The Great Pestilence (a.d. 1348-9), Now Commonly Known as the Black Death
1893
The Great Pestilence (a.d. 1348-9), Now Commonly Known as the Black Death
1893
First published in 1893, this is a Victorian historian's reckoning with the greatest catastrophe in European history. Francis Aidan Gasquet, drawing on medieval chronicles, civic records, and monastic accounts, reconstructs the Black Death's terrifying march across the continent in 1348-1349, when somewhere between a third and a half of Europe's population perished. The narrative begins with reports from the East a mysterious illness devastating the Tartar armies at Caffa, then follows the plague's arrival aboard infected ships in Genoa and Venice, spreading through cramped medieval cities and rural villages alike. Gasquet documents the horrifying symptoms, the collapsed families, the mass graves, and the eerie silence that descended on emptied communities. But he is equally concerned with what the epidemic revealed about medieval society: the moral despair, the religious questioning, the flight of nobles and clergy. Written when tuberculosis still stalked Victorian England, this book carries an额外 urgency, a historian's grapple with how civilizations survive or crumble when death arrives without warning. It remains essential reading for anyone seeking to understand how the Black Death ended one age and began another.
About The Great Pestilence (a.d. 1348-9), Now Commonly Known as the Black Death
Chapter Summaries
- Introduction
- Gasquet argues that the Black Death of 1348-49 has been neglected by historians despite being one of the most important events in English history. He contends it marked the end of the medieval period and beginning of the modern age, fundamentally transforming religious, social, and economic structures.
- 1
- The plague originated in the East around 1346 and spread along trade routes to Europe. Gasquet describes its arrival at Caffa in the Crimea, where Tartars besieging the city catapulted plague corpses over the walls, and its subsequent spread to Constantinople and Sicily via Genoese ships.
- 2
- The plague reached Italy in early 1348, devastating cities from Genoa to Florence. Boccaccio's famous account of Florence is supplemented by other contemporary sources showing the breakdown of social bonds, abandonment of the sick, and massive mortality across the Italian peninsula.
Key Themes
- Divine Judgment and Religious Crisis
- The plague was universally interpreted as God's punishment for human sin, leading to both increased piety and religious despair. The massive death toll among clergy created a crisis of faith and forced unprecedented changes in Church practices.
- Social and Economic Transformation
- The plague's massive mortality created labor shortages that fundamentally altered the feudal system, empowered surviving workers to demand higher wages, and led to significant social mobility and unrest.
- The Fragility of Civilization
- The rapid collapse of normal social structures, abandonment of the sick by family members, and breakdown of law and order revealed how quickly civilized behavior could disintegrate under extreme stress.
Characters
- Francis Aidan Gasquet(protagonist)
- The author and historian who meticulously documents the Black Death's impact on England. He serves as the scholarly narrator, analyzing contemporary sources and presenting evidence of the plague's devastating effects.
- Edward III(major)
- King of England during the Black Death, initially at the height of his military glory from victories at Crecy and Calais. The plague disrupted his reign and forced multiple parliamentary postponements.
- Pope Clement VI(major)
- The Pope at Avignon during the plague, who granted special indulgences and dispensations as the Church struggled with massive clerical mortality. He remained at his post despite the devastation around him.
- Gabriele de' Mussi(major)
- A notary of Piacenza who provided one of the most detailed contemporary accounts of the plague's spread from the Crimea to Italy. His eyewitness testimony forms a crucial historical source.
- Gui de Chauliac(major)
- Pope Clement VI's personal physician at Avignon who provided detailed medical observations of the plague. He contracted the disease himself but survived to document its symptoms and progression.
- Giovanni Boccaccio(major)
- Italian writer who provided the famous account of the plague in Florence in the introduction to his Decameron. His vivid descriptions became one of the most cited sources on the Black Death's impact.
