Pierart dou Tielt, manuscript illumination in the Tractatus quartus by Gilles li Muisi, Tournai, 1353. (MS 13076-13077, fol. 24v). Source: National Public RadioThe Black Plague is one of the most devastating pandemics the world has ever experienced. A common question about the scourge is how long it lasted. The answer, however, is not simple as the plague did not have a clean start and end date. This was because it was not one single occurrence but a continuous event that kept re-emerging for several hundred years. It began with a sudden, violent outbreak that spread to various continents. The disease was finally countered using modern medicine.When the First Wave BeganThe Dance of Death, from the Nuremberg Chronicle, by Michael Wolgemot, 1493. Source: WikimediaThe most documented timeline of the Black Plague is often referred to as the Black Death and was the most lethal period. During the first outbreak which occurred from 1347, the disease spread across Europe and North Africa with shocking speed and devastation. In Europe, the worst of the destruction took place over about four years.The sickness is believed to have spread in Europe following the arrival of twelve trading ships from Genoa in October 1347. They docked at the harbor at Messina, Sicily. However, they did not just carry cargo, they were infested with the disease and had sailors on board who were already dead or dying from the malady. The bodies of the infected sailors were covered in dark swellings. The marks called buboes, gave the disease its name the bubonic plague. From the port, the infection spread across the land.How Did the Disease Spread?Lithograph of a woman in rags drawing a cart of plague victims, by J. Moynet, 1852, after L. Duveau. Source: Wellcome CollectionThe disease spread in numerous ways. However, fleas living on black rats reportedly carried the bacteria Yersinia pestis and are believed to have been responsible for the initial spreading of the disease. The fleas jumped from rats to people, passing on the illness. At the time, rats were everywhere in the cities and ships. This aspect made them the perfect carriers. By early 1348, the plague had ravaged major ports in Italy before moving to France. It crossed into England that same year and then spread across Europe, reaching Germany, Scotland, and Ireland by 1349. By 1350, it had moved as far as Scandinavia and Russia.Peasants engaged in threshing, from Luttrell Psalter. Source: British Library, LondonThe cost in human life was hard to grasp. Historians believe Europes population dropped by about 30 to 60 percent. It is reported that between 25 and 50 million people died due to sickness in the first wave. The desolation left farms without workers and farm produce to rot due to a severe shortage of labor. The situation led to an almost complete breakdown of the known world at the time and led to the collapse of the feudal system in Britain at the time.When the Second Pandemic BeganTwo men discovering a dead woman in the street during the Great Plague of London by Herbert Railton, 1665. Source: Wellcome CollectionThe first deadly wave subsided around 1351, but the plague itself was not gone. The bacteria simply kept spreading among Europes rodent populations. What came next was a long era of emerging outbreaks that lasted for nearly four hundred years. That said, the outbreaks were less severe when compared to the initial wave.Several major plagues marked the long period of reoccurrences. The Italian Plague that lasted between 1629 and 1631 killed about a million people. The Great Plague of Seville in 1649 wiped out half the city, and the Great Plague of London that occurred between 1665 and 1666 killed around 100,000 people. More outbreaks came later, like the Great Plague of Vienna in 1679, and the European epidemic in Marseille that occurred between the years 1720 and 1722.Why Did the Plague Slowly Fade in Western Europe?Plague in Bronze Age Eurasia. Source: Science DirectThere was no single reason for the drop in new infections. Some peoples immune systems, for example, simply adapted to overcome the infection. People and societies also put measures to prevent new infections. Cities in Italy, for example, created the first public health systems that placed travelers in quarantine. A change in the parasite dynamics was likely even more important. The brown rat, for example, began to replace the black rat which was notorious for spreading the disease across the continent. Brown rats are known to be shy and tend to stay away from peoples homes. The simple change disrupted the deadly chain of rat to flea to human disease transmission.Who Discovered the Main Cause of the Disease?The bacterium Yersinia pestis, the cause of the Bubonic Plague. Source: CDC / Courtesy of Larry Stauffer, Oregon State Public Health Laboratory / Wikimedia CommonsIn 1894, during an outbreak in Hong Kong, a scientist named Alexandre Yersin found the bacterium that caused the sickness. It is now named Yersinia pestis in his honor. A few years later, scientists were able to prove that fleas were responsible for spreading the disease. The discovery was a great turning point that led to the development of antibiotics such as streptomycin which changed the course of the plague by providing an effective treatment for the disease. Since then, the disease ceased to be a significant threat to humanity.

