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The Rhetoric And Reality Of Famine In Early Modern Europe, Karen Russell Adams

History Theses & Dissertations

Famine in early modern Europe was a reoccurring phenomenon that caused stress on individuals and their societies. In most historical accounts of famine, authors have placed emphasis on either the physical aspects of starvation, including studies of famine victims, both live and post mortem, or the disastrous effects of such crises on demographics. On occasion, a researcher has instead probed the accounts of famine left behind by its victims. This essay is an attempt to correlate famine narratives with the biological aspects of starvation.

In order to blend the physical and social aspects of famine, this researcher has investigated three …