ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The book demonstrates how late medieval plague authors began to explore the potential of vernacular print to shape attitudes about spiritual and natural health, sometimes anticipating trends that became central to the Reformation. It traces the continuing German reform of healing in the plague treatises of Johann Reusch, Tarquinius Schnellenberg, and others, thus marking the full flourishing of this particularly German movement in vernacular print. The book explores the broadening of the German reform of healing during the Protestant Reformation, as many German physicians and clerics, including Martin Luther, used plague writings to contribute to the Reformation. It introduces the innovative and popular plague treatises of Caspar Kegler, who used vernacular print to pitch his novel alchemical plague cures, thus exploring the new commercial potential of the genre.
