Emperor Hongwu, The Placard of the People’s Instructions (1398)S.docx

Emperor Hongwu, The Placard of the People’s Instructions
(1398)
Since ancient times, rulers have represented Heaven in
managing human affairs by setting up separate offices to order
the various affairs and bring peace to the lives of the people.
Worthies and gentlemen of bygone times feared only that they
would not be employed by their rulers. All who were employed
exerted the utmost diligence to serve the rulers, thus bringing
glory to their parents, wives and children, and to establish fine
reputations in the world. How could there have been any law
breaking conduct? Therefore, the officials were competent for
their posts and the people were content in their livelihoods.
Since the world was unified I have set up the cardinal
principles, promulgated laws and established offices according
to ancient rules: in the capital, the six ministries and the
Censorate; in the provinces, the provincial administration
commissions, the provincial surveillance commissions,
prefectures, subprefectures, and districts. Although the titles
are different from previous dynasties the system of government
is the same.
That most of the appointed officials are from among the
common people could not be helped. For some time it has been
difficult to tell whether they were virtuous or wicked. Scholars
are not real scholars and the officials are all cunning ones. They
often take bribes and break the law, turn benevolence and
righteousness upside down, and injure the good people, so that
the common people bring all of their complaints to the capital.
So it has been for years without cease. Now this order is
promulgated to declare to the people of the realm that all minor
matters concerning households and marriage, land, and disputes
involving assault and battery shall be judged by the elders and
the community leaders of their communities.

Serious matters involving sexual crime, robbery, fraud, or
homicide shall be reported to the officials. After this order is
promulgated, any officials or functionaries who dare to
confound it shall be sentenced to the death penalty. For those
commoners who dare to confound it, their entire families shall
be banished to the frontiers...
1. In all minor matters involving household and marriage, land,
assault and battery, and disputes among the people, it is not
permitted to bring lawsuits directly to government offices.
These matters must go through the local community leadersand
elders for judgment. Those who do not go to the community
leadersand elders, regardless of the merits of the cases, shall be
sentenced to sixty strokes of the heavy stick and the case sent
back to the community leaders and elders for judgment.
2. The elders and the community leaders live close to and have
fields side by side with the common people of the village and so
that matters of right and wrong, good and evil, are all known to
them. Whenever there is an accusation from the people, a
meeting shall immediately be held and the case judged fairly.
The bamboo or thorn stick may be used for appropriate torture.
If the case cannot be settled, causing the people to go bother the
government offices, the community leaders and elders shall
each be sentenced to sixty strokes of the heavy stick. Those who
are over seventy years of age shall not be beaten, but redeem
the punishment according to the Code. They shall still make an
appropriate judgment in the case. If they act wrongly out of
personal consideration, and confound right and wrong, the
community leaders and elders shall be punished for the crime of
judges implicating the innocent and exonerating the guilty. The
litigations which shall be judged by the elders and the
community leaders are as follows: household and marriage,
land, assault and battery, suits over ownership, fires, theft,
abusive language, money lending, gambling, eating fruits of
gardens and orchards without permission, illegal killing of
plowing oxen discarding or destroying utensils or crops,

animals biting and killing people, unauthorized use of property
by junior or younger members of the family, dishonoring the
spirits, son or grandson violating instructions, witchcraft and
heterodoxy, domestic animals trampling or eating crops, equally
dividing irrigation water.
3. After a case among the common people has been settled by
the elders and administrative bodies, if crafty persons disagree
with the judgment and repeatedly appeal to the officials by
fabricating evidence and making false accusations, they shall be
sentenced to capital punishment and their families banished to
the frontier. If the officials fail to check the reasons for
accepting appeals, thereby taking bribes and practicing fraud,
they shall all be punished.
4. Elders and community leaders when judging suits, shall not
establish a jail. Regardless of whether men or women commit,
they shall not be imprisoned. The interrogation takes place
during the day and the accused shall be re eased at night. If the
case is not settled they shall return the next day for questioning.
Those who dare to cause trouble by practicing imprisonment
shall be severely punished.
5. The elders of each village and the community leaders shall
send reports of the facts of good conduct of filial sons, obedient
grandsons, virtuous husbands, chaste widows, or even persons
having only a single praiseworthy virtue to the Imperial Court,
and to the officials who shall then forward them to the Court. If
the community leaders and elders have memorialized and the
officials fail to do so, the officials shall be punished. Whenever
the investigating censor or the surveillance commissioner come
for inspection, the elders shall also report these virtuous people
to them to verify the facts for their memorials.
6. Villagers are not equal in wealth. NO family is without the
happy and sad events of marriages and funerals. From now on,
the households of the elders shall help one another whenever
these events occur. For example, in case the marriage of the
child of a certain poor family cannot be managed temporarily, if
every household of the elders contributes one guan of paper

