Luther in Plague Time with Allyson Creasman

Allyson Creasman is an associate professor of history at Carnegie Mellon University, where she specializes in the German reformation. Dr. Creasman paints a thorough picture of the pandemic in Luther’s time, examining the early modern quarantine legislation and the secularization of the healthcare system. She discusses whether Luther would have a Twitter, what his thoughts on social distancing were, and what the debates over censorship in Luther’s time can teach us about today’s controversies over fake news.

Censorship and Dissemination of Information in Reformation Germany

Martin Luther’s Response to Plague

Secularization of Healthcare

Early Quarantine Legislation

Early Modern Understandings of Plague

Sociological Ramifications of the Bubonic Plague

Links:

The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio

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The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel