A Story of Plague

Since nobody is thinking of anything but pandemic, I thought I’d post about one much worse than what we’re experiencing–the Black Death and the village of Eyam.

It was 1665, and the plague had struck Eyam. (Fleas in a bundle of cloth imported from London are supposed to have been the culprits.) Forty-two people died in four months, and the rest were ready to flee. The village rector knew that if they did so, they’d take the plague with them. He made the former rector, his rival, into an ally, and together they convinced the people of Eyam to stay where they were.

Amazingly, they did it. Almost no one broke quarantine for fourteen months, even though two hundred and sixty people died in a community whose total population did not reach one thousand. People from neighboring villages brought food and left it at the village boundary for the survivors.

If the people of Eyam hadn’t stayed and faced death together, the plague would have killed thousands more. It’s an amazing story of heroism. Maybe I’ll turn it into a book on day.

In the meantime, wash your hands…stay home if you can…be careful and safe!