In the wake of the revival of studies on epidemics, the plague of Marseille (1720-1722) constitutes an important episode, both from a documentary point of view and from that of the history of the disease, which Frédéric Jacquin attempts to approach by investigating the experiences of the actors concerned.
Beyond the renewal of a massive interest in the history of epidemics sparked by the Covid-19 pandemic, the “ plague of Marseille », renowned as the last great plague of Western Europe, has constituted an ancient object of study, benefiting from extensive historiographical production. Particularly well documented from the XVIIIᵉ century, this epidemic is among the best known, both because of the wealth of contemporary sources and the significant memorial treatment it received, including on an iconographic level.
Following a first work published in 2023, Marseille sick with the plague 1720-1722 (Presses Universitaires de France, 2023), the work of Frédéric Jacquin proposes to renew the approach to the plague by deliberately leaving aside the event and political dimensions already covered by an abundant bibliography, in favor of another angle of analysis.
Marseille 1720, a symbolic and documented plague episode
The work is in fact part of a dense historiographical environment. This was structured by the work of Charles Carrière, Marcel Courdurié and Ferréol Rebuffat, then by the synthesis of Jean-Noël Biraben, before being renewed more recently by Régis Bertrand, Gilbert Buti and Fleur Beauvieux as well as by the contributions of biological anthropology and paleodemographic data.
Indeed, the plague episode which affected the large commercial port of Marseille in 1720, then spread to Provence, is the last occurrence in Western Europe of an epidemic which has returned at regular intervals since the Black Death of XIVe century, and with which societies have learned to live thanks to certain health, administrative or even religious mechanisms. And yet, the extreme lethality of plague episodes, capable of killing more than a third of the population of a city or region in a few months, remains an individual and collective shock as evidenced by numerous stories, which have widely attracted the attention of historians of the Middle Ages as well as of the modern era.
In this context, the objective of the book is clearly formulated on page 14: “ make a different history of the plague. A story centered on sick beings who fell into a time of horror ». The ambition is thus to give back a place to these “ forgotten lives », according to the beautiful expression of Arlette Farge, whose existence is only embodied through the brief, violent, sometimes unbearable description of bodily suffering and agony. Using long extracts from archives, the work offers a grueling immersion into the experience of illness.
This approach is based on an archival corpus constituted mainly from series FF And GG three municipal archives funds (Aix, Marseille and Arles), and items from the Bouches-du-Rhône Departmental Archives (series C, health stewardship funds and notarial funds). In addition to these archives, there are manuscripts of medical literature, preserved in the National Library of France and in the heritage funds of Arles and Marseille. While the richness of this material is undeniable, some questions regarding the bibliography remain.
From recounting the time of the plague to a sensitive history of the epidemic
It is therefore less through a close dialogue with recent historiography than through choices of storytelling that A. intends to affirm the singularity of his work. In order to achieve his objective, he distorts the time of the plague, sometimes frozen, sometimes marked by the brutal acceleration of the disease. The narrative chosen by Frédéric Jacquin makes us feel the upheavals of this pathological time, stretching out a process that is nevertheless very brief: the transition from the ordinary state to that of the plague victim, generally limited to a few days.
To account for this experience, the author structures his analysis into four chapters: the first is devoted to the symptomatology and transformations of the body, the second to the upheavals of social bonds and the control of sick bodies, the third to treatments and care, while the last focuses on the last moments of the dying. During these four chapters, A. offers us a precise, detailed and frightening picture of epidemic death.
Invited to enter the privacy of houses marked with a white or red cross, to follow the sick on their journey, from the appearance of symptoms to the grave – or, more rarely, to recovery – the reader must therefore expect descriptions that are difficult to bear, for example when it comes to the treatment inflicted on buboes. If the general plan of the book and the richness of the archives make it possible to fulfill the contract and place individuals at the center of the subject, they most often remain reduced to names, without real incarnation beyond the brief description of their suffering body. A few pages, however, allow us to go beyond the simple listing of names and take a dive into the history of the disease. This is the story of the servant Louise Aude who saw an entire family die in April 1721:
“ She was employed to serve Brémond the father, during his illness. She saw Geneviève Brémond, her daughter, in the house of her said father who was going to visit her and a few days later, she learned that the said Geneviève Brémond was dead. ; which was at the beginning of the month of August, after which, she saw the corpse of Claire Blanche, wife of the said Brémond and even helped him put it in the cart (…) and the day after, the said Pierre Brémond also died at the sight of her (…) » (p. 158).
It is in particular these testimonies (p. 156-161) which give as many clues about the fate of the plague victims as about “ the trauma caused by the horror of the scenes observed » among survivors (p. 160).
Certain demonstrations appear less convincing, in particular those relating to end-of-life provisions and the concerns of the dying (p. 147 et seq.), for which it is difficult to see what would be specifically different from the times. ordinary “. Do not requests for intercessions, masses and acts of charity constitute, in fact, elements common to most wills? ? We therefore wonder how the author is talking specifically about the plague when he writes: “ It is difficult to gather information about what the plague sufferer feels when he leaves life, about his feelings and his fears. However, certain sources allow fragments to be captured. When he is lying in his bed and still has the strength, he writes his will. A few clues, buried in these sources, reveal some of his concerns on the eve of his death. He generally requests, through general formulas, the mercy, the intercession of certain saints and recalls his trusting abandonment in God “.
Overall, A. develops relatively classic themes: disruption of social bonds, increased control of bodies, treatments relating to a “ healing cuisine “. These expected passages, however, mask beautiful documentary files. The letter from Mr. Emeric, doctor at the Aix infirmaries in November 1720 (p. 94), thus constitutes a particularly touching document. It describes, in an unexpected register, the doctor’s daily fight against illness.
This appears like a familiar enemy, integrated into the daily life of the caregiver: “ We are the plague and I, like two big mastiffs starve between a member of sheep to which of the two will have it ». It is therefore not without humor that the doctor puts the horror at bay.
The work also offers some innovative pages, notably those devoted to the soundscape (p. 66-67), for which we would even have liked more extensive development. These elements are part of a sensitive history of the epidemic, which we also find through the evocation of fragrant fires (p. 70). In these passages, Frédéric Jacquin’s storytelling mobilizes the senses and offers stimulating perspectives on the way in which epidemic weather can be felt.
Conclusion
Ultimately, Die of the plague. Anthropology of an epidemic (1720-1722) pursues the ambition of a sensitive history of the plague, attentive to bodies and individual experiences. However, the choice to stay as close as possible to the suffering of the sick tends to come at the expense of a more solid perspective for a reader who would approach the plague solely through this work. If the title of the book accurately reflects the author’s project, the promise displayed by the subtitle is not always kept: to propose “ the anthropology of an epidemic » implies going beyond the accumulation of descriptions, however precise and striking they may be, to include them in a broader reflection on the practices, representations and social logics at work.
The work nonetheless opens up interesting avenues for an embodied history of illness, inviting us to continue reflection on the uses of the sensitive in the history of epidemics.