currency and there are a hundred households, there will be one
hundred guan; if every household contributes five pan, there
will be five hundred pan. With help like this, could it not be
accomplished? From now on when a family has a marriage this
rule shall be used to take turns giving help. If the father or the
mother of a family dies and has to be buried, each family shall
contribute some amount of money or some rice to help the
family with the inner and outer coffins, or rites performed by
Buddhist or Daoist priests to secure a good destiny for the
deceased. All this can be accomplished. From now on if a
family has this kind of problem the previous rule should be
followed to provide for mutual help and even poor families will
then be able to furnish a small amount of money and rice. In
this way, with united efforts, the required sum is easily raised.
When this is done over a long period of time, friendliness will
naturally prevail in the village.
7. The purpose of the community wine drinking ceremony is to
rank the elder and younger, and distinguish the worthy from the
unworthy. This is a good way to improve customs. The people
have already been ordered to carry it out. Now it is declared
again: it must be carried out in accordance with the regulations
previously issued; elder and younger are to be seated in ranked
order, the worthy and unworthy are to be seated separately.
When this is done for a long time, will not the people pursue
good and avoid evil? The customs will be pure and honest and
every individual will become a good subject.
8. Now the realm is at peace. Except for paying taxes and
performing corvee service, the people do not have other
obligations. Everyone shall be attentive to his livelihood so as
to have sufficient clothing and food. It is essential that every
household follow the regulations in planting mulberries, dates,
persimmons, and cotton. Every year silkworms shall be reared.
The production of silk and cotton will be sufficient to provide
clothing. The dates and persimmons during the prosperous years
can be exchanged for currency and during the lean years they
can be used for food. Such activity is beneficial to you people.

The community leaders and the elders shall oversee and inspect
as usual. If any dare to disobey, their families shall be banished
to the frontier.
9. From the ancient times, the purpose of the people’s paying
taxes and performing corvee service is essentially to secure
peace. In recent years, those in office are incompetent; officials
and functionaries are unable to teach people to do good and are
bent solely on taking bribes. When the time comes for tax
collection and corvee service, they always receive money in
return for extending the time limit, exempting the duties of the
rich and sending the poor to perform them instead, This causes
the ignorant people to follow their example: to refuse to pay
their allocated taxes punctually, to claim to have sold grain
which they actually still have to refuse to perform their share of
corvee service. From now on, when paying taxes and
performing corvee service, the people shall not bribe the
officials. The allocated taxes shall be paid punctually and their
corvee service shall. be performed on time. If the taxes have
already been paid and the corvee service performed, but the
officials, functionaries, tax captains and community leaders
collect them again the suffering families may gather a number
of people to tie up the offenders and send them to the capital for
severe punishment.
10. The favor which our parents bestow in giving us birth is
extremely great. Their toilsome labors of nurture are recorded
in detail in the Grand Pronouncements. Now it is declared
again that among the people those who have living agnatic
grandparents and parents shall unstintingly support them in
accordance with their families’ means. Those whose agnatic
grandparents and parents are dead shall sacrifice to them at the
appointed times to show their filial respects. Parents shall
instruct their children; children shall be filial to their agnatic
uncles; wives shall encourage their husbands to do good. In
this way the clans will become harmonious, no one will break
the law and parents, wives and children will care for one
another day and night. Will this not lead naturally to the

enjoyment of peace?
Chapter 5
Health Literacy and
Clear Health Communication:
Keys to Engaging Older Adults and Their Families
Objectives (1 of 3)
Define the term health literacy.
Describe the health literacy skills of older adults according to
their performance on the 2003 National Assessment of Adult
Literacy, as well as according to other research studies.
Describe the impact of older adults’ limited health literacy
skills on their health.
Describe the role of health system communication, processes,
and demands.
Objectives (2 of 3)
List six plain language standards for verbal patient teaching.
Compare the reading level of health materials with the reading
abilities of the majority of older adults, and discuss the
mismatch or gap between them.
List 5 to 10 plain language standards for written information.

