Jerusalem
From EpiMedDat
In Jerusalem, a total of 6 epidemic events are known so far. It is a ancient city in the Judean Mountains The coordinates are 31° 47' 46.32" N, 35° 10' 30.36" E.
Map of Jerusalem
Table
| Disease | DateStart date of the disease. | SummarySummary of the disease event | OriginalOriginal text | TranslationEnglish translation of the text | ReferenceReference(s) to literature | Reference translationReference(s) to the translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1346-00-00-Europe | 1346 JL | This passage describes the spread of the plague beginning in Jerusalem and than moving forward across Europe. The jews were blamed for causing the plague by poisoning the people. | 653. Des sulven jares unstund de grote plaghe der mynsheit des (p. 505) ghaen dodes, erst in den Jhersualemeschen landen over mer unde in der heidenscap, de by veftich, sestich, hundert, dusent unde ane tal nedervellen unde waren dot. dat stund nicht sere to claghen, wente se Godes viande sint; mer de sulve grote plaghe quam seder in cristene land. erst wart se vornomen in Pulle, dar na in Ungharen, dar na in Cecilien, in Avignon, dar neghest to Marsilien, dar na in Brancriken, dar na Engheland, dar vele lude storven; dar na in Blanderen, van Blanderen in Norweghen, dar na in Sweden, van Sweden in Denemarken, in Nortjutlande unde uppe Selande, dar na in Prutzen. to Koninghesberch, to Melbinghen was grot sterven. des tech men den ghedosten joden, de sik vor cristene lude helden unde beden dor Got ghuder lude almusen, dat de mit vorghifnisse, de se den luden gheven, dat volk to deme dode brochten. Dat wart van en gheseen unde worden anghetastet unde worden ghebrand; do bekanden se in erme dode, dat it war were, dat se it hadden ghedan, unde dat ir vele were, de in der selven sake in der cristenheit ghinghen, unde segheden, dat de riken joden in den groten steden dat bedacht hedden der cristenheit to vorderfnisse, wente se sint der martere unses heren ghevanghen lude hebben wesen, unde wolden nu koninghe unde heren worden sin over al den cristendom. | 653. In the same year (1346), the great plague of humanity, the walking death, began, first in the lands of Jerusalem, across the sea and among the pagans, where fifty, sixty, a hundred, a thousand, and countless people fell and died. This was not much mourned, as they were considered enemies of God. However, this same great plague later came into Christian lands. First, it was observed in Apulia, then in Hungary, then in Sicily, in Avignon, then near Marseille, then in (...?), and then in England, where many people died; next, in Flanders, from Flanders to Norway, then to Sweden, from Sweden to Denmark, in North Jutland and on Zealand, then to Prussia. In Königsberg and Melbingen, there was great mortality. The Jewish converts, who presented themselves as Christian and begged for alms in the name of God, were blamed for bringing the death to the people with giving them poison. They were discovered and persecuted, and many were burned. Under torture, they confessed that it was true—that they had done it, and that many of them across Christendom were involved in this crime. They claimed that the wealthy Jews in large cities had devised this plot to destroy Christianity, as they had long been captives since the martyrdom of our Lord and now wanted to become kings and rulers over all Christendom. | Detmar's Croneke van Lubeke 1884/99, Vol. 1, pp. 504-505. | Translation by ChatGPT-3.5 |
| 1348-05-31-Gaza | 31 May 1348 JL | In the beginning of Rabīʿ I, 749 H (the month began on May 31, 1348) news about the Black Death in Gaza reached Aleppo while the author stayed there. The daily death toll had reportedly amounted to more than 1,000. Ibn Baṭṭūṭa then traveled on to Ḥoms which had already been affected by the plague; ca. 300 people died on the day of his arrival. He went on to Damascus whose inhabitants had fasted for three days [July 22 to 24] and on Friday set out for the Mosque of the Footprints (Aqdām). God subsequently reduced the burden of plague lasting on them. The daily death toll in the city had amounted to 2,400. Ibn Baṭṭūṭa traveled on to ʿAjlūn, and then to Jerusalem where the plague wave had already come to an end. |  | In the first days of the month of Rabīʿ I in the year forty-nine news reached us in Aleppo that plague had broken out in Ghazza and that the number of dead there exceeded thousand a day. I went to Ḥims and found that the plague had already struck there; about three hundred persons died on the day of my arrival. I went to Damascus and arrived on a Thursday; the people had been fasting for three days. On Friday they went to the Mosque of the Footprints, as we have related in the first book. God alleviated their plague. The number of deaths among them had risen to two thousand four hundred a day. Then I went to ʿAjlūn, and then to Bait al-Muqaddas [Jerusalem], where I found the plague had ceased. | Ibn Baṭṭūṭa - Tuḥfat al-nuẓẓār 1853-1859, vol. 4 (1858), pp. 319-320. | None |
