304. The Black Death was not just a European Problem with Tom Asbridge | Chalke Festival Special 4
About this episode
This episode explores the global impact of the Black Death beyond Europe, featuring insights from historian Tom Asbridge.
Think the Black Death was just a medieval European tragedy? Think again. When you picture the Black Death, you probably imagine a third of Europe being wiped out while flagellants marched through British and French villages. But pandemics don’t stop at borders. What if our standard history lessons have completely ignored more than half of the story? In this special episode for the Chalke History Festival, host Paul Bavill sits down with Tom Asbridge, Reader in Medieval History at Queen Mary University of London and author of The Black Death, a Global History . Together, they shatter the Euro-centric myths to reveal a truly global disaster that stretched from Central Asia all the way across the medieval world. Discover how the plague reshaped the wealthy and sophisticated Mamluk Empire. Massive Middle Eastern cities like Cairo—which completely dwarfed London with a population of half a million people—faced unimaginable mass mortality. Tom explains the fascinating doctrinal differences that dictated survival; while Christian Europe viewed the disease as divine punishment that justified flight and abandonment, Islamic doctrine saw it as a merciful martyrdom. This completely altered…
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