- Author : Norman F. Cantor
- Binding : Hardcover
- Dewey Decimal Number : 614.5732
- EAN : 9780684857350
- Edition : 1
- ISBN : 0684857359
- Is Eligible For Trade In? : Yes
- Label : Free Press
- List Price : $25.00 (USD)
- Manufacturer : Free Press
- Number Of Items : 1
- Number Of Pages : 245
- Package Dimensions : 0.92 inches (Height) x 8.73 inches (Length) x 0.98 pounds (Weight) x 5.72 inches (Width)
- Publication Date : 2001-04-10
- Publisher : Free Press
- Studio : Free Press
One-third of Western Europe's population died between 1348 and 1350, victims of the Black Death. Noted medievalist Norman Cantor tells the story of the pandemic and its widespread effects in In the Wake of the Plague. After giving an overview, Cantor describes various theories about the medical crisis, from contemporary fears of a Jewish conspiracy to poison the water (and the resulting atrocities against European Jews) to a growing belief among modern historians that both bubonic plague and anthrax caused the spiraling death rates. Cantor also details ways in which the Black Death changed history, at both the personal level (family lines dying out) and the political (the Plantagenet kings may well have been able to hold onto France had their resources not been so diminished). Cantor veers from topic to topic, from dynastic worries to the Dance of Death, and from peasants' rights to Perpendicular Gothic. This makes for amusing reading, though those seeking an orderly narrative may be frustrated. He also seems overly concerned with rumors of homosexual behavior, and his attempt to link the savage method of Edward II's murder to a cooling in global weather is a bit farfetched. Cantor wears his considerable scholarship lightly, but includes a very useful critical biography for further reading. While not an entry-level text on the Black Death, In the Wake of the Plague will interest readers looking for a broader interpretation of its consequences. --Sunny Delaney
- Amazon.com Review
Much of what we know about the greatest medical disaster ever, the Black Plague of the fourteenth century, is wrong. The details of the Plague etched in the minds of terrified schoolchildren -- the hideous black welts, the high fever, and the final, awful end by respiratory failure -- are more or less accurate. But what the Plague really was, and how it made history, remain shrouded in a haze of myths. Norman Cantor, the premier historian of the Middle Ages, draws together the most recent scientific discoveries and groundbreaking historical research to pierce the mist and tell the story of the Black Death afresh, as a gripping, intimate narrative. In the Wake of the Plague presents a microcosmic view of the Plague in England (and on the continent), telling the stories of the men and women of the fourteenth century, from peasant to priest, and from merchant to king. Cantor introduces a fascinating cast of characters. We meet, among others, fifteen-year-old Princess Joan of England, on her way to Spain to marry a Castilian prince; Thomas of Birmingham, abbot of Halesowen, responsible for his abbey as a CEO is for his business in a desperate time; and the once-prominent landowner John le Strange, who sees the Black Death tear away his family's lands and then its very name as it washes, unchecked, over Europe in wave after wave. Cantor argues that despite the devastation that made the Plague so terrifying, the disease that killed more than 40 percent of Europe's population had some beneficial results. The often literal demise of the old order meant that new, more scientific thinking increasingly prevailed where church dogma had once reigned supreme. In effect, the Black Death heralded an intellectual revolution. There was also an explosion of art: tapestries became popular as window protection against the supposedly airborne virus, and a great number of painters responded to the Plague. Finally, the Black Death marked an economic sea change: the onset of what Cantor refers to as turbocapitalism; the peasants who survived the Plague thrived, creating Europe's first class of independent farmers. Here are those stories and others, in a tale of triumph coming out of the darkest horror, wrapped up in a scientific mystery that persists, in part, to this day. Cantor's portrait of the Black Death's world is pro-vocative and captivating. Not since Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror have medieval men and women been brought so vividly to life. The greatest popularizer of the Middle Ages has written the period's most fascinating narrative.
