Just as the Great Fire of London took place one year after the Great Plague broke out, in the 14th Century, Germany and Latvia were still burying their dead from the Black Death, or bubonic plague, when they were hit by a strange epidemic--often called Dancing Mania, St. John's Dance, or St. Vitus' Dance--that caused thousands of people to literally "dance" themselves to death. Due to the spasmodic jerkings and twitchings of the "dancers," it was thought at the time that the victims were p...

The account of "The Black Death" here translated by Dr. Babington was Hecker's first important work of this kind. It was published in 1832, and was followed in the same year by his account of "The Dancing Mania." The books here given are the two that first gave Hecker a wide reputation. Many other such treatises followed, among them, in 1865, a treatise on the "Great Epidemics of the Middle Ages." Besides his "History of Medicine," which, in its second volume, reached into the fourteenth c...

The black death is thought to have started in China, and travelled along the Silk Road to reach Crimea by 1346. From there, it was probably carried by Oriental rat fleas living on the black rats that were regular passengers on merchant ships, it spread throughout the Mediterranean and Europe. The Black Death is estimated to have killed 3060 percent of Europe's population,reducing the world's population from an estimated 450 million to between 350 and 375 million in 1400. This has been seen as...

With the Nazi invasion of Hungary underway, the German army was determined to round up as many Jews as they could and place them into concentration camps. “A Doctor in Auschwitz” is a harrowing tale of survival. It follows one Jewish doctor who was spared and forced to perform experiments on his fellow prisoners. This is a first-hand account of his often brutal assignments, sparing no details.With the Nazi invasion of Hungary underway, the German army was determined to round up as ...

This volume assembles no less than 40 stories set in H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. Ranging from Lovecraft's own tales (including classics such as the novel At the Mountains of Madness, "The Shadow Over Innsmouth," and "The Colour Out of Space") to works by his friends and contemporaries (Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, Frank Belknap Long, and Robert Bloch), to later followers (Henry Kuttner, Lin Carter, Brian McNaughton), and contemporary afficianados (Brian Stableford, Mark McLau...

History of three wars from the reign of Justinian, Byzantine emperor -- The Persian War, The Vandalic War, and The Gothic War. According to Wikipedia: "Procopius of Caesarea (Latin: Procopius Caesarensis, c. AD 500 – c. AD 565) was a prominent Byzantine scholar from Palestine. Accompanying the general Belisarius in the wars of the Emperor Justinian I, he became the principal historian of the 6th century, writing the Wars of Justinian, the Buildings of Justinian and the celebrated Secret Hi...

Medieval France: From the Reign of Hugues Capet to the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century is a classic treatise on the history of France. This expansive text covers French history form the 10th to the 16th centuries, including the Capetian dynasty, the Crusades, and the Hundred Years War. A table of contents is included for easier navigation.

New York Times 'Could hardly be a more timely parable for our day' Evening Standard 'An engrossing and vivid impression of those terrible days' Sunday Express 'Absorbing. . .an excellent account of the two most fantastic years in London's history' This book chronicles the horror and human suffering of two of the most terrible years in London's long and vivid history. 1665 brought the plague and cries of "Bring Out Your Dead" echoed the city. A year later, the ...

The First Crusade began in 1095 by Pope Urban II in response to an appeal from Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, who requested that western volunteers come to his aid and help to repel the invading Seljuq Turks from Anatolia. An additional goal soon became the principal objectivethe Christian reconquest of the sacred city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land and the freeing of the Eastern Christians from Islamic rule. During the crusade, knights and peasants from many nations of Western Europe ...

Medieval Cuisine from Food Fare features information about food and culture in the Middle Ages, including the history of medieval dishes, kitchen utensils and other cooking tools, etiquette, dining, holy days, common recipes, food terms, words and phrases, a medieval day in the life, and links for further study. *UPDATED in May 2013 with 15 new recipes and extra content.*

The Christian Roman Empire and the Foundation of the Teutonic Kingdoms, by illustrious historian J.B. Bury, chronicles the 3rd through 7th centuries A.D.

The modern image of the pirate is derived from Captain Charles Johnson's accounts of the cut-throats who sailed under the Jolly Roger. It was he who gave mythical status to the likes of Blackbeard and Captain Kidd. Using contemporary sources, Nigel Cawthorne now turns the spotlight on the reality of pirate life, revealing the truth behind the legends. It gives us an insight into the men - and women - their weapons, their ships, their unhappy victims and their hide-outs, including the capit...