In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World it Made

In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the world it made
Norman F Cantor
Published by Simon and Schuster Inc, New York, New York in 2001
ISBN 0060014342
245 pages

Norman Cantor's New York Times Bestseller, In the Wake of the Plague is a very well written, deeply thoughtful and provocative review of the plague in its historical context. When he recites the well known rhyme of young children: Ring around the Rosies, a Pocket full of Posies, Ashes Ashes, we all fall down and relates it to the way in which children come to terms with an event that is so catastrophic it could mean that they were the only survivor in their entire known family. It is a rhyme that I too said as a child when sudden death was still a common event and small children died from kidney disease, leukemia and so many other disorders that are now curable with modern medical science.

But the plague remains with us even now it is so virulent although for the most part people are saved with antibiotics. But what of the story that he tells; why would I feel that this story might add me in understanding my ancestry? For the most part, the books that I read tell me something about my deep past. It is because he writes a good deal about the effect of the plague on England. England suffered the most from the plague of all the countries in the world. As much as 75% of the population of England died during the plagues that wracked England. Whole villages disappeared never to be populated again. Such was the extent of this virulent illness in that country. For England by the 13th century had a population of approximately 5 million and because of the devastation of the plague that population would not again reach five million until the mid 1800s.

As a result of the plague, a different England developed. An England where serfs became freemen and gradually formed the yeoman class and even up into the gentry class by the dint of hard work. They left behind their peers and became the middle class and even up into the upper middle class. They learned to read and write and created a country that was and continues to be unique as noted in the book. It is perhaps this plague that created the outspoken and democratic Englishmen/women who stood so tall and strong in the face of incredible force at the commencement of the Second World War. For they stood alone against the forces of evil that dominated the European Continent.

But I digress from the book. The Book is written in Three parts - Part I Biomedical Context, Part II People and Part III History.

In the first part we learn that the plague may actually have been a combination of plague and anthrax poisoning and the lack of medical expertise at the time probably resulted in poor record keeping that did not differentiate between the two. The speed at which the disease traveled from the rats on the cargo ships to the length and breadth of England simply does not fully explain the extent of the disease to the author's way of thinking. For myself, I have no idea but his story writing is certainly very interesting and perhaps one day there will be proof of his assertion.

In the second part he selects several incidents in history where plague has resulted in a dramatic change to the way things were supposed to happen. The death of Princess Joan on her way to wed the heir to the Spanish throne has enormous impact down through the ages. The desire of England to be at the forefront of the world activities meant that alliances were needed and the best alliances in this time frame were often those forged by marriage. But it was not to be and young Princess Joan died in Bordeaux and because of a fire it was not even possible to bring her body home for the appropriate funeral in her home country. Her restless soul is depicted as without a proper burial but then sudden death was not unknown in this time frame. There were no miracle medicine; no antibiotics; illness and death stalked every home whether rich or poor. The plague did not skip by the rich anymore than the poor - both died. A scapegoat was needed and so the Jewish people were blamed for spreading the plague and they were hounded from one end of Europe to the other and murdered in great numbers. One wonders how they have ever survived this long considering how persecuted they have been through the ages.

The third part relates history of disease and how it is propagated around the world. The "out of Africa" theory for disease emergence and spread is discussed especially with respect to AIDS which first arose in Africa in the 1930s. But then the miracle drugs are controlling even AIDS these days. Then there is the other theory that the diseases come by meteorite from outer space.

But overall the greatest impact of the Plague was in the development of the Middle class. With a shortage of workers caused by the plague individual serfs came to have a value that they had not had before. The possibility was there for them to first of all buy their freedom and that of their family and to become free agents. They could then take up farming the now vacated land because of the death of so many and gradually over time purchase land, build manor home and educate their children. Although the plague was a dreadful way for a more democratic society to emerge; emerge it did and we are the better for it.

I would highly recommend this book if you are interested in the story of man developing through the ages of time particularly from the time of the plague onward. The author has a good grasp of history and shares his thoughts while he writes; a novel way to write actually. He is seeking the reader's thoughts along the way and almost as if he knew your feedback he carries on and constantly develops his ideas on how the world flowed because of the plague.