Context: France, during the Plague. The Black Plague was a huge pandemic that killed off over half of the world's population.
Author: Jean de Venette was a religious man belonging to a group known as the Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Born in 1307, he wrote much about various historical events - often inaccurately.
Summary: At first, Venette is talking about some extraterrestrial object breaking apart in the atmosphere over Paris; he claims this was a sign of the coming plague. He explains the devastation of the plague, saying that people were dying faster than they could be buried. Venette talks of how the deaths were not caused by famine or the like, and people started accusing the Jewish community of poisoning the wells (many Jews were murdered). He also mentions that Pope Clement VI was offering absolution of all sorts of sins, so that people would place the church in their wills. At the end, Venette despairingly comments on the fact that the humans [that he believes God] left behind are worse than the humans killed off.
Key Quote: During the epidemic, God of His accustomed goodness deigned to grant that grace, that however suddenly men died, almost all awaited death joyfully.
Identifying Characteristics: Venette speaks a lot about the devastation of the plague and the consequences it had on the society. He also speaks of the fate of those who survived and the blame that was placed on the Jews.
ReplyDeleteKevin: You did a good job with this post, but you could explain a little bit more about the Jews and the implications the accusations had. You picked a good quote to epitomize the document.
There are many components of this document. On the surface, de Venette describes in vivid detail the devastation and horror of the plague. We also see the emphasis on superstition and the supernatural and the evils of men during this period. We now know that the plague was transferred to Europe via the sea trade in Italian ports.
ReplyDeleteAnother quote to consider: "Some said this pestilence was caused by infection of the air and waters, since there was at this time no famine nor lack of food supplies, but on the contrary great abundance."