Renaissance nuns wiped out by plague

[Adsos Letter]

Source: MSN/Science
Jennifer Viegas
Discovery

Nuns and priests sacrificed their own lives to provide medical care for the poor in Renaissance France, according to a new study that implicates exposure to contagious plague victims in the deaths of several religious order members.

The study is among the first to find that plague, a deadly bacterial disease also known as "the Black Death," can be quickly and accurately identified in ancient human remains.

Several recently identified women who died after caring for plague victims were all Benedictine nuns from the Sainte-Croix Abbey's chapter house near Poitiers, France.

"The Abbess of Sainte-Croix was known to be an extremely generous person who spent all of her life looking after the poor," lead author Raffaella Bianucci told Discovery News.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29054365/

[babylonsister]

1. Plague? Now? What state? Drugs?

:D Kidding, but you could have added the year.

[Adsos Letter]

2. "...Renaissance France..."

I'm not sure the article mentioned a year, only an era. :)

Still...if it made you sit up for a moment... :D

I probably should have included the skeleton photo from the article.

[Bryn]

3. Thank you!

Very interesting story. This is the kind of history that I like to read about. Is "The Black Death" same as black plague. I thought it occured in 1300's. I am gong to read on more.

[Adsos Letter]

4. After the first massive incursion of the Bubonic plague (1347?) in Europe...

it continued to flare up in various places in Europe over the following centuries.

[proud patriot]

5. until it made it to San Francisco when it was discovered in fleas on rats

around 1900 I believe ..

[jwirr]

6. The religious community both male and female were the care takers

of the era and when the plaque ended they were almost totally wiped out. That stands to reason because they would have administered both physical and religious care bringing them into contact with the victims when other ran away.

[Adsos Letter]

7. It is an interesting insight into the complexity of fact, as opposed to the often held stereotype...

of the functioning of individual Church members, and orders, during past ages.