In 2021, I dont think that most Catholics or people of other religious believe that cats are evil. His papacy started when hereticism run rampant in Europe, and yet, by the end of his term, he saw the completion of one of the most important canon law in the Catholic Church known as the Decretales Gregorii IX, excommunicated Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, and (allegedly) founded the earliest incarnation of the papal inquisition. Gregory was a reluctant pontiff- and not just because of his age. Other sects, such as the Cathars or Albigensians had more esoteric beliefs. To think that all this fuss is over cats. Evil cradles in the Austin Powers franchise. I thank you for your service to this great multiverse. Afterwards, they sit down to a meal and when they have arisen from it, the certain statue, which is usual in a set of this kind, a black cat descends backwards, with its tail erect. To start, lets look at what Pope Gregory IX actually said about cats in his bull (special formatting is my own): Homeless Cats Recruited to Fight Rising Tide of Rats, Erika Engelhaupt National Geographical, September 29, 2017. Finally, even if cat numbers were vastly reduced, they were not wiped out. Wierd Tales, Vol 36. Vermin did a number on harvests, but cats were natures perfect solution: they literally cant eat anything that isnt meat, which means that they pose no risk to the crops. The people of the time may have felt that this was the end of days, but the wake of the plague was nothing but an opportunity for survivors. Pope Gregory IX (Source: les.tresors.de.lys.free.fr) Some historians have forgiven the rats. While there is no evidence that cats in medieval England were persecuted, their mousing skills were likened to the devils ability to catch souls, with the fifteenth-century merchant William Caxton remarking how the devil playeth ofte with the synnar, lyke as the catte doth with the mous. Some historians believe that the persecutions across Europe so depleted cat numbers that mouse- and rat-catching by cats diminished- one of the reasons why the Bubonic Plague took such a deadly hold in Europe during the fourteenth century. Apparently torture produced some pretty convincing confessions from people who worshipped the devil and his black cat. Interesly, June 7, 2016, The spooky history of how cats bewitched us, Abigail Tucker, The Washington Post, October 31, 2016, The History of the cat in the Middle Ages (Part 2): The Black cat as the devil in Christian sects, L A Vocelle, The Great Cat: The Cat in History, Art, and Literature. For one, rate outnumber cats by a huge margin, like everywhere, and always have. Then, when the rats came bearing the Plague, there were no mousers left to keep the disease in check.3. The novice then feasted with the rest of the congregation, after which they assembled to pay homage to a black cat which emerged from a kind of statue which normally stands in the place where these meetings are held., The whole coven was required to kiss the cats behind, and once they had done this, a wild sexual orgy occurred. Now this seems like a story of immense fiction but as it happened so recently in this modern time we have documented proof this is true so why is it so hard to believe the Pope and cat story? The Black Death or Black Plague was the original zombie apocalypse. The Black Death in Egypt and England: A Comparative Study. Conrads methods for identifying heretics were questionable to some. First, consider the dates: Pope Gregory IXs papal bull was issued between 1232 and 1234. The PBS documentary pointed out that cats dont have the musculature in their faces to reproduce human-like facial expressions the way dogs do, which is probably the main reason people think they are aloof and why they think dogs are so much more companionable (cause we love things that are more like us). Cats came to be seen as a symbol of witchcraft, and even as the embodiment of Satan himself. Omniverous diet, free bleeders- cats and other mammals? OVERPOPULATION OF HUMANS IS THE RUINATION OF THE PLANET. Retrieved from http://www.kattenstoet.be/en/page/497-511/the-cat-throwing.html, MedicineNet.com. A bit hard to read when YOU ARE SCREAMING AT ME though! They were pure evil seeking nothing but power & control of the population. Its believed by some that the plague spread, at least in part,via rats. In Belgium, an entire festival, Kattenstoet, is dedicated to throwing cats from buildings and burning them in the streets. Heretical beliefs were on the rise at the time, . (To be fair, the cat is only one of more than 300 figures the Nazca created almost half which have been discovered in the