A STUDENT'S NOTES ON THE PLAGUE IN CODEX WIEN, ÖSTERREICHISCHE NATIONALBIBLIOTHEK, 4497
Abstract
From Boccaccio to Petrarch, from medical treatises to historical chronicles, from astrological explanations to theological speeches, the medieval plague inspired people to note their experiences. In the early fifteenth century, the University of Vienna was confronted with several outbreaks of plague of varying intensity, from the very violent, with many victims among the students and masters, to more calm episodes. The great historian of the university Joseph Aschbach listed visits of the plague in "1400, 1419, 1425, 1428, 1442, 1444, 1452 u. A." 1 This paper will present testimony to another outbreak recorded at the University of Vienna in 1436, offering some interesting details about the impact of the medical situation on the academic calendar and on the careers of some scholars. In fact, the incident and the testimony have been mentioned on occasion in catalogues and repertories, but only fragmentarily. 2 The appendix to this paper offers the first full transcription, all 37 lines. At first glance, nothing in Wien, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, cod. 4497, indicates any obvious connection to the plague, since the manuscript contains a copy of the Sentences commentary of Johannes Grössel de Tittmoning (Johannes Groessel de Tytmaning), 3 who was assigned to begin reading the Sentences in the Faculty of Theology during the 1435-1436 academic year, although he would not obtain his licence in theology until 1448. 4 At the end of Book II in Wien ÖNB 4497, one finds a strikingly long colophon, an emotional account of a visit of the plague that affected the teaching schedule at the University of Vienna.
Domains
Humanities and Social Sciences
Origin : Files produced by the author(s)