1. What measures is the government instituting? Put them in context: that is, explain why the government is targeting these issues.
The plague or “the Black Death” brought on much turmoil and suffering for the habitants of Pistoia. Numerous ordinances were in place with the primary goal of limiting the spread of the plague as well as to keep the city as healthy as possible (p. 199). These ordinances typically focused on confinement (ordinance #1: no one goes to Pisa and Luca and no one from Pisa and Luca is allowed to enter Pistoia (p. 195), how death and burials are to be processed (ordinances 3-12), and how butchers were to handle their animals and the carcases of dead animals (ordinances 13-19) . Essentially, confinement was targeted in …show more content…
195). Secondly, how the bodies of plague victims and their burials (i.e. they must be confined in a wooden box that was nailed shut and placed at least “two and a half armslength deep” in the ground (p. 196)) were dealt with was due to limiting the diffusion of infected, corrupted or miasmatic air (noxious, foul-smelling air) (p. 196). Lastly, the ordinances on how the meat was processed and the proper steps of meat preparation were established such to prevent the consumption of and the selling of “rotten and corrupt food” (p. 198). By targeting these issues, the government is restricting the chances that people will come into contact with the plague (lecture slide 19). Although, with these ordinances in place and their subsequent punishments if not followed properly, the government can be seen as having more power, such that government officials had a general control over “individuals, communities, and …show more content…
With each regulation, there were different penalties if they were not followed. In essence, the penalties were established as a means for the government to control the citizens’ reactions to the regulations. It can be posited that the penalties were created to help strengthen the ordinances and therefore, to limit the spread of the plague. An example of this is seen in regulation #4 where bodies of plague victims are to be dug at least “two and a half armslength deep” (196). The penalty for this is 10 pence for “anyone digging or ordering the digging of a grave which infringes the statute” (p. 196). While there were many penalties that were created in relation to how the government believed people would react to these regulations, sometimes the regulations were created with the goal of aiding the citizens. In this way, they created an ordinance based off of what they believe would be the reaction of the citizens. An example of this is seen through the ringing of the church bell. The campanile (Italian bell tower) is not to be rung during funerals so that it does not frighten the sick (197). It could then be hypothesized that the ringing of the bell would also frighten the healthy as well. If a bell were to be wrung at every funeral, this would signify that someone has passed and that the stench of their body would affect the air. Many individuals were fearful of this type of
The plague or “the Black Death” brought on much turmoil and suffering for the habitants of Pistoia. Numerous ordinances were in place with the primary goal of limiting the spread of the plague as well as to keep the city as healthy as possible (p. 199). These ordinances typically focused on confinement (ordinance #1: no one goes to Pisa and Luca and no one from Pisa and Luca is allowed to enter Pistoia (p. 195), how death and burials are to be processed (ordinances 3-12), and how butchers were to handle their animals and the carcases of dead animals (ordinances 13-19) . Essentially, confinement was targeted in …show more content…
195). Secondly, how the bodies of plague victims and their burials (i.e. they must be confined in a wooden box that was nailed shut and placed at least “two and a half armslength deep” in the ground (p. 196)) were dealt with was due to limiting the diffusion of infected, corrupted or miasmatic air (noxious, foul-smelling air) (p. 196). Lastly, the ordinances on how the meat was processed and the proper steps of meat preparation were established such to prevent the consumption of and the selling of “rotten and corrupt food” (p. 198). By targeting these issues, the government is restricting the chances that people will come into contact with the plague (lecture slide 19). Although, with these ordinances in place and their subsequent punishments if not followed properly, the government can be seen as having more power, such that government officials had a general control over “individuals, communities, and …show more content…
With each regulation, there were different penalties if they were not followed. In essence, the penalties were established as a means for the government to control the citizens’ reactions to the regulations. It can be posited that the penalties were created to help strengthen the ordinances and therefore, to limit the spread of the plague. An example of this is seen in regulation #4 where bodies of plague victims are to be dug at least “two and a half armslength deep” (196). The penalty for this is 10 pence for “anyone digging or ordering the digging of a grave which infringes the statute” (p. 196). While there were many penalties that were created in relation to how the government believed people would react to these regulations, sometimes the regulations were created with the goal of aiding the citizens. In this way, they created an ordinance based off of what they believe would be the reaction of the citizens. An example of this is seen through the ringing of the church bell. The campanile (Italian bell tower) is not to be rung during funerals so that it does not frighten the sick (197). It could then be hypothesized that the ringing of the bell would also frighten the healthy as well. If a bell were to be wrung at every funeral, this would signify that someone has passed and that the stench of their body would affect the air. Many individuals were fearful of this type of