Page 25 - All About History - Issue 56-17

IF THAT DOESN’T
How not to… dispose of a body
As the Black Death ravaged the Tatars began catapulting plague- WORK, TRY
lands, plague pits became a familiar ridden corpses over the city walls.
sight, along with vast bonfires on The Italian populace took fright and THESE CURES...
which the bodies of the dead were many fled Kaffa for their homeland,
burned. In the Crimean city of Kaffa bringing the Black Death with them
in 1347, however, the Mongolian to mainland Europe.
Tatars decided on a very novel way This incident is one of the
of disposing of their plague dead. earliest known examples of
Tatar warriors had besieged the biological warfare. Though the
Italian inhabitants of Kaffa without impact on the mainland was
success for months, hoping to drive devastating, the Tatars did
from the city. Now, with their ranks not conquer Tatar and the city
depleted by plague, the dispirited remained under Italian control.
FLAGELLATE
Join a flagellation procession and
whip yourself for your sins, thus
earning God’s forgiveness and
ridding yourself of plague.

CHICKENS
Pluck a live chicken and hold it
against your buboes. This will draw
the poison out of you and into the
unsuspecting bird.

BURST BUBOES SWEAT IT OUT
As the plague progresses, the telltale buboes will start to If your patient is mobile, encourage him to sit between
03 appear, most commonly in the groin and armpit. These 04 two fires; if he is in bed, surround him with bottles
must be purged without delay as they contain the disease. filled with hot water. The patient should sweat for a minimum
Apply a hot poultice of lily root, ale grounds and mallow to of three hours, preferably even more, as this will encourage the
bring out the boil then pierce the bottom of the buboes to drain infection out of the body. Dry him off, dress him warmly and PIGEONS
out the poison. put him back to bed. If chickens don’t work, slice up a
dead pigeon and rub its entrails all
over your body.

FAECES
Open the buboes and smear
them with a paste made from
human faeces, tree resin and plant
roots. Be sure to bind the wounds
up tight!

FUMIGATE THE ‘BAD AIR’ REPEAT AD NAUSEAM
While the patient rests, it’s time to fumigate the Repeat the treatments, occasionally feeding the patient
05 miasma. Cleansing the air will help ward off the plague 06 small amounts of simple food such as chicken or veal
and treat those already suffering. Hang posies of rosemary, sage washed down with mild ales. The patient will soon be on the EMERALDS
and lavender in the house, particularly in the sickroom. You can road to recovery or, sadly, taking a turn for the worst. If your © Ed Crooks, Getty Images
Richer patients can crush emeralds
increase the efficacy by keeping a heated bowl of vinegar near efforts aren’t successful, don’t feel too disappointed — millions into powder, mix them with broth
the patient and allowing the steam to disinfect the air. have already fallen victim to the Black Death. and down them in one gulp.

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