Jacme D. Agramont Regimen of Protection Against Epidemics

¶ … Jacme d'Agramont: Regimen of Protection against Epidemics

The objective of this study is to answer the following questions: (1) According to Jacme, what is the "pestilence"? How does his definition of pestilence fit into the "Western traditional medicine" framework? (2) How does Jacme explain how plague is caused? What is the "Western traditional medicine" rationale behind his explanation of the plague causation? (3) What is the "Western traditional medicine" rationale behind Jacme's explanation of the symptoms of the plague? And (4) What is the "Western traditional medicine" rationale behind Jacme's advice for avoiding (or surviving) the plague?

Pestilence

Jacme states that pestilence arises from diverse changes in the air "as well as in its qualities as in its substance causing diverse properties from which arise "diverse consequences." Jacme writes that pestilence is a "contra-natural change of the air in its qualities or in its substance; from which arise in living things corruptions and sudden deaths and various maladies in certain determined regions beyond their ordinary." (Reynals and Winslow, 1949, p.60)

Jacme writes that pestilence "is change" of the air. Change in the quality of the earth and water is held by Jacme to be unable to cause pestilence "unless it is followed by change in the air." (Reynals and Winslow, 1949, p.61) This statement is qualified by Jacme in the statement that a pestilence may occur among the fish due to the water quality or substance and while mortality is seen among fish this is not linked to mortality of men and birds or other animals. The pestilence spoken of by Jacme is stated to be "common to all beasts and all living things because in such times we see how serpents and other reptiles flee from their holes and issue hurriedly from them, the birds leave their nests and flee…" (Reynals and Winslow, 1949, p.61)

In addition, Jacme states that in time of pestilence "wheat and other fruits growing from the earth are affected…" and they carry such great infection that they are like poisons to all those who eat them." (Reynals and Winslow, 1949, p.61) Wallis writes that 'pestis, pestilential…in the early medieval period was a term applied to any widespread and acute communicable disease with high mortality."(p.1) Wallis writes that the outbreak of 1347-1350 or that of the 'Black Death' was called in the beginning 'the great mortality (magna mortalitas)' however upon its return in 1360 and then again in "intervals of roughly ten to twenty-five years, the great mortality was gradually absorbed into the recognized category of pestilential." (Wallis, p.1)

II. Plague

Plague is stated by Jacme to be caused by God's judgment upon mankind. For example, Jacme holds up examples in the Holy Scripture such as the plagues of the Pharaohs (Exod. 7 and 8,9,10 and 11th Chapters). Jacme states that another cause of the plague is "from wicked men, children of the devil, who with venoms and diverse poisons corrupt the foodstuffs with evil skill and malevolent industry." (p.5) Wallis (p.9) writes that modern historians are viewing the Black Death as a disease and are reported as being "deeply interested in debates over which disease (as modern science defines disease) it was." (p.9)

Wallis states that by contrast "the first descriptions of the great mortality by physicians paint a dramatic picture of cosmic catastrophe in which human illness and death played a significant, but not necessarily a starring role." (p.9) Wallis writes that Jacme d'Agramont held that the Black Death "was a time of change, not exclusively or even primarily a disease." (p.9) Wallis states that according to Jacme there was an ecological disaster occurring but Jacme did not feel a need to attempt scientific investigation of the causes of this disaster on the earth but somewhat adhered to the thought that the plague resulted from God avenging divine punishment.

According to Wallis The Galenic view held that there were two forms of diseases: (1) fevers; and (2) apostemes. Fevers involved corrupt humours going inward and attaching the body's substance while apostemes were swellings involving the corrupt humors being thrown off to the surface of the body in its effort to rid itself of them. From this view, the sick corrupted the air around them via their skin, breath, and eyes. Vaugh ( ) notes that classical medical thought had been witnessed to meld with "folk or empiric practices and traditional beliefs." (p.55)

Jacme did connect the link between airborne germs and human sickness and his notions of waters that were tainted and human sickness were such that revealed knowledge in this area. Also, Jacme was knowledgeable about how when heat penetrated standing water rather than running water that human beings would become sick after contact with that water. Specifically stated by Jacme is

"Pestilence particular to one town may occur because the locality may be surrounded by pools, irrigation ditches, and basins full of water which does not drain off as in Tortosa and Oristaynn." (Reynals and Winslow, 1949, p.68)

It is now understood by modern science that standing water is a breeding pool for mosquitoes, which transmit disease from animals to humans and between human beings.