On the Origin and Spread of the Plague كتاب · المقتنيات

Despite what I keep hearing from other priests, I don't think it was God's wrath that brought the plague on us. To me, a much more probable culprit is the great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn – an event of great astrological significance, which took place in AD 1345.

Just two years after the conjunction, the Mongol army sieged the port of Kaffa, bringing the Plague with them, which at that point had been rumoured to have been devouring the East for years. The Genoese traders residing in Kaffa managed to flee, but not without stowaways. Thus the infected rats travelled to Sicily. And then the disease spread further, to the Italian cities of Genoa, Venice, and Pisa.

Not all ships were let in, and those that weren't sailed on to Marseille. From there, the plague erupted in all directions. Soon, it attacked Castile, Aragon, Portugal, France, England, the Holy Roman Empire, and the African coast. Today, it's everywhere, spreading faster and faster, killing commoners, barons, and bishops alike. No place is beyond its deadly reach.

Can anything be done about it? If I'm right, what started the plague may also end it. We must wait for the next great conjunction, and then another two years. According to my predictions, this is when the plague will stop. And until then, let us simply hope to survive – for if it's written in the stars, nothing can change it.