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Article: Revealing a history of misery and sadness; In The Wake of the Plague - The Black Death and the World It Made. By Norman F Cantor (Simon & Schuster, pounds 14.99). The Irish Famine - A Documentary. By Colm Toibin & Diarmaid Ferriter (Profile Books, pounds 15). Reviewed by Ross Reyburn.
- Article from:
- The Birmingham Post (England)
- Article date:
- August 18, 2001
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Birmingham Post & Mail Ltd. 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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Byline: Ross Reyburn
In England in 1500, children played Ring Around the Rosies. In Canada in the 1940s, Norman F Cantor can remember children holding hands in a circle singing this same rhyme. Who would guess this seemingly-innocent nursery rhyme was linked to the Black Plague?
'The origin of the rhyme is the flu-like symptoms, skin discolouring and mortality caused by the bubonic plague,' writes Cantor. 'The children were reflecting society's efforts to repress memories of the Black Death of 1348-49. This anecdote is one of the many insights into this ...