It was a time of death and dying. Thousands of people fled before the devastating onslaught of the Black Death, but the horror was unrelenting. In "The Great Mortality," John Kelly takes us back to "one of the seminal events of the last millennium"--drawing from the pages of memoirs, poetry, letters, and fictional accounts.
The legends and stories of death and dying enter into the pages of this narrative, as we begin to see how people react in times of great trauma--with murder, abandonment, and acts of senseless cruelty. Some people died from neglect or starvation, instead of from the disease itself.
The Plague Enters Into Literature
The Black Plague did not discriminate, and the people fled--spreading the disease as they ran. But, there was no escape. Giovanni Boccaccio wrote, "Many dropped dead in the open streets by day and night." Bodies were "here, there and everywhere." With so much death everywhere, burial traditions and death rituals were forgotten. The realities of this madness were difficult to grasp--when all they could rely on was superstition. It was all something of a mystery.
The Plague Enters Into Literature
The Black Plague did not discriminate, and the people fled--spreading the disease as they ran. But, there was no escape. Giovanni Boccaccio wrote, "Many dropped dead in the open streets by day and night." Bodies were "here, there and everywhere." With so much death everywhere, burial traditions and death rituals were forgotten. The realities of this madness were difficult to grasp--when all they could rely on was superstition. It was all something of a mystery.
The Muslim scribe, Ibn Khaldun, wrote that the Plague "swallowed up many of the good things" and "wiped them out." He said, "The world changed." How could it ever be the same?
Interweaving in and out of time and history, Kelly draws us into the story of the Black Death. Boccaccio, Stefani, Petrarch, and so many other writers captured the lives and deaths of their contemporaries, but it's not always easy to understand--until we see the full picture: the utter despair and heartache that these massive events engendered. Love was lost. Innocence was destroyed. And, yet, the world went on. The world did not end, as some writers must have thought that it ought. But, there was still a great deal of sorrow. The world would never be the same again.
Petrarch wrote:
"She closed her eyes; and in the sweet slumber lying
her spirit tiptoed from its lodging place.
It's folly to shrink in fear, if this is dying;
for death looked lovely in her face."
At least, we know this...
Interweaving in and out of time and history, Kelly draws us into the story of the Black Death. Boccaccio, Stefani, Petrarch, and so many other writers captured the lives and deaths of their contemporaries, but it's not always easy to understand--until we see the full picture: the utter despair and heartache that these massive events engendered. Love was lost. Innocence was destroyed. And, yet, the world went on. The world did not end, as some writers must have thought that it ought. But, there was still a great deal of sorrow. The world would never be the same again.
Petrarch wrote:
"She closed her eyes; and in the sweet slumber lying
her spirit tiptoed from its lodging place.
It's folly to shrink in fear, if this is dying;
for death looked lovely in her face."
At least, we know this...