- Product Description
Customer Reviews:
Customers rated In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made 2.0 stars out of 5.0 based on 194 reviews:A Plague on this Book
by Governor (Sydney Australia) - 2010-07-05
Yes, the reviews are right: this book is a shocker. Wild speculation, repetition, endless miles of digression, and a pitiless, parochial morality are all there in spades. And I bet it gets even worse after Chapter 3. I am writing this only to get the average rating back down where it rightfully belongs. I weep for the trees that gave their bark for my copy.Not enough personal accounts.
by Brian M. Myers (Granada Hills, Ca, USA) - 2010-06-03
I'm not an expert on the plauge but it was interesting I wish it had more personal accounts though.how sad!
by marc brezins - 2010-05-05
I bought the book hoping to learn something new about the plague. I was influenced by the presence on the cover : New York Times Bestseller. I shall not finish this book, it is a pseudo-scientific writing intended to lure people like me. It has absolutely no charm, neither in its style, nor in its contents. All what Mr Cantor says is preposterous. It is even not worth of my criticism. How comes it could be published?Simplistic and sensationalist
by Robert Muirhead (Melbourne, Australia) - 2010-05-01
"In the Wake of the Plague" by Norman Cantor gives some interesting insights into the Great Plague of the 14th century, especially its long term effects. The Great Plague cast both long shadows and bright rays of light far into the future. Cantor's discussion of these effects is the most interesting aspect of the book. Readers looking for an account of the Great Plague itself will be disappointed. Cantor's book gives only sufficient background to provide context for his discussion of its long-term effects. Moreover, although the Great Plague affected all of Europe, Cantor's book is essentially about Britain. That's where the data are best. I was particularly interested in Cantor's discussion of the influence of high plague mortality on property and inheritance disputes and the resulting development of property law. He makes a plausible case that the English Wars of the Roses had their roots in the emergence of powerful propertied families due to the Great Plague. Cantor also considers if the Great Plague had any causative effect on the Enlightenment and also on the demise of serfdom in England. Both these discussions broadly follow the conventional historical consensus. However, while the book is very readable and entertaining, it is marred by much irritating silliness to enhance its popular appeal. Cantor asserts that "the Canterbury Tales is a work of what would today be called journalism." Nonsense! He says elsewhere that medieval abbots were like the chairmen of modern university Boards. I can see the point of using such simplistic analogies to assist totally uninformed readers, but they are irritating to anyone with some knowledge of history. Cantor was a respected historian - "the premier historian of the Middles Ages" according to the cover blurb - so it is a pity he resorted to this sort of academic populism. It was certainly successful in that the book made the New York Times Bestseller list - which proves yet again that popularity does not always equate to quality. Cantor often overworks his material. He makes dogmatic claims about the influence of pandemics on history that are, in fact, debatable among historians. I was reminded of a Japanese saying that "to a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail." Cantor claims that the fall of the Roman Empire was largely due to pandemics in the period 250 - 600AD. But, apropos of H L Mencken, "There is always an easy solution to every human problem - neat, plausible and wrong." Pandemics certainly occurred and were probably a factor in the decline of the Roman Empire, but to claim that they were decisive is simply an opinion that many historians would argue with. After all, historians have been arguing about the fate of the Roman Empire since Gibbon published his "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" over 200 years ago. Cantor gives some prominence to unorthodox theories, such as the claim of Hoyle and Wickramasinghe that diseases such as the Black Death came from outer space. Those two scientists are certainly not ratbags, but their theory can only be highly speculative. I am not sure it warrants the prominence that Cantor gives it. He makes a more plausible claim that the Black Death was due not only to plague, but also to anthrax. However there is also a lively academic debate about that as well. Claims that question conventional explanations certainly get attention, but unless they are accompanied by reasoned analysis, they can mislead general readers. That's my main gripe: Readers who already know something about the subject will be able to put Cantor's claims into their correct perspective; but readers who know nothing about the Great Plague may be misled. The book suffers from the sloppy editing so common in many popular science books today. Cantor states in 3 places that Richard II of England may have died from starvation in prison. He uses "incubus" where he really means "incubator". Despite its often trivialised content, the book has some useful information for knowledgeable readers. But I would urge readers who are completely new to the subject to read one of the many standard accounts instead. The book has a good bibliography in which the works quoted are grouped into broad subjects, then briefly discussed and put into context. This is very helpful for readers who may wish to explore particular topics.Snarky
by John Galt - 2010-04-29
What more can be said - boring, repetitious, poorly written. Cantor tries to make snarky, "clever" comments to appear to be "contemporary." Fail!
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