why did pope gregory think that cats were evil?why did pope gregory think that cats were evil?

Queen Elizabeth I celebrated her coronation with the burning of a cat-stuffed effigy. (2010, February 4). NASA is launching the DNA of some of the most prolific presidents in US history, The 1985 story of a bear that ate 77 pounds of Plabo Escobar's finest cocaine. But, was it because of cats andrats? The author provides citations for his claims. On a personal level, my parents taught me the value of travel when I was young, and since then,Ive been an avid traveler I have visited 20 countries. So, Im not so sure cats stop the plague. Dogs are sweet but they dont really have that self respect that cats do. But, despite all the people who make their livings as cat psychologists, cats will just be cats. While there appears to be no evidence that Pope Gregory IX ever told people to kill cats, there have been smaller historical examples of Medieval folks killing cats for weird reasons. You cant even accept that cats may have offered some protection from the plague. The truth is a little messy. Good luck keeping them down for half a millennium.6, Maybe the biggest hole in the cat theory comes from the history of the plague. To think that all this fuss is over cats. The cat thing is a footnote in his story. Afterwards, they sit down to a meal and when they have arisen from it, the certain statue, which is usual in a set of this kind, a black cat descends backwards, with its tail erect. It kept happening, lets say once per generation, until the 1700s. 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. That is the well-accepted history, but is it really true? Cats dont generally take on rats. Not sure I am convinced either way, but people (especially those who prefer dogs) do like to hate on cats, so it is not a stretch to believe that they have been killed en masse in any era. Not only were they a source of companionship they were also a status symbol and source of worship. Purina. These were, however, local affairs and dont serve as proof of the kind of massive cat recall modern folks have inferred from Pope Gregory IXs bull. Anyone with a thing against cats may get some satisfaction from a weird history "fact" circulating on the internet. And thats because its body is invested with the spirit of the Morning Star himself. There is little real evidence for this. ITS TIME FOR THE GOVT TO STOP THE HUMAN OVER-POPULATION. Im not saying it was a great time to be alive, but it was a more complex time than people give it credit for. Then, when the rats came bearing the Plague, there were no mousers left to keep the disease in check.3. The final point though is that contemporary accounts and the examination of modern doctors and historians of the evidence from them has shown bacteria that caused the Black Death can take the form of a lung infection called pneumonic plague, which was spread easily between humans. My guess is this had something to do with ancient cat worship in places like Egypt, which made its clams by farming the fertile land around the Nile.1. Elsewhere in Europe, the legacy of cat killings passed into folk practices. It is also doubtful that one papal bull sent to Mainz can influence the whole European stage. Its funny thinking about cats as the symbol of evil. The truth is that cats could not have prevented the black death. I AGREE. ANIMALS ARE BECOMING EXTINCT BECAUSE OF THE GREAT AMOUNT OF NEEDLESS BABIES BEING BORN. For years there was a debate if the Black Death and the Bubonic Plague were the same, adding speculation to the rat spreading theory. He therefore gave his official blessing to the widespread persecution of cats across Europe. Though Ive learned important lessons from each of my trips, my trip to Chile the string bean-shaped country was my favorite. People like to dump on the Middle Ages for being Europes cultural and technological nadir, especially compared to the surrounding Classical and Renaissance periods. Here are our sources? Cats, dogs, horses, humans. Public Domain. But it starts to fall apart once you roll it around in the ol brainpan. The PBS documentary pointed out that cats dont have the musculature in their faces to reproduce human-like facial expressions the way dogs do, which is probably the main reason people think they are aloof and why they think dogs are so much more companionable (cause we love things that are more like us). Classical Cats: The Rise and fall of the Sacred Cat, Donald W Engels, Psychology Press. What effects did it have? The Nazcacat geoglyphwas only discovered last October. Cats are natural hunters. It wasn't until Pope Gregory IX came to power in the 1200s that black cats became a symbol of bad luck. Costs of living dropped. Missionary Activity under Pope Gregory the Great. In the Middle Ages, devil-fearing Christians killed cats, which carried the unintended consequence of increasing the rat population and the spread of the Black Death. That is, pope condemning cats and declaring satanistique is enough for some people to start mass-killing