Health Passes, Print and Public Health in Early Modern Europe

Abstract

Early modern governments produced a wide range of printed texts as part of their public health strategies, including broadsheets, flysheets and pamphlets. This study focuses on health passes, a form of ephemeral print which asserted that the bearer had travelled from a city which was free from plague. Passes were printed forms with textual, iconographic and material features which sought to enhance their authority, credibility and usability. Completed forms provide evidence of their users and of how passes were adapted in response to particular perceived threats. This study examines passes issued by a large number of European cities to argue for the development of a shared European culture of public health print, inspired by recognition of print’s persuasiveness, efficiency and capacity to transcend the boundaries of place.