The Pestilence Comes to Florence, 1348

Dico adunque che già erano gli anni della fruttifera Incarnazione del Figliuolo di Dio al numero pervenuti di mille trecento quarant'otto, quando nella egregia città di Fiorenza, oltre ad ogni altra italica bellissima, pervenne la mortifera pestilenza, la quale, per operazion de' corpi superiori o per le nostre inique opere, da giusta ira di Dio a nostra correzione mandata sopra i mortali, alquanti anni davanti nelle parti orientali incominciata, quelle d'innumerabile quantità di viventi avendo private, senza ristare, d'un luogo in un altro continuandosi, verso l'Occidente miserabilmente s'era ampliata.

I say, then, that the years of the fruitful Incarnation of the Son of God had already reached the number of one thousand three hundred forty-eight, when into the excellent city of Florence, beautiful beyond every other Italian [city], came the deadly pestilence, which, through the working of the higher bodies or [sent] for our wicked deeds by the just anger of God upon mortals for our correction, having begun some years before in the eastern parts, and having deprived them of an innumerable quantity of living beings, continuing without stopping from one place to another, had spread miserably toward the West.

I say, then, that it was the year 1348 since the fruitful Incarnation of the Son of God when the deadly pestilence came to the noble city of Florence, more beautiful than any other city in Italy. Whether it came through the workings of the heavenly bodies,1 or was sent upon us mortals by the just anger of God to correct our wicked ways,2 it had begun some years before in the lands of the East. There it had taken the lives of countless people. Then, without stopping, it had moved on from place to place and spread, wretchedly, toward the West.

1. The stars and planets. Many medieval scholars blamed epidemics on the positions of the stars and planets.
2. The belief that God sent disease to punish wrongdoing or to call sinners to repent.

Et in quella non valendo alcuno senno né umano provvedimento, per lo quale fu da molte immondizie purgata la città da oficiali sopra ciò ordinati, e vietato l'entrarvi dentro a ciascuno infermo, e molti consigli dati a conservazion della sanità; né ancora umili supplicazioni, non una volta ma molte, et in processioni ordinate, et in altre guise a Dio fatte dalle divote persone; quasi nel principio della primavera dell'anno predetto orribilmente cominciò i suoi dolorosi effetti, et in miracolosa maniera, a dimostrare.

And against it no wisdom nor human foresight availing, by which the city was purged of much filth by officials appointed for this, and entry into it forbidden to every sick person, and many counsels given for the preservation of health; nor even humble supplications, not once but many [times], both in ordered processions and in other ways made to God by devout persons; almost at the beginning of the spring of the said year it horribly began to show its painful effects, and in a miraculous [astonishing] manner.

Against it no wisdom or human foresight did any good. Officials appointed for the task cleared the city of much filth. No sick person was allowed to enter, and much advice was given on staying healthy. Nor did humble prayers to God do any good, though devout people offered them not once but many times, in organized processions and in other ways. Almost at the beginning of spring that year, the pestilence began to show its painful effects, in horrible and astonishing ways.

E non come in Oriente aveva fatto, dove a chiunque usciva il sangue del naso era manifesto segno d'inevitabile morte; ma nascevano nel cominciamento d'essa, a' maschi et alle femine parimente, o nell'anguinaja o sotto le ditella certe enfiature, delle quali alcune crescevano come una comunal mela, altre come uno uovo, et alcune più et alcun'altre meno, le quali i volgari nominavan Gavòccioli. E dalle due parti del corpo predette infra brieve spazio cominciò il già detto gavòcciolo mortifero indifferentemente in ogni parte di quello a nascere et a venire: e da questo appresso s'incominciò la qualità della predetta infermità a permutare in macchie nere o livide, le quali nelle braccia e per le coscie, et in ciascuna altra parte del corpo, apparivano a molti, a cui grandi e rade, et a cui minute e spesse. E come il gavòcciolo primieramente era stato, et ancora era, certissimo indizio di futura morte, così erano queste a ciascuno a cui venieno.

And not as it had done in the East, where for whoever blood came out of the nose it was a manifest sign of inevitable death; but there arose at its beginning, in males and females alike, either in the groin or under the armpits, certain swellings, of which some grew as [big as] a common apple, others as an egg, and some more and some others less, which the common people called gavoccioli. And from the two said parts of the body, within a short space, the said deadly gavocciolo began to arise and come indifferently in every part of it; and after this the quality of the said sickness began to change into black or livid spots, which appeared on the arms and on the thighs and in every other part of the body, in many, in some large and sparse, in others small and dense. And as the gavocciolo had first been, and still was, a most certain sign of coming death, so were these to each one to whom they came.

It did not act as it had in the East, where a nosebleed was a clear sign of certain death. Here, at the start of the illness, men and women alike grew swellings in the groin or under the armpits. Some grew as big as an ordinary apple, others as big as an egg, some bigger and some smaller. The common people called them gavoccioli.3 Soon these deadly swellings began to appear and grow anywhere on the body, not just in those two places. After this the signs of the sickness began to change into black or bluish spots. In many people these appeared on the arms, the thighs, and every other part of the body. Some had a few large ones, others many small ones close together. The swelling had been at first, and still was, a sure sign of coming death, and so were these spots, for anyone who got them.

