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Article: `In the Wake of the Plague,' by Norman F. Cantor; The Free Press.(The Dallas Morning News)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- June 20, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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When the plague hit 14th-century Europe, people thought the end of the world was upon them. Millions were stricken with a sudden, mysterious death signaled by high fever, body aches, blood loss and lymph nodes that grew swollen and black.
The plague was not the end of the world _ but it might have been the beginning of a new way of life. The Black Death wiped out 30 percent to 50 percent of Europe's population, and historian Norman Cantor argues in his new book, "In the Wake of the Plague," that it redefined life on the continent. The church lost influence on daily life, more scientific thinking started to appear, gentry women gained new social and financial ...