Thus, whether the population of cats went down or not, the plague would still exist. They both carry fleas, only the mice never jump in my lap and bunt their head-glands all over my jeans. Pope Gregory IX How did this come about? What effects did it have? The Black Death came in 1347. NASA is launching the DNA of some of the most prolific presidents in US history, The 1985 story of a bear that ate 77 pounds of Plabo Escobar's finest cocaine. The truth is that cats could not have prevented the black death. They fly in the face of the Christian idea of God putting the natural world and its creatures here for humanitys benefit. Gregory IX was the head of the Catholic Church from 1227 to 1241. The fleas will jump on to the cat and then you can dose the cat to kill them. Cats came to be seen as a symbol of witchcraft, and even as the embodiment of Satan himself. (Accessed June 1, 2018). Poor cats though. This bull, the story goes, declared cats as the instruments of Satan, and set Medieval Europe on a great cat purge, with special attention paid to black cats, who were particularly Luciferian. Like most diseases, were hard pressed to find thebad guy. Home chairman meow wisdom Why Cats Were (Wrongly) Blamed for the Black Plague in Europe. The reforms were based on the suggestions of the Italian scientist Luigi Lilio, with some modifications by the Jesuit mathematician and astronomer Christopher Clavius. Like a lot of other myths about history from the Middle Ages, the idea that Europeans wiped out cats and then paid for it with the Black Death makes more sense the less you think about it. All That's Interesting is a Brooklyn-based digital publisher that seeks out stories that illuminate the past, present, and future. In any case, the various popes saw nothing wrong with burning heretics alive, so they already had a savage reputation. Much like modern-day Chicago, Egypt had a rat problem. It mentioned Pope Gregorys hate on for cats. The cats play into the picture as they would have normally been instrumental in cutting down the rat populations. In Belgium, an entire festival, Kattenstoet, is dedicated to throwing cats from buildings and burning them in the streets. Pope Gregory XII (Latin: Gregorius XII; Italian: Gregorio XII; c. 1327 - 18 October 1417), born Angelo Corraro, Corario, or Correr, was head of the Catholic Church from 30 November 1406 to 4 July 1415. And though its unlikely that historys most pro-natural environment pope will encourage cat bonfires, he does suggest we take a step away from the dog ice cream and cat outfits in the pet aisle. The Vox described the depraved rituals of the cult in detail, portraying the devil worshipped by the witches as a shadowy half cat and half man figure. They catch cockroaches, snakes, and scorpions too. The purpose of the papal bull Vox in Rama, was to condemn a cult that had allegedly popped up in the Rhinelandand the bull was specifically sent to the city of Mainz. These inferences have led to a story that appears to lack evidence. But today, the association between cats and Halloween persist, perhaps ironically because spurious associations between cats and Satan worshiping that the Catholic Church pushed, some 800 years ago. However, it was also a piece of papal legislation that was notable in another way, for the Vox was the first papal bull to associate the cat with witchcraft. When I graduated college,I began living my own dream as a reporter for a news media outlet. By Gregorys decree, there was a target on the head of every black cat. Its funny thinking about cats as the symbol of evil. (Accessed 2018, June 1). The truth is a little messy. Yes I agree with you on this as we can never judge history in modern times Id rather see them in the wild doing what cats are meant to do than as someones indoor pet. Since the ninth century AD, the Canon Episcopi of the Catholic Church had deemed belief in witchcraft to be a heresy in itself. CATS ARE BETTER THAN PEOPLE & ALWAYS WILL BE BETTER THAN HUMANS. Cats breed quickly, know how to survive on their own, and are hard to catch. As I learned at the Profs and Pints event, cats persist as a marker of femininity in the media and our language of pop culture. To learn more about me and my digital travels, visit myTwitterpage. The mass murder of cats was not the only cause of the Black Plague, but it removed a crucial natural predator of the flea-carrying rats that spread the disease. There is little real evidence for this. It was Gregorys past as an astute lawyer that connected him to his acts of justice within the church. But feline-human relations deteriorated sometime in the early 1230s (CE) when Pope Gregory IX issued a papal bull called Vox in Rama. Once the initial hysteria died down, cats, like the would-be witches were left alone for a time, giving them time to repopulate- and remained prolific enough to continue to be culled. Pope Benedict XVI acknowledges pilgrims during his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Nov. 4, 2009. In my home, I use cat statuettes as bookends, and have various other representations of these felines throughout my home. The disease was ravaging Asia before it ever made its way to Europe. If they were dumb, then that means were comparatively smart. Interesly, June 7, 2016, The spooky history of how cats bewitched us, Abigail Tucker, The Washington Post, October 31, 2016, The History of the cat in the Middle Ages (Part 2): The Black cat as the devil in Christian sects, L A Vocelle, The Great Cat: The Cat in History, Art, and