According to Pope Gregory IX, cats were the embodiment of the devil himself. This sudden lack of cats led to an increase in rat infestation which in turn increased the spread of disease, the most devastating being the Bubonic Plague. In the 13th century, an inquisitor described, in a report to the pope, a Satanic cult in Germany that used cats as part of a ritual, and the pope's response quoted some of his information (which has been described as medieval propaganda by some). People living during this time lived in constant fear of death. Here are our sources? Conrad had initially been involved in the persecution of the Cathars and enjoyed significant successes during the Albigensian crusade of 1209 -1229. With Halloween is around the corner, Chairman Meow is reminded of a time hundreds of years ago when similar institutional dogma helped fuel the outbreak of The Black Plague across Europe, leading to the (ignorant) mass killing of cats in the 14th century. For he had inherited the problem of heresies which were blossoming across thirteenth century Christian Europe and challenging the universal church. Both rats and pigeons would make a great next plague material though, The bull does not, however, dictate that Catholics across Europe kill all cats to stop Satan Islam doesnt tell Muslims to kill pigs but they still chase and try to kill one by kicking and hitting if they see it on the street because they believe it is evil and forbidden. Hera are six really weird pets that you could actually own. 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. In my home, I use cat statuettes as bookends, and have various other representations of these felines throughout my home. Many superstitions, including fear of black cats, continue to this day. Cats were later blamed for the Black Death (1346-1352), though rats were actually the culprit. But how did cats become to be seen as evil? The theory that plague pandemics happen amidst a cat vacuum doesnt hold up: Europe didnt keep its cat population depleted for nearly 500 years. Enter the ancestors of Garfield the Cat. When I was a kid, my mom thought that Id have my own talk show because I was always asking people lots of questions about themselves. Pope Gregory IX How did this come about? This timeline stretched from 1346 to 1353, a little more than a century after Gregory. Does the dwindling population of cats indirectly cause the infamous Black Death? And anyone who tries to understand them as the devil incarnate or as a female marker hasnt spent enough time enjoying a cat walking all over them, kneading them or running from cucumbers. Cats Blamed for Spreading the Plague During the Middle Ages, it wasn't uncommon for cats to be killed, given their association with evil, Compora says. However, amongst the warped fantasies were some bare facts from past beliefs which lent themselves to the dark image of witchcraft the church was attempting to conjure. Gregory IX. Encyclopedia of World Biography, Encyclopedia.com. Elsewhere in Europe, the legacy of cat killings passed into folk practices. As I understand it, people used small dogs for rat hunting. Gregory immediately recognizing Conrad as a useful tool in his war against religious dissent. Denmark's Fastelavn held at the start of lent was based on the premise that for spring to begin, evil had to be banished. And thats the official take on Halloween from theVatican News. It was also a time when, people many believe, Pope Gregory IX hated on cats. These new, heretical beliefs varied. I SAY GOOD FOR ALL THOSE SENSELESS HUMANOIDS. Indeed the belief that the torture or killing of cats could break spells continued across northern Europe. 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. Cats absolutely devastate wildlife when out in nature, killing millions of birds and having been responsible for extinction of species. Granted, Im sure it was easier to get into back then, but thats right in the Medieval period. Name is important in the papacy as it is seen as a signal of how their reign is envisioned. Another belief is that the plague wasairborne. Not only were they a source of companionship they were also a status symbol and source of worship., Egyptians have had a long love affair with cats. This cruel practice continued until 1817 although the Kattenstoet continues to this day- involving stuffed cats instead. Before you accuse me of clickbait, hear me out. So, Im not so sure cats stop the plague. 1999. I am here because of a PBS documentary on cats that I saw recently. For example no- blood dives; you are 100% wrong, irrational clearly an agnostic who mocks then defends his false god, the pope- also, review another diatribe from papal high tower urging cats killed-clearly minions of satan, word cat not in catholic bible problem is, what did david kill as shepherd attacking his sheep? In those days, papal inquisitors extracted confessions from prisoners that they worshiped the devil and his black cat by torturing them vigorously. Thanks for writing this! Gregory was a reluctant pontiff- and not just because of his age. 10 Things To Know About Stephen Hawking, The World's Coolest Scientist, Mary Somerville: The Woman For Whom The Word "Scientist" Was Made, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch, six really weird pets that you could actually own. ITS TIME FOR THE GOVT TO STOP THE HUMAN OVER-POPULATION. It's like visiting the museum with a close friend who just happens to know all the best stories, secrets and gossip. Statues of black cats dont come to life, and you sure as sh*t cant get a cat to walk backwards and let you kiss its butthole.5. Cats, especially black cats, were now seen as evil and representatives of the . 