Plague occurs in England for the first time

Historical Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.02: English Writing and Culture: High and Late Medieval, 1066-1485.
Vol. editors: Kate Ash-Irisarri (University of Edinburgh), Rory Critten (Université de Lausanne), David Fuller (University of Durham), Natalie Hanna (University of Liverpool), Hugh Magennis (Queen's University Belfast), Jamie McKinstry (University of Durham), Sarah Peverley (University of Liverpool), Sebastian Sobecki (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)

Domains

Plague - Virological or Bacteriological Epidemic

Dates

Date of occurrence 1348

Places

England (Location)

Resources

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In 1348, the pandemic that became known as the "Black Death", a manifestation of the bubonic plague, arrived in Europe. Carried by Oriental rat fleas living on black rats, it spread rapidly through the Mediterranean and then throughout the European continent. The first recorded case of plague in England was that of a seaman on a ship from Gascony, which docked in Weymouth in June 1348. From this single case, the plague spread quickly through the country - the epidemic was largely over by December 1349. At least a third of England's inhabitants died, although recent estimates, which make more use of records of peasant deaths, have revised this upwards to perhaps even more than half. Although one of the terrors of the plague was the way it apparently struck indiscrimately, affecting both…

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145 words

Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Plague occurs in England for the first time". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 July 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1978, accessed 06 May 2024.]

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