Objectives (3 of 3)
List three health professional organizations and three federal
agencies that publish standards or policies related to health
literacy.
Discuss how you can address health literacy in your health
career.
Understanding and Using Health Care: Why Older Adults Often
Struggle (1 of 4)Health literacy challengesIndividual health
literacy“Degree to which an individual has the capacity to
obtain, communicate, process, and understand health
information and services in order to make appropriate health
decisions”Also includes complexities and challenges presented
by healthcare organizations
Struggle (2 of 4)Organizational barriersOrganizational systems
and processes can be challenging for patients and
providersProviders and staff usually have little or no training in
verbal communication skillsPatients and their families may
struggle to understand print and web-based information
Struggle (3 of 4)Individual factorsIndividuals may feel rushed,
afraid, and too intimidated to ask questionsOther challenges
patients may face:Mastering arcane health insurance
systemsHaving specialized vocabulary, knowledge and skills to
manage their own healthUsing multiple information format in

multiple locations to accomplish multiple tasks
Struggle (4 of 4)Additional barriers to adequate health literacy
may include:Diminished cognitive skillsLanguage and cultural
differencesLack of experience using technology and/or
navigating the internet
Literacy, Numeracy, and Health Literacy Challenges (1 of
2)LiteracyIncludes:Reading and writingSpeaking and
listeningThinking analytically and making decisions
Literacy, Numeracy, and Health Literacy Challenges (2 of
2)NumeracyRefers to a variety of skills, including:Basic
computingMeasuring and timing medicinesAssessing
riskCalculating percentages and statisticsInterpreting food
labelsReading medical devices
Impacts of Literacy and Health Literacy Skills: Two Major Keys
to Good HealthInadequate health literacy is associated
with:Greater risk of hospital admissionHigher likelihood of
using emergency departmentsLower use of preventive health
servicesPoorer physical and mental healthHigher all-cause
mortality
The Impact of National Policies on Health Literacy Practice (1

of 2)From an organizational perspective, health literacy
means:Attending to communication demands placed on
patientsHow well or poorly an organization accommodates their
communications needs
The Impact of National Policies on Health Literacy Practice (2
of 2)Most organizations place health literacy demands on most
adults significantly beyond their literacy skillsSituational stress
further compromises their ability to absorb and process
informationCommunication disconnect results in serious
consequences for care systems and patients
Accrediting, Standard Setting, and Policy Organizations (1 of
6)Joint CommissionAccredits hospitals around the
countryIdentifies communication failures as the underlying root
cause of 65% of sentinel events2010 Roadmap for
HospitalsEncourages use of plain languageIntegrates health
literacy with cultural competenceReflects new accreditation
requirements
6)National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)2017
Recognition Standards for a Patient Centered Medical Home
calls for establishing processes that address health literacy
6)National Board of Medical ExaminersRequires medical
students to demonstrate communication competence on the

United States Medical Licensing Examination
6)American Medical Association (AMA)Publishes policy
statements and white papers alerting physicians about the
dangers of “medspeak” and how to improve communications
6)Allied health professions organizationsHave urged
consideration of health literacy in policy statements and by
promoting resources for student and practitioner learning
6)National Academy of MedicineHealth Literacy Roundtable
has resulted in numerous publications linking health literacy
and key healthcare issuesVital Direction for Health and Health
Care2017 report links attention to health literacy with the
changing expectations of health care to improve quality, achieve
better outcomes, and reduce costs
Federal Government
Agencies (1 of 3)Plain Writing ActRequires all government
information created for the public be written in plain
languageCenters for Disease Control and PreventionOffers the
Clear Communication Index, an assessment tool for written
materials

