|
|
Article: IN THE WORDS OF SURVIVORS.(Black death epidemic in Europe)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Calliope
- Article date:
- March 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Carus Publishing Co. 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)
|
The Black Death affected not just those who died but those who survived as well. The Italian poet Francesca Petrarch (A.D. 1304-1374) was devastated by the death of his beloved Laura de Noyes in Avignon, France. "Rarely do great beauty and great virtue dwell together," he wrote in praise of the love of his life.
To his brother, the only one of 35 monks left alive in his monastery, Petrarch predicted that generations to come would not believe tales of such horrors. "O happy people of the future, who have not known these miseries and perchance will class our testimony with the fables." As he watched those close to him die of the disease, he listed Giovanni ...