Expelling the Plague by Tomic Zlata Blazina; Blazina Vesna; Blazina Tomic Zlata

Author:Tomic, Zlata Blazina; Blazina, Vesna; Blazina Tomic, Zlata
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: MQUP
Published: 2015-04-07T04:00:00+00:00

8

The Health Officials and the Patricians

Suspected plague carriers and plague sufferers quite understandably feared being sent by force to a quarantine compound – an isolated and very uncomfortable place – where they would share their destiny with the dying and the rare lucky individuals who had survived plague. They all faced this prospect with apprehension, knowing that it would mean being separated from their loved ones and taken away from their homes where they could at least expect some security, protection, and care. As we discovered in the previous chapter, plague control measures were not applied equally to citizens of all social classes. Patricians, wealthy commoners, members of the confraternity of St Anthony or of St Lazarus, bankers, ship owners, merchants, abbots, and superiors of monasteries could expect better treatment than the members of the less-privileged classes, which included simple monks and nuns, poor priests and commoners, such as mariners, textile, leather and fur workers, artisans, servants, and peasants of the Ragusan Republic.

At the beginning of the sixteenth century, before plague became rampant, Ragusans returning from the hinterland, and suspected of arriving from plague-infected areas, were usually sent into quarantine on Supetar – the islet close to Cavtat, or to Kantafig, or Danče. Ship captains and their crews were sent to Lokrum or to Polače on the island of Mljet. In the second half of 1527, however, recalcitrant patricians created quite a few difficulties for their fellow noblemen, the health officials. This chapter covers the trials of the patricians, as well as some ship owners and two kaznac – the local authorities – who contravened the plague control regulations between 27 June 1527 and 23 May 1529.

On 21 June 1527, the patrician Antun Junijev Gundulić (Gondola) had been confined to his house because of plague but, in spite of this order, he walked around the city. He also sent his infected servant Simko Matković to Šumet, eleven kilometres north of the city, where Simko died within three days. The health officials fined Antun one hundred ducats and temporarily banished him to Konavle for one month. If he ignored this sentence, went out in Konavle and spread the plague, he was liable to the punishment to be decided by the health officials.1 On 21 August 1527, the health officials ordered everyone, including the patricians, to immediately report a case of plague should one occur in their household. The infected patricians had the privilege of being confined, under guard, in their own homes in the city, at their own expense, or in their country residences or rented houses outside the city. On 20 June 1527, Marin Nikolin Palmotić (Palmota), the captain of the guards at the Pile gate, accused the patrician Vlaho Klementov Gučetić (Goze) of entering the city by force and without the permission of the health officials. Vlaho was sentenced to a temporary exile of one day, under the threat of a monetary fine of one hundred ducats.2

Certain patricians who had fled to the islands during the plague epidemic were accused of immoral behaviour.

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