3. The Florentine name for the swellings (buboes) of plague.

A cura delle quali infermità né consiglio di medico, né virtù di medicina alcuna pareva che valesse o facesse profitto: anzi, o che natura del malore nol patisse, o che la ignoranza de' medicanti (de' quali oltre al numero degli scienziati, così di femine come d'uomini, senza avere alcuna dottrina di medicina avuta giammai, era il numero divenuto grandissimo) non conoscesse da che si movesse, e, per conseguente, debito argomento non vi prendesse, non solamente pochi ne guarivano, anzi quasi tutti infra 'l terzo giorno dalla apparizione de' sopraddetti segni, chi più tosto e chi meno, et i più senza alcuna febbre o altro accidente, morivano.

For the cure of which sicknesses neither counsel of doctor nor virtue of any medicine seemed to avail or bring profit; rather, whether the nature of the illness did not allow it, or the ignorance of the healers (of whom, besides the number of the learned, the number had become very great, of women as well as of men, without ever having had any teaching of medicine) did not know from what it arose, and consequently did not take the proper remedy, not only few were cured of it, but almost all, within the third day from the appearance of the said signs, some sooner and some later, and most without any fever or other symptom, died.

No doctor’s advice and no medicine seemed to help or do any good in curing these illnesses. Perhaps the nature of the disease did not allow a cure. Or perhaps the healers did not know what caused it, and so did not use the right remedy. Besides the trained doctors, there were now a great many such healers, women as well as men, who had never had any training in medicine. In any case, few recovered. Almost all died within three days after the signs appeared, some sooner and some later, and most without any fever or other symptom.

E fu questa pestilenza di maggior forza per ciò, che essa dagl'infermi di quella per lo comunicare insieme s'avventava a' sani, non altramenti che faccia il fuoco alle cose secche o unte quando molto gli sono avvicinate. E più avanti ancora ebbe di male; che non solamente il parlare e l'usare con gl'infermi dava a' sani infermità o cagione di comune morte, ma ancora il toccare i panni o qualunque altra cosa da quegli infermi stata tocca o adoperata pareva seco quella cotale infermità nel toccator trasportare. Maravigliosa cosa è ad udire quello che io debbo dire: il che, se dagli occhi di molti e da' miei non fosse stato veduto, appena che io ardissi di crederlo, non che di scriverlo, quantunque da fededegno udito l'avessi.

And this pestilence was of greater force because it leapt from the sick of it to the healthy through communicating together, not otherwise than fire does to dry or oily things when they are brought very near it. And it had still more of evil: that not only talking and dealing with the sick gave the healthy the sickness or cause of the common death, but also touching the clothes or any other thing touched or used by those sick seemed to carry that same sickness with it to the toucher. A marvelous thing it is to hear what I must say: which, if it had not been seen by the eyes of many and by mine, I would hardly dare to believe it, much less write it, even if I had heard it from someone worthy of trust.

This pestilence was all the more powerful because it leapt from the sick to the healthy when they were together,4 just as fire catches dry or oily things brought close to it. And the evil went further still. Not only did talking with the sick or spending time with them give the healthy the sickness, or cause them to die the same death. Even touching the clothes of the sick, or anything else they had touched or used, seemed to pass the sickness on to the person who touched it. What I must tell now is amazing to hear. If I and many others had not seen it with our own eyes, I would hardly dare to believe it, let alone write it down, even if I had heard it from someone I trusted.

4. The idea that disease passed from person to person by touch, breath, or objects, long before anyone knew about germs.

Dico che di tanta efficacia fu la qualità della pestilenzia narrata nello appiccarsi da uno ad altro, che, non solamente l'uomo all'uomo, ma questo, che è molto più, assai volte visibilmente fece, cioè che la cosa dell'uomo infermo stato, o morto di tale infermità, tocca da un altro animale fuori della spezie dell'uomo, non solamente della infermità il contaminasse, ma quello infra brevissimo spazio uccidesse. Di che gli occhi miei (sì come poco davanti è detto) presero, tra l'altre volte un dì, così fatta esperienza, che, essendo gli stracci d'un povero uomo, da tale infermità morto, gittati nella via publica, et avvenendosi ad essi due porci, e quegli, secondo il lor costume, prima molto col grifo e poi co' denti, presigli e scossiglisi alle guance, in piccola ora appresso, dopo alcuno avvolgimento, come se veleno avesser preso, amenduni sopra gli mal tirati stracci morti caddero in terra.

I say that the quality of the said pestilence was of such efficacy in passing from one to another that not only [did it pass] from man to man, but it often visibly did this, which is much more: that is, that a thing of a man who had been sick, or dead of such sickness, touched by another animal outside the species of man, not only contaminated it with the sickness, but killed it within a very brief space. Of which my eyes (as was said a little before) took such experience one day, among other times: that the rags of a poor man dead of such sickness having been thrown into the public street, and two pigs coming upon them, and they, according to their custom, first much with the snout and then with the teeth having taken them and shaken them against their cheeks, a little while after, after some writhing, as if they had taken poison, both fell dead to the ground upon the ill-pulled rags.

