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{{Short description|Mass graves of Black Death victims}}
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⚫ A '''plague pit''' is the informal term used to refer to ]s in which victims of the ] were buried. The term is most often used to describe pits located in ], but can be applied to any place where ] victims were buried.{{cn|date=May 2023}}
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⚫ A '''plague pit''' is the informal term used to refer to ]s in which victims of the ] were buried. The term is most often used to describe pits located in ], but can be applied to any country in which ] victims were buried.
⚫ ==Origin==
⚫ The plague which swept across ], ], and ] in the 14th century is estimated to have killed between one-third and two-thirds of ].<ref name="barry">Stéphane Barry and Norbert Gualde, "The Greatest Epidemic of History" ("La plus grande épidémie de l'histoire", in '']'' n° 310, June 2006, pp.45-46, say "between one-third and two-thirds"; ] (1983). "Black Death" in '']'', volume 2, pp.257-67, says "between 25 and 45 percent".</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://history.boisestate.edu/westciv/plague/15.shtml |title=Population Loss |publisher=History.boisestate.edu |accessdate=2011-10-27 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207081157/http://history.boisestate.edu/westciv/plague/15.shtml |archivedate=2009-02-07 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www3.iath.virginia.edu/osheim/plaguein.html |title=Plague and Public Health in Renaissance Europe |publisher=.iath.virginia.edu |date=1994-10-28 |accessdate=2011-10-27}}</ref> Disposal of the bodies of those who died presented huge problems for the authorities, and eventually the normal patterns of burial and funerary observance broke down.{{cn|date=May 2023}}


==Major plague outbreaks==
Plague pits were used especially often during major plague outbreaks, such as the ]. Graveyards rapidly filled and parishes became strained; for example the number of deaths in the parish of ], Fleet Street, in 1665 was almost six times normal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.ac.uk/cmh/epiharding.html |title=Burial of the plague dead in early modern London |publisher=History.ac.uk |date= |accessdate=2011-10-27}}</ref>


⚫ ==Origin==
⚫ The plague epidemics which swept across ] in the sixteenth and seventeenth centurys, are estimated to have killed between one-third and two-thirds of ]<ref name="barry"> Stéphane Barry and Norbert Gualde, "The Greatest Epidemic of History" ("La plus grande épidémie de l'histoire", in '']'' n° 310, June 2006, pp.45-46, say "between one-third and two-thirds"; ] (1983). "Black Death" in '']'', volume 2, pp.257-67, says "between 25 and 45 percent".</ref><ref></ref><ref></ref>. Disposal of the bodies of those who died presented huge problems for the authorities, and eventually the normal patterns of burial and funerary observance broke down, usually during the most severe epidemics.

==Practices==
At the start of the plague outbreak, parishes did the best they could to provide proper burials for their parishioners, but soon ran out of space and began to dig mass graves within the city. However, the plague was so devastating that soon, in late 1665, the group graves began to be dug outside the city. Often hundreds of bodies would be buried in a single location, as the risk of further infection from traditional ] rites was too great. It is unlikely, in the case of the Black Death, that this practice had any appreciable effect on slowing down the spread of the disease{{fact}}.
==References== ==References==
{{reflist}} {{Reflist}}

==External Links==
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Latest revision as of 02:27, 29 September 2024

Mass graves of Black Death victims

A plague pit is the informal term used to refer to mass graves in which victims of the Black Death were buried. The term is most often used to describe pits located in Great Britain, but can be applied to any place where bubonic plague victims were buried.

Origin

The plague which swept across China, Middle East, and Europe in the 14th century is estimated to have killed between one-third and two-thirds of Europe's population. Disposal of the bodies of those who died presented huge problems for the authorities, and eventually the normal patterns of burial and funerary observance broke down.

Major plague outbreaks

Plague pits were used especially often during major plague outbreaks, such as the London epidemic of 1665. Graveyards rapidly filled and parishes became strained; for example the number of deaths in the parish of St Bride's Church, Fleet Street, in 1665 was almost six times normal.

References

  1. Stéphane Barry and Norbert Gualde, "The Greatest Epidemic of History" ("La plus grande épidémie de l'histoire", in L'Histoire n° 310, June 2006, pp.45-46, say "between one-third and two-thirds"; Robert Gottfried (1983). "Black Death" in Dictionary of the Middle Ages, volume 2, pp.257-67, says "between 25 and 45 percent".
  2. "Population Loss". History.boisestate.edu. Archived from the original on 2009-02-07. Retrieved 2011-10-27.
  3. "Plague and Public Health in Renaissance Europe". .iath.virginia.edu. 1994-10-28. Retrieved 2011-10-27.
  4. "Burial of the plague dead in early modern London". History.ac.uk. Retrieved 2011-10-27.
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