Catania
From EpiMedDat
In Catania, a total of 4 epidemic events are known so far. It is a Italian city on the east coast of Sicily in Italy. The coordinates are 37° 30' 9.72" N, 15° 5' 14.28" E.
Map of Catania
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 001 | 1346 JL | The passage speaks about the origins of the plague, how it arrived to europe with the galleys, how it killed thousands of people and wiped out complete cities. It describes the wonders which happened simultaneosly and notes that the king of Bellemare oscillates between the religions. | Dese ding de scheghen ok in deme 46. jare over mer, dar de peper unde inghever west. to Dathagio an der stat vlot en water; dat wart vormeghet met utermaten vele wormen unde slanghen; de vreten alle de vrucht up, de in deme lande was. en grot deel, we dat water anrurbe, de vil neder unde was dot. vortmer to Imperio, meddes tusschen Kathagium unde Persiam, reghendet vur also snevlocken; dat vur vorbrande stede, borghe unde land, berghe unde dale, manne unde vrowen, unde stene, ast se drughe holt hedden ghewesen. dat vur ghas groten rok van sik; we den rok sach, de ne levede nicht enen halven dach; we ok den mynschen sach, de den rok gheseen hadde, de ne levede nicht langhe. hir van schaghet, dat van twelf galeyden, de in deme lande weren, de den rok gheseen hedden, twe galeyden quemen in Sreken to Ianueum, unde beghunden altohant to stervende, beide de in den galeyden weren unde de lude uter stat, also dat sy kume de galeyden mit kummer brachten van der stat in dat grote mer, unde dreven do to Constantinopolim unde to Peram. do de lude van Constantinopol unde van Pera ghespreken mit den galeyden, do ghinghen se to hus unde storven, unde we de sulven lude sach, de starf ok an der stunde, unde storven binnen den twen steden in korter stunde wol sesteyn dusent volkes. Dar na seghelden de galeyden van Sreken, unde wor se hen kerden, in allen steden leten se jo de suke des stervendes. to left quemen se to Cecilien unde Messinam; dar brechten se ok dat stervend, also dat dar ummelang storven wol der dusent lude, unde en stat binnen Cecilien, de ghenomet was Cratappaim, starf al wuste. dar na quemen de galeyden van Cecilien to Sardineam, unde brechten dat stervend an den galeyden des heren Archassari, de in de hervart scholden, unde storven also degher uth, dat de teynde mynsche nicht levende bles, also dat dar storven der unde vertich dusent volkes, de men in dat mer warp. Dar (p. 508) na quam ene van den twen galeyden to Marsilien, unde brochte dat stervend dar, also dat de stat wuste starf. vortmer des donnerdaghes vor winachten wart to Avinion, des morghens er de sunne upghing, gheseen en vur van deme ostene in dat westene, unde hing boven de stat to Avinion an der lucht. vortmer an deme weghe, als men ghet van Kathelonia to Arrogonia, vellen der grote stene van deme hemmele, jewelik also grot als en tover. des nehmen de lude ute deme lande enen van den stenen unde brachtene deme koninghe des landes up eneme mule to groteme wundere. Vortmer de koning val Bellemare, Albessessu ghenant, en here over ghantz Barbarien, let enen wech maken dor de wustenye, also men reysen mochte to Ianuam. do he ret mit groteme volke unde wolde den wech beseen, do quam en bode eme na unde seghede: 'here, sint dat du uthtoghest, sint ghestorven binnen twen daghen achtentich diner husvrowen; unde alle de in der stat sin, de sterven'. do de koning dat horde, he vruchte sic sere unde sprak: 'dat is Godes wrake; de will, dat wy to cristenen loven komen'. unde sende na sinen hoghesten unde na sinem raatgheveren, unde seghede en, dat he cristen werden wolde. under des quam en schip unde seghede, dat de cristenen ok storven. do dat de koning horde, do wolde he nicht cristen werden. | Similar things also occurred in the year 1346 overseas, where pepper and ginger are grown. Near Cathay, water flooded the land; it was filled with countless worms and snakes, which devoured all the crops. Many people who touched the water fell down dead. Furthermore, in a place called Imperium, between Cathay and Persia, fire rained down like snowflakes; this fire burned cities, castles, lands, mountains, valleys, men, women, and even stones as if they were dry wood. The fire produced a great smoke; anyone who saw the smoke did not live even half a day, and anyone who saw those people who had seen the smoke did not live long either. It is said that of twelve galleys in the area that encountered the smoke, only two arrived in Genoa, where both the crew on the ships and the people in the city immediately began to die, so much so that they barely managed to drag the ships out to the open sea. The ships drifted towards Constantinople and Pera. When the people of Constantinople and Pera spoke with those on