Eyam: Plague Village

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Some have questioned the details of the story of Eyam's response to the plague and the wisdom of the actors in it. The reviewer of the poem The Tale of Eyam in the British Medical Journal of 30 November 1889 comments on its poetic phraseology: "The author speaks of the pestilence and 'its hellborn brood'; and again of firebolts from 'heaven's reeking nostrils.' Such phraseology, says the unknown author, "aptly exemplifies the mental attitude of men who lived in the infancy of modern science, when in the plague they saw the angry stroke of offended Deity, and recognised the 'scourge' of God in what we know to be only the scourge of filth.' [44] Shortly afterwards, writing in his A History of Epidemics in Britain (Cambridge University Press, 1891), Charles Creighton, while affirming the account of what happened, questioned the wisdom of the actions taken at the revival of the epidemic in 1666 as mistaken, though well-meaning. Instead, "the villagers of Eyam were sacrificed...to an idea, and to an idea which we may now say was not scientifically sound," suggesting that they should have fled elsewhere as long as they didn't gather together or take "tainted" articles with them. [45] But c’mon. Can there be anything more inherently dramatic and gut-wrenching than the plague? With content like this, shouldn’t Geraldine have an easy time of pulling us into the story and keeping us there? For those readers who crave more of McCammon’s Mathew Corbett books, Speaks of The Night Bird and Queen of Bedlam, this book is McCammon but with more intense prose. Whittles L.K. & Didelot, X. (2016), "Epidemiological Analysis of the Eyam Plague Outbreak of 1665–1666", Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Vol.283, No.1830, (11 May 2016), 20160618.

The final death in Eyam was on November 1 st 1666. By this time, out of the 344 villagers, 260 had died. The houses of those wiped out still stand, remembered today as the “Plague Cottages.” Each is marked with a green plaque that lists the members of each family lost to the plague. As for those that survived, except for Reverend Monpesson who resigned his living in 1669 and left Eyam never to return, they took up their lives again. Their immunity was due to a plague-resistant chromosome, rather than prayer or the smoking of tobacco as was believed at the time. However, they had achieved their objective. Because of Eyam’s sacrifice, the Great Plague spread no further in Derbyshire. Residents of Eyam would collect the supplies and then drop coins into small holes that were filled with vinegar believing it would disinfect the money.

Villagers forced to bury their entire families themselves

It’s not you, Geraldine, it’s me. Or rather, it’s George Eliot – you can’t compete; don’t even try. The Roses of Eyam by Don Taylor; first performed 1970, broadcast on TV in 1973; [69] published by Heinemann, 1976. [70] However in Eyam, a small village in the north, they acted in a unique way. Their intention was to act decisively and prevent the spread of disease. The Ring of Stones premiered in Manchester in 1999 and since then has been revived and performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2011. [80] It was believed that the vinegar would disinfect the money and help stop the spread of the disease.

Griffel, Margaret Ross (21 December 2012). Operas in English: A Dictionary. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810883253– via Google Books. Eyam: A Musical, music by Andrew Peggie, book and lyrics by Stephen Clark; pioneered as a group production in 1990, [78] CD Joseph Weinberger, 1995; London production at the Bridewell Theatre, 1998 These cosy tearooms were established in 1912 and you can sit inside surrounded by their delightful decor for a hot drink and a handmade cake.Kiss of Death by Malcolm Rose, a thriller for young adults, published by Usborne Publishing, 2006. [63] the audiobook's narrator who is the author herself! Some reviewers found her voice monotonous, but I actually found her oral storytelling to be soothing and easy to follow; The Plague Village of Eyam, Derbyshire, John Symmonds, St George’s News – Waterlooville’s Parish Magazine, December 2017

The villagers of Eyam were ground zero for an outbreak of bubonic plague that had apparently been introduced to the remote village from flea infested bolts of cloth brought into the town. Best guess estimates of the population in 1665 set it around 380 villagers. By the fall of 1666, only about 120 were left. While people all over London and other places in England were hurriedly leaving the areas of plague infection, the villagers of Eyam, under the strong guidance of their pastor Michael Mompellion, decided to stay put, self-quarantine themselves and ride out the storm. They saw it as a test of their faith and trust toward God, and felt that they would be blessed beyond all measure once the plague left them. People of the 17th Century believed in numerous theories regarding the origins of the plague. Most believed that it was a punishment sent by God for the sins of the world. People sought forgiveness through prayer and by repenting for their sins. Many felt that it was caused by bad air, which they referred to as miasma. Those who could afford it would carry pomanders stuffed with sweet herbs and spices or carry sweet smelling flowers. Windows and doors were closed and many, especially watchers and searchers in plague hit London, would smoke tobacco. Large piles of foul smelling rubbish were also cleared.

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This was another place where outlying villages used to deliver parcels to Eyam and money dipped in vinegar was exchanged. In the weeks and months that followed, people watched so many of their neighbours die, often whole families, as plaques outside a row of the cottages beside the church show so movingly. Read More Related Articles The midwives, medicine women, who command a deep knowledge of herbs and roots that would provide the most help during an outbreak of a deadly disease are the first to be treated with distrust. Their knowledge is looked on as magical well beyond the understanding of an under educated population. You would have thought these women had green skin and made grand statements like "I'll get you my pretty.", but they were just women interested in understanding the world around them and making the best use of what nature provided. the epilogue. Again, some reviewers found it odd, but I thought is was the perfect ending because of how it tied in so well with the overall story. Year of Wonders is brimming with the same elegant, beguiling prose one can anticipate from any book written by Geraldine Brooks.