I say that this pestilence passed from one to another so powerfully that it went not only from person to person. It often did something much stranger, which people saw plainly. If an animal of another kind touched something that had belonged to a person who was sick, or had died of this disease, the animal not only caught the sickness but died of it in a very short time. My own eyes, as I said a moment ago, saw this one day, among other times. The rags of a poor man who had died of this disease had been thrown into the public street. Two pigs came upon them. As pigs do, they first rooted at them with their snouts and then took them in their teeth and shook them against their cheeks. A short while later they twisted about, as if they had eaten poison, and both fell dead on the ground, on the rags they had pulled at to their cost.

Dalle quali cose, e da assai altre a queste simiglianti o maggiori, nacquero diverse paure et immaginazioni in quegli che rimanevano vivi, e tutti quasi ad un fine tiravano assai crudele, ciò era di schifare e di fuggire gl'infermi e le lor cose; e così faccendo, si credeva ciascuno a sé medesimo salute acquistare. Et erano alcuni, li quali avvisavano che il vivere moderatamente, et il guardarsi da ogni superfluità, avesse molto a così fatto accidente resistere: e, fatta lor brigata, da ogni altro separati viveano; et in quelle case ricogliendosi e rinchiudendosi dove niuno infermo fosse e da viver meglio, dilicatissimi cibi et ottimi vini temperatissimamente usando et ogni lussuria fuggendo, senza lasciarsi parlare ad alcuno, o volere di fuori, di morte o d'infermi, alcuna novella sentire, con suoni e con quelli piaceri che aver potevano si dimoravano.

From which things, and from many others similar to these or greater, various fears and imaginings arose in those who remained alive, and all aimed almost at one quite cruel end, which was to shun and flee the sick and their things; and by so doing each believed he was gaining health for himself. And there were some who thought that living moderately and guarding oneself from every excess would greatly help to resist such a calamity; and, having formed their company, they lived separate from everyone else; and gathering and shutting themselves up in those houses where no sick person was, and where one could live best, using most delicate foods and the best wines most temperately and fleeing all indulgence, without letting anyone speak to them, or wanting to hear any news from outside, of death or of the sick, they stayed with music and with such pleasures as they could have.

These things, and many others like them or worse, gave rise to all kinds of fears and fancies among those still alive. Nearly all of them aimed at one quite cruel goal: to shun and flee the sick and their belongings. By doing this, each one believed, he could keep himself healthy. Some thought that living moderately and avoiding every excess would do much to resist such a disaster. They formed their own groups and lived apart from everyone else. They gathered and shut themselves up in houses where no one was sick and where they could live best. They ate the finest foods and drank the best wines, but in great moderation, and avoided all indulgence. They let no one talk to them and wanted no news from outside about death or the sick. They passed the time with music and whatever other pleasures they could have.

Altri, in contraria opinion tratti, affermavano, il bere assai et il godere, e l'andar cantando attorno e sollazzando, et il soddisfare d'ogni cosa allo appetito che si potesse, e di ciò che avveniva ridersi e beffarsi, essere medicina certissima a tanto male: e così come il dicevano il mettevano in opera a lor potere, il giorno e la notte ora a quella taverna, ora a quell'altra andando, bevendo senza modo e senza misura, e molto più ciò per l'altrui case faccendo, solamente che cose vi sentissero che loro venissero a grado o in piacere. E ciò potevan fare di leggiere, per ciò che ciascun (quasi non più viver dovesse) aveva, sì come sé, le sue cose messe in abbandono: di che le più delle case erano divenute comuni, e così l'usava lo straniere, pure che ad esse s'avvenisse, come l'avrebbe il proprio signore usate: e, con tutto questo proponimento bestiale, sempre gl'infermi fuggivano a lor potere.

Others, drawn to the contrary opinion, affirmed that drinking much and enjoying oneself, and going about singing and making merry, and satisfying the appetite in everything that could be, and laughing and mocking at whatever happened, was the most certain medicine for so great an evil; and as they said it, so they put it into practice as far as they could, going day and night now to this tavern, now to that other, drinking without manner and without measure, and doing this much more in other people’s houses, provided only they sensed there were things there that came to their liking or pleasure. And this they could do easily, because each one (as if he were to live no longer) had abandoned his things, as [he had] himself; so that most of the houses had become common, and the stranger used them, if he came upon them, as the owner himself would have used them; and, with all this beastly purpose, they always fled the sick as far as they could.

Others held the opposite opinion. They claimed that the surest medicine for so great an evil was to drink a lot and enjoy oneself, to go around singing and having fun, to satisfy every appetite in every way possible, and to laugh and joke at whatever happened. And as they said, so they did, as far as they could. Day and night they went from one tavern to another, drinking without limit or measure. They did this even more in other people’s houses, whenever they heard there was something there they liked or enjoyed. They could do this easily, because everyone, as if he had no longer to live, had abandoned his belongings, as he had abandoned himself. So most houses had become common property. Any stranger who came upon one used it just as its owner would have. And for all this beastly behavior, they still kept away from the sick as much as they could.