the galleys, they went home and died, and anyone who saw them also died, with sixteen thousand people dying in the two cities within a short time. Later, the galleys left and spread the plague in every city they visited. Eventually, they arrived in Sicily and Messina, bringing death, so that about a thousand people soon died in the area. An entire town in Sicily, called Catania, was wiped out. The galleys then reached Sardinia, where they brought the plague to the fleet of Lord Archassari, and they all died so that barely one in ten survived, with around forty thousand people dead and thrown into the sea. One of the galleys then arrived in Marseille and spread death there, causing the entire town to perish. Moreover, on the Thursday before Christmas in Avignon, before the sun rose, a fire was seen in the sky from east to west, hovering over the city. Furthermore, along the road from Catalonia to Aragon, large stones fell from the sky, each as big as a tower. The people took one of these stones from the land and brought it to the king as a great wonder. In addition, the King of Bellemare, also known as Albessessu, a lord over all Barbaria, ordered a road to be built through the wilderness so that people could travel to Genoa. As he traveled with a large following to inspect the road, a messenger came to him and said: ‘My lord, since you set out, within two days, eighty of your noble ladies have died, and everyone in the city is also dying.’ When the king heard this, he was greatly afraid and said, ‘This is God's wrath; He wants us to praise the Christian faith.’ He summoned his highest advisors and declared that he wanted to become a Christian. However, soon a ship arrived, reporting that Christians were also dying. When the king heard this, he no longer wanted to become a Christian. | Detmar's Croneke van Lubeke 1884/99, Vol. 1, pp. 506-508. | Translation by ChatGPT-3.5 |
| 1347-09-00-Catania | September 1347 JL | Outbreak of the Black Death in Catania with detailed description of symptoms and social disintegration. Prominent victim of the plague is Duke Giovanni d'Aragona, Regent of the Kingdom of Trinacria/Sicily at the time. | Quid dicemus de civitate Cataniae, quae oblivioni tradita est? Tanta fuit pestis praedicta exorta in ea, quod non solum pustulae illae, quae "anthraci" vulgari vocabulo nuncupabantur, sed etiam glandulae quaedam in diversis corporum membris nascebantur, nunc in pectine, aliae in tibiis, aliae in brachiis, aliae in gutture. Quae quidem a principio erant sicut avellanae, et crescebant cum magno frigoris rigore, et in tantum humanum corpus extendebant et affligebant, quod diutius in se potentiam non habens standi, se ad lectum perferrebat, febribus immensis incitatus, et amaritudine non modica contristatus. Quapropter glandulae illae ad modum nucis crescebant, deinde ad modum ovi gallinae vel anseris, et quorum dolores non modici, et humorum putrefactione urgebant dictum humanum corpus sanguinem expuere; quod sputum, a pulmonibus infecto perveniens ad guttur, totum corpus humanum putrefaciebat: quo putrefacto, humoribus deficientibus, spiritum exalabant. Quae quidem infirmitas triduo perdurabat; quarto vero die ad minus a rebus humanis praedicta humana corpora erant adepta. Catanienses vero perpendentes talem aegritudinem sic brevi finire tempore, sicuti dolor capitis eis superveniebat, et rigor frigoris, omnia peccata eorum primo et ante omnia sacerdotibus confitebantur, et deinde testamenta eorum conficiebantur. Tanta erat in praedicta civitate condemnsa mortalitas, quod iudices et notarii se ad testamenta facienda ire recusabant. Et si ad aliquem infirmum accederent, ab eo procul omnino stabant. Sacerdotes ullatenus ad domos infirmorum accedere timore proximi mortis trepidabant. Tanta erat immensa mortalitas in civitate praedicta, quod iudices et notarii in conficiendis testamentis, nec sacerdotes ad peccatorum confitenda peccamina poterant totaliter continuo vacare. Patriarcha vero praedictus, volens de animabus Cataniensium providere, cuilibet sacerdoti, licet minimo, totam, quam habebat ipse episcopalem et patriarchalem licentiam, de absolvendis peccatis tribuit atque dedit. Quapropter omnes, qui deficiebant, secundum veram opinionem ad locum Dei tutam infallibiliter erant recepti. Dux vero Joannes praedictus timens mortem supradictam, nolens civitatibus et locis appropinquare habitatis propter aeris infectionem, per loca nemorosa et inhabitata, circumquaque se hinc inde continue versabatur. Sed dum hinc inde nunc ad aquam salis, quae est in nemore Cataniensi, nunc ad quamdam turrim, quae vocatur "Lu Blancu" per sex milliaria a civitate Cataniae distantem, nunc ad quandam ecclesiam sancti Salvatoris de Blanchardu in nemore civitatis praedictae, se quasi latitando discurreret, pervenit