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Publication
Da Capo Press (2008), Hardcover, 368 pages
Description
In this fresh approach to the history of the Black Death, John Hatcher, a world-renowned scholar of the Middle Ages, recreates everyday life in a mid-fourteenth century rural English village. By focusing on the experiences of ordinary villagers as they lived--and died--during the Black Death (1345-50 AD), Hatcher vividly places the reader directly into those tumultuous years and describes in fascinating detail the day-to-day existence of people struggling with the tragic effects of the plague. Dramatic scenes portray how contemporaries must have experienced and thought about the momentous events--and how they tried to make sense of it all.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Opinionated
As others have mentioned the author seemed torn between 2 ideas. Does he recount the life of a village going through the Black Death, based only on the scanty records? Or does he fictionalise the characters, to try to bring a sense of what it was like to go through the plague? He goes for the
The book is also repetitive - the last 40 pages, which contain what would have been quite an interesting description of how the plague changed the rural social fabric through the increased bargaining power of labourers, were ruined for me by labouring ad nauseam of the same point. We get it. The workers discovered that shortage provided opportunity for them. The landowners didn't like it. This doesnt need 2 chapters
A shame because I really wanted to like this book, but it didn't really work
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latter, but can't quite seem to drag himself away from the first. Its fine to explain in the introduction that the characters are fictional, and on what basis he has created them. But by introducing each chapter with "the facts" he destroys any suspension of disbelief the reader has managed. Not only does Hatcher sometimes take further opportunities to remind us that the characters are fictional, just when we've built up some empathy with them, but the merging of fact and fiction is clumsily handled. A "factual" introduction tells of a letter from the King sent to all churches - and lo, 2 pages later here is Master John the fictional priest receiving and taking comfort from it. The "facts" tell us of decrees against "idling" (how little things have changed) and 2 pages later we have the local peasants down the pub, complaining about it. The book is also repetitive - the last 40 pages, which contain what would have been quite an interesting description of how the plague changed the rural social fabric through the increased bargaining power of labourers, were ruined for me by labouring ad nauseam of the same point. We get it. The workers discovered that shortage provided opportunity for them. The landowners didn't like it. This doesnt need 2 chapters
A shame because I really wanted to like this book, but it didn't really work
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LibraryThing member Shuffy2
What was everyday life like in the village of Walsham in the mid-fourteenth century? Now add the Black Plague and how does it change the composition of the village hierarchy?
A very detailed description of the various fears leading up to the arrival of the disease, the spread of the disease and
The book is geared to people who are interested in the historical aspect of the Bubonic Plague, not for those looking for a light read (if there is such a thing as a 'light' read on the plague). Very detailed laden but interesting nonetheless. As a history buff I thoroughly enjoyed the meticulous research presented in Hatcher's book.
A very detailed description of the various fears leading up to the arrival of the disease, the spread of the disease and
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finally the repercussions of the crippling plague. The opening of each chapter offers a brief history of actual events and then 'recounts' the day-to-day life of the various ficticious members of village society- church leaders, lords and lady and farmers/laborers. The book is geared to people who are interested in the historical aspect of the Bubonic Plague, not for those looking for a light read (if there is such a thing as a 'light' read on the plague). Very detailed laden but interesting nonetheless. As a history buff I thoroughly enjoyed the meticulous research presented in Hatcher's book.
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LibraryThing member PossMan
REVIEW
"THE SCOURGING ANGEL: The Black Death in the British Isles" Benedict Gummer 2009
"THE BLACK DEATH: An Intimate History" John Hatcher 2008
These two books about the plague that arrived in Britain for the first time in 1348 were published within a few months of each other. They have a very
Benedict Gummer, born 1978, as far as I can see from the cover blurb is not an academic but took a starred double first in History at Peterhouse, Cambridge. He runs a corporate responsibility consultancy. His book has a more conventionally academic style but is well-written and approachable. It puts the Black Death into the context of fourteenth century British history starting just before its arrival at a small south-coast port in 1348. The disease spread slowly and he deals with the impact on populated areas such as London and events in Ireland and Wales. Edward III was in conflict with France and also had to cover his northern border with Scotland. There was considerable unrest in Ireland. Gummer explains what effect the Black Death had on these several conflicts. There were also tensions arising out of the feudal and land-holding system. The disease touched different hamlets in different ways and in Yorkshire and the north one village might be totally wiped out and one not far away escape unscathed. So in spite of the Walsham described in Hatcher's book not every village was typical. He suggests that on average about half the population died. Only a very small number of top aristocrats died which he ascribes to their ability to isolate themselves. Like Hatcher he describes at some length the role of the church and different responses of individual clerics - some found they need to visit (meaning escape to) Rome. Some monastic communities just shut themselves in for the duration. On the other hand a very large number of parish priests died and he describes the efforts of some conscientious bishops to go round their diocese and find and put in place new ones. As a stop-gap deacons could take over some of the duties. The population fall meant that widows often inherited land and enterprising peasants could acquire land cheaply. Some lords found that they could not find anyone to work the land and tried to enforce feudal obligations which may have fallen into disuse. This brought about renewed tensions and attempts by Edward's government to fix wages. He explains how some towns became more prosperous after the Black Death as people came in from the countryside and new people given burgess status. Others withered away. He believes the disease merely hastened events rather than caused them. The disease reappeared twice before the end of the century. Gumming discusses these briefly and also the Peasants' Revolt in 1381.
