The Black Plague In Florence 1348
...lawyer living in Florence. The year is 1348. I am writing this
chronicle for my friend, Marchione di Coppo Stefani, as a strange and mysterious
plague of unprecedented proportion leaves many of our citizens dead within a
matter of days. I want to leave this as a legacy for those who may survive, as
I have no assurance that this dreadful disease will not claim me as it has so
many other good citizens of our city.
I have only been able to survive so far by confining myself to my
home. My rations to sustain me are few, and I am afraid that the water
and air outside is poisoned with what our citizens are calling the
"Pestilence". Many from here have fled, only to find that the plague moved
behind them, almost as it was following in their footsteps. Those who fled to
the countryside have fallen victim to the disease, there is no place far
enough to run, and no place safe to hide. What is to become of us?
People beg me to come out and write wills for the dying, but there is
nothing left untainted that is of any value to those who survive. It is best
to burn and destroy what they have, than to leave this plague as a testament.
So quick is this plague to destroy, that my friend in a letter to me
stated that many of his acquaintances: "ate lunch with their friends and
had dinner with their ancestors in paradise."
No natural disaster to date has rivaled this pestilence in death
toll- no earthquake, nor lightening, nor strong winds - there seems no
way to stop it and I am concerned that the end of humanity is near.
The Medici family, the richest of the founding families, who for
centuries wrested control away from the papacy is convinced that this
is retribution for challenging the church. Our God could not be so
cruel, many see this as a work of the devil himself. Caesar and...
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