Patterns of Plague with Lori Jones

About this episode

Danièle Cybulskie interviews Lori Jones about the changing perceptions and writings on the plague throughout medieval and early modern history.

There are some very entrenched cultural ideas about the plague these days, involving big, beaky masks, and agonized people flagellating themselves in the street. But the way people thought about and treated plague changed over time, as the disease revisited populations regularly over the course of centuries. And just like our imaginings of plague today can tell us a lot about how we see the medieval world, so the changing way people wrote about plague can tell us a whole lot of interesting stuff about medieval and early modern culture. This week, Danièle speaks with Lori Jones about the evolution of the plague tract, who was considered qualified to write about plague, and some surprising ways religion fits – or doesn’t fit – into the picture. This podcast is made possible by the generous support of listeners like you! To find out how to help spread the joy of medieval history, please visit patreon.com/themedievalpodcast

People in this episode

Host: Danièle Cybulskie

Guest: Lori Jones

Topics covered

• plague
• medieval culture
• religion
• historical writing
• public health

Keywords

• plague
• medieval history
• Lori Jones
• Danièle Cybulskie
• cultural perceptions
• religion
• historical writing

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Patterns of Plague

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