October 3, 1351.

As if the dreariness and gloominess of this time of year was not enough, the illness that has ravaged this land for quite some time is still plaguing us. When I first heard of it from a relative of mine in Bohemia, I had just brushed it off. I had thought, “Surely this ailment won’t make it this far. Surely it’ll die out way before then.” But, I had been wrong. 

            A few months or so ago, the plague hit us. Quite a few people that I knew had caught the sickness, succumbing to it within a few days. I had tried to avoid them the best that I could to escape falling into the same fate as them. I have made one goal for myself: survive. I have been trying to scrape by with the funds that I have, but I am not sure how much longer they’ll last me. It seems right at the moment, there is not much use for a black-smith like me. If I end up so desperately needing funds, I will have to take up a job as a grave-digger. I hope it will not come to that.

            I am grateful, though. It seems as though—-based on what I’ve been told by my cousin through his letters-—that the plague isn’t as bad here. I had heard that in other places, the plague had been spreading so swiftly, that people could not keep up with it. Supposedly, they had no time to dig individual graves for the dead, so, instead, they had to dig mass-graves; they had filled those graves faster than they had dug them.

            From what I’ve seen in passing, the ill have a plethora of symptoms-—many even seem to horrific to write down. When people do catch this plague, it is death sentence-—even our finest doctors have not been able to do much to treat the ill.  I often find myself feeling bad for those who are ill. I cannot even imagine what it is like for those sick. I hope it is not too painful. It should not be. After all, due to those that are ill passing on so quickly after becoming infected, I do not believe they suffer too much-—or at least, I hope they don’t. With the way things are looking, it does not seem like this pestilence will die out any time soon. I do confess that I am not sure what my fate will be—will I prevail or will I succumb to this plague as did my extended family? The one thing I do know for sure is that this will forever remain one of the darkest moments of my life.