Witchcraft has existed in almost every culture throughout time. Due to the great mixing of customs in Latin America during the colonial period, a new form of witchcraft, or brujera, was born, blending the traditions of European, Native American, and African cultures. Accusations were often used to oppress women, but the practice of witchcraft could also empower them. Though witchcraft has largely fallen out of practice, there are still some cultures that participate in magical rituals today.The Mixing Pot of South American MagicWitchcraft: The Devil Bringing Medicine to a Man or Woman in Bed (?), woodcut, 1720. Source: Wellcome Collection, JSTORBrujera, or witchcraft in Spanish, has come to describe a multitude of practices descended from European, Native, and African belief systems. These practices were most often seen during the years of the colonial period when tensions between Spanish and Portuguese colonizers, Native Americans, and enslaved Africans were high. Those who practiced witchcraft were targeted by the Inquisition and made to atone for their sins of heresy, either through repentance or torture. Though accusations of witchcraft were often used to suppress women who were underrepresented, in some cases, the practice served to protect non-European women within these colonized areas.Though accusations of witchcraft are no longer the death sentence they were in the colonial period, there are still some isolated groups that take part in this dying practice. However, because of increased research on traditional healing and spiritual beliefs, some younger people are beginning to show a revived interest in learning about the magic of the past.Hechicera vs Brujera: Healing and WitchcraftA Distressed Young Woman Protests Her Innocence and Prays before the Judge and the Counsel of the Spanish Inquisition, aquatint by Jazet after S.J.E. Jones. Source: Wellcome Collection, JSTORThe Spanish colony of Mexico was one of the places where brujera began to develop from a mix of Catholic faith and Indigenous herbalism. This practice was divided into two related but distinct categorieshechicera (sorcery), which encompassed natural and herbal magic, and brujera, which involved consorting with demons. Though the Inquisition paid little attention to so-called witchcraft in Mexico and often only asked for repentance as punishment, accusations of witchcraft ran wild. Anything from an incurable illness to dead livestock could be evidence of a witch, or bruja. The targets of these accusations were usually lone women, especially widows and spinsters, as well as midwives. Women were seen as lustful, fickle, and imperfect, which made them the perfect target for the temptations of the devil.One notable Inquisition case in Mexico was the trial of Isabel de Montoya between 1652 and 1661. She was the daughter of a mulatta woman and made a living as a cook, healer, and midwife. After being accused of witchcraft, she was jailed for three years. Isabel claimed she had learned her trade from another mixed-race woman who showed her how to cast spells to tame a violent husband or to bring luck to clients. Most of the implements she used in her trade were simplebeans, pieces of coal and silver, various herbs, and chocolate. Interestingly, during her trial, Isabel admitted that she would occasionally give her clients a spell that would cause the opposite effect to the one desired. After her trial, not much more was heard of Isabel de Montoya, and she disappeared from the record just like other accused witches.Brazils Witch AfflictionThe Mulatto Woman, Albert Eckhout, 1641. Source: JSTORColonial Mexico wasnt the only place where witchcraft thrived and was condemned by the Catholic Church. Since the very early explorations of Brazil, Portuguese colonists had asserted that the type of spirituality practiced by native Brazilian shamans was nothing more than magic. It was in Brazil in 1591 that Paula de Siqueira confessed that she had been learning spells in order to win the love of her husband. This confession was followed by a handful of other witchcraft accusations, all leveled at Brazilian women.Brazils colonial period saw a rapid increase in the types and prevalence of witchcraft being practiced among its female population. This increase in witchery was accompanied by a rise in religious dogma that persecuted anyone who practiced it. Brazilian witchcraft was different from the Mexican variety in that it often integrated African religious elements into its core. However, like Mexico, the Brazilian Portuguese distinguished the feiticeira, or sorceress, from the bruxa, a woman who had a pact with the devil. From the 1500s to the 1600s, Brazil hosted multiple visits from the Portuguese Inquisition, hoping to weed out anyone who was participating in acts that went against the beliefs of the Catholic Church.Directorium Inquisitorum by Nicolaus Eymericus, 1376. Source: Munich Digitization CenterIn the manual for Inquisitors, magic, and witchcraft were listed as some of the most grievous sins, and those who had witnessed them were obligated to report it to the Inquisition. Records state that at least 700 Brazilians came forward during these proceedings, either to confess to witchcraft or to notify inquisitors about suspected magical activities. Many of these women had simple explanations for their involvement in witchcraftthey wanted a man to love them, to catch a thief, or to rid themselves of a pesky son-in-law. Those who wished to report heretical acts stated that witches had cursed their children, causing them to develop strange marks and