The above is a painting by Matthias Grunewald. In the lower right corner
of the painting is a bloated and sickly humanoid figure with open sores.
This demon represents a plague sufferer in Grunewald's time(ca. late 15th
early 16th Century Europe). He had treated many plague victims and used
their sickly appearance not only in this piece, "The Temptation of St. Anthony",
but also in his "Crucifixion" of the Tauberbischofsheim Altarpiece. When
present day Climate Change deniers mention what climate scientists call the
warming of the Medieval Period, the "Little Optimum", it is used as a post hoc
argument against manmade Climate Change and as a rational bromide stifling
need for concern when temperatures are trending up. What they always fail to
mention: The "Little Optimum" led to the greatest kill off of the Human species
in recorded history, The Black Death. World Population fell by at least a third
with massive death tolls in Europe, Asia and Africa.
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The warming during this period created great crop surpluses and the need
for bulk and break sites, Cities, to store them. Trade grew exponentially with
the great surpluses held in cities.
Trade between East and West facilitated the Yersenia Pestis virus, carried
by fleas and passed to Black Rats(Rattus Rattus), to spread over a large
land mass stretching from east China, through the Russian Steppes and
the Levant, to the far west of the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula.
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Climate change, throughout history, always brings unforeseen consequences.
The Black Death was one of them. For Climate Change deniers to utilize the
"Little Optimum" in defense as a benign climate event that was a boon without
harm displays an astonishing ignorance of not only Medieval European
history, but of all available World History. The Plague never left Europe
and Asia fully until the late 19th Century. It returned cyclically for nearly
a half millenia killing thousands in every recurrence.
3 comments:
The first recorded reporting of epidemic is from Byzantine historian Procopius in A.D. 541 at port of Pelusium, near Suez in Egypt.
The great waves of plague that twice devastated Europe had their origins in China, as did a third smaller outbreak in the 19th century.
The Black Death, was the bacterium Yersinia pestis.
The Black Death in Europe in 1347 killed an estimated 30% repeated every 10 years or so for centuries. The last major outbreak being the Great Plague of London from 1665 to 1666. Rats, fleas and breathing spread the disease.
Europe was struck by two strains of Yersinia pestis. One strain by way the port of Marseilles on France's southern coast in 1347, cross France and by 1349 to reach Hereford a busy town near the Welsh border.
The Black Death is the 2nd of three waves of plague. The first in the 6th century Constantinople on grain ships from Egypt. The Justinian plague. Killing perhaps half the population of Europe and forestalling Arab takeover of the Near East and Africa.
The third great wave began appeared in Hong Kong, 1894 reaching the US through a ship docking in Hawaii in 1899, starting the epidemic in SF three months later.
All three plagues have been tied to a common family tree originating in China.
"... now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revellers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall. And the life of the ebony clock went out with that of the last of the gay. And the flames of the tripods expired. And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all." The Masque of the Red Death - E.A.Poe
In truth, the baceteria has no interest in people it's natural hosts are rodents. The plagues are accidental, a species trying to survive.. like us.. by any means necessary.
KMA,
There were plagues in North Africa and Athens in the 5th Century BC---Described by Thucydides in his History of the Peloponnesian War--I am aware of Justinian's Plague---I wanted to focus on the Black Death which occurred after the Little Optimum because it is a favorite subject of climate change deniers and arguers for the status quo who think temperature changes are no big deal--when they can lead to drought, famine and epidemics--regardless of what causes the temperature variation---changing climates create new conditions for adaptation throughout all ecosystems-----Thanks for the comment.....A.D.
P.S.: Thankful you didn't squeeze in a joke about my hairline.
I was merely adding to the discussion of plagues and consequences. The climate change deniers don't care about plague or famine or consequence. They are as blinded by self aggrandization as Prince Prospero. Who would lock out the plague by locking the gates of the palace.
Nothing will spoil their party.
But the plague and the climate, they don't care. Deny, deceive, ignore at will. There is no denying them entry, they won't knock and do not need an invite.
And uh..It would be redundant to joke about a hairline .. if say.. the joke were the hairline.
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