warmsecondrinse
Well-known member
"...and declared the body so vile that it should only be undressed for bathing once or twice in a lifetime. Jews of course, continued bathing, did not get sick and were then killed for causing Christians to become ill."
Interesting.
1.In Poland the plague rates were rather lower than other comparably sized cities.
2. Large Jewish population because of religious freedom laws that were less oppressive than most other countries.
3. Roman Catholicism was chosen for political reasons after Muslim and Orthodox emissaries were turned down around 950AD.
4. There's a cultural avoidance of washing/bathing in or drinking from non-moving water. Not an aversion... more like it just isn't on the radar for some reason.
I wonder if any of the above had any role in the fact that death rates from the plague were lower in Polish cities than in other comparably sized ones in Europe.
There's a confounding factor: That particular type of wheat (can't remember name) to make the white bread that was the rage in Europe in the 1300's never quite caught on as much. Barley and rye were still staples. As a result, when the plague hit, the % of the population that was malnourished was rather lower than in most of Europe. IIRC, most of the Baltic cities had lower consumption of that wheat and also had lower death rates. Connections?
Jim
Interesting.
1.In Poland the plague rates were rather lower than other comparably sized cities.
2. Large Jewish population because of religious freedom laws that were less oppressive than most other countries.
3. Roman Catholicism was chosen for political reasons after Muslim and Orthodox emissaries were turned down around 950AD.
4. There's a cultural avoidance of washing/bathing in or drinking from non-moving water. Not an aversion... more like it just isn't on the radar for some reason.
I wonder if any of the above had any role in the fact that death rates from the plague were lower in Polish cities than in other comparably sized ones in Europe.
There's a confounding factor: That particular type of wheat (can't remember name) to make the white bread that was the rage in Europe in the 1300's never quite caught on as much. Barley and rye were still staples. As a result, when the plague hit, the % of the population that was malnourished was rather lower than in most of Europe. IIRC, most of the Baltic cities had lower consumption of that wheat and also had lower death rates. Connections?
Jim
