Interested in the Black Death, but not a medical doctor? That is just fine! John Aberth does a fantastic job of diving into the Black Death, doctors trying to figure out what was happening, and worse of all - how to treat it.
There are jokes (okay, we are going with jokes) that there were times that you were better off without a doctor unless you were looking to leave this earth. Even something as simple as a sore throat could be a death warrant with some of the quackery that was going on.
However, there were some doctors that were doing everything they could to really save lives, not just relying on "this is how we have always done it," but looking for something new that might actually keep their patients alive.

During the time of the Black Death, there had to be a lot of despair among doctors, as they searched for not only a reason but a cure. Breaking down the causes, diving into the histories, and some of the prevailing theories of the day.

While you might want to feel overwhelmed at times while reading - keep going! It is so very worth it, and is full of so much fabulous information. I was not disappointed at all!

Historian John Aberth has compiled the most comprehensive book about the Black Death during the Middle Ages there is, broken down in four major chapters. The amount of research and knowledge is absolutely astonishing. Interestingly, the plague killed 50-60% of those living in Europe during the first outbreak alone. It's difficult to picture roughly one in every two people died. No wonder people were desperate! The odds of surviving were quite low. There was no shortage of written reports by plague doctors over the centuries but Galen, Avicenna and Rhazes were amongst the most influential. Others seemed to guess and throw out the strangest theories and cures they could possibly think up.

The author also describes the effects of culture and social class implications on their thinking such as poisons in the air, blood, water and food. Another concept discussed is the four humors of the body. Some blamed the plague on evil, others on Jews (even in the 1300s). Astrology was a huge influence. Pagan East and Christian West thought differently and many relied on signs from the sky. A few doctors observed the onset and timing of symptoms, such as when apostemes appeared,

Medical information interested me most along with remedies such as evacuation using tickling feathers, bloodletting, cupping and applying a specified number of striped leeches. Powders and pills of varying sizes were used, more for the rich than the poor who instead ingested bread crusts dipped in vinegar and fruit. Quarantining became important and so did clothing burning once contagion was recognized. Details on flight to the countryside are fascinating, which solved some problems but caused others.

Such a timely read for those intrigued by the plague, medieval beliefs and culture and history. The amount of information is staggering and I learned a LOT. Though compelling, this book is not for those who only wish a brief scattering of details. This is for those curious and itching to learn.

My sincere thank you to Rowman & Littlefield and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this substantial book.

Doctoring the Black Death is a layman accessible well written history of the plague years in Europe and the treatments and early public health policy of the late medieval period written by Dr. John Aberth. Due out 1st Sept 2021 from Rowman & Littlefield, it's 504 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.

This is a well written layman accessible historical treatise of the rise of the bubonic plague, the detection and treatment of the disease, and the social and economic repercussions as a result. This book, while academically rigorous and prodigiously annotated throughout is refreshingly accessible to non-academics. The language is understandable and readable and the author allows the subjects to speak eloquently for themselves, with many case studies and contemporaneous excerpts from physicians, historians, and other writers of the times. Although the diaries and historical accounts have been translated to English from several languages, they're perfectly understandable as related in modern English with notations and explanatory text.

The book is arranged logically with chapters leading the reader through the underlying causes, symptoms, preventative steps (social distancing, flight from plague affected areas, etc - sound familiar?), and attempted cures including surgery, religion, magic, and medicines.

The copious chapter notes and annotations will provide readers with many hours of additional reading. Although the advance review copy which I received did not contain photos, drawings, facsimiles, or an index, they will be included in the final release version.

This is an interesting and (very) timely book and the most comprehensively written one on this subject which I've read. It would make a superlative choice for library acquisition as well as for readers of nonfiction, medicine, infectious disease, and similar.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Those poor 14th-century doctors. They had to just try to work out what was causing the black death and what treatments could save their patients. But - there was no germ theory, no scientific method, no way to compile statistics, no mass communication. So, what did they think about the cause and best treatment? There were so many theories about this. Some thought it was caused by earthquakes releasing poison vapors. Some thought it was poison in the air that was passed from person to person. (Sounds better, but this was wrong too! Remember? The fleas from the rats? No person to person infection.) One thing everyone agreed on? It definitely had to do with the alignment of the planets. OK, but the horrors of the treatments! Some I'll never forget: concoctions including ingredients like ants and their eggs, pig's blood, the patient's own urine and spit; eating bread soaked in vinegar (definitely the least disagreeable one); and, believe it or not, attaching a live chicken to the patient so the chicken's anus comes in contact with the big ol' plague boil - the theory being it would suck out the poison. Huh. And there were so many more ideas the book covers.
This book was quite technical. There were several charts and lots of lists of theories of different doctors. I'm not sure it was written for the general reader, but I found it fascinating.

An interesting and thorough deep dive into medical history. There's a lot of insight here into not just how disease was treated but the way that this connects to our evolving understanding of bodies and being alive. I found this book a little more dry than others I've read on similar topics (Medieval Bodies by Jack Hartnell is a recent fave), which isn't a bad thing necessarily, but would make me less likely to recommend for someone who wanted a more casual pop history book.

I received Doctoring the Black Death as part of a NetGalley giveaway.

As catastrophic as it was to populations in Asia, Africa, and Europe, the Black Death also reflected novel ways of thinking about and treating disease in the Middle Ages. For a society that had largely dependent on the wisdom of the ancients to this point, this new peril was unlike anything the world had ever seen, and as such, medieval physicians had to adapt old ideas and develop new theories for a world that seemed like it was imploding.

I enjoyed this--particularly in the times we're living in, it felt relevant. Divided into four chapters--causes, signs, prevention, and cure--Aberth explores the lived experience of physicians who lived through, treated, and in some cases, caught the disease. They debated the nature of the disease (Was it a poison or was it related to the ancient notion of the four humors? Was it caused by one's immediate surroundings or the positions of the planets?), the treatment of the disease (let the 'poison' out or put medicines in?), and the societal responsibilities of those obligated to care for the ill (flee and leave them to their fate, or fulfill your duty to family and community?). What resulted was a patchwork of theories that crystallized, combined, and incorporated elements of early scientific thought, culture, and religious traditions, and in doing so, it challenges popular notions of the medieval period as one of static scientific and intellectual thought.

I loved this book on the plague. It’s a timely book considering we are the midst of another plague. Extremely informative.