Jean de Venette

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Jean de Venette : biography

1307 – 1370

Defeat of the Jacquerie shown here in a miniature from Froissart’s Chronicles]] Jean is referring here not only to the French Nobles, but to the Companies who also plundered the peasants and Churches.Jean Birdsall, Richard A. Newhall, The Chronicles of Jean de Venette (Columbia University Press 1953) 1356

The formulation of his beliefs and writings

Venette first and foremost followed the teachings of the Pope. No matter the person or the circumstances, he did not deviate from his religious beliefs and criticised anyone who was Excommunicate or otherwise not following the teachings of God. Venette combines his religious belief with astronomical events. He quotes and agrees with the interpretation of Master Jean de Murs and others made before and during this time. It is clear that he, (as did other monastic chroniclers and monastic astronomers) attribute these signs as a "warning" from God that punishment was coming for Man’s sinful nature.Fernandez-Arnesto Felipe University of Paris Medical Facility, Writings on the Plague. The World: A History. vol. two. In 1340, he speaks of a comet that appeared in that year. Another comet, still unidentified, was said to appear in August of 1348 which Venette himself sees. This comet is also mentioned by Augustine of Trent, a friar eremite of St. Augustine who, in his writings, sees the later one as a warning of the disease and pestilence of disease happening in Italy, and blames the physicians’ for their ignorance of astronomy. Due to his many references in the Chronicle, it is almost certain that de Venette agreed with Augustine. Venette also refers to passages from the Book of Revelations to try to understand and explain the chaos in and around him.Book of Revelations

The Plague

The Black Plague, the Black Death, or the Plague refers to the devastating disease which first appeared in Europe in 1348. Where it originated from is still debated but Venette attributes its origin to the "unbelievers". According to de Venette and others, within a short time, over 500 dead per day were being buried. It lasted approximately one year but returned in later years. While Jean observes how many "timid" priests did not do their religious duty to visit the dying and administer the Last Sacraments, he adds that the Sisters of the Hôtel-Dieu "… who, not fearing to die, nursed the sick in all sweetness and humility and many of them died themselves from the plague".

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