Et in tanta afflizione e miseria della nostra città era la reverenda autorità delle leggi, così divine come umane, quasi caduta e dissoluta tutta, per li ministri et esecutori di quelle, li quali, sì come gli altri uomini, erano tutti o morti o infermi o sì di famigli rimasi stremi, che uficio alcuno non potean fare: per la qual cosa era a ciascuno licito quanto a grado gli era d'adoperare.

And in so great affliction and misery of our city the reverend authority of the laws, divine as well as human, had almost all fallen and dissolved, because of their ministers and executors, who, like other men, were all either dead or sick or left so short of servants that they could do no office; for which reason it was lawful for each one to do as much as he pleased.

In such suffering and misery, the respected authority of the laws, both God’s and man’s, had almost entirely broken down in our city. The men who served and enforced the laws were, like everyone else, all dead or sick, or left with so few assistants that they could not do their work. So everyone was free to do whatever he pleased.

Molti altri servavano, tra questi due di sopra detti, una mezzana via, non strignendosi nelle vivande quanto i primi, né nel bere e nell'altre dissoluzioni allargandosi quanto i secondi, ma a sofficienza, secondo gli appetiti, le cose usavano, e senza rinchiudersi andavano attorno, portando nelle mani chi fiori, chi erbe odorifere, e chi diverse maniere di spezierie, quelle al naso ponendosi spesso, estimando essere ottima cosa il cerebro con cotali odori confortare: con ciò fosse cosa che l'aere tutto paresse dal puzzo de' morti corpi, e delle infermità e delle medicine, compreso e puzzolente.

Many others kept, between these two said above, a middle way, not restricting themselves in food as much as the first, nor letting themselves go in drinking and the other dissipations as much as the second, but used things sufficiently, according to their appetites, and without shutting themselves in went about, carrying in their hands some flowers, some fragrant herbs, and some various kinds of spices, often putting them to the nose, thinking it an excellent thing to comfort the brain with such odors, since the whole air seemed seized and stinking with the stench of dead bodies, and of the sicknesses and of the medicines.

Many others took a middle way between these two. They did not limit their food as much as the first group, nor let themselves go in drinking and other excesses like the second. They took what they needed to satisfy their appetites. They did not shut themselves up but went about carrying flowers, or fragrant herbs, or various kinds of spices. They often held these to their noses, thinking it an excellent thing to comfort the brain with such smells,5 because the whole air seemed filled with the stench of dead bodies, of sickness, and of medicines.

5. Many believed that disease spread through foul or poisoned air, and that sweet smells could guard against it.

Alcuni erano di più crudel sentimento (come che per avventura più fosse sicuro), dicendo niun'altra medicina essere contro alle pestilenze migliore né così buona, come il fuggire loro davanti: e da questo argomento mossi, non curando d'alcuna cosa se non di sé, assai et uomini e donne abbandonarono la propia città, le propie case, i lor luoghi, et i lor parenti e le lor cose, e cercarono l'altrui o almeno il lor contado, quasi l'ira di Dio a punire la iniquità degli uomini con quella pestilenza, non dove fossero procedesse, ma solamente a coloro opprimere li quali dentro alle mura della lor città si trovassero, commossa intendesse; o quasi avvisando niuna persona in quella dover rimanere, e la sua ultima ora esser venuta. E come che questi così variamente opinanti non morissero tutti, non per ciò tutti campavano: anzi, infermandone di ciascuna molti, et in ogni luogo, avendo essi stessi, quando sani erano, esemplo dato a coloro che sani rimanevano, quasi abbandonati per tutto languieno.

Some were of crueler feeling (though perhaps it was safer), saying that no other medicine against pestilences was better nor as good as fleeing before them; and moved by this argument, caring for nothing but themselves, a great many men and women abandoned their own city, their own houses, their places, and their relatives and their things, and sought others’ [places] or at least their countryside, as if the anger of God, to punish the wickedness of men with that pestilence, would not proceed wherever they were, but, being roused, intended to crush only those who were found inside the walls of their city; or as if thinking that no person was to remain in it, and that its last hour had come. And though these, of such various opinions, did not all die, not all escaped for that; rather, many of each [opinion] falling sick, and in every place, having themselves, when they were healthy, given the example to those who remained healthy, languished almost abandoned everywhere.

Some had a crueler view, though perhaps it was safer. They said that no medicine against pestilence was better, or even as good, as running away from it. Moved by this reasoning, and caring for no one but themselves, a great many men and women abandoned their city, their houses, their homes, their relatives, and their belongings. They went to other people’s places, or at least to their own countryside.6 It was as if God’s anger, roused to punish human wickedness with this pestilence, would not follow them wherever they were, but meant to strike only those inside the walls of their city. Or perhaps they thought that no one would be left in the city and that its last hour had come. Not all of these people, with their different opinions, died. But not all of them escaped, either. Many who held each opinion fell sick, in every place. When they were healthy they had set the example for those who stayed healthy, and now they lay wasting away, abandoned almost everywhere.