ad quamdam ecclesiam, seu locum per dictum Ducem noviter constructum [p. 568] vocatum sanctu Andria, qui locus est in confiniis nemoris Mascalarum; in quo dum incolumis ac sanus existeret, ex quadam sibi superveniente infirmitate mortuus extitit. Corpus cuius fuit sepultum in maiori Catanensi Ecclesia, in eo videlicet tumulo, ubi corpus quondam Friderici Regis patris sui fuerat conditum et humatum. Et hoc anno Domini MCCCXLVIII, de mense Aprilis primae Indictionis. Quae quidem mortalitas duravit a mense Septembris dictae primae Indictionis usque ad mortem Ducis supradicti paulo ante vel post. Talis itaque gravis fuit mortalitas in nullo dispar sexu, in nulla aetate dissimilis, generaliter cunctos iugiter affecit, ut etiam quos non egit in mortem, turpi macie exinanitos afflictosque dimisit atque relaxavit. In qua mortalitate fuit dictus Patriarcha mortuus, et sepultus in maiori Catanensi Ecclesia, anima cuius in pace quiescat. | What shall we say of the city of Catania, which has been consigned to oblivion? Such was the plague that arose there that not only did those pustules called "anthraces" in the common tongue appear, but also certain swellings in various parts of the body—now on the chest, some on the shins, others on the arms, and others in the throat. These, at first, were like hazelnuts, and they grew with a great chill and afflicted the human body so severely that, unable to stand any longer, the person would collapse onto the bed, overcome by intense fevers and burdened with great bitterness. As a result, those swellings would grow to the size of a walnut, then to the size of a hen's egg or even a goose's egg, and the pain was unbearable. The rotting of bodily fluids caused the afflicted person to spit blood; this sputum, infected from the lungs and reaching the throat, would completely decay the entire body. Once the body had decayed and the fluids had been drained, the person would exhale their spirit. This disease would last three days; by the fourth day, at the latest, the person would succumb. The people of Catania, observing that such an illness would end so quickly, often experienced severe headaches and chills. In this state, they confessed all their sins, first and foremost, to priests, and then prepared their wills. The mortality in the aforementioned city was so severe that judges and notaries refused to go to prepare the wills. And if they did approach any of the sick, they kept a great distance. Priests, too, were afraid to approach the homes of the sick out of fear of their own impending deaths. The mortality in the city was so immense that judges and notaries could not keep up with preparing wills, nor could priests attend continuously to the confession of sins. The Patriarch, seeing the need to provide for the souls of the people of Catania, granted to each priest, even the humblest, the full authority of his episcopal and patriarchal license to absolve sins. Because of this, all who died were, according to true belief, received into the secure presence of God. Duke Giovanni [di Randazzo/d'Aragona, 1317-1348], fearing the aforementioned plague and not wanting to approach inhabited cities or places due to the infection of the air, moved about continuously through forested and uninhabited areas. Wandering from one place to another, he would sometimes go to the Salt Spring in the forest near Catania, sometimes to a tower called "Lu Blancu," six miles from the city of Catania, or to a church called S. Salvatoris de Blanchardu in the forest of the aforementioned city. While wandering in hiding, he eventually came to a church or location newly constructed by the Duke, called S. Andrea, which is situated on the borders of the Mascalarum forest. While living there in good health, he was overtaken by a sudden illness and died. His body was buried in the major church of Catania, in the very tomb where the body of Frederick, King and his father, had been buried and laid to rest. This happened in the year of our Lord 1348, in the month of April, during the first Indiction. This mortality lasted from September of the same first Indiction until shortly before or after the death of the aforementioned Duke. Such a grave mortality affected all, regardless of sex or age, and struck everyone continuously. Even those whom it did not bring to death were left emaciated and afflicted with a wretched gauntness, ultimately releasing them in a weakened state. During this mortality, the aforementioned Patriarch also died and was buried in the major church of Catania, and may his soul rest in peace. | Michele da Piazza 1791, pp. 567-568. | Translation by Martin Bauch |