| 1348-08-00-Jerusalem | August 1348 JL | After the Black Death had ended in Jerusalem, the Friday preacher ʿIzz al-Dīn b. Jamāʿa hosted a banquet which the author was invited to: While the plague had lasted, ʿIzz al-Dīn had vowed to host a feast when the epidemic will have abated and he will not have prayed over a deceased person for one day. Most of the notables and dignitaries (ashyākh) Ibn Baṭṭūṭa had known in Jerusalem had died during the plague. |  | Anecdote: The preacher ʿIzz al-Dīn gave a banquet one day and invited me among his guests. I asked him the reason for it. He told me that during the plague he had sworn he would give a banquet if the plague were to cease and a day were to pass during which he did not pray over a corpse. Then he said: 'Yesterday I did not pray over a corpse so I arranged the banquet as I had promised.' I found that some of the shaikhs I had met in al-Quds [Jerusalem] had departed to be with God Most High. May He have mercy on them! Only a few of them were left like ... | Ibn Baṭṭūṭa - Tuḥfat al-nuẓẓār 1853-1859, vol. 4 (1858), pp. 320-321 | None |
| 1349-00-00-Norway 001 | 1349 JL | Arrival of the Black Death to Norway in 1349. | Drepsotinn kom fyrst i Babilon a Serklandi sidan for hon til Iorsala lannz ok eyddi Iorsala borg þa for hon yfir hafid ok higat til pafa garz. þa uar Clemens sextus hann uigdi ana Rodanum ok uoru þar a bornir daudir menn er eigi matti iarda sidan for hon um Franz ok Saxland sua nordr um sio til Einglannz ok eyddi þar sua at eigi uar fleira manna i borginni Lunndun en xiiij. Þa vigldi .i. kuggr til Biorguiniar ok uard eiqi ruddr ok do af allt folkid en þegar gozid kom upp i bæinn þa do þegar folkid. for þa drepsottin um allan Noreg. fioldi skipa sock nidr med farmi ok urdu eigi rudd. Sidan for hon um Hialtland Orkneyar Sudureyar Færeyar. Þat uar kyn sottarinnar at menn lifdu iij dægr med hardan stinga þa toku menn blodspyu ok for þar med onndin. fyrr nefndr pafi setti moti þersi drepsott messo er sua byriaz recordare domine et cet. ok gaf þar med pardun rietskriftudum .cc. ok .Ix. daga. þar med dictadi hann eina bæn er sua hefr benediccio dei patris. ok med i uppgiof .dc. daga ok iiij karinur. | The deadly plague appeared first in Babylon in Serkland, then it went to Palestine and desolated Jerusalem. Then, it went over the sea hither to the papal city [= Avignon]. Clement VI consecrated the river Rhône and dead people, who could not be buried, were thrown into it. Then, the disease went across all France and Saxony northwards to England and raged there so heavily that not more than fourteen people survived in the city of London. Then, a cog sailed to Bergen, was not cleared, and all the people [on the ship] died. As soon as the goods were brought into the town, the townspeople died. Then, the disease swept all over Norway. The ship sank with its cargo, and was not cleared. After that, the disease spread across the Shetlands, Orkneys, Hebrides and Faroes. That was the sort of disease that people did not live more than three days with heavy pangs of pain. Then, they began to vomit blood, and then the spirit left them. The aforesaid pope set a mass against this plague that begins with recordare domine etc., and gave a written indulgence of 200 and 60 days. Then he also authored a prayer that starts benediccio dei patris, with the remission of sins for 600 days and four times 40 days of fasting. | Annálarbrót frá Skálholti. In: Gustav Storm: Islandske Annaler indtil 1578. Kristiania, 1888, p. 223. | Translation by Carina Damm |
