to understand. Perhaps eggheads will enjoy this book, but everyone else should avoid. There are much better books available on the subject.

2 people found this helpful

Best primary source compliation for the Black Death

Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2010

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I'm taking a seminar in college entirely on the Black Death and the professor says that this is by far the best compilation of primary sources from the Black Death. Many very interesting stories and interesting documents.

2 people found this helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Gill Hind

The Black Death - what did people living at the time think?

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 27, 2018

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This is a must have book for anyone interested in the Black Death, but who would find it difficult to access or read original contemporary documents. The reader comes face-to-face with people who lived through probably the greatest ever human catastrophe and who tried to understand what was happening. Particularly poignant is the extract from the Walsham-le-Willows manorial account which illustrates the horrendous death toll in just one small corner of Suffolk.

One person found this helpful

Steve

Excellent Study in the Historical Behavior of Persons in Apocalptical Scenarios

Reviewed in Germany on March 22, 2015

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For historians this book is valuable, but also for anyone interested how people and societies behave in times of terrible stress and distress. I would recommend it to anyone who has had acquaintance with pandemic phenomena. An excellent and lively discussion of the Plague of 1348-1349. Particularly poignant was the description of a medieval man who, losing his family, went crazy and spent the rest of his days going from village to village in search of them...

Amazon Customer

Largely informative, but slow in parts and includes unnecessary information

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 19, 2016

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In parts this book is slow and tends to include relatively menial, unnecessary sources. However, Horrox's prose that introduces each individual group of sources is incredibly informative. For a more concise yet similar book, try John Aberth's "The Black Death 1348-50: A Brief History with Documents"

Amazon Customer

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 19, 2016

Verified Purchase

Great

Heather

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 13, 2016

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Good

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