cats, this assholes claims are 100% wrong; more than one pope ordered cats killed- why not, eventually excommunicaated? AKSHAY. ALL ANIMALS ARE BEAUTIFUL, EVERY SPECIES KNOWN IS A JOY TO BEHOLD, EVERY ONE, RIGHT DOWN TO THE HIPPO, THE PIGS, EQUINES, PACHYDERMS , FELINES, CANINES, BOVINES. Learn how cats first spread around the world. Thus, purported heretics, such as the Cathars and Waldensians, were accused of worshipping cats, according toMedievalists.net. Yes I agree with you on this as we can never judge history in modern times While ancient Egyptians would have rathersurrenderto invading army than harm a hand on a cat, the belief by others that cats cannot be trained to be loyal and obedient like a dog, was a source ofanxietyover cats during medieval times. The Vox described the depraved rituals of the cult in detail, portraying the devil worshipped by the witches as a shadowy half cat and half man figure. At length, when the novice has come forward, [he] is met by a man of wondrous pallor who has black eyes and is so emaciated [and] thin that since his flesh has been wasted, seems to have remaining only skin drawn over bone. In the 13th century, Pope Gregory IX, pope from 1227-1241, believed that cats actually carried the spirit of Satan himself within them. Cats are awesome rodent hunters. Such heresies could not be left unchecked to spread around the population and thus undermine the Churchs authority. Thanks for publishing! I live in a city, so I have plenty of experience with both cats and mice. Not only that he founded the papal inquisition to prosecute heresy, but he also issues a papal bull a legal decree issued by a pope, designated as Vox in Rama that calls for crusades condemning the spread of heretics that follows Luciferianism in Mainz, Germany. But today, the association between cats and Halloween persist, perhaps ironically because spurious associations between cats and Satan worshiping that the Catholic Church pushed, some 800 years ago. Keep in mind that Chairman Meow iz not targeting religion, ceiling cat forbid ,but shedding light on human nature to digest and follow institutional dogma. That evil came to be neatly personified in the form of black cats that were beaten to death to purge the new season of evil spirits. The reforms were based on the suggestions of the Italian scientist Luigi Lilio, with some modifications by the Jesuit mathematician and astronomer Christopher Clavius. Of course, the Bubonic Plague also motivated the kitty killings, as many believed that cat germs contributed to the plagues spread. 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. A witch and her cat. The Black Death or Black Plague was the original zombie apocalypse. However, historian Donald Engel believes that the Vox acted as a death warrant for the cat. The story youre most likely to find in popular history articles goes something like this: Cats were brought to Europe from Egypt by the Romans and enjoyed a decent reputation for a long timeprobably because they were such a boon to agricultural societies. That evil came to be neatly personified in the form of black cats that were beaten to death to purge the new season of evil spirits. Did Pope Gregorys comfort with the law cause him tooverstephis station as the pope? 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. Wildcat7 Youd rather see an animal domesticated for thousands of years in the wild doing what they are meant to do than indoors as pets? Here are our sources? Some historians have forgiven the rats. The most likely targets were often older cat-owning peasant women (The Crazy Cat Ladies of their time) who were labeled witches and often burned alive at the stake. I do support single mothers though, especially those willing to give me 2 for 1 lapdance specials, but I digress. The Popes were all lecherous greedy thieves seeking nothing but power for themselves & their families. You literally cannot even be bothered to recall the NAMES of the people youre talking about. Ugolino di Conti was born around 11451170 in Anagni, Rome. Tomb of Ancient Viking High King Discovered, The Most Bizarre Relics From The Ancient Funeral Rite. If cats were evil, it made sense that they were responsible for all the death and . The only problem is that this story probably isnt true. He was born Ugolino di Conti but took the name Gregory when he becamethe pope. Some people even went as far as blaming. Cats came to be seen as a symbol of witchcraft, and even as the embodiment of Satan himself. Another belief is that the plague wasairborne. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/histories/eight-witchcraft-myths/. 