Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive All Faculty Publications 2007-11 The Approach of the Black Death in Switzerland and the Persecution of Jews, 1348–1349 Albert Winkler Brigham Young University - Provo,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub Part of the European History Commons Original Publication Citation Winkler, A. (2007). The Approach of the Black Death in Switzerland and the Persecution of Jews, 1348–1349. Swiss American Historical Society Review, 43(3), 4-23. BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Winkler, Albert, "The Approach of the Black Death in Switzerland and the Persecution of Jews, 1348–1349" (2007). All Faculty Publications. 1813. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/1813 This Peer-Reviewed Article is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact
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[email protected]. The Approach of the Black Death in Switzerland and the Persecution of Jews, 1348-1349 by Albert Winkler When the Black Death first arrived in Europe in 1347, it struck along the Mediterranean coast of Italy and southern France. In the following year, the plague swept into central Europe following major trade routes deep into the interior of the continent. The pestilence was one of the most virulent diseases ever to strike the human community, and its impact was devastating, because perhaps a third of the population of Europe died in the next several years. People were dying at an unprecedented rate, and no one knew precisely what the contagion was or how to stop it.