Thought for the Week

In the late 1340s, the plague outbreak that we know as the Black Death descended upon Asia, Europe and Africa, causing widespread disruption and death.

Medieval responses to the pandemic varied. In many European cities, social chaos, fear and mistrust were widespread. In Syria, by contrast, we find the example of a community that united in its response to the pandemic.

Although medieval people lacked the medical knowledge to help them avoid infection and the plague was far more lethal than COVID-19 virus, their reactions to the pandemic can still teach us today.

An Italian scholar, Boccaccio, detailed not only the physical symptoms of the Black Death as it arrived in Florence in 1348, but also its influence on Italian society. Boccaccio describes people who, whether through indifference, bravado or fear of social isolation, continued to go out to bars and public events even when the evidence indicated that seclusion was the best option.

While some medieval communities succumbed to fear and distrust, others found ways to support one another.

Meanwhile, quarantined people entertained themselves by telling stories and singing songs to one another.

Today, people are also singing from balconies to lift each other’s spirits.

Many European cities persecuted minority groups at the time of the plague, but there was one country that was different: Syria.

At the arrival of the plague in Syria in 1348, the citizens of Damascus did not abandon one another or persecute the minority populations living within the city. Instead, the Damascenes set aside their differences.

How sad that war has virtually destroyed Damascus, but maybe we can still hear their voices telling us to care for each other, combine our resources, share our knowledge, be responsible and remember our common humanity.