6. The contado, the farmland and villages around Florence that the city ruled. Many well-off Florentines owned farms and houses there.

E lasciamo stare che l'uno cittadino l'altro schifasse, e quasi niuno vicino avesse dell'altro cura, et i parenti insieme rade volte, o non mai, si visitassero, e di lontano, era con sì fatto spavento questa tribulazione entrata ne' petti degli uomini e delle donne, che l'un fratello l'altro abbandonava, et il zio il nipote, e la sorella il fratello, e spesse volte la donna il suo marito; e (che maggior cosa è e quasi non credibile) li padri e le madri i figliuoli, quasi loro non fossero, di visitare e di servire schifavano.

And let us leave aside that one citizen shunned the other, and that almost no neighbor had care of the other, and relatives visited one another rarely or never, and from afar; this tribulation had entered the breasts of men and women with such terror that one brother abandoned the other, and the uncle the nephew, and the sister the brother, and often the wife her husband; and (what is a greater thing and almost not credible) fathers and mothers shunned visiting and serving their children, as if they were not theirs.

Never mind that citizens avoided one another, that almost no neighbor cared for another, and that relatives rarely or never visited one another, and then only from a distance. This disaster had struck such terror into the hearts of men and women that brother abandoned brother, uncle abandoned nephew, sister abandoned brother, and often a wife abandoned her husband. What is worse, and almost beyond belief, fathers and mothers refused to visit and care for their own children, as if the children were not theirs.

Et oltre a questo ne seguio la morte di molti che per avventura, se stati fossero atati, campati sarieno: di che, tra per lo difetto degli opportuni servigj gli quali gl'infermi aver non poteano, e per la forza della pestilenza, era tanta nella città la moltitudine di quelli che di dì e di notte morieno, che uno stupore era ad udir dire, non che a riguardarlo. Per che, quasi di necessità, cose contrarie a' primi costumi de' cittadini nacquero tra coloro li quali rimanean vivi.

And besides this there followed the death of many who perhaps, if they had been helped, would have escaped; so that, both through the lack of the proper services which the sick could not have and through the force of the pestilence, so great was the multitude in the city of those who died by day and by night that it was an astonishment to hear it told, not to say to see it. Therefore, almost of necessity, things contrary to the former customs of the citizens arose among those who remained alive.

Besides this, many died who might have survived if they had been helped. Because the sick could not get the care they needed, and because the pestilence was so strong, so many people in the city died day and night that it was astonishing to hear of it, let alone to see it. So, almost of necessity, customs arose among the survivors that went against the citizens’ old ways.

Era usanza (sì come ancora oggi veggiamo usare) che le donne parenti e vicine nella casa del morto si ragunavano, e quivi con quelle che più gli appartenevano piangevano; e d'altra parte dinanzi alla casa del morto co' suoi prossimi si ragunavano i suoi vicini et altri cittadini assai, e secondo la qualità del morto vi veniva il chericato, et egli sopra gli omeri de' suoi pari, con funeral pompa di cera e di canti, alla chiesa da lui prima eletta anzi la morte, n'era portato. Le quali cose, poiché a montar cominciò la ferocità della pistolenza, o in tutto o in maggior parte quasi cessarono, et altre nuove in loro luogo ne sopravvennero. Per ciò che, non solamente senza aver molte donne da torno morivan le genti, ma assai n'erano di quelli che di questa vita senza testimonio trapassavano; e pochissimi erano coloro a' quali i pietosi pianti e l'amare lagrime de' suoi congiunti fossero concedute; anzi in luogo di quelle s'usavano per li più risa e motti e festeggiar compagnevole: la quale usanza le donne, in gran parte posposta la donnesca pietà, per salute di loro avevano ottimamente appresa.

It was the custom (as we still see it used today) that the women, relatives and neighbors, gathered in the house of the dead man, and there wept with those who belonged to him most closely; and on the other side, in front of the house of the dead man, his neighbors and many other citizens gathered with his next of kin, and according to the rank of the dead man the clergy came, and he on the shoulders of his peers, with funeral pomp of candles and chants, was carried to the church chosen by him before death. These things, after the ferocity of the pestilence began to mount, wholly or in great part almost ceased, and other new ones came in their place. For not only did people die without many women around them, but there were many of those who passed from this life without a witness; and very few were those to whom the pitying laments and bitter tears of their kin were granted; rather, in place of these, laughter and jokes and companionable merrymaking were used for the most part; which custom the women, having in great part set aside womanly pity, had learned very well for their own health.

It was the custom, as we still see today, for the women among the relatives and neighbors to gather in the house of the dead man and weep there with his closest family. Outside the house, the dead man’s neighbors and many other citizens gathered with his kin. Clergy came, as many as befitted his rank. His equals carried him on their shoulders, with a funeral procession of candles and chanting, to the church he had chosen before he died. When the pestilence grew fiercer, these customs stopped entirely, or nearly so, and new ones took their place. People not only died without many women around them, but many left this life with no one there at all. Very few were granted the loving laments and bitter tears of their families. Instead, laughter, jokes, and merrymaking with companions were mostly the custom. The women had set aside much of their womanly pity and learned this custom very well, for the sake of their own health.

