Doctoring the Black Death: Medieval Europe's Medical Response to Plague

The Black Death of the late Middle Ages was the greatest natural disaster in history, killing over fifty million people. Plague returned fifteen more times through to the end of the medieval period in 1500, posing the greatest challenge to physicians ever recorded. Leading historian John Aberth has translated many unknown plague treatises from nine different languages, illustrating the human dimensions of the scourge and dispelling myths and misconceptions about medicine during the Middle Ages.

Format: Hardback
Length: 498 pages
Publication date: 15 November 2021
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

The Black Death of the late Middle Ages, which occurred from 1347 to 1353, is widely regarded as the greatest natural disaster in human history. It claimed the lives of over fifty million people, approximately half of Europe's population, during its first outbreak alone. The plague then returned fifteen more times throughout the medieval period, posing the most significant challenge to physicians ever recorded in the history of the medical profession. In this captivating book, renowned historian John Aberth has translated numerous previously unknown plague treatises from nine different languages, providing vivid insights into the human dimensions of this horrific scourge. Aberth's work includes personal anecdotes from doctors, highlighting their struggles to combat the disease, which often afflicted them personally, and the immense scale and scope of the plague. Through his translations, Aberth dispels numerous myths and misconceptions about medicine during the Middle Ages, revealing that plague doctors developed a unique and far-reaching response to the disease. They began to treat plague as a poison, a conception that had profound implications for medical treatment and social and cultural responses to the disease in society as a whole.

Weight: 890g
Dimension: 160 x 236 x 39 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780742557239