Lord Have Mercy on Us: Broadsides and London Plague Life
This article examines Lord Have Mercy broadsides, a genre of cheap weekly publications that appeared during the seventeenth-century plague outbreaks. These texts included historical data about previous epidemics, remedies, prayers, and mortality figures for parishes in London. Readers of the Lord Ha...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sixteenth Century Journal Publishers, Inc.
[2018]
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| In: |
The sixteenth century journal
Year: 2018, Volume: 49, Issue: 1, Pages: 95-113 |
| IxTheo Classification: | CD Christianity and Culture KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history KBF British Isles |
| Further subjects: | B
GREAT Plague, London, England, 1664-1666
B Plague B 15TH & 16th centuries B RELIGIOUS writing B Prayers B PEPYS, Samuel, 1633-1703 B England B London (England) B GRAUNT, John, 1620-1674 B 16th Century B Broadsides B History |
| Summary: | This article examines Lord Have Mercy broadsides, a genre of cheap weekly publications that appeared during the seventeenth-century plague outbreaks. These texts included historical data about previous epidemics, remedies, prayers, and mortality figures for parishes in London. Readers of the Lord Have Mercies served as amateur demographers by recording mortality statistics for their local communities in spaces provided by the publisher. This recording practice, I argue, serves to map the disease's progress more precisely, thereby ameliorating fears associated with the chaotic nature of the disease in urban environments. Because these documents emerged as alternative to official government bills of mortality, the Lord Have Mercies additionally provide a valuable glimpse into the ways in which individual citizens responded to the epidemic. Finally, these broadsides provide early modern scholars a unique opportunity to gain a clearer understanding of the ways in which popular print culture intersected with daily life during plague outbreaks. |
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| ISSN: | 2326-0726 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The sixteenth century journal
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