AVIGNON April, 1348 AD
Prior to January, 1348 AD, Avignon had been thought of as cosmopolitan, with justification. Its people came and went through the gates in the town walls with abandon. Their lives were uncomplicated to the point of serenity. They neither sought nor, to their detriment, recognised danger: death in their midst was accepted as part of the Good Lord"s ordinance. Traders of sundry nationality sailed up the river Rhône from Marseilles, the Mediterranean and beyond. Across the Bénézet bridge roamed itinerant merchants and visitors alike from the western provinces of greater France. Upstream, on tracks well worn, arrived daily, sellers of wine, hawkers of crafted jewellery, purveyors of salt meat and fish. Cowherds and shepherds drove sheep and cattle of all breeds for sale
