Plague, Towns and Monarchy in Early Modern France

This Element examines the interplay between monarchy and towns providing a new understanding of plague care in early modern France.

Neil Murphy (Author)

9781009507639, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 25 April 2024

84 pages
23.3 x 16 x 0.7 cm, 0.264 kg

This Element examines the emergence of comprehensive plague management systems in early modern France. While the historiography on plague argues that the plague of Provence in the 1720s represented the development of a new and 'modern' form of public health care under the control of the absolutist monarchy, it shows that the key elements in this system were established centuries earlier because of the actions of urban governments. It moves away from taking a medical focus on plague to examine the institutions that managed disease control in early modern France. In doing so, it seeks to provide a wider context of French plague care to better understand the systems used at Provence in the 1720s. It shows that the French developed a polycentric system of plague care which drew on the input of numerous actors combat the disease.

1. Introduction
2. The emergence of plague control systems in western Europe
3. Towns and the development of plague control systems in France
4. The French crown and plague
Epilogue.

Subject Areas: European history [HBJD]