Author Description

This new edition continues to provide a fascinating account of the plague that ravaged the world in the fourteenth century. An updated introduction provides important background information and addresses the "plague denial" controversy. A new section of documents on environmental explanations for and responses to the plague joins sections on the origin and spread of the illness; the responses of medical practitioners; the societal and economic impact; religious responses; the flagellant movement and attacks on Jews provoked by the plague; and the artistic response.