Chapter 20: Angel comes wearing cat ears March 1348, southern France, Port of Marseille The bright and brilliant spring light once again fell on the romantic land of Provence, but it could not clear away the gloom in people's hearts.
Although they are bathed in the warm sunshine, the hearts of most people are as cold as ice cellars.
Although the vegetation, birds and animals are thriving, human beings, as the spirit of all things, are falling in thousands, like ants in winter.
They died one after another as if they were exploding. .
Since January this year, the plague known as the Black Death has swept across this land, leaving corpses strewn in the fields and depopulated everywhere it goes.
The epidemic is getting worse as the temperature rises.
Especially in Marseille, where the Black Death first landed, this city with a population of about 80,000 actually carried out 57,000 corpses in just one month.
In the following month, people continued to carry them.
He died in pain with black spots all over his body.
Don’t underestimate the size of this population.
At that time, Europeans mainly stayed in the countryside, and cities were quite small.
A city of more than 20,000 people was considered a metropolis.
Venice, the largest, had only 200,000 people, London only had a population of 50,000, Paris had a population of 150,000 to 180,000, and Marseille, with a population of 80,000, was the second largest city in France at that time, although Provence had not yet been fully integrated into it.
France, the people of Marseille at that time may not consider themselves French.
In the face of an unprecedentedly severe plague, the doctors and priests of this era were all helpless, and could not even find out what the source of the plague was.
Of course, modern people know that the Black Death is the plague, but medieval Europeans knew nothing about it, and it was not confirmed until hundreds of years later.
Compared with the overwhelming death that comes one after another, the more terrifying problem is the collapse and confusion of people's hearts.
In fact, large-scale deaths have never been uncommon in human history, but if they die in war and massacre, the survivors will work hard to survive and take revenge, and at the same time they will naturally vent their resentment on the murderers and enemies; if They died of famine.
Hungry people will do whatever it takes to get food to fill their stomachs, and they will direct their overwhelming anger at the wealthy people who hoard food, drive up food prices, and are unkind to get rich.
However, in the face of this unprecedented plague called the Black Death, although relatives, wives, children, and friends fell one by one, the surviving humans could not find anyone to hate.
The rich were as precarious as the poor, and any power or wealth It's all meaningless in front of the God of Death.
Faced with such a death where "everyone is equal", people become hysterical in despair, extremely fragile, and don't know where to vent their resentment.
The medical knowledge of this era was not yet able to correctly determine the cause of the disease, but terrified people needed to find an explanation for the disaster to free themselves from boundless despair.
So, under this unfortunate external pressure, some inner catharsis can be said to have naturally appeared in this city.
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu" As the sun gradually rose, the loud trumpet sounded again in front of the long-silent cathedral in Marseille Port.
A moment later, six fully armed soldiers, holding halberds in their hands, long swords on their waists, and wearing cloaks with cross patterns, walked out of the copper-clad door of the church that opened loudly, and dragged out a figure in ragged clothes and staggering steps.
Although Marseille is now empty of all ten rooms, the square in front of the church is still filled with thousands of Marseille citizens watching the excitement.
For the current precarious, lifeless and desperate life, it is a scorching fire.
The tragic scenes are really thrilling entertainment.
Seeing the guy in the tattered linen shirt being escorted out, a commotion broke out among the onlookers.
Everyone was shaking their fists and uttering a wave of boos and curses at the criminal who had just been accused of being a wizard, the former gentleman: "Look, that guy is the evil wizard.
He colluded with the evil spirits in the East and brought this plague."
"He is nominally a member of the Knights Hospitaller of Rhode Island, but in fact he is secretly raising evil cats and practicing blasphemous witchcraft."
"Oh my god, is this wizard who infiltrated the Knights Hospitaller sent by Satan to destroy the world?"
"Oh, you damned devil, accept your retribution and go to hell."
"Kill him, chop him up and burn him to death for this blasphemous bitch" Amidst the roaring crowds, Knight Levi walked barefoot on the cobblestone square in embarrassment, with a real sense of infinite malice.
The armor and accessories that once belonged to him had long been stripped away by the jailers.
Wearing only a tattered linen shirt, his hands and feet were heavily shackled.
A thick iron chain extended from the collar around his neck and was pulled into the hands of the soldier in front.
In just one day, he was no longer a revered knight, but an evil "wizard" that everyone could kill.
Although Sir Levi actually really wants to be a savior, he has really started to take action.
No matter how excited the citizens in the square were, the six soldiers continued their work silently.
They roughly dragged Levi to the pyre, tied the heinous heretic wizard with iron chains to the stake, and then struggled to carry him.
