Thats serious.. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/event/Black-Death, Georgievska, Marija. I didnt expect to read the whole article, but I found myself tickled in all the right places, so dear sir, I did indeed finish the article in its entirety. Anyone with a thing against cats may get some satisfaction from a weird history "fact" circulating on the internet. They spread via trade boats. In a papal bull of 1233 he denounced the black cat as diabolical. Ugolino di Conti was born around 11451170 in Anagni, Rome. Cats are natural hunters. Queen Elizabeth I celebrated her coronation with the burning of a cat-stuffed effigy. Writing is my first love. I adore cats, they are so zen. First the novice, then the master, then each one of the order who are worthy and perfect, kiss the cat on its buttocks. His condemnation of cats may not be responsible for the spread of black death, but its definitely connected to the decline in cat populations at the time, andthe proliferation of rat populations. A witch and her cat. It also provided a remarkably full account of their Satanic rite. The Popes were all lecherous greedy thieves seeking nothing but power for themselves & their families. All this was about to change. Some people are sick. Is the Vox in Rama authentic? Although he did not approve the use of torture in the interrogation of suspects, Gregory did pass the law that sent unrepentant heretics to the fire and in some cases repentant heretics to prison for life. If cats were evil, it made sense that they were responsible for all the death and . And anyone who tries to understand them as the devil incarnate or as a female marker hasnt spent enough time enjoying a cat walking all over them, kneading them or running from cucumbers. Then, when the rats came bearing the Plague, there were no mousers left to keep the disease in check.3. People in medieval Ypres, Belgium, had a festival called Kattenstoet where theyd throw cats from the belfry tower to symbolize the killing of evil spirits. They were pure evil seeking nothing but power & control of the population. Gregory IX (Wikimedia Commons) Pope Gregory IX was a pretty good pope by medieval standards. The Vox in Rama encouraged Conrad of Marburg to overreach himself and that same year he accused Henry II, Count of Sayn of taking part in satanic orgies. Gregory IX. Encyclopedia of World Biography, Encyclopedia.com. For the worship of the cat had its basis in the pagan past. Both, however, rendered the Catholic Church redundant. Remember: Egyptians were known for being cat lovers, and Asia is where cats originally came from. Wikimedia Commons. Long Live Chairman Meow Propaganda Poster, This Is Fine Meme: Dog Drinks Coffee In Burning House. Guess what? That was when Ugolino was over 80 years old. 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. For example, ever heard of Oxford University? The Churchs feline foibles didnt stop with Gregory, however. Thou Shalt not suffer a Cat to Live: Why Pope Gregory IXs Vox in Rama Implicated Cats in Devil Worship. I live in a city, so I have plenty of experience with both cats and mice. My mum always said the best way to get rid of a flea infestation was to let a cat walk through your house. Either way, his account cant be true. Pope Gregory IX was a pretty good pope by medieval standards. Cats are awesome rodent hunters. Heretical beliefs were on the rise at the time, . Information junkie with high probability of being a real-life Ted Mosby. Kitty cats are not everyones flavor of pudding, but they serve an important role in many urban areas, especially in the developing nations outside the western world. Where once these creatures had been common household animals, they were now regarded as dangerous, unpredictable and demonic. 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. ANIMALS ARE BECOMING EXTINCT BECAUSE OF THE GREAT AMOUNT OF NEEDLESS BABIES BEING BORN. As was to be expected of a former angel The upper part of his body from the hips upward shines as brightly as the sun. However, his fall from grace was encapsulated by his lower body where his skin is coarse and covered with fur like a cat.. In Belgium, an entire festival, Kattenstoet, is dedicated to throwing cats from buildings and burning them in the streets. But it starts to fall apart once you roll it around in the ol brainpan. They catch cockroaches, snakes, and scorpions too. 2022 History of Yesterday | All Rights Reserved. He therefore gave his official blessing to the widespread persecution of cats across Europe. Gregory immediately recognizing Conrad as a useful tool in his war against religious dissent. Like most diseases, were hard pressed to find thebad guy. Fewer cats, more rats, more fleas, and more plague. no- blood dives; you are 100% wrong, irrational clearly an agnostic who mocks then defends his false god, the pope- also, review another diatribe from papal high tower urging cats killed-clearly minions of satan, word cat not in catholic bible problem is, what did david kill as shepherd attacking his sheep? Elsewhere in Europe, the legacy of cat killings passed into folk practices. Cats came to be seen as a symbol of witchcraft, and even as the embodiment of Satan himself. February 8, 2013. Thanks for publishing! 