last five years). (Accessed 2018, June 1). To understand why suspicions of cats persist, you need to go back to the 13th Century, whenPope Gregory IXhad a definite opinion of cats and it wasnt a positive one. The purpose of Vox in Rama, rather, was to condemn a cult that had allegedly popped up in the Rhinelandand the bull was specifically sent to the city of Mainz. Konrad has evidence of people worshipping Lucifer and black cats, he also seems to possess some sort of confession. Nature tries to maintain a balance .. dogs, cats, chickens, and snakes all relate well to preying upon rats and fleas. Enter the ancestors of Garfield the Cat. Which means that killing off the rats main predators was probably not the best idea. One can love animals, the Catechism says. There are holes in your arguments as well. Honestly, I feel like even thinking that the cathunt resulted or directly influence the black plague is a bit of a stretch. Summary. After years of consultation and research, Pope Gregory XIII signed a papal bull in February 1582 promulgating the reformed calendar that came to be known as the Gregorian calendar. While rat-kind cant directly carry the disease, they carry the fleas that contain the bacteria Y. Pestis. Indeed, there is evidence of animals dying from the Plague. The Bull arose in response to rumors of satanic cults in Germany by the areas grand inquisitor, Conrad of Marburg. As one might have predicted, thereafter, mass slaughters of cats blanked Europe. Such heresies could not be left unchecked to spread around the population and thus undermine the Churchs authority. Just want to add that I like pretty much all animals, even dogs, but I am a cat person. Not only were they a source of companionship they were also a status symbol and source of worship. Purina. Henry was acquitted when he appealed to the bishop of Mainz and later that year Marburg himself was mysteriously murdered- probably at Henrys behest. The Black Death came in 1347. Dear Sir, Good luck keeping cat population low for 500 years. These inferences have led to a story that appears to lack evidence. (2007, September 1). After food, clothing and medicine, the fourth item is cosmetics and the fifth is pets, he said, referring to a study on where most peoples income goes. In 1233, Pope Gregory IX's "Vox in Rama," a warning against the perils of witchcraft, accused its targets of canoodling with a black cat that was actually Lucifer in disguise. 1999. Pope Gregory IX was a pretty good pope by medieval standards. Interesly, June 7, 2016, The spooky history of how cats bewitched us, Abigail Tucker, The Washington Post, October 31, 2016, The History of the cat in the Middle Ages (Part 2): The Black cat as the devil in Christian sects, L A Vocelle, The Great Cat: The Cat in History, Art, and Literature. Not only did the Egyptians hold the cat sacred in the form of Bast, a warrior goddess associated with fertility and the moon, but so too did the Romans, for whom the cat was one of the symbols of the goddess of freedom, Liberta. Retrieved from https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/06/ravens-memory-unfair-trade/. There were probably several strains of plague spreading through Europe. Further down the line, his influence grew larger and larger, and by 1217 he was named the papal legate and Honorius chief representative in Liguria and Tuscany. All this was about to change. Much like modern-day Chicago, Egypt had a rat problem. I came just to quickly peruse the article in attempts to finally finding out whether or not there was validity to the Pope being the plausible cause of the Black Plague in hopes that he did indeed cause it, since today is Sunday and when I refuse to go to Church with my grandmother I could hit her with this, and it could be a legitimate reason for me not attending Church because the Pope caused millions of people to die from the Black Death/Plague, and I am in no support of mass killing. Meanwhile, they need that meat on the regular and know how to get it, so theyre great at killing and eating vermin. He therefore gave his official blessing to the widespread persecution of cats across Europe. Sweet Home Alabama Lyrics: What Does Muscle Shoals Has Got the Swampers Mean? Cats, especially black cats, were now seen as evil and representatives of the . Pope Gregory IX (1147-1241). He also became the first Pope to appoint inquisitors to actively root out such heretics. Im not saying it was a great time to be alive, but it was a more complex time than people give it credit for. cats were only interested in our rat infested granaries. But how did cats become to be seen as evil? A quick Google search shows