It would seem that it is rather difficult to hide the epidemic or somehow not notice it. However, in the 14th century, France began to fight an epidemic of leprosy, which in fact did not exist.
It turned out that many measures were taken in vain, and rumors about the danger were exaggerated.
Leprosy, also known as leprosy, is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae. The disease is transmitted by airborne droplets.
In sick people, lesions appear on the skin, the normal functioning of the mucous membranes, as well as the respiratory tract, is disrupted. The fate of the lepers was unhappy in any case: either a painful death awaited them, or the whole family cursed them, deleting them from their lives forever.
Little was known about the disease and how it was transmitted: many were sure that children would necessarily inherit the disease from their parents, but at the same time they could remain outwardly healthy until they reached adulthood. People were often declared lepers not because of the fact of illness, but according to a decision taken by the authorities, which is why such people were often offended.
Now leprosy is successfully treated, but medicines for therapy appeared only in the twentieth century. In general, for the XIV century, leprosy was a really serious threat, and therefore the warning of a coming epidemic of leprosy was taken with all seriousness.
What happened?
In 1321, information about a conspiracy of lepers began to spread. Those suffering from leprosy allegedly threatened to infect all healthy French people. They planned to do this by poisoning the water in the reservoirs, so that anyone who bathes in this water or drinks it will also become infected with leprosy and die. In the further plans of the lepers was the seizure of power.
Who was suspected?
All this expectedly gave rise to panic and hysteria. Lepers, who were already stigmatized on all sides, were in danger. They were caught, exterminated, tortured, knocking out evidence that they really planned to poison water bodies in order to destroy healthy Christians.
However, lepers were not the only suspects in the conspiracy. Soon Jews, as well as Muslims (Saracens), got into their circle, their goal was still the same – to exterminate healthy Christians and seize power.
Weapon of crime
Methods of poisoning also soon became known. There are several variants of the potion, each of which, as the authorities believed at the time, could be dangerous. Here is one of the options: mix human blood with human urine, add three types of herbs and unleavened church consecrated bread (for the guest). Another recipe is much more complicated: to prepare the poison, it was necessary to mix the head of a snake, toad legs, hair and some kind of fetid liquid. Regardless of which recipe was chosen, the potion was to be thrown into a well or pond.
Scale of the disaster
Only the lepers themselves were subjected to torture and persecution, almost none of the inhabitants of France was injured. This means that, despite the revealed plot, there were no mass poisonings. Either no one poured poison into wells and reservoirs, or the potion had no effect.
There were no poisoned and dead Christians, well, at least their number did not increase, but the persecution of lepers only intensified. Even the wealthy inhabitants of France, who fell ill with leprosy, fell under the distribution, since, according to the royal decree, their property was to go to the treasury and became a tasty morsel for many.
And what is the result?
The story of the leper conspiracy went beyond the borders of the country and the persecution was observed outside of France. However, after about a year, everything calmed down: the lepers stopped persecuting as suddenly as they started, this was not preceded by any events that would be worth paying attention to.
However, this case remained in history, and scientists tried to understand what caused such a fierce fight against a non-existent epidemic. They are inclined to believe that the main culprit of the panic is King Philip V. Yes, yes, the monarch himself, who took the statement about the conspiracy seriously, thus supporting the panic mood and encouraging the idea that lepers have become the most terrible villains. The king fell ill with dysentery and died in early 1322. Soon after his death, the fight against a non-existent leprosy epidemic, and without which there were many problems in the country, came to naught.
Editorial Team
