Plague in village Kucza in 1762 as an example of conduct in the face of bubonic plague in rural areas in the modern era

The article presents the conduct in the face of a suspicion of bubonic plague in small towns and villages of the Podolian Voivodeship at the beginning of 1762 in the light of the accounts written by officers of the Polish army; the sources were included in the appendix. The article focuses mainly on social conduct in the face of the plague, as compared with other examples noted down in the sources. Moreover, the attempts to keep the plague under control by the supreme authorities are described. Much attention is devoted to an analysis of the practice of beheading the deceased, which was to protect people from vampires. Custom of this type, which was a part of the system of magical beliefs, survived over the centuries and had the decisive influence on the behaviour of the community, especially in such a critical period as the bubonic plague or its mere suspicion. Contrary to big cities of the Republic of Poland, the way of thinking about disease retained in rural areas had little to do with modern prevention.