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Showing posts with label Plague. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Plague. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 2, 2024

Pope Gregory IX, Cats and the Plague





Yes, we know there are many senerios about the spread of the Black Plague, but the fact remains the deadly plauge occurred at the same time so many cats were executed. 
The Black Death was an epidemic of bubonic plague, a disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis that circulates among wild rodents where they live in great numbers and density. 
Such an area is called a ‘plague focus’ or a ‘plague reservoir’. Plague among humans  arises when rodents in human habitation, normally black rats, become infected.




If you look at the photo above, with the bird looking creature, it's interesting, that during the time of the plague in Europe, physicians wore long black robes, wide brimmed hats, and masks that appeared to have a beak. 
The reason for doing this is that the masks contained a combination of herbs, spices, and essential oils that the physicians would breathe in order to keep themselves safe from those infected. 



In June 1348, people in England began reporting mysterious symptoms. 

They started off as mild and vague: headaches, aches, and nausea. 

This was followed by painful black lumps, growing in the armpits and groin.

The last stage was a high fever, and then death.




The theory was that hot water opens the pores, and that doing that leaves you vulnerable to plagues carried by “bad air.” 

That air supposedly gets into your bloodstream through said pores, and so many kings and queens alike took no more than two or three baths a year.