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. Cat burning and other forms of cat hating have survived the centuries since. But this means that a papal bull that didnt tell people to wipe out cats and was only sent to Mainz somehow influenced the majority of people throughout Europe to kill off all their cats, and to stick to it over the course of the next 115 years. Interesly, June 7, 2016, The spooky history of how cats bewitched us, Abigail Tucker, The Washington Post, October 31, 2016, The History of the cat in the Middle Ages (Part 2): The Black cat as the devil in Christian sects, L A Vocelle, The Great Cat: The Cat in History, Art, and Literature. Some kiss this creature on the hind quarters and some on the mouth, they receive the tongue and saliva of the beast inside their mouths. Retrieved from https://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/infectious-parasitic/c_ct_plague%20, Quora. 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. Theres a little bit about a cat in the third paragraph but what Gregory is really talking about here is a ritual carried out by a Satanic sect, as reported by an overzealous inquisitor named Conrad von Marburg. Great read! The truth of the plague variations that wiped out Europe is, they were the results of a perfect storm. The bull began by bewailing the various woes that afflicted the church- the most recent being the satanic cult identified by Conrad of Marburg as flourishing in Northern Germany. Elsewhere in Europe, the legacy of cat killings passed into folk practices. But still, cultural images of cats being a marker of femininity didnt sprout fromVogue,any more than the idea that cats are plain evil stem fromSports Illustrated. People banged drums and kept the sparrow in the air not permitting them to land until they died of exhaustion! The people of the time may have felt that this was the end of days, but the wake of the plague was nothing but an opportunity for survivors. Conrad had initially been involved in the persecution of the Cathars and enjoyed significant successes during the Albigensian crusade of 1209 -1229. Wolves/dogs integrated themselves into society. This bull, the story goes, declared cats as the instruments of Satan, and set Medieval Europe on a great cat purge, with special attention paid to black cats, who were particularly Luciferian. I laughed to I almost passed out One thing though some of the Pussy Persecution may have derived from the Witch connection. We accept this storythat we humans once crossed cats and it resulted in one in three of us dyingbecause it just feels rignt. Just want to add that I like pretty much all animals, even dogs, but I am a cat person. However, history shows that the Black Death, which ravaged Europe in the mid 1300s, was actually caused by rats and the fleas on them. He is mostly known for issuing the Decretales and starting the Papal Inquisition. Black Death. So Gregory began to formalize and promote practices that formed the basis of the later medieval inquisition. It was also a time when, people many believe, Pope Gregory IX hated on cats. Homeless Cats Recruited to Fight Rising Tide of Rats, Erika Engelhaupt National Geographical, September 29, 2017. As a strategic communicator, I juggle many balls but Im a writer first. 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. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,600],'historyofyesterday_com-large-mobile-banner-2','ezslot_5',111,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-historyofyesterday_com-large-mobile-banner-2-0');Ancient Peruvians may have been attracted to cats in a way similar to Egyptians. In those days, papal inquisitors extracted confessions from prisoners that they worshiped the devil and his black cat by torturing them vigorously. For one, rate outnumber cats by a huge margin, like everywhere, and always have. While there is no evidence that cats in medieval England were persecuted, their mousing skills were likened to the devils ability to catch souls, with the fifteenth-century merchant William Caxton remarking how the devil playeth ofte with the synnar, lyke as the catte doth with the mous. Some historians believe that the persecutions across Europe so depleted cat numbers that mouse- and rat-catching by cats diminished- one of the reasons why the Bubonic Plague took such a deadly hold in Europe during the fourteenth century. Dog lovers, please get over it. And it gets repeated because it feels right to many people - it makes our ancestors look stupid and so make. That was the first church document condemning black cats as instruments of satan. Based on the Vox in Rama translation there is no exact phrase that urges Konrad or other inquisitors to go on a cathunt all across Europe. Where do we get our stuff? 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. 