"Hic incipt pestis"...
this translates to "here begins the plague" and was found among many writings of the 14th and 15th century and beyond. It refers of course to the Black Plague or the Bubonic Plague that killed millions across Europe in the middle ages. It's interesting to note that among the suffering and death that literary greats like Shakespeare created some of his finest works during this time, even though he lost 3 sisters and a son to the sickness.
Just as mystery and confusion surrounds the current pandemic of COVID-19 there were many false beliefs during the black plague. People falsely believed it was caused by cats and dogs and sadly many were killed.
In fact it was carried by the fleas on black rats. Europeans could not imagine their lives would be turned upside down as ours have been now. Some of the purported cures or preventative measures included drinking vinegar, rubbing chopped up snakes or pigeons on the body or even drinking mercury or arsenic. These measures seem crazy and extreme to us in our modern era but imagine the terror they experienced and the willingness to try anything that might prevent a lingering and painful death.
I hear so many news people sounding accusatory and mystified that things are not
going more smoothly in America. My question is how do you prepare for something
like a pandemic when most people alive today have never experienced it? Yes we have history to pull from but reading accounts from the foggy and distant past is NOT the same as first hand experience. There have been many epidemics, even pandemics such as the Spanish influenza, SARS and Ebola but each disease
is different, As late as 1918 Scientists didn't understand viruses caused diseases. There were no vaccines or antibiotics for infections. In this regard we are vastly more prepared today. There is a point to be made that even with all the trial and error, and there will surely be errors, we are blessed to be living
in a time where the importance of good hygiene is acknowledged and medical
care is readily available. I, for one, am grateful.
Tags: Pandemic Sickness Plague
