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Hic incipt pestis
Posted On 05/23/2020 15:20:17 by Beth777

"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



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Viewing 1 - 5 out of 5 Comments

09/21/2020 21:14:21

Nice read and very interesting.  My grandfather was killed in the 1918 flu - my mom was just 3 months old.  I can't imagine what my grandmother felt at that time.  Folk today seem to think this Covid is going to be with us forever - but everything has it's season, right?



06/19/2020 13:22:45

Very interesting.  Did you know that this pandemic was forcasted.  I can't remember the name but if you are interested I'll see if I can find it.  And, no, it wasn't Nostradamus. Don't laugh but I visualise us being in a giant test tube and "stuff" is added with some "body" saying "Let's see what they do with this!!"  Cheers





05/26/2020 09:49:58

thanks all of you for your comments. Mona, I agree 100 percent. It's tiresome to even listen to the arguing and complaints. All of that negative energy could be used for something postive like helping out in our communites and our neighbors.  I have reduced the quantity of news I watch daily because of the political slant of EVERYthing broadcast. I remember a time when the news was presented objectively.



05/25/2020 20:37:59

Very interesting blog... thanks for sharing your thoughts. History can be a great educator... if we will take the time to consider the information, in addition to the trusted and qualified sources in our generation. However, in spite of these sources, we don't know everything, and we need give support and encouragement to those who are doing the best that they can ... and stop complaining and accusing anyone who gets in the way!

It would be better to fill our minds with more music, and less news!



05/24/2020 04:10:55

The biggest lesson we have learned is the world is not ready for a pandemic like we have with the spread of the Coronavirus. I don't know when we will ever be ready. Thanks for the history lesson btw. God Bless our medical teams and the frontline people.





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