Lecture 14: International Gothic Cuisine
had become once again hooked up to the trade routes extending to
the Middle East to get spices and luxury items. The Mongols traversed part of central Asia, where this virus was
endemic among a population of black rats. The pathogen is Yersinia
pestis, a bacillus (rod-shaped) bacterium that had thrived among
these rats for many generations and had learned to live with their
rat hosts rather than killing them off. However, the bacteria had not
yet learned to live with humans. Instead, if an infected fl ea (that had
bitten an infected rat) bit a human, the human would be killed off
very quickly. When the plague fi rst hits Europe in 1348, it is absolutely
devastating. There were probably several varieties of the plague at
work, but the most important one was the bubonic plague, named
for the buboes, or large black swellings that occur in the armpits,
groin, and lymph nodes. The bubonic plague usually kills a human
within a few days. In the course of the Reconquista, Spain and Portugal were gradually
pushing out the Moors. By 1291, that process was largely complete,
with the exception of Granada. The straits of Gibraltar were now
controlled by Christians, which meant that ships could get from the
Mediterranean out into the Atlantic and up to northern Europe. It
was trade that facilitated the rapid spread of the plague; infected
rats stowed away on ships with their fl eas. There is always a price
to be paid for progress, civilization, and luxury items. About a third of all Europeans perished in this fi rst outbreak of
the plague. Some towns were completely depopulated. About 35
million people died, which completely dislocated the economy at
fi rst, but in the long run, the survivors inherited the spoils. The price
of labor and wages rise while the price of land plummets because
landlords are desperate to get tenants. In other words, serfdom falls
apart, and peasants are in a position to dictate terms.