Barbara Kilby

History 101 - Intro to West Civ

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Yet, with all of this tragedy, people still hardly ever fled from their hometowns, and if they did they had to leave in large groups and give up everything, but most chose to stay

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They could not have a police force with the entire population either sick or dying or already dead so everybody did as they pleased

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While others would drink away their pains, going from tavern to tavern 

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Some people would lock themselves up in their homes (like a hermit) and would surround themselves with music and drinking, anything to drown out the harsh world outside. 

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Meanwhile, people in the west were growing tumors in their armpits and groin areas the sizes of apples and sometimes eggs 

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People from the east were bleeding from their noses due to the plague

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“The finest city in all of Italy” was hit with the Black Death and they had no clue if it was due to the alignment of the planets or if God was punishing them for their sins

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Giovanni Boccaccio, The Black Death in Florence, 1348

An eyewitnesses account of those he saw in Florence during the Black Death epidemic. 

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The emperor writing back Pliny telling him what he was doing was right, if there are Christians brought upon him then he should kill them, he just shouldnt go out of his way to find them. 

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Upon finishing his letter to the emperor, all he wished to know is if he were doing the right thing, executing the inside-out Christians and converting those that he could back to Roman tradition 

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After some time, Pliny was faced with numerous cases involving Christians. Some claimed they were still Christians after the case, some changed their minds and said they worshipped the Roman Emperor and their gods.  

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Since he could find no actual crimes to pin against them, he asked them if they were Christians 3 times, and if they continued to answer that they were Christians then well, they were screwed. Pliny decided it was best just to execute the group of Christians. 

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Pliny was not on the Christian team, to say the least 

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A group of Christians were brought to Pliny’s court, and he did not know what he could legally do to them. 

(Still when Rome was iffy about Christianity) 

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Who is Pliny anyway?

Pliny is a governor of one of Rome’s many provinces, Bithynia, who is a friend writing to the emperor of Rome

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Letters of Pliny the Younger and the Emperor Trajan

Roman Empire Primary Source Reading

Christianity in 112 C.E.

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They’ve done it all!

At the end of the passage it says, “Im pure!” three times, they have done all that they believe their Gods wished them to do within their lifetime, so now they are begging to please have a good afterlife.