that a felinefemme fatalecat mask is conveniently available on Amazon for only $25.22. The fleas just love cat blood so much more than ours. some particularly superstitious believers seized on the idea that the black cats were servants of Satan. Here are our sources? as a dvm (research quickly with phd, now DO, but still love animals) I agree about cat fanatics but this loser has all wrong about the need for cats to kill the Y Pestis flea vector rats; also, that species of flea does not infest on cats or dogs- their anticoagulant is perfect match for RATTUS NORweigica, and humans; not even mice suit them; his map of plague is laughingly inaccurate. I would suggest that theres more to the story. You know, small-town sh*t.9. In 2019, Profs and Pints, an organization that was founded to democratize higher learning, hosted an event that was designed to demystify the magical, spiritual and even sexualdepictions of catsin media and society. Cats breed quickly, know how to survive on their own, and are hard to catch. This info on Pope Gregory the ASSWHOLE is just another scandal caused by a Pope. Many of these rodents had fleas that carried diseases including the Black Plague. Because the powers that be dictated that the cat composed one of the main identifiers of a witch, the Church officially excommunicated the entire species. These were, however, local affairs and dont serve as proof of the kind of massive cat recall modern folks have inferred from Pope Gregory IXs bull. On January 23, 1229, he sent messages to Riga, Lubeck, Sweden, to Gotland with an appeal to begin . Denmarks Fastelavn held at the start of lent was based on the premise that for spring to begin, evil had to be banished. In my home, I use cat statuettes as bookends, and have various other representations of these felines throughout my home. Lets see if the math adds up. A witch riding a broomstick with a black cat. THE RELIGIOUS SECTOR ARE OUT OF THEIR MINDS W/ THEIR POOR REASONING OF ENCOURAGING BIG FAMILIES. According toSmithsonian Magazine, the Nazca geoglyphs may have been used for astrological, calendrical purposes as well as religious rituals to encourage rainfall and fertility. Retrieved from https://www.thevintagenews.com/2017/02/06/in-the-middle-ages-devil-fearing-christians-killed-cats-which-carried-the-unintended-consequence-of-increasing-the-rat-population-and-the-spread-of-the-black-death/, Horrox, Rosemary. Your writing is comical! On June 13, 1233, Gregory issued the Vox in Rama, an official papal decree declaring that Satan was half-cat and sometimes took the form of a cat during Satanic masses. Plague. ITS TIME FOR THE GOVT TO STOP THE HUMAN OVER-POPULATION. Weve discovered that the two diseases were one and the same, spread by contact, not the air. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'historyofyesterday_com-box-3','ezslot_6',113,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-historyofyesterday_com-box-3-0');uper-spies James Bond and Austin Powers dont have cats. For a lot of folks, everything you need to know about the Middle Ages you can find in Braveheart or Monty Pythonit was a simple, stupid period when superstition ruled the land, heads rolled daily, and people were covered in sh*t all the time. I soon realized thatpublic affairs combined the best of both worlds of journalism and television talk shows I get to learn interesting and unusual things about people who worked with me, I then get to tell their story. Cat burning became a favorite medieval pastime in France, where cats were suspended over fires in cages or doused and set alight- even chased on fire through the streets by cat chasers. His pontificate was notable for the papacy's attempts to intervene in the quarrels between Emperor Louis the Pious and his sons. He tended to treat all those accused as guilty until proven innocent and threatened all those who would not confess with the flames. I do support single mothers though, especially those willing to give me 2 for 1 lapdance specials, but I digress. Before the prospect of burning at the stake for having contact with the purring pets, Catholics around the the continent began slaughtering any feline that entered their property. It came from was Asia, but it is still believed by many to have traveled on the backs of fleas living on rats. Those arrested by Conrad, therefore, had only two options: admit to heresy and spend the rest of their lives as a known former heretic or burn. This dudes job was to rid Germany of heretics, so he had plenty of reason to stoke the Popes fears of heretical activity (gotta keep that job). Even for modern times, that is not a young age to take on the papal