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. Pope Gregory XII (Latin: Gregorius XII; Italian: Gregorio XII; c. 1327 - 18 October 1417), born Angelo Corraro, Corario, or Correr, was head of the Catholic Church from 30 November 1406 to 4 July 1415. Exterminating cats during the black plague epidemic in the 14th century: Cat owners were often accused of witchcraft, and often murdered along with their pets. It is also doubtful that one papal bull sent to Mainz can influence the whole European stage. While I dont have any cats my allergist says owning a cat for me is worse for my lungs than chain smoking Ive long revered cats. But, despite all the people who make their livings as cat psychologists, cats will just be cats. And neither of these areas were parts of the Holy Roman Empire and thus subject to anything Pope Gregory IX might have said (but didnt) about a no-cats policy. 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. ABORTION SHOULD BE THE ANSWER IN ALL COUNTRIES, ALONG SIDE LAWS THAT WOULD PREVENT THE POPULATION GROWTH FROM EXPANDING . Furthermore, several more black plagues would hit the world in the 18th century or so, and it's unlikely that the cat population still suffers the cathunt after hundred of years. A witch and her cat. As it went into the fourth and fifth years ! Interestingly enough, the author of the article writes that one reason cats are evil is that they are the favored pets of witches. Actually, witches both modern ones and the one who were burned at the stake during Middle Ages owned cats because being close to nature is central to theirreligious beliefs. Required fields are marked *. Though the Nazca Lines themselves werent discovered until 1926, when air travel started to become common, its been a World Heritage site since 1994, and is famous for its humming bird and astronaut geoglyphs. Indeed, there is evidence of animals dying from the Plague. Gregory IX. Encyclopedia of World Biography, Encyclopedia.com. The cat throwing. 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. Then each [returns] to his place and, speaking certain responses, they incline their heads toward to cat. Some people even went as far as blaming. Even today, the police department of Salem, Massachusetts, where witch trials executed 20 women for witchcraft, uses the image of a witch on a broomstick on theirpolice cruisers. I am in France since 3 years and I would see the amount of cats I saw here during that time, maybe in a day or two in Turkey. Pope Gregory IX (1147-1241). No one can say for sure how many cats were killed because of the association made between them and witchcraft by the Vox in Rama. Other sects, such as the Cathars or Albigensians had more esoteric beliefs. Name is important in the papacy as it is seen as a signal of how their reign is envisioned. Thanks for writing this! When an animal is removed from the ecosystem (especially out of fear) it usually causes a chain reaction. 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? You cant even accept that cats may have offered some protection from the plague. why did pope gregory think that cats were evil? We know there was a massive reduction in cat populations at the time because of this, so its plausible to make the connection. Thus, purported heretics, such as the Cathars and Waldensians, were accused of worshipping cats, according toMedievalists.net. Gregory based his theory on evidence from Conrad of Marburg, a papal inquisitor. The mass murder of cats was not the only cause of the Black Plague, but it removed a crucial natural predator of the flea-carrying rats that spread the disease. Chairman Meow Says: Iz so awful that such a time occurred in our history. Ugolino chooses the name Gregory IX, as he assumed the office at the monastery of St. Gregory ad Septem Solia and fully embracing the papal supremacy policy following the footsteps of Gregory VII and Innocent III. What Im seeing here is a well-researched fact piece angering someone who kinda half-remembers something she thinks she read somewhere this one time. Its a little school in England that was established in the year 1096. They definitely dont stop fleas. The cats play into the picture as they would have normally been instrumental in cutting down the rat populations. Cats were later blamed for the Black Death (13461352), though rats were actually the culprit. As a strategic communicator, I juggle many balls but Im a writer first. Lead bulla of Gregory IX. The only problem is that this story probably isnt true. Evil cradles in the Austin Powers franchise. Thanks, So theres a lot of weak info out there about the backwards things that Medieval people were wont to do. 