Scurvy

katana · 29th July 2006, 01:10 AM

Likely concept, Tim.
I think I 'm right in saying that during the Great Plague ...the black death...it was believed that smelling flowers would prevent 'bad air' infecting them with plague. The truth of the matter was the fleas carried by the rats caused the outbreak. It was socio-economics which helped the aristocracy avoid the disease because they were less likely to come in regular contact with rats(and the fleas they carried) However, the overwhelming stench of poor sanitation and death 'encouraged'...those that could afford it ...posies of flowers to mask the smell. 2+2 were added together to make 5, as the rich were less prone to the plague and could afford frivalous bunches of flowers it was assumed that it was the flowers that prevented infection. From this it was deduced that the air was 'bad' and was causing the 'black death'.

Rick · 29th July 2006, 01:51 AM

Daniel Defoe's Preparations For The Plague and The Plague Year are chilling reading ; interesting how people dealt with it in different ways .

drdavid · 30th July 2006, 01:16 PM

Another very interesting read on the topic of scurvy is the book "Limeys, The Conquest of Scurvy" by David Harvie. Whilst it concentrates most on the effect of scurvy on the British Navy, it also touches on the effect of scurvy in other populations. The various unsuccessful treatments for scurvy were numerous and included being buried in sand up to your neck and drinking sea water. No mention in this book of taboos regarding scurvy but certainly such taboos did exist around many diseases. With regards the Black Plague I don't think I have read a more comprehensive and chilling book than "The Black Death" by Philip Ziegler.
drd

29th July 2006, 01:10 AM	#1
katana Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kent Posts: 2,658	Likely concept, Tim. I think I 'm right in saying that during the Great Plague ...the black death...it was believed that smelling flowers would prevent 'bad air' infecting them with plague. The truth of the matter was the fleas carried by the rats caused the outbreak. It was socio-economics which helped the aristocracy avoid the disease because they were less likely to come in regular contact with rats(and the fleas they carried) However, the overwhelming stench of poor sanitation and death 'encouraged'...those that could afford it ...posies of flowers to mask the smell. 2+2 were added together to make 5, as the rich were less prone to the plague and could afford frivalous bunches of flowers it was assumed that it was the flowers that prevented infection. From this it was deduced that the air was 'bad' and was causing the 'black death'.

29th July 2006, 01:51 AM	#2
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,376	Daniel Defoe's Preparations For The Plague and The Plague Year are chilling reading ; interesting how people dealt with it in different ways .

30th July 2006, 01:16 PM	#3
drdavid Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Australia Posts: 372	Another very interesting read on the topic of scurvy is the book "Limeys, The Conquest of Scurvy" by David Harvie. Whilst it concentrates most on the effect of scurvy on the British Navy, it also touches on the effect of scurvy in other populations. The various unsuccessful treatments for scurvy were numerous and included being buried in sand up to your neck and drinking sea water. No mention in this book of taboos regarding scurvy but certainly such taboos did exist around many diseases. With regards the Black Plague I don't think I have read a more comprehensive and chilling book than "The Black Death" by Philip Ziegler. drd