Der schwarze Tod in Vierzehnten Jahrhunder

Berlin: F.A. Herbig, 1832. FIRST EDITION. Modern calf-backed marbled boards. Foxing throughout due to quality of paper. First edition. Hecker (1795-1850), celebrated epidemiologist and historian of medicine, was professor of medical history at the Friedrich Wilhelms Universitat. Der schwarze Tod was his first important work on the history of the great epidemics of the Middle Ages. Hecker also translated Harvey on the circulation, and wrote on the "dancing mania" and the "English sweats." The volume further contains a historical document describing the persecution, interrogation, and confession of Jews from Montreux, Evian, and other localities, who were accused of causing the Black Death of 1348 by poisoning drinking water and food. The defendants (one a famous surgeon from Thonon) are identified by name, residence, and scene of crime. Each admitted guilt after torture, and they were sentenced to death by burning, hanging, and other methods. These interrogations served as precedent for all later pogroms.