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? Is the Vox in Rama authentic? We have detected that you are using extensions to block ads. The theory that plague pandemics happen amidst a cat vacuum doesnt hold up: Europe didnt keep its cat population depleted for nearly 500 years. As we are. The papal inquisition rained down justice on heretics, the people who spoke out against church canon. This cruel practice continued until 1817 although the Kattenstoet continues to this day- involving stuffed cats instead. The Bubonic plague was carried not by rats themselves but their fleas; fleas which could just as easily transfer to dogs- and cats. Information junkie with high probability of being a real-life Ted Mosby. As I understand it, people used small dogs for rat hunting. Terriers were also used for that purpose, in fact they were bred specifically for it. If the Nazca thought enough of cats to etch a 37-meter geoglyph of one into the mountain that persists 2,000 years later, they must have thought highly of them. Pope Gregory IX was a pretty good pope by medieval standards. Yeah you have a good point there! In this case, with no cats around, disease-carrying rats multiplied like crazy, spreading the Plague. Gregory was a reluctant pontiff- and not just because of his age. We know they had terrier like dogs in Medieval Europe and that they were used as ratters. Gregory lived from 1145 to 1241, AD. Interestingly enough, Halloween originally a pagan celebration also has Catholic roots in the form of All Hallows Eve, that is the Vigil of All Saints Day, when Catholics remember those who have gone before them to enter their heavenly home. . (2016, May 4). Denmark's Fastelavn held at the start of lent was based on the premise that for spring to begin, evil had to be banished. Then each [returns] to his place and, speaking certain responses, they incline their heads toward to cat. Its also true that there was a pope at the time who was not a fan of cats, who banned them. 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. While the fact is pretty obscure on whether the papal bull is directly influenced by Konrad, he is known as a zeal that is set on to burn every last heretic. HUMAN OVER-POPULATION ISNT PRETTY, IT IS THE CAUSE BEHIND CHRONIC WARS. Following years brought the great plaque of insects! Finally, even if cat numbers were vastly reduced, they were not wiped out. Literally no cats. That evil came to be neatly personified in the form of black cats that were beaten to death to purge the new season of evil spirits. Indeed the belief that the torture or killing of cats could break spells continued across northern Europe. First the novice, then the master, then each one of the order who are worthy and perfect, kiss the cat on its buttocks. A LION; I will wager $500 we can debate this and I will win with 100 literate judges NOT taught as toddlers the pope or priest can send them TO HELL. On January 23, 1229, he sent messages to Riga, Lubeck, Sweden, to Gotland with an appeal to begin . (As a side note, the festival continues in modern Belgium but nowKattenstoethonors felines with a parade that features cute effigies of cats, but I digress. 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, Decretales Gregorii IX, Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/event/Black-Death, Georgievska, Marija. Fleas tend to prefer cat blood. The fleas just love cat blood so much more than ours. This bull, the story goes, declared cats as the instruments of Satan, and set Medieval Europe on a great cat purge, with special attention paid to black cats, who were particularly Luciferian. Consider a quote from Rastafari leader Haile Selassie; Throughout history it has been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most, that has made it possible for evil to triumph. Iz just as true during Dark Ages as iz now. By Gregorys decree, there was a target on the head of every black cat. February 8, 2013. In 1233, Pope Gregory IX's "Vox in Rama," a warning against the perils of witchcraft, accused its targets of canoodling with a black cat that was actually Lucifer in disguise. 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. Homeless Cats Recruited to Fight Rising Tide of Rats, Erika Engelhaupt National Geographical, September 29, 2017. Fewer cats, more rats, more fleas, and more plague. This was seen as a critical time as the sixth crusade had recently been defeated in Damietta, Egypt. Its believed by some that the plague spread, at least in part,via rats. Satan himself cats by a huge margin, like everywhere, and always have people who out... A pretty good pope by medieval standards, Egypt all lecherous greedy thieves nothing! 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By torturing them vigorously were responsible for all the death and 1 lapdance specials, but is it really?. Im a writer first true during Dark Ages as iz now so Gregory began to formalize promote! Head of every black cat by torturing them vigorously many balls but Im a writer first love blood! The time who was not a fan of cats, according toMedievalists.net time as the symbol of evil continued northern! Other forms of cat killings passed into folk practices AMOUNT of NEEDLESS BABIES BEING born cats and mice thats its. It resulted in one in three of us dyingbecause it just feels.! Left unchecked to spread around the population and thus undermine the Churchs authority that self that! Them vigorously whole European stage survived the centuries since to his place and, speaking certain responses, they bred! Many balls but Im a writer first Cathars and Waldensians, were accused of worshipping cats, banned... 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