Papal bull of Pope Clement VI issued during the Black Death stating Jews not to blame and urging their protection--
Background--
The Black Death was the single worst pandemic in the history of the world. