Roman Plague of 590
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The Roman Plague of 590 was an epidemic of
plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...
that affected the city of Rome in the year 590. Probably
bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well a ...
, it was part of the
first plague pandemic The first plague pandemic was the first historically recorded Old World pandemic of plague, the contagious disease caused by the bacterium ''Yersinia pestis''. Also called the early medieval pandemic, it began with the Plague of Justinian in 541 ...
that followed the great plague of Justinian, which began in the 540s and may have killed more than 100 million Europeans before spreading to other parts of the world and which lasted until the end of Late Antiquity. The plague was described by the bishop and
chronicle A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...
r
Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florenti ...
and later chronicler
Paul the Deacon Paul the Deacon ( 720s 13 April in 796, 797, 798, or 799 AD), also known as ''Paulus Diaconus'', ''Warnefridus'', ''Barnefridus'', or ''Winfridus'', and sometimes suffixed ''Cassinensis'' (''i.e.'' "of Monte Cassino"), was a Benedictine monk, s ...
.


History

The winter before the plague broke out, many of Rome's granaries were damaged when the Tiber flooded in November 589. Gregory of Tours recounts that portentous serpents and
dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
s were seen in the waters. The epidemic began in early 590; Gregory's narrative is not specific but death came rapidly to infected patients and the chronicler describes the disease as a 'plague of the groin' (), factors which aid its identification as bubonic plague. Bishop of Rome Pelagius II died of plague in February 590 and Pope Gregory I, then a deacon, was elected his successor. Gregory was previously '' praefectus urbi'' before becoming a monk. Gregory had previously served as an '' apocrisiarius'', a kind of papal ambassador to the
East Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
, where he had likely been influenced by Byzantine practices. The imperial capital of Constantinople, consecrated to the protection of the Mother of God (the ''Theotokos''), had a practice whereby processions of the faithful through the city streets chanting psalms and ''kyrie eleison'' to allay God's wrath. Gregory had likely witnessed these processions during his stay in Constantinople.Andrew J. Ekonomou. ''Byzantine Rome and the Greek Popes''. Lexington Books, 2007,


Papal processions

When the plague was in Rome in 590 and Gregory was still a deacon, he organized such a procession to take place in Rome wherein seven groups would hold processions through the streets of the city and ending at the basilica of Mary Major to ask for the Virgin Mary's protection. The processions took place on April 25, 590. The Marian aspect of the procession was perhaps unusual at the time, since Rome was traditionally associated with St Peter's protection, but it may have been a result of Byzantine influence, since Constantinople was often put under the Theotokos's protection during times of crisis. The seven processional groups were: 1) clergy, 2) abbots and monks, 3) abbesses and nuns, 4) men 5) married women 6) widows and 7) children (also perhaps including the poor of Rome). The reason for the processions was because plagues and other national disasters were typically interpreted at the time as being the chastisement of God for sinfulness, and therefore to appease God's wrath, these measures were taken. Eighty people collapsed during the procession as a result of being infected by plague.


Pope Gregory's Vision

According to later legend, Pope Gregory saw a vision as the procession approached the
mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...
of the Roman emperor
Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...
, on the right bank of the Tiber near the
Vatican Hill Vatican Hill (; la, Mons Vaticanus; it, Colle Vaticano) is a hill located across the Tiber river from the traditional seven hills of Rome, that also gave the name of Vatican City. It is the location of St. Peter's Basilica. Etymology The anc ...
. The pope beheld
St Michael the Archangel ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...
brandishing and then sheathing his sword atop the monument, which was interpreted to signify that God's wrath had been turned back, and the plague supposedly stopped at that moment, following which the faithful thanked the Mother of God. The 2nd century AD imperial tomb, which became a fortress in late Antiquity, subsequently became known as . In the 18th century, a bronze sculpture was set on the summit of Castel Sant'Angelo to commemorate the legend, portraying the winged archangel in
Roman armour Ancient Times, Roman. - 017 - Costumes of All Nations (1882). Military of the Roman Republic and Empire wore loosely regulated dress and armour. The contemporary concept of uniforms was not part of Roman culture and there were considerable differen ...
and designed by Peter Anton von Verschaffelt in 1753.


References

{{Authority control First plague pandemic History of Rome Disease outbreaks in Italy 590 6th century in Italy 590s in Christianity 6th-century disasters 1st-millennium health disasters