Federal Government Agencies
(2 of 3)National Institutes of HealthStates that health literacy
“Saves Lives. Saves Time. Saves Money.”Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality offers:Health Literacy
Universal Precautions ToolkitConsumer Assessment of
Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) surveys for patients
to assess quality of care
Federal Government
Agencies (3 of 3)Department of Health and Human
ServicesUpdated Cultural and Linguistic Access Standards
(CLAS) requires “easy-to-understand print and multimedia
materials and signage”Office of Disease Prevention and Health
PromotionPromotes the National Action Plan to Improve Health
Literacy
The Business and Legal Case for Health Literacy (1 of
2)Centers for Medicare and Medicaid ServicesUse standardized
patient satisfaction data captures in CAHPS surveys to help
determine merit-based incentive paymentsMedicare hospital
reimbursements for patients with traditional Medicare are based
partly on “Value-Based Purchasing”Hospitals with superior
patient experiences generate higher financial return
The Business and Legal Case for Health Literacy (2 of 2)Risk

avoidanceAssuring informed consent helps healthcare providers
and systems avoid needless riskMeans that written and verbal
information is understandable to the patient or patient’s
agentPoor communication is a major cause of malpractice
claims
Clear Health Communication: An Often Overlooked Necessity
(1 of 2)Communication is often treated as an
afterthoughtQuestions:How best to communicate?What will
motivate leaders of healthcare systems to systematically address
communication challenges?What are the best solutions?
Clear Health Communication: An Often Overlooked Necessity
(2 of 2)Certain techniques increase the likelihood that adults
will be able to understand and use health informationTeaching
techniques such as “teach back”Plain writing techniques such as
avoiding jargonJoint Commission reportContains 35 specific
recommendations for improving communication
What Is Plain Language? How Will I Know It If I Hear It? (1 of
2)AMA verbal communication tips:Slow downUse plain,
nonmedical languageShow or draw picturesLimit the amount of
information and repeat itUse the teach back techniqueCreate a
shame-free environment
What Is Plain Language? How Will I Know It If I Hear It? (2 of

2)Additional tips to help older adults learn more effectively
from healthcare visits:Frame the conversation firstEncourage
older adults to bring a friend or family member to the visitGive
plain language–written information that reminds the patient of
what to do, how to do it, and why
What Is Plain Language? How Will I Know It If I See It? (1 of
3)Plain language guidelinesContentInformation is accurate, up-
to-date, and limitedFocus on behaviorBreak up complex
informationStructure/organizationStructure from the user’s
perspectiveConvey key points in headingsBegin with clear
action messages
3)Plain language guidelines (continued)Writing styleTalk
directly to the reader in a positive, friendly toneUse everyday
languageExplain the meaning and pronunciation of any medical
terms that are usedKeep sentences shortUse mostly active
voiceInclude testimonials or short example stories
3)Plain language guidelines (continued)Appearance and
appealMake sure print materials and websites are attractive and
inviting, and look easy to readInclude sufficient white spaceUse
large enough print for reading easeLimit the use of fancy
typefaces and underliningUse appropriate images to humanize
materials

A Call to Action (1 of 2)There is no one solution to the complex
problem of communicating effectively with diverse patients and
audiencesWell-planned and simply written information and the
use of teach back can improve understanding
A Call to Action (2 of 2)Healthcare professionalsMust take the
lead in learning effective verbal and written communication
techniquesHealthcare organizations and systemsMust build
health-literate organizationsCommunication excellenceEssential
to thrive in the era of “pay-for-performance” and “bundled
care”
Copyright © 2020 by Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC, an
Ascend Learning Company
Case 1: Arnold, a 62-year-old plumber, had been experiencing a
series of symptoms, including increased thirst, frequent
urination, and
unusual weight loss. After some prodding from his wife, he
went to see his family physician, Dr. Lopez. The doctor gave
him a physical
exam, ordered some blood work, and scheduled a follow-up
appointment. On the return visit, Arnold sat down with the
doctor to discuss
his diagnosis. Dr. Lopez explained, “You have noninsulin-
dependent diabetes or type 2 diabetes, which is a chronic
condition that affects
the way your body metabolizes glucose. Insulin is a pancreatic
hormone that transforms dietary glucose into energy for your
cells. If you
had type 1 diabetes, it would mean that your pancreas produces
little or no insulin. However, with type 2 diabetes, your

pancreas produc-
es sufficient amounts of insulin, but your cells are no longer
utilizing it efficiently, which causes fluctuation in your blood
glucose levels. To
treat your condition, you’ll need to start eating a healthy diet,
start exercising regularly, and monitor your blood sugar. I’m
writing you a
prescription for Metformin and a glucose monitor.” After
finishing his explanation, Dr. Lopez asked Arnold if he had any
questions. Slightly
stunned, Arnold just shook his head and replied, “No.” Dr.
Lopez also told him that his practice has a diabetes fact sheet
posted on their
website and suggested that he look it up and read it. Arnold
thanked him and left. He went to the pharmacy to have his
prescription filled
and also bought a bottle of glucosamine, a dietary supplement
used by some people to treat joint pain. When his wife asked
what the
glucosamine was for, Arnold said, “I think I’m supposed to be
taking it. The doctor mentioned it a few times.”
1. What are some reasons why Arnold likely did not understand
what Dr. Lopez told him?
2. What could Dr. Lopez have done to better present the
information in a way that Arnold would understand?
3. Was it a good idea for Dr. Lopez to refer Arnold to his
practice’s website for more information? Why or why not?