The nature of the pestilence is relegated to an appendix in Gummer's book. At school, many years ago, I was always led to believe that it was bubonic plague. Gummer mentions briefly the work of some writers of the last two decades and it seems the consensus is that it was not. As he says we should perhaps trust contemporary descriptions more. The people seemed to be aware that contact with the dying or dead could be fatal. Bubonic plague he says is not contagious. The Great Death travelled very quickly compared with bubonic plague (in say India in early 1900s). The death rate was much higher - bubonic plague can be expected to kill up to around 15%. The incubation period was quite long - it would be perhaps a month before symptoms would appear and then almost certain death within about five days. Bubonic plague needs 3 elements together - the black rat, the rodent flea (Xenopsylla cheopsis) and the plague bacillus (Yersinia Pestis). In 1348 the black rat was not well established in Britain and one write called attention to an outbreak of the Black Death in Iceland which has no black rats. He leaves it an open question not definitively solved but clearly he is on the side of those who believe something other than bubonic plague was responsible.
I enjoyed both books and the two approaches compliment each other well. Hatcher's seems to me more focused on the Black Death itself whilst Gummer's book is much better with the connections to other aspects of British history of the period.
"THE SCOURGING ANGEL: The Black Death in the British Isles" Benedict Gummer 2009
"THE BLACK DEATH: An Intimate History" John Hatcher 2008
These two books about the plague that arrived in Britain for the first time in 1348 were published within a few months of each other. They have a very
Show More
different approach to their subject and for that reason may help some potential readers if I compare them together, although it is as well to say it is Gummer's book which is freshest in my mind. Both refer to the "Black Death" but as Gummer points out it was not known by that name at the time but rather as the "Great Death". Also as "plague" but that was used in general way without any present-day hints of bubonic plague. Hatcher's book is perhaps a more gripping story and might appeal to a wider audience. Some may say that it is a story as opposed to "history". After reading it I feel that would be unfair. It takes one single village, Walsham in East Anglia, and describes vividly how the plague comes to the village and the effect it has on the life of the villagers. To make a good narrative names have been made up and conversations and events have been invented. No single small hamlet would have exhaustive records showing the whole gamut of the Black Death experience. But Hatcher is very careful to distinguish known historical facts from speculative narrative. Each chapter begins with a factual commentary which helps to put the narrative in context. Some of the events he describes may come from records about a village or manor elsewhere but everything he describes is based on documentary evidence of some sort. A lot of the narrative centres on the priest, Master John, and the response of the Church and clerics to the emergency. His account of religious observance is very useful and a contrast can be drawn between the death-bed ritual that he describes in a time before the plague arrives, and the hasty burials afterwards. Although the form is narrative this is emphatically not merely a story put down in a distant period. It is a real history written by an academic who has been researching the fourteenth century for over forty years. The scholarship and width of knowledge are evident throughout.Benedict Gummer, born 1978, as far as I can see from the cover blurb is not an academic but took a starred double first in History at Peterhouse, Cambridge. He runs a corporate responsibility consultancy. His book has a more conventionally academic style but is well-written and approachable. It puts the Black Death into the context of fourteenth century British history starting just before its arrival at a small south-coast port in 1348. The disease spread slowly and he deals with the impact on populated areas such as London and events in Ireland and Wales. Edward III was in conflict with France and also had to cover his northern border with Scotland. There was considerable unrest in Ireland. Gummer explains what effect the Black Death had on these several conflicts. There were also tensions arising out of the feudal and land-holding system. The disease touched different hamlets in different ways and in Yorkshire and the north one village might be totally wiped out and one not far away escape unscathed. So in spite of the Walsham described in Hatcher's book not every village was typical. He suggests that on average about half the population died. Only a very small number of top aristocrats died which he ascribes to their ability to isolate themselves. Like Hatcher he describes at some length the role of the church and different responses of individual clerics - some found they need to visit (meaning escape to) Rome. Some monastic communities just shut themselves in for the duration. On the other hand a very large number of parish priests died and he describes the efforts of some conscientious bishops to go round their diocese and find and put in place new ones. As a stop-gap deacons could take over some of the duties. The population fall meant that widows often inherited land and enterprising peasants could acquire land cheaply. Some lords found that they could not find anyone to work the land and tried to enforce feudal obligations which may have fallen into disuse. This brought about renewed tensions and attempts by Edward's government to fix wages. He explains how some towns became more prosperous after the Black Death as people came in from the countryside and new people given burgess status. Others withered away. He believes the disease merely hastened events rather than caused them. The disease reappeared twice before the end of the century. Gumming discusses these briefly and also the Peasants' Revolt in 1381.