illnesses that eventually left them dead. Those who were accused could expect to be imprisoned, whipped, or executed. Meanwhile, those who had confessed and shown remorse were given mercy and expected to repent.Guatemalan Magic: Reclaiming Female PowerWitchcraft: A Bewitched Woman Vomiting, woodcut, 1720. Source: Wellcome Collection, JSTORThe magic that Guatemalan women practiced during and after the colonial period was distinguished by its violence. In a time when many native Guatemalan and African women were subjugated by Spanish colonial men, witchcraft gave them a way to create fear in the hearts of their abusers. One example of such violence is a story told by Padre Jos de Quevedo in which he claimed two women used witchcraft to attack him due to an ongoing dispute. In his story, he was awoken by the spirits of two women, Lorenza de Molina and Mari de Santa Inz, who bound and blindfolded him before viciously beating him. He asserted that he awoke the next morning in his bed covered in wounds. Through their supposed witchcraft, Lorenza and Mari had taken control of a mans body in a reversal of the typical control a colonial man had over a Native or African woman.In another case, one woman claimed that her servant had been targeted by a witch and had taken to throwing up objects as strange as pieces of cloth, teeth, cigars, hair, and charcoal. Bodily fluids were another common theme in Guatemalan magic, often used to evoke love from a man or to sway someone in the magic users favor. However, this magic could also incorporate healing aspects, usually practiced by those who called themselves curanderas. Due to a lack of licensed doctors in New Spain, it was often these women who acted as healers for the community. However, due to the preconceived notions surrounding their gender and non-European status, these women were mislabeled as witches rather than healers or doctors.Demonic Possession: An Excuse to Misbehave?A woodcut of a priest healing a possessed woman, Pierre Boaistuau, 1566. Source: The National Library of Medicine.Along with the purported cases of witchcraft during the Inquisition came claims of possession. In a strange twist of events, it was often nuns who fell victim to these demonic afflictions. One such example is that of the Mexican nun Margarita de San Jos, who wrote a letter that proclaimed herself a Jew and a servant of the devil. Another interesting example is that of seventeen-year-old Juana de los Reyes, also from Mexico, though not a nun. She claimed she was possessed by a demon named Mozambique who, through the orders of witches, impregnated her. Later investigation after the birth of her child revealed that her pregnancy was actually a result of incestual violence. However, recent research has suggested that claims of possession gave women a chance to act out in ways that were not socially acceptable at the time. Women who were possessed could scream, vomit, use obscenities, and wail without facing any social consequences. In these cases, the devil or demons were blamed for her actions, and she was rewarded with a kind of freedom that women did not have at that time.Illness and WitchcraftUru-Chipayas, Uros Floating Islands, Lake Titicaca, Peru, MRB, 2016. Source: FlickrThere were often times in both Europe and the colonial Americas when the spread of certain diseases was blamed on the work of witches. However, such fears were not solely of European origin. Anthropological studies on the Tzeltal Maya, Kamayura, and Uru-Chipaya people found that individuals suffering from epilepsy are perceived as being either under the attack of a spell or witches themselves. Amongst the Kayamura, epilepsy is referred to as teawarup and is the result of an animal spirit taking revenge on a hunter. The Chipaya people call epilepsy tukuri and believe it is caused by a witch entering the body in a burst of wind through the nose. The only cure for this among the Chipaya is an animal sacrifice, followed by the consumption of dried insects. Meanwhile, the Tzeltal call epilepsy tub tub ikal, and believe it to be caused by an internal battle between the persons spirit animal and other bad spirits that seek to do them harm.Sorcerers of Today, the YanomamiYanomami Indian Shaman Adjusts His Feathers for Dancing, Brazil, Chris Steele-Perkins, 1990. Source: JSTORFollowing the colonial period, instances and accusations of witchcraft in Latin America began to slowly fizzle out. Catholicism gradually came to replace these practices in most regions. However, in many areas of the nearly impenetrable Amazon rainforest, the practice of magic and sorcery has continued. This is the case for the Yanomami people of South America, who live deep in the Amazon of Venezuela, near the Orinoco River. The shamans of the Yanomami practice assault shamanism, sorcery, and other forms of dark magic that are meant to inflict pain and suffering on their enemies. The shamans, who are called shapori by the Yanomami, use their spirit helpers, known as hekura, to create spells that can either heal or harm a target. These shapori can both heal and cause death and are often engaged in constant retaliatory magic with Yanomami shapori from other tribes. The core beliefs of the Yanomami center on their conception of the world as composed of five celestial and terrestrial discs within the stomach of a boa constrictor. On the lowest level, or disc, exist the ancestors of the Yanomami, amongst whom are powerful and malicious sorcerers. Only the work of the shapori can protect the living Yanomami from the dangerous hekura that come from below.