Case 2: Dr. Falk and Dr. Keller operate a family medical
practice. One afternoon, as they ate lunch in the break room,
they discussed an
article about health literacy that Dr. Falk was reading in a
national news magazine. “There’s been a growing trend toward
healthcare or-
ganizations becoming health literate,” Dr. Keller said. “The
statistics are pretty surprising,” Dr. Falk replied. “More than
half of the people
surveyed had only basic or below basic health literacy skills.”
“Do you think it’s something we should look into at our
practice?” Dr. Keller
asked. “I think we should,” Dr. Falk replied. While they were
talking, Amanda, the office manager, and Jean, one of the
nurses, came
into the break room to get some coffee. They overheard what
the doctors were discussing, and Amanda asked Jean, “What
does health
literacy mean?” Jean answered, “I think it refers to
understanding your own health and knowing what you need to
do to stay healthy.”
Gerontology for the Health Care Professional, Fourth Edition
Regula H. Robnett, Nancy Brossoie, and Walter C. Chop
CHAPTER 5
CASE STUDIES
Copyright © 2020 by Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC, an
Ascend Learning Company
Gerontology for the Health Care Professional, Fourth Edition
Regula H. Robnett, Nancy Brossoie, and Walter C. Chop

1. Is Jean’s explanation of health literacy accurate? Why or why
not?
2. Do you agree that Dr. Falk and Dr. Keller should address the
issue of health literacy in their practice? Why or why not?
3. What are some resources that Dr. Falk and Dr. Keller can use
to improve the level of health literacy at their practice?
Case Studies_1: Case Studies_2: Case Studies_3: Case
Studies_4: Case Studies_5: Case Studies_6:
Doc 1 Questions:
1- Many Christians attributed the Black Death to divine wrath
and punishment. Does Buonaiuti seem to share this view?
2- According to Buonaiuti’s account, what were the economic
consequences of plague in Florence?
3- In what ways did extensive mortality resulting from the
Black Death affect the social order in Florence?
Doc 2 Questions:
1- What are the chief responsibilities that the emperor delegated
to village leaders, and what powers did he reserve for
government officials?
2- In what ways was the emperor’s conception of village self-
government modeled on the family institution?
3- What seem to have been the most common sources of dispute
and social conflict in Chinese villages? Why might this have
been the case?
Compare the two docs together:
1- Compare the kinds of social crises and conflict in each
document. And how does each author propose to “recover”

order (if at all) in societies rocked by these kinds of upheavals?
2- What role does the state (if any) play in these crises? Are
these weak or strong states? Do they speak to constituencies?
What is the role between the individual and the state in these
early modern societies?
* Please answer each question from the documents associated.
6/5/2020 Decameron Web | Plague
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e/perspectives/marchionne.php 1/2
Main : Plague : Contemporary Perspectives : Marchionne di
Coppo di Stefano Buonaiuti
Marchionne di Coppo di Stefano Buonaiuti
Florentine Chronicle of Marchionne di Coppo di Stefano
Buonaiuti (1327-1385)
Tr. by Jonathan Usher, Univ. of Edinburgh
A small land-owner who was not a member of any of the Arti,
Marchionne was active politically in the 1370s,
undertaking numerous embassies, and acting as podestà of
outlying towns. His chronicle was started in the late 1370s
as his political career ran into trouble, and follows Villani for
the early history. The critical edition was established by
Niccolò Rodolico in the new series Rerum Italicum Scriptores,
vol. 30 (Città del Castello, 1903 onwards): the Italian text
translated here can be found in R. Palmarocchi (ed.), Cronisti
del Trecento (Milan-Rome, 1935), pp. 647-652.
Marchionne's account, written some three decades after the
great pestilence, is not just an example of a testimony

