Book contents
- Genre in English Medical Writing, 1500–1820
- Studies in English Language
- Genre in English Medical Writing, 1500–1820
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Image Gallery
- Tables
- Notes on Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Chapter 1 Medical Discourse and Sociocultural Contexts 1500–1820
- Chapter 2 John Arderne’s Afterlife in Manuscript and Print
- Chapter 3 John Mirfield’s Gouernayl of Helþe
- Chapter 4 Surgical Handbooks Translated into Low German
- Chapter 5 Tracing the Early Modern John of Burgundy
- Chapter 6 The Plague in Southern Italy in 1815–1816
- Chapter 7 On Excitability
- Chapter 8 Systems and Centos
- Chapter 9 Medical Vocabulary in English Romantic Literature
- Chapter 10 Foreign Ingredients in Early and Late Modern English Recipes
- Chapter 11 Walter Bailey’s (1529–1593) Medical Genres
- Chapter 12 London Bills of Mortality of the Seventeenth Century
- Chapter 13 Advertising Proprietary Medicines in Pamphlets
- Chapter 14 Persuasion in Hungarian Medical Recipes
- Chapter 15 Persuasion in Early Modern English Medical Recipes
- Chapter 16 Richard III
- Chapter 17 Images and Paratexts
- Preface to the Image Gallery
- Image Gallery
- Index
- References
Chapter 12 - London Bills of Mortality of the Seventeenth Century
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 October 2022
By
Book contents
- Genre in English Medical Writing, 1500–1820
- Studies in English Language
- Genre in English Medical Writing, 1500–1820
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Image Gallery
- Tables
- Notes on Contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Chapter 1 Medical Discourse and Sociocultural Contexts 1500–1820
- Chapter 2 John Arderne’s Afterlife in Manuscript and Print
- Chapter 3 John Mirfield’s Gouernayl of Helþe
- Chapter 4 Surgical Handbooks Translated into Low German
- Chapter 5 Tracing the Early Modern John of Burgundy
- Chapter 6 The Plague in Southern Italy in 1815–1816
- Chapter 7 On Excitability
- Chapter 8 Systems and Centos
- Chapter 9 Medical Vocabulary in English Romantic Literature
- Chapter 10 Foreign Ingredients in Early and Late Modern English Recipes
- Chapter 11 Walter Bailey’s (1529–1593) Medical Genres
- Chapter 12 London Bills of Mortality of the Seventeenth Century
- Chapter 13 Advertising Proprietary Medicines in Pamphlets
- Chapter 14 Persuasion in Hungarian Medical Recipes
- Chapter 15 Persuasion in Early Modern English Medical Recipes
- Chapter 16 Richard III
- Chapter 17 Images and Paratexts
- Preface to the Image Gallery
- Image Gallery
- Index
- References
Summary
This chapter examines the genre of bills of mortality covering plague epidemics of seventeenth-century London. The texts consist of largely numerical data, but providing up-to-date news about the progress of epidemics in different parts of the city was not their only function. Description of earlier, historical plague outbreaks was sometimes included and later, with the worsening of the epidemics, various remedies and religious advice were often added. Statistical information about the increase or decrease in the number of victims could also be given. The analysis combines linguistic analysis with that of the visual features, which were abundant especially towards the end of the period, used to emphasise certain elements and distinguish between different functions of the text. The study shows that these broadsheets adapted in multiple ways to the changing needs and wants of their readers in the course of the seventeenth century.
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- Genre in English Medical Writing, 1500–1820Sociocultural Contexts of Production and Use, pp. 187 - 210Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022
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