Plague
Plague
Collection: Pandemics, Society, and Public Health, 1517–1925 Volumes Plague
The archival sources in this volume relate to plague. It is a bacterial illness transmitted to humans via infected fleas typically found on small animals such as rats, and occasionally through contact with contaminated bodily fluids. Common plague symptoms include fever, vomiting, delirium, expelling blood, and enlargement of the lymph nodes resulting in swelling to the groin and armpits. Between 1665 and 1666, London was struck with its most severe outbreak of plague. It resulted in the death of more than 15% of the city’s population. Often considered a biological relic of the distant past, the last outbreak of plague occurred in Britain in 1720, far more recently than people assume.
This volume tracks responses to plague in the UK from the early sixteenth century until the eighteenth century, although the volume also contains documents that date from the mid-nineteenth century. The documents within this volume were sourced from four leading UK archives: The National Archives, British Library, University College London, and London Metropolitan Archives. A complete item listing for this collection can be found here.
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MS 27582: Miscellaneous Documents Related To The Plague
Contributor:British Library
Identifier:73754-C101
Archive Reference(s):Add MS 27582
WARD 2/29/96A/27: Recipe for a 16th Century Plague Medicine
Contributor:The National Archives
Identifier:73754-C55
Archive Reference(s):WARD 2/29/96A/27
WARD 2/29/96A/36: Recipe for a 16th Century Plague Medicine
Contributor:The National Archives
Identifier:73754-C56
Archive Reference(s):WARD 2/29/96A/36
Add MS 37786: Herbal of The Pseudo-Aemilius Macer (Translated into English Prose)
Contributor:British Library
Identifier:73754-C130
Archive Reference(s):Add MS 37786
WARD 2/1/1A/13: Medical Recommendation for the Plague - Utilise Lead and Sugar for Disease Extraction: A Recipe for External Application
Contributor:The National Archives
Identifier:73754-C41
Archive Reference(s):WARD 2/1/1A/13
SP 1/16: Correspondence and Documents from Henry VIII's Reign: Letters and Papers, Vol. II, 27 August 1517 to 13 July 1518
Contributor:The National Archives
Identifier:73754-C13
Archive Reference(s):SP 1/16, especially f.156
C 1/745/53: Report on the Trial of Baker vs. Rutland where Money was Stolen in Exchange for Fraudulent Medicine
Contributor:The National Archives
Identifier:73754-C03
Archive Reference(s):C 1/745/53
COL/RMD/PA/05/02/0003: General Act Concerning Commissions of Sewers, Henry VIII's Reign
Contributor:London Metropolitan Archives
Identifier:73754-C148
Archive Reference(s):COL/RMD/PA/05/02/0003
