The great city of Constantinople was
the great trading hub where east met west in the 14th century and it
was probably at this nexus where the plague which scholars believe originated
in 1346 in the Chinese province of Hubei, found its way onto vessels which
carried it to port cities like Genoa, Venice, Marseille and Messina in 1347.
The latter, part of Italy today, may well have been the first entry point of
Europe for the black rats carrying the infected fleas. Some DNA studies on
plague skeletons suggest that another likely carrier may have been the giant
gerbil along overland trade routes. Rats did not migrate in winter but gerbils
did, making a “perfect storm” of conditions favorable to a zoonotic invasion.
Another factor worth noting is the
global warming which had doubled agricultural output and encouraged population
growth along with a concentration of people in urban areas in the preceding
decades. Grain storage and transport hit a peak with an attendant explosion of
rodent populations.
The first wave of plague manifested
itself in three different forms. The bubonic
as mentioned in Part I, characterized by the appearance of growths called buboes near lymph nodes under the
armpit, in the groin or on the throat; the pneumonic
which destroyed lung function and was most contagious, and the septicemic which invaded the circulatory
system and prevented blood from clotting normally causing death by bleeding. It
is believed that up to 20% of the bubonic
victims may have survived the attack, those with the pneumonia died painfully
over several days, and those afflicted with massive bleeding expired within 24
hours. (Of the latter some chroniclers recorded “well at breakfast, sick by
lunch and dead by dinner”.)
Widespread panic grew as it became
apparent that this new killer could be seen coming, could not be stopped and
was untreatable. Consecrated cemeteries could not deal with the mounting piles
of daily dead and mass burials became commonplace. The only “medical treatment”
of the day encouraged induced bleeding
which was hardly welcomed by the victims already at risk of bleeding to death
internally. At first members of the clergy responded with home visits designed
to bring comfort to their suffering “flock”. Whether a bishop or an assistant deaconess,
the plague was no respecter of rank or high office, and the clergy was soon
reduced by the same percentages as any other segment of the population. Church
leaders however were quick to lay blame for the plague to the sinful nature of
“man”. The idea that the people themselves had brought the anger of God upon
all the lands, a belief that most people were quick to embrace became the
mandated subject of special masses held as often as three times each week,
along with fasting and self-flagellation events. When the reigning Pope himself
died of the plague despite a level of self quarantine and protective measures
intrinsic in his accommodations, the message was clear that even the robes of
high office were no protection.
At the opposite end of the reaction
scale were many who said “oh what the heck, we’re going to die anyway, let’s
have a party!” So there were great gatherings of people who took great joy in
practicing every kind of human depravity and licentiousness.
Thinking in terms of percentages and the consequences of a
great “die off”, one will realize that while there were plenty of serfs, a good many born to the noble class, and the church still a powerful entity, there would not have been an endless supply of farriers,
stone masons, coopers, thatchers, millers , butchers, wagon-masters and
just plain fixer-uppers. The entire cast system along with the economic
worth of tradespeople were about to
be turned on their heads.
Not only that, but the journey toward
the rise of Protestantism and the age of a Renaissance had been set in motion.
NEXT WEEK: LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO BLAME
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