ANTHROP 2U03 Chapter 4: Private Horrors
16 Jul 2018
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Document Summary
During the first pandemic, streets were made impassable due to corpses and all the customary rites of burial were abandoned. Those who attended were told the plague had supernatural origins. Generally interpreted as a divine punishment for their sins. Could only be prevented/averted by public repentance + prayer. It was overall believed that flight was only allowed for people without weighty moral obligations, but most people fled regardless. Funeral ceremonies were neglected and people drank heavily b/c they knew death was imminent. The black death of 1348-52 wiped out about half the population in florence, siena, Death calculations were more accurate from the 15thc when necrologies/bills of morality became commonplace. The second plague created huge moralities in crowded cities for centuries even when it had lost the virulence in rural areas. The amount of deaths that occurred in less than a year depended on climate the time of year the disease arrived.
