The article discusses Valencia's municipal responses to the plague from 1348 to 1519.
Focuses on the intertwining of religious and material approaches in combating the epidemic.
City council gathered to address the ongoing plague which started in March.
New measures were authorized, including:
Charitable donations to appease divine anger.
Processions to the chapel of Our Lady of Mercy for divine intervention.
Removal of decomposing animals to maintain hygiene and combat disease spread.
Medieval public health incorporates both hygiene and religious practices.
Previous studies largely separate hygiene and sacred responses; this study integrates both perspectives.
Notable scholars include Tomić and Geltner—recent work emphasizes the dual nature of plague responses.
Valencia's municipal responses aligned religious actions with public health measures.
Before the late 15th century, plagues were viewed as consequences of moral and environmental corruption.
Post-1475, focus shifted towards contagion and external threats.
Initially, sin was perceived as the cause of plague, linking it to moral corruption.
The council emphasized reforms to combat sins thought to invoke divine wrath.
After the Black Death, blame for plague largely shifted to specific sins among Christians, unlike other disasters that garnered collective guilt.
Records indicate increased focus on moral and material corruption leading to stricter regulatory responses.
Public sins included:
Prostitution and gambling—deemed to threaten both social fabric and public health.
Rituals and regulations aimed at curtailing these activities were introduced during plague outbreaks.
In particular, blasphemy and lewdness were frequently cited as causes of divine displeasure.
From the mid-15th century, the approach shifted to viewing plague as contagious instead of merely caused by corruption.
External sources of infection became the primary concern, paralleling broader European trends.
Quarantine measures emerged alongside religious practices aimed at protecting the city from plague.
Religious rituals transitioned from purification to protective acts.
Processions became vital in framing the city's boundaries and invoking divine protection against external threats.
Concurrently, saintly relics gained significance in civic rituals, encapsulating the intertwining of hygiene and religious practices.
The association between poverty and plague heightened over time, reflecting wider social anxieties.
By the late 15th century, municipal actions increasingly marginalized the poor as perceived carriers of disease.
In 1519, a riot connected to plague concerns emerged from tensions regarding municipal inaction against morality, highlighting the shifting social dynamics during disease outbreaks.
Valencia's public health strategy evolved from a focus on moral purification to a model engaging with contagion and external threats.
Religious and public health responses derived from shared principles, illustrating a complex interaction between civic governance, morality, and public health in late medieval society.
Emphasizes the mutual reinforcement between spiritual and material practices in addressing the specter of plague.