role. As a strategic communicator, I juggle many balls but Im a writer first. Pope Benedict died Dec. 31, 2022, at the age of 95 in his residence at the . They not only killed rodents, hence less infected animals but they themselves are more likely to get bit for you, with their sweet tasting blood. Actually, the murder of cats in Europe continued for hundreds of years, and another Plague swept through Europe again in the 17th Century. Keep in mind that Chairman Meow iz not targeting religion, ceiling cat forbid ,but shedding light on human nature to digest and follow institutional dogma. Conrad had initially been involved in the persecution of the Cathars and enjoyed significant successes during the Albigensian crusade of 1209 -1229. Elsewhere in Europe, the legacy of cat killings passed into folk practices. Based on these confessions, in 1233 Pope Gregory IX issued an official papal decree declaring that Satan was half-cat and sometimes took the form of cat. I suppose its possible that Vox in Rama simply set the stage for a cat-killing trend that would, generations later, result in the Black Death. Its a little school in England that was established in the year 1096. Statues of black cats dont come to life, and you sure as sh*t cant get a cat to walk backwards and let you kiss its butthole.5. HUMAN OVER-POPULATION ISNT PRETTY, IT IS THE CAUSE BEHIND CHRONIC WARS. One such individual was a German priest and nobleman, Conrad of Marburg. This description created an image that was to be used for all future depictions of witches sabbats- and one that established the cat as a creature of the devil. But still, cultural images of cats being a marker of femininity didnt sprout fromVogue,any more than the idea that cats are plain evil stem fromSports Illustrated. Some people are sick. Why did Pope Gregory IX issue Vox in Rama in the first place? There is little real evidence for this. And thats because its body is invested with the spirit of the Morning Star himself. In fact, the picture of a white Persian cat in Bond villain Ernst Blofelds lap is an indelible cultural image, as is that of the hairless cat that Dr. (Accessed June 1, 2018). The papal inquisition rained down justice on heretics, the people who spoke out against church canon. THE HUMAN OVER-POPULATION IS CAUSING ANIMAL SPECIES TO GO EXTINCT. The Obscene Kiss, Wood engraving from the 1608 edition of the Compendium Maleficarum. For Conrad in his quest for heretics around Mainz and Hildesheim claimed to have uncovered a Luciferian cult. If they were dumb, then that means were comparatively smart. This timeline stretched from 1346 to 1353, a little more than a century after Gregory. During this period, cat-burning was considered to bringgood luck. (along with other predators including snakes, which had long since carried the label of being evil). The reforms were based on the suggestions of the Italian scientist Luigi Lilio, with some modifications by the Jesuit mathematician and astronomer Christopher Clavius. This sudden lack of cats led to an increase in rat infestation which in turn increased the spread of disease, the most devastating being the Bubonic Plague. That, or he was a true believer, or both. A LION; I will wager $500 we can debate this and I will win with 100 literate judges NOT taught as toddlers the pope or priest can send them TO HELL. Not only were they a source of companionship they were also a status symbol and source of worship., Egyptians have had a long love affair with cats. By removing many cats from the food chain, the population of rodents began to rise across Europe, as Asian and other foreign ships carrying rats brought them to European harbors. This bull, the story goes, declared cats as the instruments of Satan, and set Medieval Europe on a great cat purge, with special attention paid to black cats, who were particularly Luciferian. Did Pope Gregorys comfort with the law cause him tooverstephis station as the pope? I live in a city, so I have plenty of experience with both cats and mice. We know they had terrier like dogs in Medieval Europe and that they were used as ratters. By Gregorys decree, there was a target on the head of every black cat. In the 13th century, an inquisitor described, in a report to the pope, a Satanic cult in Germany that used cats as part of a ritual, and the pope's response quoted some of his information (which has been described as medieval propaganda by some). Rained down justice on heretics, the people who worshipped the devil and his black cat killing off rats. Experience with both cats and mice seized on the papal role would confess. 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