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. The papal inquisition rained down justice on heretics, the people who spoke out against church canon. Even today, the Vatican still throws shade at cats. 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. The author provides citations for his claims. Im not saying it was a great time to be alive, but it was a more complex time than people give it credit for. There were probably several strains of plague spreading through Europe. Ive written before about whycats are strange including the reasons cats like to walk all over you, knead you and are afraid of cucumbers. Pope Gregory IX did issue a papal bull, . 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. In 2021, I dont think that most Catholics or people of other religious believe that cats are evil. . They were shunned, persecuted and often killed by people who feared that they . This persecution was so savage that some scholars believe that by the 1300s, Europes cat numbers were sufficiently depleted to prevent them efficiently killing rats and mice- thus allowing the bubonic plague to spread. These inferences have led to a story that appears to lack evidence. It came from was Asia, but it is still believed by many to have traveled on the backs of fleas living on rats. 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. Pope Gregory IX (1147-1241) was probably the world's worst cat hater or at least he did the most damage to cats. The Bubonic plague was carried not by rats themselves but their fleas; fleas which could just as easily transfer to dogs- and cats. The reforms were based on the suggestions of the Italian scientist Luigi Lilio, with some modifications by the Jesuit mathematician and astronomer Christopher Clavius. Your email address will not be published. Actually, the murder of cats in Europe continued for hundreds of years, and another Plague swept through Europe again in the 17th Century. 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. We accept this storythat we humans once crossed cats and it resulted in one in three of us dyingbecause it just feels rignt. One of these was the sparrow! (Accessed 2018, June 1). And the Black Death didnt just travel to Europeit did its thing in Egypt, too, where it may have done more damage than it did in England.7. If these furry creatures association with fictitious international criminals isnt enough, cats also have been linked to witchcraft: In the Middle Ages, women who owned black cats came under suspicion as did the cats, who were assumed to bewitches in disguise and were burned at the stake. For he had inherited the problem of heresies which were blossoming across thirteenth century Christian Europe and challenging the 'universal' church. Reigning during the Western Schism, he was opposed by the Avignon claimant Benedict XIII and the Pisan claimants Alexander V and John XXIII.Gregory XII wanted to unify the Church and . Learn how cats first spread around the world. Pope Benedict died Dec. 31, 2022, at the age of 95 in his residence at the . But the association between cats and gender is not a new one. One assault (I despise catholic church so much-am true protestant) by a pope- I do not bother with their names- was due to cat allegedly not suiting him mentioned in their bible; one pope reversed these edicts-seeing half of europe dead- and anyone abusing a cat was severely punisheds), I love catholic people, but HATE the evil infiltration that came early, making a mockery of Jesus real story, one mother superior teaching mary got impregnated by another man when engaged to Joseph; also, during world war II; we fought germany japan and ITALY; so his holie ness: (misspelled to mean he is full of holes) sat in basement- the asshole that had power to divide spain and portugal surely could have rallied his cult to fight nazis and japanese fanatics; Luther returned us, PRAISE JESUS to the real truth of Jesus, God the Father, the Holy Spirit, this jackass is an I read one briticanna entry, now I know it all- when he knows zero; he paints pope as trusting one bad apple in this eradication of the limiting factor on rats- either a sharpshooter (as healthcare provider, like my clients who read one footnote in a pharmacology book I am not immediately aware of, suddenly, they should have DVM and PHD and DO (believe it or not, I do)-. 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