Article ID: CBB000774451

Two Medieval Plague Treatises and Their Afterlife in Early Modern England (2003)

unapi

This study of an adaptation of the popular John of Burgundy plague treatise by Thomas Moulton, a Dominican friar, ca. 1475, and a translation of the so-called Canutus plague treatise by Thomas Paynell, printed 1534, shows how the medieval traditions they represent were carried forward, well into the sixteenth century, and also subjected to change in light of religious, moral, and medical concerns of early modern England. The former had a long life in print, ca. 1530--1580, whereas Paynell's translation exists in one printed version. Moulton's adaptation differs from its original and from the Canutus treatise in putting great emphasis on the idea that onsets of plague were acts of divine retribution for human sinfulness. In this respect, Moulton reshaped the tradition of the medieval plague treatise and anticipated the religious and social construction of plague that would take shape in the first half of the sixteenth century. Its long history in print indicates that Moulton's treatise expressed the spirit of that construction and probably influenced the construction as well. The contrasting histories of the two treatises attest not only to the dramatic change brought about by religious and social forces in the sixteenth century, but to a growing recognition of the value of the printing press for disseminating medical information---in forms that served social and ideological ends.

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Authors & Contributors
Totaro, Rebecca Carol Noel
Speziale, Salvatore
Maria Paola Zanoboni
Pittalis, Edoardo
Wolford, Kathryn
Weisser, Olivia
Concepts
Medicine
Plague
Medicine and religion
Disease and diseases
Public health
Epidemics
Time Periods
Medieval
Early modern
17th century
18th century
Modern
Ancient
Places
England
Europe
Middle and Near East
Mediterranean region
Turkey
Italy
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