The Author of the Black Death John Aberth Essay - 828 Words

Author, John Aberth was born on July 6, 1963. He currently lives in Roxbury, Vermont and serves as an associate academic dean at Castleton State College. There he teaches several history class. He has also taught at many other colleges in Vermont, including the University of Vermont. In 1992, John Aberth received his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in Medieval Studies after he received his masters from the University of Leeds. He is the author of five books, whose main focus is the effects of the Black Death in the later Middle Ages, including The First Horsemen: Disease in Human History, The Black Death: The Great Mortality of 1348-1350, and A Knight at the Movies: Medieval History on Film. Published in 2001, From the Brink of the†¦show more content†¦Aberth dedicates the first section to the First Horseman, Famine. The beginning of the chapter is focused on the decline of medicine in the Middle Ages. He insists that mens actions led to famine by ways of warfare, mon ies, and the provision of armies. The second chapter is devoted to the Second Horseman, War. The most famous war during the Middle Ages is the Hundred Years War. It is there that Aberth begins his chapter. He explains that the shift from chivalry to a new desire and determination to exterminate the enemy (p. 63) is the cause of war. The third chapter is committed to the third horseman, Plague. Many previous scholars believed the death rates from the Black Plague were between one-fourth and one-third of the population. Through careful research Aberth revised those numbers and increased them to about forty percent. â€Å"He asserts that there is no link between hunger and disease, citing a high death rate among the well-fed monks of Canterbury and the secular nobility, Edson Piedmont from Choice Reviews. The fourth chapter is concerned with the fourth horseman, Death. Aberth observed many artifacts and tombs built during the Middle Ages. He found that the tombs portrayed the dead as decaying corpses. He also studied the Dance of Death who purpose was to create hope of resurrection, salvation, and eternal life. The topic on which John Aberth chose to write about is interesting to many people, including youngerShow MoreRelatedResearch Paper Proposal: The Black Death1171 Words   |  5 Pagesinto consideration the perspectives of the individuals that lived and died as a result of the Black Death, specifically from the year 1348 CE – 1350 CE and in the better known parts of the world during that period, the reactions, preventative measure that were taken to combat the plague, the religious and governmental response. In the collection of primary sources amassed by John Aberth in The Black Death, 1348-1350: the great mortality of 1348-1350 ; a brief history with documents1 he very succinctlyRead MoreAnti Semitism On France Before, During And Post Dreyfus Affair2837 Words   |  12 Pagesthemselves have stuck to their religious roots and have not given up on their culture or their beliefs in spite of risking violence and hatred from many cultures that they live amongst. In France especially, the history of anti-semitism stems back from the Black Plague of Europe and rose and fell depending of the emotional standing of the people of the country and different times. This paper will discuss the history of this anti-semitism in france, the historical events that caused much strife for the jewish