Heavy oil drums pour expensive grease on these firewood.
While they were preparing for the burning, a bald priest stood up, holding a scroll in his hand, and read out the charges of Knight Livy to the citizens of the city.
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Under normal circumstances, the Inquisition had no right to try a nobleman without authorization, but Marseilles The bishop planned to do something special this time.
According to the contents of this parchment, the knight Levi was accused of making a deal with the devil, sacrificing human beings in exchange for the magic of witchcraft, concocting poison from frogs, snakes and scorpions, and then poisoning the air.
He caused the current great plague.
In addition, he also raised a magical beast called a cat in the manor, and fed the cats with human flesh, thus summoning evil spirits.
Because of these crimes that sounded ridiculous at first sight, he was sentenced. received the death penalty.
But the citizens of Marseille did not raise any objections to this, only fanatical abuse and ridicule spread.
Although everyone knew that the plague was first transmitted from that group of Genoese merchant ships, but in this lively execution ground , no one has any intention of exposing the truth in public.
This situation, which is almost crazy in common sense, is exactly what the so-called "model Christians" of this era should look like.
Just like the "witch hunts" of the past, this heresy trial is nothing but a good show of bullying, and it is not a good example of the so-called "model Christians" in this era.
The cruel execution of "Wizard", in the eyes of these civilians who suffered from poverty and longed for entertainment, was really a wonderful performance that allowed them to temporarily forget their pain.
Bringing this "sacred ceremony" to a climax and enjoying it is also a proof of one's devout faith.
As for whether the accusation is true or not, it is something that no one cares about at all.
But at this time, this torture by fire also has the meaning of a pressure relief valve.
The horrific Black Death destroyed cities, tore apart families, and caused relatives to abandon each other in a very short period of time.
No doctor can cure it, no power can resist it.
But people will still be angry, crazy, scared, crying, and want to do something in this disaster.
If this accumulated madness cannot be effectively channeled, the city will become a powder keg, and as long as an accidental spark breaks out, it will be wiped out in a devastating explosion.
Therefore, the church needs to introduce a "suspected criminal" to bear all the sins and use his blood to free people from despair and rage.
In the final analysis, this burning is actually just a religious ceremony, and the role played by Levi Knight is They are no different from animals slaughtered during sacrifices.
While the charges were being read out, more and more people got the news, walked out of their homes, and crowded into the square.
There were signs everywhere on the roofs, on the trees, on the balconies, and on the shoulders of people.
Citizens crowded in to watch the excitement.
Such a noisy scene is just like the grand spectacle of beheading at Caishikou in Chinese Qing palace dramas.
It is also seen by thousands of people.
In order to grab a good seat on the street to watch, the rich even spend a lot of money.
Human beings are the most complex creatures on the planet.
The benevolent compassionate person and the cruel murderer are often two faces of the same person.
Finally, the long list of charges was read out, and the time was approaching noon.
The Bishop of Marseille, who had been shut up for many days, appeared in front of the citizens again, wearing his most luxurious brocade clothes.
He first made the sign of the cross, then held a torch with his own hand and lit the pyre at Levi's feet.
As the blazing flames ignited, the people who had been excited for a long time suddenly fell into madness.
They cheered, jumped, and cheered.
They were glad that they had the opportunity to enjoy such a rare grand occasion, but no one sympathized with Wu.
The prisoner who helped him paid attention to his pain and struggle.
There was only one bloody word "kill, kill, kill" hovering in everyone's mind.
Seeing himself falling into a sea of flames, the gagged Levi began to struggle desperately, but the thick iron chains tied him to the pillar, unable to move.
Deep despair and fear surged into his heart, but he could not end it immediately.
Painful, we can only accept the reality of death step by step At the same time, the Bishop of Marseille on the side rubbed his hands and watched casually as the prisoner was engulfed in a sea of fire.
As the leader of this tragedy, he certainly knew very well that even if he burned this guy who was labeled a wizard, the plague would not stop, but at least it gave people a reason to deceive themselves: the root of the disaster had been eliminated.
It is enough to make them feel that everything around them still has hope of getting better.
As for what will happen in the future, only God really knows.
He curled his lips and was about to turn around and go back to the church.
However, at the next moment, something unexpected happened in the square: Almost without warning, a burst of magnificent music that was as smooth as a clear spring, yet still solemn and holy, sounded very suddenly.
At the same time, the bright golden light, far more brilliant than the scorching summer sun, also lit up over the square, making everyone unable to open their eyes.
Although nothing could be seen when illuminated by this light, the bishop immediately realized that something unexpected seemed to have happened.
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Then, he heard an incredible term.
"Angels are angels, angels are coming" oshow7: