Between Two Fires

The Black Death was a bubonic plague, a disease caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis, that spread through Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia between 1346 and 1353. Although historians dispute the origins of the disease, the main way that the disease spread was through fleas that lived on rodents. The bubonic plague can present in various ways, but its name derives from one of its most common manifestations: “buboes”—swollen lymph nodes—in the neck, armpit, or groin area. These areas of the body can turn black from gangrene, and before the advent of modern medicine, most people died within a week of contracting symptoms.

The Black Death killed approximately half of Europe’s population, particularly in densely populated areas such as cities, where the highly contagious disease spread quickly. The death toll restructured medieval society. Since many people believed that the disease indicated the end of the world, there was a surge in spirituality and religion after the pandemic. At the same time, many people turned away from Christianity because of the uncertainty associated with the plague, so the Catholic Church lost power over certain areas of society. The plague also contributed to a movement away from feudalism in the 14th and 15th centuries. In the feudal system, the aristocracy owned land and ruled over the peasants in the area who worked the land. However, the mass death meant that many people inherited more than they otherwise would have from family members, and a middle class began to emerge. Moreover, the labor shortage caused by the plague forced landholders to adopt more equitable contracts with the lower-class workers who farmed their holdings, contributing to the decline of serfdom in Western Europe. These trends would contribute to the emergence of the Renaissance, with its emphasis on humanism.

Both the physical and social effects of the plague are on display throughout Between Two Fires. Buehlman underscores the gruesome symptoms of the disease through his use of body horror. The novel is full not only of rotting corpses but also of reanimated corpses and corpse parts, suggesting the way in which a pathogen can “possess” the human body. Buehlman’s exploration of the disease’s societal impact are particularly evident in his treatment of religion; his corrupt clergy, for example, evoke the real-world frustration that arose with the Church’s inability to provide answers to the crisis, while the self-flagellating Penitents and the persecution of Jews (often wrongfully blamed for the plague) gesture toward the extreme and violent practices some turned to in their fear.