Re: Black Death timeline

SolomonW <SolomonW@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > wrote:
In article <gfirvh$e4k$11@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, gans@xxxxxxxxx says...
SolomonW <SolomonW@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > wrote:
In article <gfg36o$1rk$9@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, gans@xxxxxxxxx says...
SolomonW <SolomonW@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > wrote:
In article <gfdcpi$4da$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, gans@xxxxxxxxx says...
SolomonW <SolomonW@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > wrote:
In article <gf9sth$4at$9@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, gans@xxxxxxxxx says...
SolomonW <SolomonW@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > wrote:

Quarantine was the only successful method to work in medieval times, yet
how could quarantine work if rats were carriers?

Curious that you mention it. But the Italians were aware of
contagion. At one town in northern Italy (I can't check my
books now, not being home) a ship carrying sick sailors was
quarantined. Though it was allowed to tie up at the pier,
guards were set and nobody was allowed on or off the ship.

The rat guard for lines hadn't yet been invented. You know
the rest.



Showing rats could carry it but in the Village of Eyam why did the rats
not carry it to the surrounding areas?

I don't understand the reference. Eyam sounds like
it is English. What's that got to do with Northern
Italy?



Oh it is a famous story of a brave village.

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/eyam_and_the_great_plague_of_
166.htm

Thanks. That's interesting.

By the way, the story contains the clue as to how the plague
spread in 1348 right there in the third paragraph.



More importantly, why did the villages not infect the rats? If they
would have then the rats would have broken the quarantine.

Why? Rats stick around where there is food. They are even
thought to be territorial. Why would a rat decide to go off
down the road? It is a lot of rat-sized footsteps to travel,
and small mammals need more food, pound for pound, than do
humans.

They leave ships when the ships come into port because the
town smells like heaven to a rat.

By the way, polar bears seem to be able to pick up the smell
of ships in the arctic and think them floating bonanzas. If
it wasn't for the size of a typical ship up there, they'd
probably swim out for a good look-see. As it is, they mostly
keep watch from a spot on the pack ice.

I expect the rat sense of smell is as good.



Simple live in the country areas and in the farms around the town where
there is plenty of food. Rats probably ate more of the food production
of a medieval farm then humans did.

Perhaps, but if propagation of the plague depended on town
rats hobnobbing with farm rats who then hung out with other
fun rats, etc., until some farm rats got close to rats in
the next town -- the plague would take years to spread.


--
--- Paul J. Gans
.

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