1439-00-00-Alcobaca
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| Date startStart date of the disease. | 1439 | + |
| Date endEnd date of the disease. | + | |
| SeasonSeason (spring, summer, fall or winter) | ||
| Date otherOther mentioned dates. | ||
| PlacePlace(s), city or location of the disease. | Alcobaca, Lisbon | |
| RegionHistorical region(s) | ||
| CountryCurrent country | Portugal | |
| RiverMentioned river(s) | ||
| Natural eventMentioned natural event(s) | ||
| PersonMentioned persons(s) | ||
| GroupGroup(s) of people mentioned | ||
| VictimIndication of victims | + | |
| AnimalMentioned animal(s) | ||
| DiseaseMentioned disease(s) | Plague | |
| Epidemic waveAssociated epidemic wave | ||
| Social responseSocial response that happened in reaction to the disease | ||
| LanguageLanguage of the original text | Latin | |
| KeywordFurther keyword(s) | Euthanasia | |
| last edited | 9. 01. 2026 by EpiMedDat-Bot. |
Johannes de Porta, a cistercian monk from the monastery of Alcobaca near Lisbon describes how he practiced euthanasia on a plague-infected brother
Text originalOriginal text
cum [...] quidam monachus dicti monasterii et ipsius exponentis specialis amicus cum maximus febribus et duobus signis pestilencialibus perplexus fuisset ita, quod in agone mortis laborasset et iam loquelam amisisset, prefatus exponens [...] visitando eundem fratrem vidensque ipsum in tantis horribilibus penis et passionibus afflictum pietate motus [...] dixit: 'Ego promitto tibi, frater mi, si [...] essemus ambo in una domo ubi nullus videret me, ego ponerem manum meam super os tuum et abbreviarem tibi illas graves penas'. Audiens hoc [...] infirmarius ipsius monasterii statim respondit dicens: 'Sic vos voltis [sic] uto cito decedat, subtrahamus sibi capitale capitis sui et ponamus capud super terram.' Quo facto idem infirmus expiravit.
Text translationEnglish translation of the text
When a certain monk of the said monastery, a close friend of the expositor himself, had been afflicted with severe fevers and two signs of the plague, so much so that he was struggling in the agony of death and had already lost the power of speech, the aforementioned expositor, upon visiting the same brother and seeing him afflicted with such horrible pains and sufferings, moved by pity, said: 'I promise you, my brother, if we were both in a place where no one could see me, I would lay my hand upon your mouth and alleviate those heavy pains for you.' Hearing this, the infirmarian of the monastery immediately responded, saying: 'If you wish it so eagerly, let him depart quickly, let us put away the pillow and place his head upon the ground.' With this done, the same infirm person expired.
