Living in a feudal society as a serf probably wasn’t fun, and then the threat of starvation and malnourishment was probably even less fun. When you have all of these issues to contend with, why not throw an infectious disease on the top as well?
For example, small pox.
Small pox caused much terror and death the world over; but, what did it look like? And, why was it so deadly?
Today we are going to take a look at the small pox epidemic as it impacted feudal society. In our book study, Hank Morgan and King Arthur in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court are about to get a handful of illness at their doorstep. What could they possibly do about it?
What is Smallpox?
Small pox is an infectious disease that causes a “fever, headache, and back pain” before it erupts into lesions on the skin that take the form of pox or pustules, which then scab and fall off.
As Britannica states: “For centuries smallpox was one of the world’s most-dreaded plagues, killing as many as 30 percent of its victims, most of them children.”
Symptoms include:
- Fever
- Muscle aches
- Headache
- Severe fatigue
- Back pain
The virus is contracted through person to person contact, contaminated items (such as clothing or bedding), or indirectly through the air. So it transmits easy and that will make it dangerous for Camelot.
History
There seems to be some evidence that the disease infected people as far back as Ancient Egypt. “The finding of smallpox-like rashes on Egyptian mummies suggests that smallpox has existed for at least 3,000 years,” states the CDC.
Truly a deadly plague, it even left the survivors blind and “disfigured.” In medieval Europe, a smallpox pandemic caused massive fatalities in 1614 with additional epidemics arising in the following centuries across Europe and the middle east.
The virus was eradicated in 1980 after vaccines were made available and the “last case of naturally occurring smallpox was reported in 1977” (Mayo Clinic).
Conclusion
Smallpox is no longer dangerous. However, at its peak it killed 3 out of 10 people due to person-to-person contact, which severely damaged any society it happened to touch. Especially societies without vaccines and proper infrastructure–both of which describe medieval Europe.
For King Arthur and his realm, this means that he has a dangerous virus on his hands and no way to treat it without waiting for a vaccine to arrive in the future. Hopefully, due to Hank Morgan’s ingenuity, they resolve the upcoming issue quickly.
Works cited
“Smallpox.” Britannica. Web.
“Smallpox.” CDC. US Department of Health and Human Services. Web.
“Smallpox.” Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Sept. 4, 2023. Web.
