A Bibliography on the Sixth-Century Plague of Justinian and its Effects

Compiled by Steve Muhlberger from contributions to the list LT-ANTIQ in September 1999.

Originally posted December 4, 1999

This list includes both works which directly discuss the plague and its effects and others which discuss it in passing or from a specialized perspective.



Online Bibliographies of Late Antiquity

Allen, P. `The "Justinianic" Plague', Byzantion 49 (1979): 5-20.

Biraben, Jean-Noel & Jacques Le Goff. "La Peste dans le haut moyen age", Annales ESC 24:6 (1969): 1484-1510
translated as: Biraben, Jean-Noel & Jacques Le Goff, "The Plague in the Early Middle Ages," in Robert Forster & Orest Ranum, eds., Biology and Man in History, (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1975).

Bratton, Timothy L.,  "The Identity of the Plague of Justinian,"  in Transactions & Studies of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia,  3 (1981): 113-124, 174-180.

Conrad, L.I. `The Plague in Bilad al-Sham in Pre-Islamic Times', Proceedings of the Symposium on Bilad al-Sham II (M.`Adman al-Bakhit, M. Asfour Amman (ed)), (Amman 1986), pp. 143-163.

Curta, Florin. "Invasion or inflation? Sixth- to seventh-century Byzantine coin hoards in Eastern and Southeastern Europe," Annali dell'Istituto Italiano di Numismatica 43 (1996): 65-224.

Durliat, J. "La peste du VIe siècle. Pour un nouvel examen des sources byzantines," Hommes et richesses dans l'Empire byzantin. IVe - VIIe siècle (Réalités byzantines), Paris 1989 (107-125).  N.B.   This article and the book containing it are considered particularly important.

Leven, Karl-Heinz.  Die Geschichte der Infektionskrankheiten. Von der Antike bis ins 20. Jahrhundert, (Landsberg/Lech: ecomed, 1997).

Leven, Karl-Heinz.  " Die 'Justinianische' Pest. In: W.F. Kümmel (Hg.): Jahrbuch des Instituts für Geschichte der Medizin der Robert Bosch Stiftung, Bd. 6 (1987), (Stuttgart: Hippokrates 1989), pp. 137-161.

Leven, Karl-Heinz. Pest in der byzantinischen Literatur (6. bis 15. Jahrhundert) - Ursprünge und Wirkungen eines Motivs.  Habilitationsschrift Freiburg 1993 (masch.-schr., iv, 340 S.; im Druck in der Reihe Sudhoffs Archiv, Beihefte, hg. v. Gundolf Keil, Wiesbaden: Steiner).

McNeill, William H. Plagues and Peoples, (Garden City, NY.: Anchor Press, 1976)

Patlagean, E. Pauvreté économique et pauvreté sociale a Byzance, 4e-7e siècles, (Civilisations et sociétés ; 48), Paris, La Haye (1977).

Pottier, Henri.  Analyse d'un tresor de monnaies en bronze enfoui au VI-e siècle en Syrie byzantine (Brussels, 1983).

Russell, Josiah C. "That Earlier Plague", Demography 5:1 (1968), pp. 174-184

Smith, Christine A. "Plague in the Ancient World: A Study from Thucydides to Justinian," The Student Historical Journal 1996-1997 <http://www.loyno.edu/~history/journal/1996-7/Smith.html>

Whittow, M. The Making of Orthodox Byzantium 600-1025 (Hampshire / London 1996), esp. pp. 66-68.