The nature of the pestilence is relegated to an appendix in Gummer's book. At school, many years ago, I was always led to believe that it was bubonic plague. Gummer mentions briefly the work of some writers of the last two decades and it seems the consensus is that it was not. As he says we should perhaps trust contemporary descriptions more. The people seemed to be aware that contact with the dying or dead could be fatal. Bubonic plague he says is not contagious. The Great Death travelled very quickly compared with bubonic plague (in say India in early 1900s). The death rate was much higher - bubonic plague can be expected to kill up to around 15%. The incubation period was quite long - it would be perhaps a month before symptoms would appear and then almost certain death within about five days. Bubonic plague needs 3 elements together - the black rat, the rodent flea (Xenopsylla cheopsis) and the plague bacillus (Yersinia Pestis). In 1348 the black rat was not well established in Britain and one write called attention to an outbreak of the Black Death in Iceland which has no black rats. He leaves it an open question not definitively solved but clearly he is on the side of those who believe something other than bubonic plague was responsible.
I enjoyed both books and the two approaches compliment each other well. Hatcher's seems to me more focused on the Black Death itself whilst Gummer's book is much better with the connections to other aspects of British history of the period.
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LibraryThing member goth_marionette
I love to read about plagues, disease and the response society has to tragedy. This book was a tragedy. I was excited to read this book but after starting it the only reason why I finished t was because I hate to not finish a book. The author could not make up his mind whether he was writing a
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scholarly analysis of the plague or a fiction book and thus failed at both. I found the characters to be one dimensional and their trials boring. That being said I would read scholarly works by this author but I will pass up future works of fiction. Show Less
LibraryThing member fingerpost
My own interest in the subject of plague is all that qualifies this book for two stars instead of one. I read about 95% novels, and 5% nonfiction. This odd book isn't fully either one. Hatcher explains in an introduction that his intent is to give a feel of what daily life was like for the commoner
He does succeed somewhat is giving the feel of what life was like. Unfortunately, there is enough fictionalizing of characters and events that the book definitely does not work as a piece of pure history. Hatcher is himself an historian, not a novelist. The book has faint character developement of his central character, Master John, the villiage priest. There is virtually no development of anyone else, so the reader doesn't really care much what happens to anyone. The plot is this: there is a plague coming - the plague is here - the plague is gone, what do we do now?. There is really no story beyond that.
In short, the book is a boring read, with far too much focus on how much people are paid to work and who is fined for what crime. The reason for this excessive and dull focus on this is simply that there are historical records of these things. But with no real plot to propel things forward and no characters that the reader knows and cares about, I was glad to be done with it.
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before during and after the plague scourge of 1349 in England. To do so, with minimal written records of the time, he tells the story in the form of a novel set in one town.He does succeed somewhat is giving the feel of what life was like. Unfortunately, there is enough fictionalizing of characters and events that the book definitely does not work as a piece of pure history. Hatcher is himself an historian, not a novelist. The book has faint character developement of his central character, Master John, the villiage priest. There is virtually no development of anyone else, so the reader doesn't really care much what happens to anyone. The plot is this: there is a plague coming - the plague is here - the plague is gone, what do we do now?. There is really no story beyond that.
In short, the book is a boring read, with far too much focus on how much people are paid to work and who is fined for what crime. The reason for this excessive and dull focus on this is simply that there are historical records of these things. But with no real plot to propel things forward and no characters that the reader knows and cares about, I was glad to be done with it.