filtered through now distant memory, with all the complex
transformations that such a process entails, but also of a
text written after the publication of the Decameron and its
famous plague introduction, whose influence is certainly
present in Marchionne's treatment. This Cronica is a fine
illustration, then, of how prestigious, literary writing can
swiftly produce intertextual echoes in a non-literary, or sub-
literary genre. Though covering similar ground to
Boccaccio's plague introduction (including the formation of ten-
person brigate), it is interesting to note the solid
emphasis Marchionne places on economic disruption and
tentative countermeasures.
Rubric 634a
Concerning a deadly outbreak of disease which happened in the
city of Florence, where many people died.
In the year of our lord 1348 there occurred in the city and
contado of Florence a great pestilence, and such was its fury
and violence that in whatever household it took hold, whosoever
took care of the sick, all the carers died of the same
illness, and almost nobody survived beyond the fourth day,
neither doctors nor medicine proving of any avail, and
there appeared to be no remedy, either because those illnesses
were not yet recognised, or because doctors had never
previously had cause to study them properly. Such was the fear
that nobody knew what to do: when it caught hold in a
household, it often happened that not a single person escaped
death. And it wasn't just men and women: even sentient
animals such as dogs and cats, hens, oxen, donkeys and sheep,
died from that same disease and with those
symptoms, and almost none who displayed those symptoms, or
very few indeed, effected a recovery. Those symptoms
were as follows: either between the thigh and the body, in the
groin region, or under the armpit, there appeared a
lump, and a sudden fever, and when the victim spat, he spat

blood mixed with saliva, and none of those who spat
blood survived. Such was the terror this caused that seeing it
take hold in a household, as soon as it started, nobody
remained: everybody abandoned the dwelling in fear, and fled to
another; some fled into the city and others into the
countryside. No doctors were to be found, because they were
dying like everybody else; those who could be found
wanted exorbitant fees cash-in-hand before entering the house,
and having entered, they took the patient's pulse with
their heads turned away, and assayed the urine samples from
afar, with aromatic herbs held to their noses. Sons
abandoned fathers, husbands wives, wives husbands, one
brother the other, one sister the other. The city was reduced
to bearing the dead to burial; many died who at their passing
had neither confession nor last sacraments, and many
died unseen, and many died of hunger, for when somebody took
ill to his bed, the other occupants in panic told him:
'I'm going for the doctor'; and quietly locked the door from the
outside and didn't come back. The victim, abandoned
by both people and nourishment, yet kept constant company by
fever, wasted away. Many were those who begged
their families not to abandon them; when evening came, the
relatives said to the patient: 'So that you don't have to
wake up the people looking after you at night, asking for things,
because this is going on day and night, you yourself
can reach for cakes and wine or water, here they are on the shelf
above your bed, you can get the stuff when you
want'. And when the patient fell asleep, they went away and did
not return. If, through good fortune the victim had
been strengthened by that food, the next morning alive and still
strong enough to get to the window, he would have to
wait half an hour before anybody came past, if this was not a
busy thoroughfare, and even when the odd person
passed by, and the patient had enough voice to be heard a little,
if he shouted, sometimes he would be answered and
sometimes not, and even if he were to be answered, there was