Et erano radi coloro, i corpi de' quali fosser più che da un diece o dodici de' suoi vicini alla chiesa accompagnati; de' quali non gli orrevoli e cari cittadini, ma una maniera di beccamorti sopravvenuti di minuta gente, che chiamar si facevan becchini, la quale questi servigj prezzolata faceva, sottentravano alla bara, e quella con frettolosi passi, non a quella chiesa che esso aveva anzi la morte disposto, ma alla più vicina le più volte il portavano dietro a quattro o a sei cherici con poco lume, e tal fiata senza alcuno: li quali con l'ajuto de' detti becchini, senza faticarsi in troppo lungo ofizio o solenne, in qualunque sepoltura disoccupata trovavano più tosto, il mettevano.

And rare were those whose bodies were accompanied to the church by more than some ten or twelve of their neighbors; of whom not the honorable and distinguished citizens, but a kind of corpse-carriers sprung up from the lowly people, who had themselves called becchini, who did these services for pay, went under the bier, and with hurried steps carried it, not to that church which he had chosen before death, but most often to the nearest, behind four or six clerics with little light, and sometimes without any; who, with the help of the said becchini, without tiring themselves in too long or solemn an office, put him in whatever unoccupied grave they found soonest.

Few bodies were followed to church by more than ten or twelve neighbors. The men who carried them were not respected, well-born citizens. They were a kind of corpse carriers who had sprung up from the common people and called themselves becchini.7 They did this work for pay. They took up the bier and carried it in haste, most often not to the church the dead person had chosen before death, but to the nearest one. They followed four or six clerics who carried few candles, and sometimes none. With the help of the becchini, the clerics put the body in whatever empty grave they found first, without troubling themselves with too long or solemn a service.

7. Gravediggers and corpse carriers, hired for pay.

Della minuta gente, e forse in gran parte della mezzana, era il ragguardamento di molto maggior miseria pieno: per ciò che essi il più, o da speranza o da povertà ritenuti nelle lor case, nelle lor vicinanze standosi, a migliaja per giorno infermavano; e, non essendo né serviti né atati d'alcuna cosa, quasi senza alcuna redenzione tutti morivano.

Of the lowly people, and perhaps in great part of the middling, the sight was full of much greater misery; because they, for the most part, held in their houses either by hope or by poverty, staying in their neighborhoods, fell sick by thousands a day; and, being neither served nor helped in anything, almost without any redemption all died.

The sight of the common people, and perhaps of most of the middle sort, was far more miserable. Most of them stayed in their houses and neighborhoods, held there by hope or by poverty. They fell sick by the thousands every day. No one served them or helped them in any way, and almost all of them died, with nothing to save them.

Et assai n'erano che nella strada publica o di dì o di notte finivano; e molti, ancora che nelle case finissero, prima col puzzo de' lor corpi corrotti che altramenti facevano a' vicini sentire sé esser morti: e di questi e degli altri che per tutto morivano, tutto pieno. Era il più da' vicini una medesima maniera servata, mossi non meno da tema che la corruzione de' morti non gli offendesse, che da carità la quale avessero a' trapassati. Essi, e per sé medesimi e con lo ajuto d'alcuni portatori, quando aver ne potevano, traevano delle lor case li corpi de' già passati, e quegli davanti agli loro usci ponevano, dove, la mattina spezialmente, n'avrebbe potuti vedere senza numero chi fosse attorno andato: e quindi fatto venir bare, e tali furono, che, per difetto di quelle, sopra alcuna tavola ne ponieno.

And many there were who ended in the public street by day or by night; and many, though they ended in their houses, made the neighbors aware that they were dead by the stench of their rotting bodies sooner than otherwise; and of these and of the others who were dying everywhere, all full. One same manner was for the most part kept by the neighbors, moved no less by fear that the corruption of the dead would harm them than by charity they might have for the departed. They, both by themselves and with the help of some bearers, when they could have them, dragged out of their houses the bodies of those already dead, and put them in front of their doors, where, especially in the morning, whoever had gone about could have seen them without number; and then [they] had biers brought, and there were such [cases] that, for lack of them, they put them on some plank.

Many died in the public street, by day or by night. Many others died in their houses, and their neighbors learned they were dead from the stench of their rotting bodies before they knew it any other way. Everywhere was full of these and of others dying all around.8 The neighbors mostly followed one practice, moved as much by fear that the corruption of the dead bodies would harm them as by any love for the dead. By themselves, or with the help of some bearers when they could find any, they dragged the bodies of the dead out of their houses and laid them in front of their doors. Anyone walking about, especially in the morning, could have seen countless bodies there. Then they had biers brought, and sometimes, when there were not enough, they laid the bodies on a plank.

