Plagues in London: 1348-1665

City Lit

Course

In London

£ 179 VAT inc.

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Description

  • Type

    Course

  • Location

    London

  • Start date

    Different dates available

This course focusses on the study of Bubonic and Pneumonic Plague commonly known as the Black Death. We compare and contrast the impact on the city throughout its 300 year history.

Facilities

Location

Start date

London
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Keeley Street, Covent Garden, WC2B 4BA

Start date

Different dates availableEnrolment now open

About this course

By the end of this course you should be able to:• Critique the availability of sources in both the 14th and 17th centuries and how this impacts upon our knowledge of plague history• Identify contemporary ideas as to the cause of the plague and whether these beliefs changed between 1348 and 1665.• Compare and contrast attempts by Londoners to deal with plague mortality in 1349 and 1665• Analyse and discuss Daniel Defoe’s A Journal of the Plague Year• Discuss modern theories as to the cause of the Black Death and its disappearance after 1665.

There are no additional costs for this course other than your note-taking materials. Daniel Defoe’s A Journal of the Plague Year is available as a free download: https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/d/defoe/daniel/d31j/index.html.

Each week there will be an informative talk during which class discussion will be encouraged. We shall use small group work to analyse original sources and a range of handouts will be available to aid discussion. You will be expected to read and discuss (at least one section if not all) Daniel Defoe’s A Journal of the Plague Year. You are encouraged to bring along/describe items you have read in newspapers/heard on radio/seen on TV you think may be of interest to the group.

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Course programme

According to the eye-witness account of Robert of Avesbury, a London clerk, the Black Death first struck London around 1 November 1348. Within months, an estimated 50% of the inhabitants were dead. We will study the impact of this devastating mortality on the City. There were subsequent r outbreaks throughout the fifteenth through to the seventh century and we will chart the reaction of the municipal authorities as they struggled to cope. By the late sixteenth century we can study mortality bills to gain an idea of the death toll. At the same time the rise of the printing press provided an outlet for mass production of plague literature. Thus, as never before, we can study in greater detail the final outbreak of plague in 1665, not least by reading Daniel Defoe’s A Journal of the Plague Year.

Additional information


You might consider enrolling on further London history courses such as Hogarth’s London (HLW98) in the summer term.

General information and advice on courses at City Lit is available from the Student Centre and Library on Monday to Friday from 12:00 – 19:00.
See the course guide for term dates and further details

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Plagues in London: 1348-1665

£ 179 VAT inc.

The best History courses

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