| 1347-10-00-Messina | October 1347 JL | Arrival of the Black Death in Messina, Sicily on board of Genoese ships. | Caput XXVII. De repentina mortalitate orta in Regno Sicilie & quo tempore duravit, & quid actum eo tempore extitit [...] Accidit ergo, quod de mense octobris anno dominice incarnationis MCCCXLVII circa principium mensis octobris prime indictionis, duodecim galee januensium, divinam fugientes ulcionem, quam Dominus noster pro eorum iniquitatibus desuper eis transmiserat, applicuerunt in portum civitatis Messane, talem secum morbum ossibus infixum deferentes, quod si quis cum aliquo ipsorum locutus fuisset , erat infirmitate effectus letali, quam mortem nullatenus evadere poterat inmediate. Signa vero mortis ianuensium et messanensium cum eis participantium talia erant. Quod propter infectionem hanelitus inter eos mixti universaliter alloquentes , adeo unus alterum inficiebat , quod quasi totus dolore concussus videbatur, et quodammodo conquassatus; ex cujus doloris conquassatione, et hanelitus inficatione oriebatur quedam pustula circa femur , vel brachium ad modum lenticule. Que ita inficiebat et penetrabat corpus, quod violenter spuebant sanguinem: quo sputo spuendo per triduum, incessanter sine aliqua cura curabili vitam expirabant; et non tantum moriebantur quicumque eis conversabantur, ymmo quicumque de rebus eorum 63) emeret, tangeret, seu affectaret. Messanenses vero cognoscentes dictam eorum repentinam mortem eis incurrere propter januensium galearum adventum, eos de portu et civitate predicta cum festinantia maxima expulerunt. Remansitque dicta infirmitas in civitate predicta, ex qua sequuta extitit immensa mortalitas. Et in tantum unus alium habebat exosum, quod si filius de morbo predicto infirmabatur, pater sibi adherere penitus recusabat; et si ad eum ausus esset appropinquare, adeo infectus erat morbo predicto, quod mortem nullatenus evadere poterat, quin per triduum suum spiritum non exalaret. Et non tantum solus ipse de domo moriebatur, sed omnes familiares in eadem domo astantes, catuli, et animalia in dicta domo existentia patrem familias mortui sequebantur. Et intantum mortalitas ipsa Messanensibus invaluit, quod petebant multi sacerdotibus confiteri sua peccata, et testamenta conficere, et sacerdotes, judices et notarii ad domos eorum accedere recusabant; et si aliqui ipsorum ad eorum hospitia ingrediebantur pro testamentis, et talibus conficiendis, mortem nullatenus repentinam poterant (p 83) evitare. Fratres vero Ordinis minorum et Predicatorum et aliorum ordinum accedere volentes ad domos infirmorum predictorum, et confitentes eisdem de eorum peccatis, et dantes eis penitentiam juxta velle sermus. divinam justitia, adeo letalis mors ipsos infecit, quod fere in eorum cellulis de eis aliqui remanserunt. Quid ultra? Cadavera stabant sola in hospitiis propriis, nullus sacerdos, filius, sive pater, atque consanguineus ausus erat in eisdem intrare, sed tribuebant bastatiis non modicam pensionem pro cadaveribus in sepultura deferendis predictis. Hospitia defunctorum remanebant aperta, et patentia cum omnibus jocalibus, pecunia, et thesauris; adeo ut si quis ingredi vellet, aditus a nullo proibitus erat. Nam tanta subito pestilentia exorta est, ut ministri quoque primum non sufficerent, deinde non essent. Quapropter Messanenses hunc casum terribilem et monstruosum intuentes, migrare de civitate quam mori potius elegerunt; et non solum in urbem veniendi, sed etiam appropinquandi ad eam negabatur. In aeris et in vineis extra civitatem cum eorum familiis statuerunt mansiones. Aliqui vero et pro majori parte in civitatem Catanie perrexerunt, confisi quod beata Cataniensis Agatha virgo eosdem tali infirmitate liberaret. Inclita regina Helisabeth regina Sicilie, existens in civitate Catanie, don Fridericum filium suum, qui in civitate Messane tunc temporis aderat, ad se festinante jussit venire; qui cum galeis venetorum Cataniam festinanter applicuit. | Chapter XXVII: On the sudden mortality that arose in the Kingdom of Sicily, the duration of that time, and what happened during that time Therefore, it happened that in the month of October in the year of our Lord's Incarnation 1347, around the beginning of October, twelve Genoese galleys, fleeing divine retribution which our Lord had sent upon them for their sins, docked at the port of the city of Messina. They brought with them a disease so deeply embedded in their bones that if anyone spoke with any of them, they were struck with a fatal illness from which they could not escape immediate death. The signs of death among the Genoese and those of Messina who interacted with them were such that, because of the infection from their breath, mingling with them universally, one infected another so that it seemed as if they were entirely shaken by pain, and in a way crushed by it; from this crushing pain and the infection from their breath, there arose pustules