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The Open Data Collection for Historical Epidemics and Medieval Diseases

1364-00-00-Pereyaslavl

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Date startStart date of the disease. 1364 +
Date endEnd date of the disease. +
SeasonSeason (spring, summer, fall or winter)
Date otherOther mentioned dates.
PlacePlace(s), city or location of the disease. Kolomna, Moscow, Novgorod, Pereyaslavl
RegionHistorical region(s) Rus
CountryCurrent country
RiverMentioned river(s)
Natural eventMentioned natural event(s)
PersonMentioned persons(s)
GroupGroup(s) of people mentioned
VictimIndication of victims +
AnimalMentioned animal(s)
DiseaseMentioned disease(s)
Epidemic waveAssociated epidemic wave Black Death
Social responseSocial response that happened in reaction to the disease
LanguageLanguage of the original text Cyrillic
KeywordFurther keyword(s) Mortality
last edited 23. 12. 2025 by EpiMedDat-Bot.

Black death in Pereyaslavl. How the black death spread in Rus.

Text originalOriginal text

[6872] Тое же осени и той зимы бысть на люди моръ великъ: въ Перецлавле на день умираше человѣкъ 20 или 30, иногда 60 или 70, а иногда 100 и болѣ. Болѣсть же бѣ сице: преже яко рогатиною ударить за лопатку, или подъ груди, или межъ крилъ, и тако розболѣвся человѣкъ начнетъ кровiю хракати и огнъ зажжетъ, и потомъ потъ, таже дрожъ, и полежавъ единъ день или два , а рѣтко того кои 3 дни, и тако умираху; а инiи желѣзою умираху, желѣза же не у всякого бываше въ единомъ мѣстѣ: но овому на шеѣ, а иному подъ скулою, а иному подъ пазухою, другому за лопаткою, прочимъ же на стегнехъ. Бысть се не токмо въ единомъ градѣ Переславлѣ, но и во всѣхъ предѣлехъ его. Приде же сiа казнь, послана отъ Бога на люди, съ низу отъ Бездежа къ Новугороду къ Нижнему и оттолѣ къ Коломнѣ, таже къ Переславлю, потомъ же на другое лѣто къ Москвѣ; таже и по всѣмъ градомъ и странамъ бысть моъ великъ и страшенъ, не успѣваху бо живый мертвыхъ опрятывати, вездѣ бо бѣ мертвiи: въ градехъ и въ селѣхъ, въ домехъ и у церквей, и бѣ туга и скоробь и плачь неутѣшимъ; мало бо бѣ живыхъ, но все мертвiи, и погребаху же въ едину яму 5 или 6 мертвыхъ, а индѣ 10 и болѣ; а дворы мнози пусти быша, а въ иныхъ единъ остався или два, ли женескъ полъ, или мужескъ, или отроча мало.

Text translationEnglish translation of the text

That autumn and that winter there was a great epidemic among the people: in Pereyaslavl people were dying 20 or 30 a day, and sometimes 60 or 70, and sometimes 100 or more. And the sickness was like this: as if a rogatina (bear spear) hit them behind the shoulder, or in the breast, or in the shoulder and when they got sick they started coughing blood and burning a fire[1], and then they sweated and shivered and lay there for a day or two, and rarely three days, and so they died; and others died because of the bubos, and the bubos were not in the same places in everyone: some on the neck, others under the cheek, others in the sinus area, others behind the shoulders, others on the thighs. All this was happening not only in the city of Pereyaslavl itself, but across its territory. And this doom came, sent from God upon the people, from the south from Bezezh to Novgorod, and then to Kolomna, and then to Pereyaslavl, and then for the next year to Moscow, and in all cities and lands there was a great and terrible epidemy, for they could not keep up with the living to bury the dead, for there were dead everywhere: in the cities and in the villages, in the houses and in the churches, and there was hardship and sorrow and weeping inconsolable; for there were few alive, but all dead, and five or six dead were buried in the pits, and sometimes ten and more; many mansions were empty, and in others there were one or two survivors, woman or man or few children.

  1. In original text: огнъ зажжетъ. This phrase literally means “burning a fire”, but in the meaning have a temperature.

References

  1. ^ Prodolzhenie letopisi po Voskresenskomu spisku in Polnoe Sobranie Russkikh Letopiseĭ 
  2. ^ Translation by Adrian Jusupovic 

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