The Black Death

Plague Chronicles and Historical Writing

The chroniclers who recorded the Black Death were among the most important witnesses to the pandemic. Their accounts — written in Latin and the vernacular languages, by monks, clerics, civic officials, and ordinary people — provide the primary evidence on which modern understanding of the plague is based. These chronicles are not merely historical documents; they are literary works that reflect the intellectual, emotional, and moral responses of their authors to a catastrophe that defied comprehension.

The Chronicle Tradition

The chronicle was the dominant form of historical writing in medieval Europe. Chronicles were typically organised by year, recording events in chronological order without the analytical framework that characterises modern historical writing. They ranged from brief annals — recording only the most significant events of each year — to extensive narratives that described political, military, religious, and social developments in detail.

The authors of chronicles were typically monks, clerics, or civic officials who had access to information through their institutional positions. Their accounts were shaped by their perspectives, their sources, and their purposes. Some chroniclers wrote to record events for posterity; others wrote to interpret events theologically or morally; still others wrote to commemorate their communities or their patrons.

The Italian Chroniclers

The Italian chronicles of the Black Death are among the most detailed and most widely read. Giovanni Villani of Florence began recording the plague in his Nuova Cronica but died of the disease in 1348. His brother Matteo continued the chronicle, describing the social and economic aftermath of the epidemic with remarkable precision. Matteo noted the breakdown of burial practices, the disruption of the economy, and the various responses of the Florentine population.

Agnolo di Tura del Grasso of Siena left one of the most harrowing personal accounts of the plague. A cobbler and minor civic official, Agnolo buried his five children with his own hands and recorded the devastation of his city with unflinching detail. His account is notable for its personal voice and its emotional power.

Marchionne di Coppo Stefani, a Florentine merchant and civic official, wrote a chronicle that included a detailed description of the plague in Florence. His account, written decades after the events, draws on earlier sources and on his own family’s experience.

The French and English Chroniclers

Jean de Venette, a Carmelite friar and professor at the University of Paris, described the plague’s impact on the French capital and on the countryside. His chronicle combines factual observation with moral reflection, interpreting the plague as a divine punishment and calling for repentance.

In England, several chroniclers recorded the plague. Henry Knighton, an Augustinian canon at Leicester, provided a detailed account of the plague’s impact on the English Midlands, including the labour shortages and the wage increases that followed. Robert of Avesbury, registrar of the Court of Canterbury, recorded the plague’s arrival in London and the establishment of the plague cemeteries at East Smithfield.

The German and Central European Chroniclers

The chroniclers of the German-speaking lands recorded not only the plague itself but also the persecution of Jewish communities that accompanied it. Fritsche Closener of Strasbourg described the massacre of the city’s Jewish community in February 1349. John of Winterthur, a Franciscan friar, described the plague’s impact on southern Germany and the Flagellant movement.

The Islamic Chroniclers

The chroniclers of the Islamic world provided important accounts of the plague in the Middle East. Al-Maqrizi, writing in the early fifteenth century but drawing on earlier sources, described the plague’s impact on Cairo and Egypt. Ibn al-Wardi, who died of plague in Aleppo in 1349, recorded the epidemic’s progress through Syria. Ibn Khaldun, the great historian and social theorist, incorporated the plague into his Muqaddimah, analysing its effects on civilisation and political power.

The Value and Limitations of Chronicles

The chronicles of the Black Death are invaluable as primary sources, but they must be used with critical awareness. Chroniclers’ figures for mortality are often rounded, exaggerated, or derived from hearsay. Their interpretations of the plague’s causes and significance reflect the theological and intellectual frameworks of their time, which may not correspond to modern understanding. And their coverage is uneven: some regions and communities are well documented, while others are barely mentioned.

Modern historians have developed methods for evaluating chronicle evidence, comparing multiple sources, cross-referencing with administrative records, and using archaeological and molecular evidence to test the claims of contemporary writers. The result is a more nuanced and more reliable understanding of the plague than any single chronicle could provide.