L'affidabilità di Wikipedia

Vagando su wikipedia inglese finisco nella pagina dedicata ai gatti neri  QUI, dove trovo questa strana frase: "During the Middle Ages, these superstitions led people to kill black cats. This had the unintended consequence of increasing the rat population and the spread of the Black Death (bubonic plague) and other diseases carried by rodents."
Siccome un discorso simile non l'ho mai sentito nè ha il benchè minimo senso (sempre su wikipedia mi dice che i gatti neri costituiscono appena il 2,5 % del totale), clicco sul link relativo alla fonte. Non l'avessi mai fatto:

Citazione :

During the Dark Ages, religious dogma was law soltanto se riconosciuto da una qualche autorità, science was heresy punishable by death Roger Bacon avrebbe qualcosina da dire in proposito, se non consideriamo che il concetto di scienza moderna non esisteva nemmeno, and technology was seen as the handiwork of the devil occhiali, bussola, mulini a vento ed acqua, l'architettura delle cattedrali gotiche, i cannoni, la carta, il vetro....evidentemente no, non sono tecnologie. History and the public consciousness la public consciousness ancora ancora, la history in senso accademico proprio no remembers the Dark Ages for the above traits, as well as the Crusades, which were little more than thinly-veiled examples of European imperialist goals. Parlare di imperialismo europeo nel XI secolo è favoloso. Come teoria è perfino più sballata di quella opposta che sostiene che le crociate sarebbero state una forma di autodifesa nei confronti del brutto e cattivo espansionismo islamico. However, there is one other major event from the Dark Ages that, in its own way, had a major impact on modern culture. In fact, one widespread bacterial infection has, arguably, had an even greater effect than most other events of the time.

One little bacterial infection wiped out nearly half of Europe veramente fra un quarto e un terzo, leaving it wide open for the subsequent invasion of the Genghis Khan's Mongol hordes. Peccato che a) quando i mongoli hanno invaso l'europa Gengis Khan fosse già morto e b) la peste nera sia scoppiata un secolo dopo l'invasione mongola (1236-1348). Cos'è, aprire un atlante storico è troppa fatica ? That same pandemic infection also left Europe in such a weakened state that it took most of the larger powers almost a century to recover, with some historians quali ? believing that the continent never fully rebuilt itself. Eh già, ancora oggi... One little bacterial infection turned into a massive pandemic, spawned a number of heretical Christian groups, questa mi giunge nuova indirectly caused the formation of the Inquisition, che tanto era già stata fondata un secolo prima nel 1231; ma che sarà mai, fa il paio con quella dei mongoli left the Old World crippled for decades afterwards, and may have caused a wholesale slaughter of cats. O l'ha causata tale strage oppure no, se hai delle prove in merito tirale fuori o non sparare cavolate dal nulla. Tra l'altro, che c'entrano i gatti nel contesto ? Perchè li avrebbero dovuti ammazzare ?   Amazing that one little infection could be so easily remembered in history as the Black Death.

The Black Death was perhaps the greatest disaster to have befallen Europe since Rome was sacked by the Huns peccato che gli Unni non abbiano mai saccheggiato Roma, who were followed shortly by the Visigoths un qualsiasi medievista troverebbe decine di idee migliori. The most persistent impact clearly was the decimation of Europe, with estimated death tolls ranging from a third of the population to more than half the continent. Vedi sopra. The horrors were recounted by numerous sources from the period, which paint an unpleasant picture of a once-powerful continent brought low by “an act of God." However, more than the death toll and the strategic impact, one might contend that the Plague left Europe with a climate of fear and anxiety that haunted Europeans for years, especially since lesser outbreaks occurred for centuries afterwards.

Art and literature are permeated with references to the “sweeping death" by the generation that survived it, leading some early Renaissance works to be dominated by “Le Danse Macabre," the dance of death. The clergy of the time, seen by the people as unable to fulfill their promises of banishing the plague by the power of God, lost much of their hold on the European people. Prove di quanto affermato, zero. In addition, the ranks of the clergymen were easily ravaged by the Black Death, forcing the Vatican to install ill-mannered and poorly-trained replacements. Idem, prove zero. Inoltre lamentele sulla scarsa qualità e attitudine di preti e parroci esistevano già dal X secolo, figuriamoci. This action caused the people to lose even more faith in the church, with power moving into the hands of heretical groups. Gruppi che però non ci elenca, ovviamente. Se per caso intendesse lollardi e hussiti sappia che hanno origini del tutto diverse, conseguenti sopratutto allo scisma avignonese. As the plague rescinded and the heresies' rise to power slowed, Christian authorities established the full wrath of the Inquisition. E di nuovo.....ma vabbè, fatti trenta facciamo trentuno.

In what some might see as a fine example of dark humor, the Black Death also showed just how quickly the mob can resort to ridiculous measures when gripped with fear and anxiety. At a time when faith in God was still strong, despite wavering faith in His clergymen, cats were seen as the agents of the devil. There are hundreds of reports of healthy citizens attacking and slaughtering cats, their fear and anxiety having made them susceptible to the suggestion that cats carried the “miasma," the poisonous air that carried the plague. Peccato che non esistano fonti in merito. Naturally, with a stark drop in the cat population, the rat population increased, and with those rats, so came the bacteria that caused the plague. Nota bene: qui parla di gatti in generale, su wikipedia diventano misteriosamente solo i gatti neri.

Perhaps the greatest effect of the plague was that it was critical in the social reforms that would come in the years to follow. The Catholic Church, having lost much power because of it, had fractured enough to allow for groups to challenge its power. The people became less willing to follow the edicts of clergymen, as well as political figures who had close ties with the Church. Ma per favore....ancora, prove e pubblicazioni scientifiche al riguardo, nada de nada. In fact, one might argue that there is a mild correlation between the rise of more secular authority figures and the Black Death's onset. Many historians have even gone so far as to argue that the basic principles of capitalism were formed when the various aristocrats of Europe were forced to compete with one another for the services of surviving peasants and serfs. Non è che si tratta di una bizzarra teoria buttata lì da alcuni storici giocherelloni e mezzi matti, è che proprio così: la peste nera causò una radicale riorganizzazione del tessuto economico e sociale dell'epoca, con alcune conseguenza a lungo termine quali la rivoluzione dei prezzi del '500, un maggior controllo e sfruttamento delle risorse disponibili nonchè una crescente pressione sui contadini che generò numerose rivolte fra il XIV e il XVI secolo. Paradossalmente l'unica cosa giusta che azzecca lo fa praticamente per caso.

In the end, countless changes can be attributed to the Black Death. Some, like Europe's overall military frailty at the charge of the Mongol Hordes, are direct, while others, such as the Reformation and the Renaissance, are more indirect. However, one effect cannot be disputed. The fear and anxiety caused by the Black Death had permanently changed the economic, social, and political landscape of Europe, such that Europe might have evolved differently had it not been for a simple bacterial infection.

Che dire, complimenti a chi ha curato la pagina di wikipedia per tanta scrupolosità nell'uso delle fonti. Link di cotanta scienza e sapere: http://www.webcitation.org/62IUxHSsz