Literature. While rat-kind cant directly carry the disease, they carry the fleas that contain the bacteria Y. Pestis. Cats just arent dogs, and I respect and love them specifically for that reason. This bull, the story goes, declared cats as the instruments of Satan, and set Medieval Europe on a great cat purge, with special attention paid to black cats, who were particularly Luciferian. I laughed to I almost passed out One thing though some of the Pussy Persecution may have derived from the Witch connection. Yeah you have a good point there! Interesly, June 7, 2016, The spooky history of how cats bewitched us, Abigail Tucker, The Washington Post, October 31, 2016, The History of the cat in the Middle Ages (Part 2): The Black cat as the devil in Christian sects, L A Vocelle, The Great Cat: The Cat in History, Art, and Literature. (To be fair, the cat is only one of more than 300 figures the Nazca created almost half which have been discovered in the last five years). One can love animals, the Catechism says. Gregory believed him. Pope Gregory IX (1147-1241). In the meantime, accusations of witchcraft began to spread amongst the ordinary people, as a way of settling grudges or seizing property and cats began to be used as proof of satanic association. Learn how cats first spread around the world. Many of these rodents had fleas that carried diseases including the Black Plague. As mentioned, this Pope initiated what has been described as the feline Holocaust 3 in Europe. Information junkie with high probability of being a real-life Ted Mosby. The Sphinx being the most obvious representation of their reverence of cats, Egyptians also covered their walls with images ofregal-lookingcats and made fine statues of them too. https://owlcation.com/humanities/Cats-and-the-Black-Plague, https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/06/ravens-memory-unfair-trade/, http://historycollection.co/thou-shalt-not-suffer-a-cat-to-live-why-pope-gregory-ixs-vox-in-rama-implicated-cats-in-devil-worship/, https://www.quora.com/Is-the-Vox-in-Rama-authentic-What-effects-did-it-have, https://academic.oup.com/ehr/article-abstract/CXXII/498/1075/457108/The-Black-Death-in-Egypt-and-England-A-Comparative?redirectedFrom=fulltext, https://www.britannica.com/event/Black-Death, http://www.kattenstoet.be/en/page/497-511/the-cat-throwing.html, https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/histories/eight-witchcraft-myths/, https://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/plague/factsheet.asp, Abee, Holle. Here are our sources? 1999. cats were only interested in our rat infested granaries. Omniverous diet, free bleeders- cats and other mammals? By rough estimates, as many as 200 million people died. Writing is my first love. Henry was acquitted when he appealed to the bishop of Mainz and later that year Marburg himself was mysteriously murdered- probably at Henrys behest. This dudes job was to rid Germany of heretics, so he had plenty of reason to stoke the Popes fears of heretical activity (gotta keep that job). (Accessed June 1, 2018). Im coming out pretty strong against this cat-plague connection, but the truth is I cant say for sure. Welcome to BELIEVE.art, home of Revolutionary Artist & Warrior-Poet, Chairman Meow. Retrieved from https://owlcation.com/humanities/Cats-and-the-Black-Plague, Encyclopaedia Britannica. Ravens Hold Grudges Against Cheaters. It wasn't until Pope Gregory IX came to power in the 1200s that black cats became a symbol of bad luck. Once the lights came back on, from a dark corner, the figure of a man emerges. This man was Lucifer, who the whole company firmly believed to have been wronged by God. It wouldnt be the first time Catholicism has decided an animal once worshipped by pagans needed to be rebranded as Satanic (see: goats). Cats are not assholes, as this writer and many dog lovers like to repeat endlessly (and its SO tiresome to listen). To start, lets look at what Pope Gregory IX actually said about cats in his bull (special formatting is my own): They came to us willingly because we offered so much prey and have been a benefit to mankind whether you like em or not. While I cannot say for certain that things didnt happen this way, there appear to be holes. Lead bulla of Gregory IX. Cats were seen as agents of the devil, throughout much of history, and slaughtered again centuries later in New England during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. For example Not only were they a source of companionship they were also a status symbol and source of worship., Egyptians have had a long love affair with cats. Interestingly enough, the author of the article writes that one reason cats are evil is that they are the favored pets of witches. Actually, witches both modern ones and the one who were burned at the stake during Middle Ages owned cats because being close to nature is central to theirreligious beliefs. Gregory's missionary zeal among the Franks and the Anglo-Saxons in England was the first step in a process that would culminate with Charlemagne's coronation in Rome on Christmas Day in AD 800.. At the same time Benedictine monks led by Augustine were sent to Kent to convert the pagan King Ethelbert and his people, other missionaries from . The final point though is that contemporary accounts and the examination of modern doctors and historians of the evidence from them has shown bacteria that caused the Black Death can take the form of a lung infection called pneumonic plague, which was spread easily between humans. Cats dont generally take on rats. They definitely dont stop fleas. THE RELIGIOUS SECTOR ARE OUT OF THEIR MINDS W/ THEIR POOR REASONING OF ENCOURAGING BIG FAMILIES. On January 23, 1229, he sent messages to Riga, Lubeck, Sweden, to Gotland with an appeal to begin . Used as widespread clickbait, a frequently repeated story claims that in the 13th century Pope Gregory IX, who led the Catholic Church from 1227 to 1241 and has been remembered for initiating the Papal Inquisition against heretics, suffered from a serious case of cat contempt. That misguided stereotype is why witches are still depicted with black cats to this day. And the Black Death didnt just travel to Europeit did its thing in Egypt, too, where it may have done more damage than it did in England.7. On March 19, 1227, 80-year-old cardinal Ugolino di Segni became Pope Gregory IX. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/ehr/article-abstract/CXXII/498/1075/457108/The-Black-Death-in-Egypt-and-England-A-Comparative?redirectedFrom=fulltext, Kattenstoet. Missionary Activity under Pope Gregory the Great. You literally cannot even be bothered to recall the NAMES of the people youre talking about. Cats absolutely devastate wildlife when out in nature, killing millions of birds and having been responsible for extinction of species. And thats because its body is invested with the spirit of the Morning Star himself. Public Domain. One example is the idea that Catholic fear drove people, including Pope Gregory, to wipe out cats, which resulted in a population explosion among plague-infected rodents, thus leading to the Black Death. The only problem is that this story probably isnt true. People banged drums and kept the sparrow in the air not permitting them to land until they died of exhaustion! Gregory based his theory on evidence from Conrad of Marburg, a papal inquisitor. https://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/plague/factsheet.asp. After all, the devil was already at work through heretics. Yet, in 2014 Pope Francis sparked an uproar by telling a girl whos cat who had died that she would be reunited Gods creatures in Paradise except for cats, who end up in hell. You cant even accept that cats may have offered some protection from the plague. But in the final analysis cats just arent dogs. Retrieved from https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=141316, ONeill, Tim. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'historyofyesterday_com-box-3','ezslot_6',113,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-historyofyesterday_com-box-3-0');uper-spies James Bond and Austin Powers dont have cats. You wouldnt hate that, would you? no- blood dives; you are 100% wrong, irrational clearly an agnostic who mocks then defends his false god, the pope- also, review another diatribe from papal high tower urging cats killed-clearly minions of satan, word cat not in catholic bible problem is, what did david kill as shepherd attacking his sheep? Constantly told the Truth is stranger than fiction!!! In fact, most people who believe the Europeans wiped out cats which caused the Black Death bull crap, is that cats werent the only animals used for catching rats. Homeless Cats Recruited to Fight Rising Tide of Rats, Erika Engelhaupt National Geographical, September 29, 2017. Vermin did a number on harvests, but cats were natures perfect solution: they literally cant eat anything that isnt meat, which means that they pose no risk to the crops. However, history shows that the Black Death, which ravaged Europe in the mid 1300s, was actually caused by rats and the fleas on them. Where do we get our stuff? Reply . 1958 China Chairman Mao and the great leap forward he had designs on wiping out the four evils There is little real evidence for this. That evil came to be neatly personified in the form of black cats that were beaten to death to purge the new season of evil spirits. A witch and her cat. Here are our sources? I am in France since 3 years and I would see the amount of cats I saw here during that time, maybe in a day or two in Turkey. Thou Shalt not suffer a Cat to Live: Why Pope Gregory IXs Vox in Rama Implicated Cats in Devil Worship. CATS ARE BETTER THAN PEOPLE. Share this article your friends will love it too! Statues of black cats dont come to life, and you sure as sh*t cant get a cat to walk backwards and let you kiss its butthole.5. Although the explicit heretic activities mentioned within the Vox in Rama do mention something about our feline friend, this doesn't mean that Gregory IX endorse cathunt. However, historian Donald Engel believes that the Vox acted as a death warrant for the cat. Gregory immediately recognizing Conrad as a useful tool in his war against religious dissent. Wikimedia Commons. As was to be expected of a former angel The upper part of his body from the hips upward shines as brightly as the sun. However, his fall from grace was encapsulated by his lower body where his skin is coarse and covered with fur like a cat.. He tended to treat all those accused as guilty until proven innocent and threatened all those who would not confess with the flames. You can say that Im addicted to it. The Decretals reorganized the whole library of Catholic laws. Tying the cat to satanic worship was a natural progression- and one that would have dire consequences. During these witch trials, a woman even testified in court that cats spoke to her, and threatened to hurt her if she didnt abuse children in the town. 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