8. The sentence has no verb in the edition. Fanfani, the editor, thought an early copyist had dropped one.

Né fu una bara sola quella che due o tre ne portò insiememente, né avvenne pure una volta, ma se ne sarieno assai potute annoverare di quelle, che la moglie e 'l marito, gli due o tre fratelli, o il padre e il figliuolo, o così fattamente ne contenieno. Et infinite volte avvenne che, andando due preti con una croce per alcuno, si misero tre o quattro bare, da' portatori portate, di dietro a quella; e, dove un morto credevano avere i preti a seppellire, n'aveano sei o otto, e tal fiata più. Né erano per ciò questi da alcuna lagrima o lume o compagnia onorati; anzi era la cosa pervenuta a tanto, che non altramenti si curava degli uomini che morivano che ora si curerebbe di capre: per che assai manifestamente apparve che quello che il natural corso delle cose non aveva potuto con piccoli e radi danni a' savj mostrare doversi con pazienza passare, la grandezza de' mali eziandio i semplici far di ciò scorti e non curanti.

Nor was it a single bier that carried two or three together, nor did it happen only once, but many could have been counted of those which contained wife and husband, two or three brothers, or father and son, or such. And infinite times it happened that, two priests going with a cross for someone, three or four biers carried by bearers put themselves behind it; and where the priests believed they had one dead to bury, they had six or eight, and sometimes more. Nor were these honored for all that with any tear or light or company; rather the thing had come to such a point that no more care was taken of the men who died than would now be taken of goats: so that it appeared quite manifestly that what the natural course of things had not been able, with small and rare harms, to show the wise must be borne with patience, the greatness of the evils made even the simple aware of and indifferent to.

It was not just one bier that carried two or three bodies at once, nor did this happen only once. One could have counted many that held a wife and husband, two or three brothers, a father and son, and so on. Countless times, when two priests went out with a cross for someone, three or four biers carried by bearers fell in behind it. Where the priests thought they had one dead person to bury, they had six or eight, and sometimes more. And still no tears, candles, or mourners honored these dead. Things had come to such a point that people cared no more for men who died than they would now care for goats. It was plain to see that the natural course of things, with its small and rare losses, had not been able to teach even the wise to bear such things with patience. But the sheer size of these evils taught even simple people to accept them without caring.9

9. This sentence is famously hard. Fanfani, the editor, calls it the most obscure in the book; the translation follows his explanation.

Alla gran moltitudine de' corpi mostrata, che ad ogni chiesa ogni dì e quasi ogni ora concorreva portata, non bastando la terra sacra alle sepolture, e massimamente volendo dare a ciascun luogo propio secondo l'antico costume, si facevano per gli cimiteri delle chiese, poiché ogni parte era piena, fòsse grandissime, nelle quali a centinaja si mettevano i sopravvegnenti; et in quelle stivati, come si mettono le mercatanzie nelle navi a suolo a suolo, con poca terra si ricoprieno, infino a tanto che della fossa al sommo si pervenia.

For the great multitude of bodies shown [above], which was brought to every church every day and almost every hour, the sacred ground not being enough for the burials, and above all [people] wanting to give each one his own place according to the ancient custom, there were made through the churchyards, since every part was full, very great pits, in which those coming after were put by the hundreds; and stowed in them, as goods are put in ships layer upon layer, they were covered with a little earth, until the top of the pit was reached.

So many bodies were brought to every church every day, almost every hour, that there was not enough consecrated ground to bury them, especially if each was to have its own grave, as the old custom was. So when every part of the churchyards was full, huge pits were dug, and the newly arrived bodies were put into them by the hundreds. They were packed in layer upon layer, like goods stowed in a ship, and each layer was covered with a little earth, until the pit was full to the top.

Et acciò che dietro ad ogni particularità le nostre passate miserie per la città avvenute più ricercando non vada, dico, che così inimico tempo correndo per quella, non per ciò meno d'alcuna cosa risparmiò il circustante contado, nel quale (lasciando star le castella, che simili erano nella loro piccolezza alla città) per le sparte ville e per gli campi i lavoratori miseri e poveri, e le loro famiglie, senza alcuna fatica di medico o ajuto di servidore, per le vie e per li loro cólti e per le case, di dì e di notte indifferentemente, non come uomini, ma quasi come bestie morieno.

And so that I may not go seeking further, through every particular, our past miseries that happened in the city, I say that, so hostile a time running through it, it did not for that spare the surrounding countryside in anything; in which (leaving aside the castles, which in their smallness were like the city) through the scattered villages and through the fields the wretched and poor laborers and their families, without any trouble of doctor or help of servant, along the roads and in their tilled fields and in the houses, by day and by night alike, died not like men but almost like beasts.

I will not go on searching out every detail of the miseries our city suffered. I will only say that while such hard times ran through the city, they did not spare the surrounding countryside in the least. Leave aside the walled towns, which were like the city on a smaller scale. In the scattered villages and the fields, the wretched, poor farmworkers and their families died with no doctor to treat them and no servant to help. They died on the roads, in their fields, and in their houses, by day and by night alike, not like men but almost like animals.