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. Cats and the Black Plague. Plague in Cats. Wikimedia Commons. In the ensuing years huge numbers of cats (especially black cats) and even their owners were killed across Europe in fear that they were evil witches and linked to Satan. THE HUMAN OVER-POPULATION IS CAUSING ANIMAL SPECIES TO GO EXTINCT. Pope Gregory IX (1147-1241) was probably the world's worst cat hater or at least he did the most damage to cats. They were hunted into extinction ! 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. (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. 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. It wouldnt be the first time Catholicism has decided an animal once worshipped by pagans needed to be rebranded as Satanic (see: goats). 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). Gregory IX (Wikimedia Commons) Pope Gregory IX was a pretty good pope by medieval standards. The cats play into the picture as they would have normally been instrumental in cutting down the rat populations. 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. Ugolino di Conti was born around 11451170 in Anagni, Rome. 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. 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. Wages rose fast in the absence of labor. In the meantime, accusations of witchcraft began to spread amongst the ordinary people, as a way of settling grudges or seizing property and cats began to be used as proof of satanic association. All this was about to change. Costs of living dropped. On June 13, 1233, the Pope issued the Vox in Rama to King Henry of Germany. One should not direct them the affection due only to persons.. And it gets repeated because it feels right to many people - it makes our ancestors look stupid and so make. It also saw the breakup of the Carolingian Empire in 843. But in the final analysis cats just arent dogs. STOP W/ THE BABIES ALREADY. For he had inherited the problem of heresies which were blossoming across thirteenth century Christian Europe and challenging the 'universal' church. That is the well-accepted history, but is it really true? Good read, thanks! First, consider the dates: Pope Gregory IXs papal bull was issued between 1232 and 1234. But this time, Pope Francis is focusing on all pets saying that people spend way too much money on furry friends. Lead bulla of Gregory IX. Information junkie with high probability of being a real-life Ted Mosby. The purpose of Vox in Rama, rather, was to condemn a cult that had allegedly popped up in the Rhinelandand the bull was specifically sent to the city of Mainz. If cats were evil, it made sense that they were responsible for all the death and . However, history shows that the Black Death, which ravaged Europe in the mid 1300s, was actually caused by rats and the fleas on them. The Popes were all lecherous greedy thieves seeking nothing but power for themselves & their families. 1999. The Bull arose in response to rumors of satanic cults in Germany by the areas grand inquisitor, Conrad of Marburg. Public Domain. Cats breed quickly, know how to survive on their own, and are hard to catch. Pope Gregory IV (Latin: Gregorius IV; died 25 January 844) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from October 827 to his death. 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. Check out France, rats on the street, brave-pigeons without flight reflex, but no cats. I do support single mothers though, especially those willing to give me 2 for 1 lapdance specials, but I digress. Thou Shalt not suffer a Cat to Live: Why Pope Gregory IXs Vox in Rama Implicated Cats in Devil Worship. Many believed this was the end of the human race, and who could blame them? 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. Pope Benedict XVI acknowledges pilgrims during his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Nov. 4, 2009. But cats? In the 13th century, Pope Gregory IX, pope from 1227-1241, believed that cats actually carried the spirit of Satan himself within them. According toSmithsonian Magazine, the Nazca geoglyphs may have been used for astrological, calendrical purposes as well as religious rituals to encourage rainfall and fertility. But the cars we have for pets are not naturally in the wild for thousands of years. Actually, the murder of cats in Europe continued for hundreds of years, and another Plague swept through Europe again in the 17th Century. 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. At first glance, these rites, with their orgies and obscenities seem to be deliberately far-fetched. Pope Gregory IX was a pretty good pope by medieval standards. why did pope gregory think that cats were evil? I would suggest that theres more to the story. The truth is that cats could not have prevented the black death. 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. They spread via trade boats. A pandemic so severe that it kills more than 50 million people in Europe in a couple of years, and killed more than 200 million people worldwide. For Conrad in his quest for heretics around Mainz and Hildesheim claimed to have uncovered a Luciferian cult. In an era when unknown phenomena seemed like they could only be explained by powerful deities, it seemed only natural to the Egyptians to worship kitty cats. 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