no help to be had. For not only none or very few wished
to enter a house where there were any sick people, but they
didn't even want to have contact with those who issued
healthy from a sick person's house, saying: 'He's jinxed, don't
speak to him', saying: 'He's got it because there's the
"gavocciolo" [bubo] in his house'; and 'gavocciolo' was the
name they gave to these swellings. Many died without being
seen, remaining on their beds till they stank. And the
neighbours, if any were left, having smelled the stench, did a
whip round and sent him for burial. Houses remained open,
nobody dared to touch anything, for it seemed that things
remained poisoned, and whoever had anything to do with them
caught the disease.
At every church, or at most of them, pits were dug, down to the
water-table, as wide and deep as the parish was
populous; and therein, whosoever was not very rich, having died
during the night, would be shouldered by those whose
duty it was, and would either be thrown into this pit, or they
would pay big money for somebody else to do it for them.
The next morning there would be very many in the pit. Earth
would be taken and thrown down on them; and then
others would come on top of them, and then earth on top again,
in layers, with very little earth, like garnishing lasagne
with cheese.
The gravediggers who carried out these functions were so
handsomely paid that many became rich and many died,
some already rich and others having earned little, despite the
high fees. The female and male sick-bay attendants
demanded from one to three florins a day, plus sumptuous
expenses. The foodstuffs suitable for the sick, cakes and
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Marchionne di Coppo di Stefano Buonaiuti | Gabriele de' Mussi
| Petrarch on the Plague |
Francesco Petrarca: Ad Seipsum (To Himself) (Epistola Metrica
I, 14: lines 1-55)
sugar, reached outrageous prices. A pound of sugar was sold at
between three and eight florins, and the same went for
other confectionery. Chickens and other poultry were
unbelievably expensive, and eggs were between 12 and 24
denari
each: you were lucky to find three in a day, even searching
through the whole city. Wax was unbelievable: a pound of
wax rose to more than a florin, nevertheless an age-old
arrogance of the Florentines was curbed, in that an order was
given not to parade more than two large candles. The churches
only had one bier apiece, as was the custom, and this
was insufficient. Pharmacists and grave-diggers had obtained
biers, hangings and laying-out pillows at great price. The
shroud-cloth apparel which used to cost, for a woman, in terms
of petticoat, outer garment, cloak and veils, three
florins, rose in price to thirty florins, and would have risen to
one hundred florins, except that they stopped using
shroud-cloth, and whoever was rich was dressed with plain
cloth, and those who weren't rich were sewn up in a sheet.
The benches placed for the dead cost a ludicrous amount, and
there weren't enough of them even if there had been a
hundred times more. The priests couldn't get enough of ringing
the bells: so an order was passed, what with the panic
caused by the bells ringing and the sale of benches and the

curbing of spending, that nobody should be allowed the
death-knell, nor should benches be placed, nor should there be a
public announcement by the crier, because the sick
could hear them, and the healthy took fright as well as the sick.
The priests and friars thronged to the rich, and were
paid such great sums that they all enriched themselves. And so
an ordinance was passed that only one rule (of
religious houses) and the local church could be had, and from
that rule a maximum of six friars. All harmful fruit, such
as unripe plums, unripe almonds, fresh beans, figs and all other
inessential unhealthy fruit, was forbidden from
entering the city. Many processions and relics and the painting
of Santa Maria Impruneta were paraded around the city,
to cries of 'Mercy', and with prayers, coming to a halt at the
rostrum of the Priori. There peace was made settling great
disputes and questions of woundings and killings. Such was the
panic this plague provoked that people met for meals
as a brigata to cheer themselves up; one person would offer a
dinner to ten friends, and the next evening it would be
the turn of one of the others to offer the dinner, and sometimes
they thought they were going to dine with him, and he
had no dinner ready, because he was ill, and sometimes the
dinner had been prepared for ten and two or three less
turned up. Some fled to the country, and some to provincial
towns, to get a change of air; where there was no plague
they brought it, and where it already existed they added to it.
No industry was busy in Florence; all the workshops
were locked up, all the inns were closed, only chemists and
churches were open. Wherever you went, you could find
almost nobody; many rich good men were borne from their
house to church in their coffin with just four undertakers
and a lowly cleric carrying the cross, and even then they
demanded a florin apiece. Those who especially profited from
the plague were the chemists, the doctors, the poulterers, the
undertakers, and the women who sold mallow, nettles,
mercury plant and other poultice herbs for drawing abscesses.

And those who made the most were these herb sellers.
Woollen merchants and retailers when they came across cloth
could sell it for whatever price they asked. Once the
plague had finished, anybody who could get hold of whatsoever
kind of cloth, or found the raw materials to make it,
became rich; but many ended up moth-eaten, spoilt and useless
for the looms, and thread and raw wool lost in the city
and the contado. This plague began in March as has been said,
and finished in September 1348. And people began to
return to their homes and belongings. And such was the number
of houses full of goods that had no owner, that it was
amazing. Then the heirs to this wealth began to turn up. And
someone who had previously had nothing suddenly found
himself rich, and couldn't believe it was all his, and even felt
himself it wasn't quite right. And both men and women
began to show off with clothes and horses.
Rubric 635a
The quantity of people who died during the plague outbreak of
the year of our lord 1348.
The bishop and the signoria in Florence having ordered a
careful count of how many were dying of plague in the city of
Florence, and seeing finally at the beginning of October that
nobody was dying of that pestilence any more, it was
discovered that putting together men and women, children and
adults, from March to October, ninety-six thousand had
died.
(J.U.)
Other Pages in Plague: Contemporary Perspectives
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