AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Alice Hall for the degree of Master of Arts in History of Science presented on April 29, 2008. Title: Plague in London: A Case Study of the Biological and Social Pressures Exerted by 300 Years of Yersinia pestis Abstract approved: _____________________________________________________________________ Lisa T. Sarasohn The Second Pandemic had a profound impact on the people of Europe. In the few years between 1347 and 1350, a new epidemic disease spread across the entirety of Europe and killed between one third and two thirds of the population. While this initial wave was important, the real significance of this disease is that after the first wave, plague remained present in Europe as an endemic disease with occasional sporadic epidemic outbreaks. In this manuscript, I examine, in detail, plague patterns in London, culminating in the last major outbreak in 1665, and I review evidence that the Second Pandemic resulted from Yersinia pestis . During the course of the epidemic, material wealth increased and living patterns changed in ways that altered plague distribution patterns. Although Londoners did not make much progress in understanding the etiology of plague or in developing treatment protocols, their experience with plague, combined with traditional beliefs and practices, allowed them to develop ordinances that successfully reduced the threat of plague, at least for some members of Greater London. In 1563, the focus of London’s plague was central London, and both poor and wealthy parishes suffered equally. During the final 100 years of the pandemic, the mortality differential between poor and wealthy parishes increased and wealthy central parishes were less severely devastated than poor parishes on the periphery. Because of the unique way in which plague is spread, the increased wealth enabled some Londoners to increase their distance from rats, and their fleas, enough to decrease their risk of infection by plague. © Copyright by Alice Hall April 29, 2008 All Rights Reserved Plague in London: A Case Study of the Biological and Social Pressures Exerted by 300 Years of Yersinia pestis by Alice Hall A THESIS submitted to Oregon State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Presented April 29, 2008 Commencement June 2008 Master of Arts thesis of Alice Hall presented on April 29, 2008. APPROVED: ______________________________________________________________________ Major Professor representing History of Science ______________________________________________________________________ Chair of the Department of History ______________________________________________________________________ Dean of the Graduate School I understand that my thesis will become part of the permanent collection of Oregon State University libraries. My signature below authorizes release of my thesis to any reader upon request. ______________________________________________________________________ Alice Hall, Author ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful for all the help I received in the process of doing this research and writing this thesis. Virtually every person I know provided me with help and support. My committee, Dr. Lisa Sarasohn, Dr. Robert Nye and Dr. Paul Kopperman, read my work attentively including reading several chapters of this very long thesis multiple times. They repeatedly raised challenging, pertinent, and difficult questions and they expected well reasoned and concrete answers within the context of the thesis. Thus, my thesis is immeasurably stronger. In addition, they gave me the freedom to take on the huge topic that had sized my interest. I would also like to thank Dr. Nye, who encouraged me to make a change in my program that allowed me to get some financial support, assistance that was truly appreciated. I also need to thank my family who put up with me when I was stressed and concerned about how my thesis was progressing, and who read my thesis with an eye to improving clarity and flow, assistance that can clearly be seen in the final product. Particular thanks need to be extended to Don Hall for making the maps, which I could envision in my head, appear on paper. Thank you all, for all the help and support. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1 Introduction .................................. ..................... 1 Nomenclature....................................... ........... 18 2 Biological Overview: Yersinia Pestis ................................... 22 3 Plague Epidemics .............................. .................... 37 Three Plague Pandemics ............................. ............ 37 The Plague of Justinian: the First Pandemic . ............ 39 Medieval and Early Modern Plague: the Second Pandemic ........ 41 The Modern Pandemic: the Third ..................... ....... 43 British Epidemics ................................. ....... 49 Medieval British Epidemics ......................... .............. 50 Epidemics in Summary ............................... ........... 55 4 London ........................................ .................. 57 London Plague Epidemics ............................ ............ 73 Seven Epidemics in London’s Last 100 years of Plague ................. 89 1563 ............................................... .... 89 1578 ............................................... .... 92 1593 ............................................... .... 95 1603 ............................................... 102 1625 ............................................... 106 1636 ............................................... 113 1665 ............................................... 115 In Conclusion ...................................... ........... 125 5 Literature Review and Argument for Yersinia Pestis ..................... 126 Conclusions ........................................ .......... 162 6 The Medical Context............................ ................... 164 7 Material Culture, Social Customs and Civic Regulations .................. 192 Urban Construction ................................. ........... 202 Religion ........................................... .......... 206 Public Gatherings ................................. ............ 213 Sanitation, Garbage and Cleanliness . ............... 215 Cloth, Clothing, Fibers............................ .............. 222 Dog Catching ....................................... .......... 227 Flight ............................................. .......... 234 Public Health: Quarantines and Restrictions on Vagabonds ............. 237 TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) Page 8 Conclusion ..................................... ................. 245 References ......................................... ................ 256 Appendix ........................................... ............... 267 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Map of London................................... .................. 59 2. Plague 1593 ..................................... ................. 100 3. Plague 1603 ..................................... ................. 104 4. Plague 1665 ..................................... ................. 117 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. London Plague ................................... .................. 89 2. London Parishes ................................. .................. 101 LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix Page ................................................... ................ 267 A—1577............................................. .............. 268 B—1578(?) .......................................... .............. 269 C—1593............................................. .............. 281 D—1608............................................. .............. 283 E—1625............................................. .............. 288 F—1625 ............................................. .............. 292 G—1625............................................. .............. 297 H—1625............................................. .............. 299 I—1629 ............................................. .............. 299 J—1636 ............................................. .............. 300 K—1636............................................. .............. 301 L—1665 ............................................ .............. 334 M—1593, Kellwaye................................... ............... 342 Plague in London: a Case Study of the Biological and Social Pressures Exerted by 300 Years of Yersinia Pestis 1 Introduction In 1348, the first major epidemic since the Plague of Justinian swept across virtually all of Europe dramatically changing its disease climate. This plague not only altered the biological conditions under which Europeans lived, but by killing as much as half the population during the initial epidemic wave, it dramatically affected social conditions. 1 Although effects of plague were felt across the entire European continent and beyond, the social changes the plague produced across the various kingdoms of Europe varied greatly because of local cultural conditions. In England, the epidemic and the decline in population facilitated social and cultural changes. 2 Changes in material 1 Barbara Harvey quoted in Colin Platt, King Death: The Black Death and Its Aftermath in Late-Medieval England (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1996), 14. Estimates of the percentage of the English population that was killed in this initial epidemic vary considerably from a low of five percent postulated by Shrewsbury to 60 percent suggested by Ole Benedictow. Samuel K. Cohn points out that some localities experienced