Black Death Rakes

Here are some accounts of the Black Death found in the book The Black Death by Rosemay Horrox.

Beware, this article: uses Anglish Spelling, which has had foreign influence reverted.

A Rake from London
Þe cƿild, hƿic first began in þe land of þe Sarakens, greƿ so strong þat, sparing no lordscip, it neesed efery stead in all þe kingdoms streccing from þat land norþƿards, up to and inning Skotland, striking dune þe greater deal of þe folk ƿiþ þe bloƿs of sƿift deaþ. It began in England in þe scire of Dorset, umb þe simbel of Halloƿ Peter in Fetters, and forþƿiþ ƿent on ƿiþute ƿarning from stead to stead. It killed a great many healþy folk, taking em from þe ƿorld of man's cares in þe span of a morning. Þose marked for deaþ ƿere seldomly geafen leaf to lif longer þan þree or four days. It scoƿed heeld to no one, but a small feƿ of þe ƿealþy. On þe same day tƿenty, forty, or sixty bodies, and often many more, migt be laid dune for berrying togeþer in þe same pit. Þe cƿild came to London at abute þe simbel of All Halloƿs' and daily benum many of life. It greƿ so strong þat, betƿeen Candelmas and Easter, more þan tƿo hundred licces ƿere berried almost efery day in þe neƿ grafe grund made next to Smiþfeeld, and þis ƿas in eking to þe bodies berried in oþer circgeards in þe boroug. It stopped in London ƿiþ þe cumming of þe este of þe Holy Goast, þat is to say at Hƿite Sunday, going forþ unhindered toƿards þe norþ, hƿere it also stopped nige Mickaelmas in 1349.

A Rake from Bristol
In 1348, the feast of Hallow Peter in Fetters, the first cwild came to England at Bristol, born by  and sailers, and it lasted in the suthe lands  Bristol throute  and all winter. And in the following year, that is to say in 1349, the cwild began in the other scires of England and lasted for a hwole year with the utecum being that the lifing cud hardly bury the dead.

A Rake from York
In 1348, Michaelmas, there began a dying of men in England. After Cristmas, on the 31st of Ereyool, the called  flooded and burst its banks at the bridge towards Mickelgate, a befalling hwic lasted until Lent. And after this, at, the dying began in the boroug of York and  until the feast of Hallow James.

A Rake from Thomas Walsingham
This year there was a great hwic lasted from midsummer to the following Cristmas, and it was speedily followed by a great dying in the east among the Sarakens and other unbeleefers. It was so great that hardly a tenth of the Sarakens were left alife, and hy, thinking that the cwild had been sent to em for hir unbeleef, to the  of Crist. But hwen hy fund that the same cwild among Cristens hy went back to hir unbeleef like dogs to hir spew.

In 1349, that is in the 23rd year of the of King Edward III, a great killing went forth thrugeute the world, beginning in the suthern and northern lands. Its was so great that hardly half of mankind was left alife. Tunes ones brimming with folk were emptied of hir dwellers, and the cwild spread so thickly that the lifing cud hardly bury the dead. It was reckoned by a handful of men that barely a tenth of mankind alife. A great dying of followed on the heels of this cwild. dwindeled and land was left untilled for want of hwo were nohwere to be found. And so muc wreccedness followed these ills that afterwards the world cud nefer go back to its former.

Meanhwile, as the cwild in England, Pope Clement, owing to the great sickness, full  for  to all those thrugeute the kingdom hwo died trewly sorry after hir.

A Rake from Skotland
in 1350 there was a great cwild and dying of men in the kingdom of Skotland, and this cwild also for many years before and after this in sundry spots of the world, indeed, thrugeute the hwole. So great a has nefer been heard of from the beginning of the world to the  day, or been written dune in books. For this cwild blew its illwill so thorougly that fully a third of mankind was killed. At God's bidding, moreofer, the was done by a  and new scape of death. Those hwo fell sick of a kind of gross swelling of the flesc lasted for barely two days. This sickness befell eferyhwere, but  the middelling and lower ilks, seldomly the great. It suc  that cilder did not dare to  hir dying, nor did  nees hir cilder, but fled for fear of  as if from leprosy or a.