The Black Death

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The Black Death Early historians argued about the origin of The Black Death. Many, Christians who witnessed the carnage brought on by The Plague, believed that it came from the Jesuits, and that the Jews had poisoned the wells and groundwater, this type of thinking brought about the death of many Jews. Some believed that it came from the 'land of darkness' (Mongolia) Modern day chroniclers agree that The Black Death moved from east to west spreading like a shadow, crossing from India to China to Europe. Lois Sanctus of Avignon reasoned that The Plague originated in India, and notes that it had arrived on the Mediterranean coast of France in 1347. Historian and scholar Nicephorus Gregoras from Constantinople testified that in 1347 the disease had invaded humanity starting from Scythia, (southern Russia) and spread to Maeotis and the mouth of the Tanais, (Don River) and lasted throughout the year. Still another testimony from a Muslim author, Ibn al-Wardi claims that the Black Death had been present in the Mongol Empire as early as 1331 before spreading to India and China. Most historians today however agree that The Plague was carried by fleas, living on rats in the Asian Steppes, and were transported by Mongol armies moving east. The Plague would then have spread through the rest of Europe via merchant trading. Michele Da Piazza a Franciscan friar in the convent of Catania in Sicily succumbed to the disease, but not before noting the symptoms of The Plague including pustules on the arms and legs, and that The Plague penetrated the body so that its victims coughed up blood from the mouth and nose for days before the dying. Giovanni Boccaccio, a writer from Florence noticed further symptoms, certain swellings in the groin or armpit, roughly the size of an apple, accompanied by death. Further documentation from Lois Sanctus of Avignon states that The Plague had three definitive forms, Bubonic ? Painful swelling of the lymph nodes in the arm pits and the groin. Pneumonic ? affects the respiratory system. Septicemic ? The poisoning of the blood. It was believed that one could become afflicted if you so much as looked at an infected person. The Plague would however have been spread like the common cold, through physical contact or airborne contact. Medieval doctors of the 14th century were far lacking in the medical technology that we rely on today. Chroniclers of the Black Death attacked medical practitioners, accusing them of being cowards, incompetent and greedy.

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