The Vikings were not prolific writers. They have left behind no written historical treatises, religious texts, or even administrative documents. The Norse sagas and mythologies were written down in the post-Viking age, when the spread of Christianity saw Latin script adapted to produce Old Norse prose. But the Vikings do seem to have been widely literate, using a runic text known as Futhark to create highly visible monumental inscriptions and to inscribe personal objects. What do these surviving inscriptions tell us about life in the Viking Age? Read on to discover nine revelations from the Viking runes.1. The Runes Were an Ancient Scandinavian TraditionSvingerund Runestone, c. 1-250 CE, the oldest known runestone in Norway. Source: Viking Ship Museum, RoskildeIn 2021, archaeologists working with the University of Oslo trekked to a field in eastern Norway, where they found graves and a runestone. Known as the Svingerund Runestone, the reddish-brown sandstone carried the inscription: Idibera. The meaning is unclear; it may be the name of one of the people buried nearby, but scholars are uncertain if it is a first or last name.Radiocarbon dating of associated grave materials suggests the stone was inscribed around 1-250 CE, making it the oldest dated runestone. The inscription is written in Elder Futhark, the Germanic runic text that predated the Young Futhark runes used in the Viking Age.2. The Runes Had Magical ApplicationsStentoften Runestone, Sweden, c. 500-700 CE. Source: Wikimedia CommonsAccording to Norse myth, the god Odin learned the power of the runes by hanging himself from the world tree Yggdrasil for nine days and nights, pierced by his spear, until their secrets were revealed. He shared those secrets with mankind, giving them the runes both as an alphabet, but also as a magical toolkit. Many of the sagas describe heroes performing rune magic. Getting it right was important, and one Viking poet admonished: Let no man carve runes to cast a spell, save first he learns to read them well.The Stentoften Runestone was found at Blekinge, Sweden. Dating to 500-700 CE, it also used Elder Futhark and appears to contain a curse. It says that the master of the runes concealed here nine bucks, nine stallions, and runes of power to result in insidious death to whoever breaks, presumably, the entrance to a nearby burial mound. It was also found on the ground with the inscription facing downwards and surrounded by five sharp, larger stones forming a pentagram.3. Runemasters Created Monumental InscriptionsThe Rims Stone. Source: National Museum of Denmark, CopenhagenRunestones have been found in many shapes and sizes. Inscriptions vary in length and content. A variety of geometric and animal designs adorn these stones. Time has taken its toll on many. The most dramatic impact of the centuries has been the loss of color. Remnants of paint sometimes survive, indicating that they were once brightly colored.Runestone from Gotland. Source: Swedish History Museum, StockholmVikings gave credit where it was due. Most runestones start by telling the reader who commissioned the runestone, and also credit the rune carver. For example, a stone from Sklby reads: Bjrn and Igulfast and Jon had this bridge built in memory of Torsten, their brother. pir cut the runes. A study of runestones from the Mlar Valley reveals that a person (likely persons) by the name of pir received credit for some fifty surviving runic inscriptions. Rune carving could have been a family profession and was probably carried out in workshops with multiple craftsmen.The Glavendrup Stone, Denmark, c. 10th century. Source: National Museum of Denmark, CopenhagenAdvances in technology provide archaeologists with high-tech means of assessing similarities and differences in carving techniques on different runestones. Using 3D-scanning and multivariate statistical methods, scholars assessed runestones from Denmark. They found that specific rune carvers were associated with specific families.4. Harald Bluetooth Was a Rune TrendsetterMonument raised in honor of Queen Thyra, Jelling, Denmark, c. 950 CE. Source: Wikimedia CommonsAround 950 CE, Gorm the Old raised a small stone memorial to his wife, Queen Thyra. The stone was carved with several lines of runes and two snake heads. The runes read: King Gorm made these runes in honor of his wife Thyra, the pride of Denmark.Colorized version of a runestone raised by Harald Bluetooth at Jelling, c. 970 CE. Source: UNESCOAround 970 CE, Gorms son Harald Bluetooth decided to continue the memorial tradition. At Jelling, he had an elaborate runestone erected in memory of his father and mother. The inscription on the larger stone also contains a bit of bragging from the king: King Harald ordered these monuments made in memory of Gorm, his father, and in memory of Thyra, his mother; that Harald who won for himself all of Denmark and Norway and made the Danes Christian. Most Danish runestones date to between 975-1025 CE, so Gorm and Harald are often credited with getting runestones trending in Viking Age Denmark.5. Cultural Transitions Are Reflected in the RinesRunestone raised by a woman named Unna, Sweden, c. 11th century. Source: Swedish History Museum, StockholmWhile most Viking