| 1349-00-00-Norway 002 | 1349 JL | Arival of the Black Death to Norway via a cog from England in 1349. Two-thirds of the population in Norway die, among others the archbishop of Nidaros and the bishops of Bergen, Stavanger and Hamar. It is explicitly stated that the plague did not reach Iceland | J þenna tima kom drep sott so mickil vm alla nordr halfu heimsins at alldre kom slik fyrr sidan londin bygduzst. fyrst kom sottin vpp i Babilone a Serklande. vt i Affrica. sidan for hon hegat till Jorsalalandz ok i Iorsalaborg. ok eydde naliga borgina. þadan for hon nordr yfir Iorsala haf ok vm alla Romaniam ok sua nordr eftir londum ok vm pauagard. ok eydde allt naliga. vigdi paui aana Rodanum. voru þar vt aa steyttir daudir menn. Gaf paui þat af guds halfu at þat skillde þeira kirkiu gardr þui at eige matte jarda folkit fyrir mannfæd ok sott. sidan for hon vt vm Frakka rike ok vm Saxland. ok sua til Einglandz. ok eydde naliga allt Eingland. ok þat til marks at eige lifdi meir eftir i borginni Lvndunum en fiortan menn. J þann tima sigldi kuggr einn af Einglandi. ok var aa fioldi folks ok lagdi jnn aa Biorgwiniar vogh. ok var litt ruddr. sidan andadizst folkit allt af skipinu. en þegar vpp kom godzit i byinn af þessu skipe þa do þegar bæiar folkit. Þa for sottin vm allan Noreg ok eydde so at eige lifdi einn þridiungr eftir folksins i landinu. Einglandz kuggr saukk nidr med godzinu ok daudum monnum ok vard eige ruddr. fleiri skip buzur ok morg onnur skip sukku nidr ok rak uids vegar en sama sott for vm Hialltland Orkneyiar. Sudreyiar Færeyiar. Þat var kyn sottarinnar at menn lifdu eige meirr en eitt dægr edr tuo. med hordum stinga. eftir þat sætte at blod spyiu ok for þar ondin med sinn vegh. af þessi sott saladizst Arni erkebyskop. ok allir korsbrædr i Nidarose. vtan einn lifdi eftir er Lodinn hiet. ok hann giordi elecceionem kiosandi. Olaf abota af Holmi til erkebyskops. Jtem Ɵ Þorstein byskop. af Biorguin. Jtem Ɵ Guthormr byskop af Stafangre. Halluardr byskop af Hamri saladizst ok þa. Þessi sott kom ecki aa Island. | At that time, such a deadly plague spread all over the northern half of the world that never before had anything similar occurred since the lands were built. The disease started in Babylon in Serkland in Africa. Then then it went to Palestine and Jerusalem, and desolated nearly all towns. From there, it went northwards across the Sea of Jerusalem [= the Mediterranean] and across all the Romania [= Byzantium], and then across the countries further northwards, and to the papal city [= Avignon] and the surrounding area, and desolated nearly everything. The pope consecrated the river Rhône and dead people were thrown into the river. Then the pope prompted with God's help the protection of the churchyards; so that no one was allowed to bury people due to the lack of population and the plague. Then, the disease went across France and Saxony, and then to England. Nearly all of England was laid waste. And as a proof of that, not more than 14 people survived in the city of London. At that time, a cog sailed from England with many people on board, and it was put into the bay of Bergen. A little [cargo] was unloaded. Then, all the people from the ship died. As then the goods were brought into town from this ship, the townspeople began to die. Then, the plague swept all over Norway and raged so heavily that not one-third of the people in the country survived. The English cog sank down with its goods and the dead men, and was not unloaded. More ships, cargo vessels and many other ships sank down or drifted widely around. And the same disease spread across the Shetlands, Orkneys, Hebrides and Faroes. That was the sort of disease that people did not live more than a day or two, with heavy pangs of pain. After that they began to vomit blood, and then the spirit left them. From that plague died Archbishop Arne and all canons of Nidaros, but one who survived, named Lodin. He arranged an election and Abbot Olav of Holm was appointed archbishop. Likewise died Bishop Thorstein of Bergen. Likewise died Bishop Guttormr of Stavanger. Bishop Hallvard of Hamar also died at that time. That disease did not come to Iceland. | Lögmannsannáll. In: Gustav Storm: Islandske Annaler indtil 1578. Kristiania, 1888, p. 275-276 | Translation by Carina Damm |
| 1369-05-09-Damascus | 9 May 1369 JL | Five men stated before a Jerusalem notary sometime between October 12 and 21, 1369 that they knew a shaykh named ʿAlī b. Badr al-Dīn who was a resident of Jerusalem. They stated they knew that the shaykh had left Jerusalem for Damascus while an epidemic (ṭāʿūn) was raging in the latter city and its surroundings. The shaykh had left Jerusalem in the beginning of the month of Shawwāl 770 H (May 9 to June 6, 1369) with a couple of associates and had stayed in Damascus in a Sufi khanaqah for some days. The witnesses stated that he had intended to proceed from Damascus to Aleppo but that his further whereabouts were unknown to them. | بسم اللّه الرّحمن الرّحيم يقول الواضعون خطوطهم آخره من المشائخ والفقراء والعدول إنّهم | In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate The undersigned elders, the poor and the righteous say that they | Arabic Papyrology Database (APD), P.Haram I 30 = P.HaramCat. 229 | Translation by DeepL |
