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 spellings which have had foreign influence reverted.

A Rake from London
The, hwic first began in the land of the Sarakens, grew so strong that, sparing no lordscip, it efery stead in all the kingdoms streccing from that land northwards, up to and  Skotland, striking dune the greater  of the  with the blows of swift death. It began in England in the scire of Dorset, the  of Hallow Peter in Fetters, and forthwith went on withute warning from stead to stead. It killed a great many healthy folk, taking hem from the world of man's cares in the span of a morning. Those marked for death were seldomly to lif longer than three or four days. It scowed to no one, but a small few of the wealthy. On the same day twenty, forty, or sixty bodies, and often many more, migt be laid dune for burying together in the same pit.

The cwild came to London at abute the of All Hallows' and daily  many of life. It grew so strong that, between Candelmas and Easter, more than two hundred were buried almost efery day in the new grafe grund made next to Smithfeeld, and this was in  to the bodies buried in other circyards in the boroug. It stopped in London with the cumming of the of the Holy Goast, that is to say at, going forth unhindered towards the north, hwere 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 could 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 hie, thinking that the cwild had been sent to hem for hir unbeleef, to the  of Crist. But hwen hie fund that the same cwild among Cristens hie 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 onse brimming with folk were emptied of hir dwellers, and the cwild spread so thickly that the lifing could 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 could 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  neese hir cilder, but fled for fear of  as if from leprosy or a.