runestones were erected during the pagan period, they continued to be erected as the Vikings started to convert to Christianity. A runestone from Sweden known as Unnas stone reads: Unna had this stone erected for her son sten, who died in christening clothes. God help his soul.Another runestone from Denmark reads: Svinnraised this stone in memory of Bsi, his sonwho was killed in battle at tlengia. May Lord God and Saint Michael help his spirit. Saint Michael was an archangel frequently depicted as a warrior, which may have explained his appeal in the Viking world6. Inscription Celebrated the Raiding LifestyleThe Haerulf Stone, Jutland, Denmark, c. 10th century. Source: Wikimedia CommonsWhile we refer to Vikings today, Medieval Scandinavians would have called themselves Danes, Swedes, or Norsemen. Viking means pirate and refers to the Viking practice of raiding other communities for wealth and slaves. A runestone erected in Upland, Sweden, provides an example of the treasure and bragging rights associated with the Viking lifestyle: Ulv took three gelds in England. The first was that which Tostig paid. Then Thorkell paid. Then Cnut paid.But sailing and traveling abroad were dangerous endeavors in the medieval world. Runestones show that many died abroad. In Gripsholm, a mother named Tola had a stone made for her son, Harald. The stone read: They went gallantly far for gold and in the east fed the eagle. They died in the south in Saracenland.Two sisters in Fagerlt lost their father in a similar manner. They commissioned a stone for their father, Eskil, that read: He offered battle on the eastern route before the war-fierce one had to fall. A runestone raised by Sassurr for his father, Hallvarr, reports that the man drowned abroad with all the seamenMay this stone stand in memory. Those left behind in Scandinavia ensured that the Vikings who fell in battle abroad would be remembered as fierce, brave warriors for generations to come.7. Runes Could Also Record Official BusinessJelling Stone, Denmark, c. 970. Source: Wikimedia CommonsVikings often traveled to raid, trade, and conquer. Inscriptions on runestones provide anecdotes of other official voyages. In Sweden, brothers Skli and Folki had a runestone erected for their brother Hsbjrn. The runestone reveals that Hsbjrn traveled to Gotland to collect taxes from the island. He fell ill while away, but was not forgotten by his family.Runestones also recorded property transfers. A particularly long runestone from Hillersj, Sweden, records the traumatic relationships and losses of a woman named Geirlaug and how they impacted her inheritance. The runestone notes that her first husband drowned, then her first son died. She lost several other children during her second marriage, except for a daughter, named Inga. Ingas husband and child died, so when Inga died, Geirlaug inherited her property.8. Personal Objects Were Also Inscribed with RunesViking age comb case inscribed with runes that read: Thorfast made a good comb. Source: British MuseumVikings erected hundreds of stone memorials, but also left runic inscriptions on other objects and in other places. In 1964, a dramatic discovery was made in the Hagia Sophia. Across the marble floor of the famous mosque in Turkey, a runic inscription was found reading: Halfdan carved these runes. Millions of feet had passed through that mosque for centuries before the inscription was recognized as Norse and translated as a Halfdan was here type message.Similar inscriptions have been found at places throughout the Viking world documenting the travels of Scandinavians far from home. Names were commonly carved into objects such as necklaces and other accessories. Runes also documented gift exchanges. On a bronze mount, one Viking had the following message inscribed: Gautvid gave this scales-box to Gudfrid.9. Runic Inscriptions Sometimes Contained RiddlesThe Rk Runestone, Sweden, c. 9th century. Source: Wikimedia CommonsLet the one solve who can is a common dare to readers inscribed on runestones, and many scholars are still striving to solve the recorded riddles.In Sweden, the Rk runestone was erected toward the end of the 9th century CE. Carving runes was hard work. Many inscriptions run on the shorter side, with just a couple of sentences or even fragments of information about the deceased, their family, and the rune carver. The Rk runestone, however, is not a quick read. With 760 runes, it is the longest runic inscription.A leader named Varinn raised the Rk in memory of his son Vamoth. The long inscription also contains several riddles that scholars continue to ponder. One of the riddles reads: Let us say this as a memory for Odin, which spoils of war there were two, which twelve times were taken as spoils of war, both from one to another? Another reads: Let us say this as a memory for Odin, who because of a wolf has suffered through a womans sacrifice? Over the years, scholars have put forward different solutions to the riddles, suggesting that they relate to a Viking leader or perhaps to the sun. Viking Age runestones continue to intrigue and shed new light on the people, politics, religion, language, and the arts in the Norse world.

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