around the thigh or arm, like a lentil. These pustules infected and penetrated the body so violently that they coughed up blood; and with this coughing up of blood for three days, constantly without any cure, they expired; and not only did those who interacted with them die, but also anyone who bought, touched, or desired any of their belongings (page 563). The people of Messina, recognizing that this sudden death was befalling them because of the arrival of the Genoese galleys, expelled them from the port and the aforementioned city with the greatest haste. The aforementioned disease remained in the aforementioned city, resulting in immense mortality. To such an extent did one hate another, that if a son fell ill from the aforementioned disease, the father entirely refused to stay near him; and if he dared to approach him, he was so infected by the aforementioned disease that he could not escape death and would expire within three days. And not only did the individual in the house die, but all the family members present in the same house, including pets and animals in the house, followed the head of the dead family. The mortality increased so much among the people of Messina that many asked priests to confess their sins and make their wills, but priests, judges, and notaries refused to go to their houses; and if any of them entered their houses to make wills and other such documents, they could not avoid sudden death. Friars of the Order of Minors and Preachers and members of other orders, wishing to go to the houses of the aforementioned sick people, confessing their sins and giving them penance according to divine justice, were so lethally infected that almost none of them remained in their cells. What more? Corpses lay alone in their homes, no priest, son, father, or relative dared to enter them, but they paid considerable sums to others to bury the bodies. The houses of the deceased remained open and unguarded with all their jewels, money, and treasures; so that if anyone wished to enter, the entrance was prohibited by no one. Such a sudden pestilence arose that at first there were not enough servants, and eventually, there were none. Therefore, the people of Messina, seeing this terrible and monstrous event, chose to migrate from the city rather than die; and not only was it forbidden to come into the city, but also to approach it. They set up camps in the air and vineyards outside the city with their families. Some, and for the most part, went to the city of Catania, believing that blessed Agatha of Catania would free them from such an illness. The noble Queen Elisabetta, Queen of Sicily, residing in the city of Catania, hastily summoned her son Federico, who was then in the city of Messina, to come to her; and he hurried to Catania with Venetian galleys. | Michele da Piazza 1980, pp. 82-83 | None |
| 1347-10-00-Messina3 | October 1347 JL | Most plague refugees from Messina fail to enter Catania and spread the Black Death to Siracusa, Agrigento and Trapani. | Quid ultra? Adeo fuerunt abominabiles & timorosi, quod nemo cum eis loquebatur, nec conversabant, sed fugiebant velociter eorum visionem, eorum anelitus penitus recusantes, & quasi in derisione omnibus Cataniensibus sunt effecti. Et si aliquis eorum cum aliquo loquebatur, respondebat sibi vulgariter, non mi parlari ca si Missinisi, & nemo eos hospitabatur. Domos pro eorum habitaculis ad conducendum penitus non inveniebant. Et nisi quod Messanenses aliqui in civitate Catanie cum eorum familia habitantes eos clam hospitabantur, fuissent quasi omni auxilio destituiti. Disperguntur itaque Messanenses per univerfam insulam Sicilie, & pergentes in civitatem Siracusie, adeo illa egritudo sic infecit Siragusanos, quod diversos immo immensos letaliter interfecit; terra Xacce, terra Trapani, & civitas Agrigenti. | What more? They were so abominable and feared that no one would speak to them or interact with them; instead, people fled swiftly from their sight, completely avoiding their breath, and they became a subject of mockery to all the people of Catania. And if any of them spoke to someone, they would be answered rudely, "I don’t speak to those from Messina." No one would give them shelter. They could not find houses to rent as living quarters. If it had not been for some Messinese families living in the city of Catania who secretly hosted them, they would have been completely without help. Thus, the Messinese dispersed throughout the entire island of Sicily, and when they reached the city of Syracuse, the plague so thoroughly infected the Syracusans that it lethally afflicted many, even in great numbers. The lands of Sciacca, Trapani, and the city of Agrigento were similarly affected. | Michele da Piazza 1791, p. 566. | Translation by Martin Bauch |
