Vaughan minami biography

Abstract

This paper examines adult age-specific mortality patterns of one of the most devastating epidemics in recorded history, the Black Death of A.D. 1347–351. The goal was to determine whether the epidemic affected all ages equally or if it targeted certain age groups. Analyses were done using a sample of 337 individuals excavated from the East Smithfield cemetery in London, which contains only individuals who died during the Black Death in London in 1349–1350. The age patterns from East Smithfield were compared to a sample of 207 individuals who died from non-epidemic causes of mortality. Ages were estimated using the method of transition analysis, and age-specific mortality was evaluated using a hazards model. The results indicate that the risk of mortality during the Black Death increased with adult age, and therefore that age had an effect on risk of death during the epidemic. The age patterns in the Black Death cemetery were similar to those from the non-epidemic mortality sample. The results from this study are consistent with previous findings suggesting that despite the devastating nature of the Black Death, the 14-century disease had general patterns of selectivity that were similar to those associated with normal medieval mortality.

Keywords: paleodemography, age-specific mortality, medieval plague, Gompertz-Makeham model

1. Introduction

The Black Death, an outbreak of medieval plague that swept through Europe between A.D. 1347–1351, was one of the most devastating epidemics in human history, and it had wide-ranging and long-lasting demographic, economic, social, and political consequences (Bowsky 1971; Cohn 2002; Gottfried 1983; Ziegler 1969). The Black Death is estimated to have killed between 30–50 percent of the population of Europe, and many of the dramatic changes brought about by the epidemic were the direct result of its exceedingly high mortality (Cohn 200

Published in final edited form as: Am J Prev Med. 2007 Jan;32(1):1–10. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2006.08.028

Play by William Shakespeare written circa 1603

This article is about the Shakespeare tragedy. For the title character, see Othello (character). For the board game, see Reversi § Othello. For other uses, see Othello (disambiguation).

The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, often shortened to Othello (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulated by his ensign, Iago, into suspecting his wife Desdemona of infidelity. Othello is widely considered one of Shakespeare's greatest works and is usually classified among his major tragedies alongside Macbeth, King Lear, and Hamlet. Unpublished in the author's life, the play survives in one quarto edition from 1622 and in the First Folio.

Othello has been one of Shakespeare's most popular plays, both among playgoers and literary critics, since its first performance, spawning numerous stage, screen, and operatic adaptations. Among actors, the roles of Othello, Iago, Desdemona, and Emilia (Iago's wife) are regarded as highly demanding and desirable. Critical attention has focused on the nature of the play's tragedy, its unusual mechanics, its treatment of race, and on the motivations of Iago and his relationship to Othello. Originally performed by white actors in dark makeup, the role of Othello began to be played by black actors in the 19th century.

Shakespeare's major source for the play was a novella by Cinthio, the plot of which Shakespeare borrowed and reworked substantially. Though not among Shakespeare's longest plays, it contains two of his four longest roles in Othello and Iago.

Characters

Book chapters (5)

Gillies, J., (2018). "The god called Nothingness", Büchner, Shakespeare and Original Sin. In: The Shakespearean International Yearbook : 17: Special Section, Shakespeare and Value. Editors: Bishop, T. and Joubin, AA., . Taylor & Francis. 9781138497108

Gillies, JD., (2017). "Like steel of too hard a temper": Shakespeare, Livy and the idea of the founding virtues. In: Rome in Shakespeare's World. Editors: DelSapio, M., . Edizione di Storia e Letteratura (Roma). 9788893591591

Gillies, J., (2016). Maps, Morality and Anamorphism in Shakespeare. In: Shakespeare and the new science in early modern culture. Editors: Del Sapio Garbero, M., . Pacini Editore. 217- 238. 88-6995-001-8. 978-88-6995-001-8

Gillies, J., (2010). The Author's Accomplice, or the unsearchable complicities of players in the making of Elizabethan Drama. In: The Shakespearean International Yearbook: Special Section: The Achievement of Robert Weimann. Editors: Bradshaw, G., Bishop, T. and Schalkwyk, D., . Ashgate. 119- 141. 9781409408581