1 1 6 History of A nhnal Plagues. 



stags, wolves, fawns, bears, goats, wild boars, hares, and foxes. 

 I find in the old chronicles that the native hunters were not 

 astonished at this mortality/ * 



A.D. 1383. 'This Lent, the Duke of Lancaster, and the 

 English army, lying on a marshy ground in Scotland, had a 

 great loss both of men and horse, from the extraordinary cold 

 and wet/ ^ 



A.D. 1385. In the accounts of Alton Barnes, Mr Rogers 

 finds the following item : ' Gr^at mortality among sheep — 15 

 per cent, of sheep, ^^ of lambs, died.^ ^ 



A.D. 1385-7. ' The greater portion of the bovine species in 

 the State and episcopate of Placentia died ; and the same thing 

 happened, though to a greater extent, in the States of Lombardy. 

 All the fowls, too, died, from a contagious disease; so that when 

 one began to die, they all died.'* In the same years there was 

 much disease in mankind at Mallorca, Lisbon, and Gallicia, and 

 influenza was very prevalent. 



A.D. 1386, A murrain of cattle in England.'^ 



A.D. 1389. 'March 5th, rose a sore and terrible wind, which 

 overthrew houses, broke and rent trees, and destroyed much 

 cattle. This was followed by a great mortality and plague; 

 much youth died everywhere in cities (from anginas and dysen- 

 tery), towns, and country. After this a great dearth of corn. 

 . . . Whilst the king was at Sheen, in July, in his court were 

 seen such swarms of flies and gnats skirmishing with one 

 another, that in the end their killed were swept away with 

 brooms, and bushels were filled with them.'*^ A murrain among 

 deer in England : * Murrena damarum ferarum.' '' The farm 

 accounts of Alton Barnes, according to Mr Rogers,* exhibit the 

 following entry : ' Scab and sickness very prevalent among 

 sheep.' Those for Letherhead have the same report. 



A.D. 1390. When King Edward was on his march to 

 Chartres, a terrible storm of thunder and lightning overtook his 

 army, and killed six thousand horses and one thousand men. 



' Mencken. Vol. i. p. 1516. - T. Short. Op. cit., vol. i. p. 182. 

 3 Rogers. Op. cit. * Muratori. Chronic. Placentia. 



5 //. de Kityghton. Op. cit. "^ Baker. Op. cit. 



■' //. de Knyghton. Op. cit. ** Hist. Agricult. 



