For more than 1400 years, outbreaks and epidemics of plague caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and carried by flea-infested rats swept the western world via its trade routes, decimating populations and transforming all areas of society and culture. Encyclopedia of the Black Death is the first reference work to provide thorough A-to-Z coverage of the medieval world’s most devastating cycle of plague, the Second Pandemic, which began with Europe’s Black Death of 1347-1352, and continued to make the rounds in Europe and the Ottoman world until about 1840.

The encyclopedia is composed of some 300 entries, which trace an interdisciplinary path through the devastation of the Black Death and its impact on global history, scientific understanding, politics, religion, and literature. Byrne’s coverage of the period is wide-ranging and eclectic, embracing key outbreaks in cities like Marseilles and Florence, medieval hygiene and medical practices, contemporary religious explanations in the Islamic world, alarming cultural responses such as flagellation and dancing mania, as well as the impact of plague on the grave digging profession. What emerges is a remarkably accessible and compulsively readable distillation of a complex subject. Byrne has a knack for turning up the odd piece of trivia that perfectly punctuates his brief essays. Did you know, for instance, that the diarist Samuel Pepys bought a wig made from human hair as the plague swept through London in the 1660s, but, thankfully, thought twice about actually wearing it? (83)

Entries range in length from one to three two-column pages, and are supplemented by brief bibliographies and a strong selection of “see also” cross-references. The work also includes illustrations, a glossary, a 30-page bibliography, and a timeline of the world’s three major plague pandemics. One of the true strengths of the work is its “List of Entries by Broad Topic” which immediately precedes the alphabetical entries and does a fine job of complementing the index. Here Byrne arranges his entries according to ten major subjects, including “Art and Literature,” “Coping Methods,” “Groups,” “Medieval and Early Modern Medicine,” and “Religion,” which collectively add a much-needed framework to the entire work. The overall approach is ideal for an audience of high school and college students, since it invites browsing and rewards students who follow a particular path through the encyclopedia with many opportunities to focus their research.

Other encyclopedias, such as editor George C. Kohn’s Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence (Facts on File, 2007) and Joseph P. Byrne’s own recent Encyclopedia of Pestilence, Pandemics and Plagues (Greenwood, 2008) treat the plague epidemics from a much broader perspective, devoting a handful of isolated entries to the subject within the overall history of global epidemics.

Several other reference works focus on the Black Death and its impact on the medieval world, but are either anthologies of primary documents, such as John Aberth’s The Black Death: The Great Mortality of 1348–1350: A Brief History with Documents (Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005) or multidisciplinary collections of essays, such as editor Jordan McMullin’s The Black Death (Greenhaven, 2003). Author Byrne has himself produced several previous works on the subject, including a monograph, The Black Death (Greenwood, 2004), and a twelve chapter reference work, Daily Life During the Black Death (Greenwood, 2006), which views the plague through the lens of various medieval settings such as medical schools, pest houses, and the streets of Europe.

Encyclopedia of the Black Death is currently the only encyclopedia of its kind. It is accessible and engaging, and serves as a fine entry point into a rich body of primary works and secondary scholarship. This work is recommended primarily for high school and undergraduate reference collections.