Per la qual cosa essi così, nelli loro costumi, come i cittadini divenuti lascivi, di niuna lor cosa o faccenda curavano; anzi tutti, quasi quel giorno nel quale si vedevano esser venuti la morte aspettassero, non d'ajutare i futuri frutti delle bestie e delle terre e delle loro passate fatiche, ma di consumare quegli che si trovavano presenti si sforzavano con ogni ingegno. Per che addivenne che i buoi, gli asini, le pecore, le capre, i porci, i polli, et i cani medesimi fedelissimi agli uomini, fuori delle propie case cacciati, per gli campi (dove ancora le biade abbandonate erano, sanza essere, non che raccolte, ma pur segate) come meglio piaceva loro se n'andavano. E molti, quasi come razionali, poiché pasciuti erano bene il giorno, la notte alle lor case, senza alcuno correggimento di pastore, si tornavano satolli.

For which reason they, like the citizens, having become lax in their customs, cared for none of their things or business; rather all, as if they awaited death on the very day they saw come, strove with every wit not to help the future fruits of the beasts and of the lands and of their past labors, but to consume those that were at hand. So it came about that the oxen, the asses, the sheep, the goats, the pigs, the chickens, and the very dogs most faithful to men, driven out of their own houses, went about through the fields as best pleased them (where the crops were still abandoned, not only not gathered but not even cut). And many, almost as if rational, after they had fed well during the day, returned at night to their houses sated, without any guidance of a shepherd.

So they, like the city people, grew careless in their ways and looked after none of their belongings or work. They all acted as if they expected to die that very day. They did not try to tend the future yield of their animals, their land, and the work they had already done. Instead they did all they could to use up whatever they had at hand. So the oxen, donkeys, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, and even the dogs, men’s most faithful friends, were driven from their homes and wandered at will through the fields. There the grain still stood, abandoned, not only unharvested but not even cut. Many of these animals, almost as if they could reason, ate their fill during the day and at night came back to their houses, full, with no herdsman to guide them.

Che più si può dire (lasciando stare il contado, et alla città ritornando), se non che tanta e tal fu la crudeltà del Cielo, e forse in parte quella degli uomini, che infra 'l marzo et il prossimo luglio vegnente, tra per la forza della pestifera infermità e per l'esser molti infermi mal serviti o abbandonati ne' lor bisogni, per la paura ch'aveano i sani, oltre a cento milia creature umane si crede per certo dentro alle mura della città di Firenze essere stati di vita tolti; che forse anzi l'accidente mortifero non si saria estimato tanti avervene dentro avuti?

What more can be said (leaving the countryside and returning to the city), except that so great and such was the cruelty of Heaven, and perhaps in part that of men, that between March and the following July, both through the force of the pestilential sickness and through many sick being badly served or abandoned in their needs because of the fear the healthy had, more than a hundred thousand human creatures are believed for certain to have been taken from life within the walls of the city of Florence; which perhaps, before the deadly event, would not have been estimated to have had so many inside?

What more can be said, leaving the countryside and returning to the city? Only this: the cruelty of Heaven, and perhaps in part of men, was so great that between March and the following July more than 100,000 human beings are believed for certain to have died within the walls of Florence.10 They died from the strength of the deadly disease, and because many of the sick were poorly served or abandoned in their need, since the healthy were afraid. Before this deadly disaster, who would have guessed that the city held so many people?

10. A round figure that people believed, not a count.

O quanti gran palagi, quante belle case, quanti nobili abituri, per addietro di famiglie pieni, di signori e di donne, infino al menomo fante rimaser vóti! O quante memorabili schiatte, quante amplissime eredità, quante famose ricchezze si videro senza successor debito rimanere! Quanti valorosi uomini, quante belle donne, quanti leggiadri giovani, li quali non che altri, ma Galieno, Ippocrate, o Esculapio avrieno giudicati sanissimi, la mattina desinarono co' loro parenti, compagni et amici, che poi la sera vegnente appresso nell'altro mondo cenarono colli loro passati!

O how many great palaces, how many beautiful houses, how many noble dwellings, once full of families, of lords and of ladies, remained empty down to the least servant! O how many memorable lineages, how many very ample inheritances, how many famous riches were seen to remain without rightful successor! How many worthy men, how many beautiful women, how many graceful youths, whom not only others but Galen, Hippocrates, or Aesculapius would have judged most healthy, dined in the morning with their relatives, companions, and friends, who then the following evening supped in the other world with their forebears!

Oh, how many great palaces, how many beautiful houses, how many noble homes, once full of families, of lords and ladies, were left empty, down to the last servant! Oh, how many famous family lines, how many vast inheritances, how many famous fortunes were left with no rightful heir! How many brave men, how many beautiful women, how many charming young people, whom even Galen, Hippocrates, or Aesculapius11 would have judged perfectly healthy, ate their morning meal with their relatives, companions, and friends, and that very evening dined with their ancestors in the other world!

11. Hippocrates and Galen were the most famous doctors of ancient Greece and Rome. Aesculapius (Asclepius) was the Greek god of healing.