A history of human helminthology

If divines and physicians could not agree, what was the state supposed to do? Evn if a consensus had emerged, was there any administrative body with sufficient authority, efficiency and resources to enforce the necessary measures against an uncertain and unwilling populace? Slack drily tells us that "The postponement of the Lord Mayor's Show and the celebration of James I's coronation in 1603 must have caused resentment in London." In Nottinghamshire men continued to play football. In Winchester bull baiting continued. Local governments that could not prevent illegal pastimes under normal conditions could hardly be expected to stop legal and traditional activities in times of stress. Nevertheless, the overall impression left by this volume is that Christianity, society and the state all survived their ordeal by plague better than could have been expected. Men and institutions demonstrated remarkable durability. Even the population of some of the worst hit cities, thanks to an influx of rural migrants, quickly returned to pre-plague levels. The book is a must for anyone with a serious interest in the history of medicine and the Tudor and Stuart period.