devastating global
epidemic of bubonic
plague that affected
Europe and Asia in
the mid-1300s.
The plague reached
Europe in October
1347, when 12 Black
Sea ships docked in
the Sicilian port of
Messina.
At the beginning of the disease,
there are certain inflammations,
either in the groin or under the
armpits ... they increased to the
greatness of a common apple, others
to the size of an egg, a little more and
another less.
The Black Death epidemic had run its course in the
early 1350s, but the plague reappeared every few
generations for centuries.
Modern sanitation and
public health practices
have largely mitigated the
impact of the disease, but
have not eliminated it.
According to a doctor, for example, "instantaneous
death occurs when the air spirit that escapes from
the patient's eyes hits the healthy person who is
nearby and looks at the patient." In fact, so many
sheep died that one of the consequences of the
Black Death was a shortage of European wool.