Epidemic Disease and Society in the Premodern Low Countries: Inequality and Community

In this book, evidence from a long-run history of epidemic-society interaction in the Low Countries shows that most recurring outbreaks were accommodated by communities, and most reactions, responses, and changes seen were the product of frequent and incremental adaptations, sometimes in periods outside of epidemics.

Epidemics blur the distinction between the normal and the sub-normal. Accordingly, although histories tend to emphasise epidemics’ capacity to create sharp changes, deviations, ...