THE GREAT MORTALITY by John Kelly (2005)

I enjoyed this book.  However, I have to admit that it took me months to finish. Perhaps it was the
time, with other distractions getting in the way such as the defense of my thesis, graduation, etc.  Being a student of the Medieval Era I found the wealth of information about this time period to be fascinating.  Kelly not only explains the technical aspects of the Black Death from the 14th Century, he also weaves into the narrative stories and accounts of events impacted by this great plague.  Some might argue that he spends an inordinate amount of space on some of these issues, such as the antisemitism of the time.  However, historical events should always be considered in the overall context of the period, recognizing that disease impacts many areas of a society, including family, economics, politics, and faith, to name but a few.  Kelly walked away from his extensive study with a mixture of sadness and encouragement.  Sadness over the horrific immensity of the death that transpired throughout the world, from the far east to the shores of Greenland.  Encouragement over the instances of virtue and kindness in the midst of the global tragedy, as well as the developments that rose as a result of the plague.  Although not an expert in any way on this topic, I was impressed by his attention to not only the historical sources, but to the scientific questions alike.  He did his homework.  In fact, this book was several years in the making.  The approach of the book is a tour de force that works its way from Mongolia (its supposed origin), throughout eastern and western Europe, England, and even as far west as Greenland.  More than once I was thankful for the map provided in the very front of the book that shows the progress of the plague as he narrates it in the book.  Given how long I took to finish the book, and the length of the work plus the wealth of information (over 340 pages), I feel like I should re-read it some day.  As a side note: The book is appended with personal information on the author and a brief story of the writing of of the book.  I recommend this volume heartily. P.S. Although I want to move on to another topic, I just might read Norman Cantor's book In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World that Made It (2001).  Kelly makes note of Cantor, and it seems like an equally readable work.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Firefighter's Cross

Image
[Note: A similar article to this will be shared with my department at their next meeting. During this Lenten season when we are meditating on the significance and meaning of the Passion of our Lord and the Cross at Golgotha, it seemed like one way to offer a witness to the department that captured their interest and yet was not too heavy.] [Editorial Note: In response to a recent comment on this article I have made some changes to the original version of this article especially in regard to references to the so-called St. Florian's Cross. For any confusion the previous unreferenced information may have caused I apologize. I hope that the changes are satisfactory.] THE STORY OF THE MALTESE CROSS In many ways the familiar symbol to the right requires no explanation. It is the universal insignia of firefighting nationwide. Yet the precise origins of this symbol are less clear. The most popular explanation proposes its beginning in the far distant past of medieval Crusaders fi...
Read more

Historical Roots of the Warham Guild Hood

Image
In doing just a little checking on the internet, it's interesting to see how the Warham Guild hood, which I have as part of my STM degree attire, is actually a throwback to the Medieval hood. One article notes "the work of the Warham Guild in its imaginative renderings of medieval hoods" (reference is from here ). Again, here is my hood: The Medieval hood, which was originally a very practical outer garment to cover a person's head and shoulders, protecting both from the elements, bears striking resemblance to this revived form: This hood was also a part of the garb of monks in that era. The Medieval hood, in some cases, also had what is known as a "liripipe," a long tail hanging from the back of a hood. You can see the modern stylized version of this on my own hood. From an article on "Academic hood development" we read that "By 1463 the favourite dress of doctors was the hood with round bell-shaped cape, and the lir...
Read more

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

Image
According to a recent documentary, for all the talk about academic freedom in the world of the large American university system, it would seem that it extends only as far as the system defines it - especially with regards to the subject of origins and science. Noted speechwriter Ben Stein stars as host of the film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. Dr. Angus Menuge, professor of philosophy at CUW, highlights the film in an article included in the Concordia University - Wisconsin magazine Concordian , including some seemingly revealing details about the expulsion of talented scientists who apparently were ‘expelled‘ from their positions for mentioning the theory of Intelligent Design: “In the current climate, even when academicians have a relevant doctorate and a track-record of peer-reviewed publication, their careers suffer if they argue that the scientific evidence points to an intelligent source involved in the creation of the world. In 1992, Dean Kenyon, a biology professor at ...
Read more