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LibraryThing member Mithalogica
Hatcher is an unquestioned master of the topic of the Black Death. He is not, however, a novelist. Sadly, this book suffers somewhat from his attempt to blend the two; his history is limited by his setting (an english village in the years before and just after the first wave of the pandemic), and
Reading with this in mind, however, his book does give an in-depth picture of the impact of the plague, even before its arrival, and a deeply compassionate portrait of medieval Christianity. His use of the unusually comprehensive period records is masterful, and for a student intimidated by the thought of working with such records, this book is an inspiration.
I would say this volume is a valuable accompaniment to a scholarly study of the Black death, but is neither intended nor suited to a casual reader, or a reader seeking a dramatic historical fiction.
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his narrative suffers from his desire to convey as much of the historical background as he can. Reading with this in mind, however, his book does give an in-depth picture of the impact of the plague, even before its arrival, and a deeply compassionate portrait of medieval Christianity. His use of the unusually comprehensive period records is masterful, and for a student intimidated by the thought of working with such records, this book is an inspiration.
I would say this volume is a valuable accompaniment to a scholarly study of the Black death, but is neither intended nor suited to a casual reader, or a reader seeking a dramatic historical fiction.
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LibraryThing member SenoraG163
Read way too much like a history book instead of fiction. Just could not get through it. Oh well, plenty more books in the sea!
LibraryThing member la2bkk
A fascinating account of the great plague from the perspective of a typical 14th century English manor village. The author combines historical fact with educated speculation to create an account that is not quite straight history but far more than mere historical fiction. Due to the paucity of
Interesting, easy reading and well written. Highly recommended.
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information regarding everyday life from the perspective of peasants and local clergy, such a work provides a unique perspective far more interesting than most works about the Black Death.Interesting, easy reading and well written. Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member mbmackay
Written by an academic historian, this book fails on so many levels.
Firstly, it is intended to be about the plagues of the black death in the 14th century, but the focus is primarily on the medieval church - the book is half over before the plague arrives.
The details of the plague are brief to a
I was prepared to forego the macabre details of the plague when the author starts dealing with the economic impact - particularly the new found power of the serfs to bargain for higher wages. Sadly, while the book gives some coverage, there is only a very limited attempt to put the changes in context.
Then there is the structure of the book - written as a sort of historic fiction. The idea is that the limited documentary evidence would be presented in the lives and words of the individuals of the village that is the focus of the book. Nice idea, but badly delivered. The reader is left struggling to comprehend what is pure fiction, what is probable fiction and what is fact.
And then there is the church. As Mentioned above, the focus is the church. The main character in the book is Master John, the saintly village priest. Bizarrely, this leading character is one that is NOT in the documentary evidence. So, we plough through endless pages of his thoughts and actions (did I mention that they were all saintly?) while there seems to be a total lack of documentary evidence for any of it. Sure, he is a composite of other figures in the country at the time, but why is this the focus of the book? Why so much detail about the church at all?
I'm not sure that it was the intention of the author, but the focus on the church and its response to the plague, generous though that focus is, makes the church and religious belief in general, a farce.
Firstly, it is intended to be about the plagues of the black death in the 14th century, but the focus is primarily on the medieval church - the book is half over before the plague arrives.
The details of the plague are brief to a
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fault. There are three paragraphs giving some technical details of the plague - the other mentions seem to be limited to buboes and blood and dying.I was prepared to forego the macabre details of the plague when the author starts dealing with the economic impact - particularly the new found power of the serfs to bargain for higher wages. Sadly, while the book gives some coverage, there is only a very limited attempt to put the changes in context.
Then there is the structure of the book - written as a sort of historic fiction. The idea is that the limited documentary evidence would be presented in the lives and words of the individuals of the village that is the focus of the book. Nice idea, but badly delivered. The reader is left struggling to comprehend what is pure fiction, what is probable fiction and what is fact.
And then there is the church. As Mentioned above, the focus is the church. The main character in the book is Master John, the saintly village priest. Bizarrely, this leading character is one that is NOT in the documentary evidence. So, we plough through endless pages of his thoughts and actions (did I mention that they were all saintly?) while there seems to be a total lack of documentary evidence for any of it. Sure, he is a composite of other figures in the country at the time, but why is this the focus of the book? Why so much detail about the church at all?
I'm not sure that it was the intention of the author, but the focus on the church and its response to the plague, generous though that focus is, makes the church and religious belief in general, a farce.
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LibraryThing member Mithril
Interesting and insightful.
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Physical description
368 p.; 9.25 inches
ISBN
0306815710 / 9780306815713