The Black Death

The Plague in Manuscripts and Illumination

The production of illuminated manuscripts — handwritten books adorned with painted decorations, miniature illustrations, and gold leaf — was one of the most important artistic media of the medieval period. The Black Death affected manuscript production in several ways: by disrupting the workshops that produced manuscripts, by killing scribes and illuminators, and by changing the themes and subjects that patrons commissioned.

The Disruption of Production

The production of illuminated manuscripts was a labour-intensive process that required the collaboration of multiple specialists: scribes, who wrote the text; illuminators, who painted the decorations and illustrations; binders, who assembled the finished book; and patrons, who commissioned and paid for the work. The plague disrupted every stage of this process.

The mortality among scribes and illuminators was significant. These skilled workers, who typically worked in urban workshops, were exposed to the same risks as other urban populations. The loss of experienced craftsmen disrupted the transmission of skills and techniques, and the quality of manuscript production declined in some areas in the post-plague period.

The disruption of patronage was equally significant. The concentration of wealth among fewer survivors meant that the market for luxury manuscripts was smaller but potentially more lucrative. Wealthy patrons who survived the plague commissioned manuscripts in large numbers, often as votive offerings or as commemorative gifts for religious institutions.

The Themes of Post-Plague Manuscripts

The themes of post-plague manuscripts reflected the preoccupation with death and salvation that characterised the period. The ars moriendi texts, with their vivid woodcut illustrations of the temptations facing the dying, were among the most widely produced manuscripts of the post-plague period. The Danse Macabre was also adapted for manuscript form, with illustrations depicting the dance of death in vivid detail.

Books of Hours — personal prayer books used by laypeople for private devotion — were among the most popular manuscripts of the post-plague period. These books often included prayers for protection against the plague, images of plague saints, and illustrations of the Office of the Dead — a set of prayers said for the souls of the deceased.

Medical manuscripts also proliferated in the post-plague period. Treatises on the causes and treatment of plague, herbals describing medicinal plants, and compendia of medical knowledge were produced in large numbers, reflecting the urgent demand for medical information in the wake of the pandemic.

The Transition to Print

The post-plague period coincided with the development of printing in Europe. The invention of movable type by Johannes Gutenberg in the 1440s transformed the production of books, making them cheaper, more widely available, and more standardised than manuscripts. The ars moriendi texts and the Danse Macabre were among the first works to be printed, and they appeared in hundreds of editions across Europe.

The transition from manuscript to print did not eliminate the production of illuminated manuscripts, which continued to be commissioned by wealthy patrons for centuries. However, the availability of printed books transformed the market for manuscripts and changed the character of book production.

The Preservation of Plague Sources

Many of the most important primary sources for the Black Death survive in manuscript form. The chronicles of Giovanni Villani, Jean de Venette, and Henry Knighton; the medical treatises of Guy de Chauliac and Ibn al-Khatib; the letters of Petrarch; and the administrative records of municipalities and religious institutions all survive in manuscripts that were copied and preserved in the centuries following the plague.

The preservation of these manuscripts is essential to the modern study of the Black Death. Without them, our understanding of the pandemic would be far more limited, and the rich detail of contemporary experience would be lost.