Centuries of Black Death misinformation started with a poem
Misinformation around COVID-19 remains a major problem more than five years after its emergence. Unfortunately, time does not always bring clarity. Even after hundreds of years, our understanding of the Black Death (Yersinia pestis) remains clouded by false narratives.
In a study recently published in the Journal of Arab and Islamic StudiesHistorians at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom say the infamous plague probably did not spread across the continent as quickly as many experts thought. The reason for this common misconception? A 14th-century literary tale recounting the dangerous exploits of a fictional traveling trickster.
Deceived by a poet
The bubonic plague is widely remembered for the devastation it caused in Europe, but its origins remain riddled with inaccuracies. For decades, most experts believed that the plague originated in China before spreading westward within a few years via the Silk Road. Although recent paleogenetic re-examinations have brought its connection closer to Central Asia, many researchers still claim that it took barely a decade for the Black Death to spread as far west as the Black Sea in the 1340s. This “rapid transit theory” remains one of the most popular hypotheses explaining the advance of the plague.
The main evidence for this theory is not based on genetic records. Instead, it comes from Risālat al-nabaʾ ʿan al-wabāʾ (“Essay on the Report of the Plague”), a story written by the poet and historian Ibn al-Wardi in Aleppo, Syria, around 1348 CE. This is undoubtedly the most famous example of a maqamaan Arabic narrative genre centered on the misdeeds of a traveling trickster character. THE maqama originated in the late 10th century, but began to flourish as a genre about two centuries later. In the 14th century, literate mamluk warriors were particularly drawn to tales, which are written to be read aloud in a single sitting.
by Ibn al-Wardi maqama focuses on the 15-year journey of a roving intruder that begins in an unspecified region outside of China. From there it moved to China before wreaking havoc across India, Central Asia, Persia and eventually the Black Sea and Mediterranean.
In the 15th century, Arab and later European historians interpreted Ibn al-Wardi’s story as a factual parable, with al-Wardi’s trickster being an embodiment of the Black Death itself. Since then, this misunderstanding has distorted the true history of the plague, say the co-authors of the new study.
“All paths leading to a factually incorrect description of the spread of the plague point back to this one text. It is as if it is at the center of a spider’s web of myths about how the Black Death spread across the region,” University of Exeter historian Nahyan Fancy explained in a statement.
Fancy added that the entire accepted narrative stems from this one maqamawhich is not supported by any other contemporary account or even by other maqāmas.
“The text was written just to emphasize the fact that the plague was spreading and deceiving people. It should not be taken literally,” Fancy said.
Maqāma remains relevant
This revision is not intended to diminish maqamameaning or artistry. Rather, it allows us to read and examine it in its proper context.
“These maqāmas may not give us accurate information about how the Black Death spread. But the texts are phenomenal because they help us see how people at the time were experiencing this terrible crisis,” Fancy said.
At the same time, Fancy says other historians can now look at other major regional plague outbreaks, such as that in Damascus, Syria, in 1258 CE and that of 1232-1233 in China’s Kaifeng. At the same time, the need to express oneself creatively in times of crisis remains universal.
“These writings can help us understand how creativity may have been a way to exert some control and served as a coping mechanism during this time of widespread death, in the same way that people developed new culinary or artistic skills during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Fancy said.
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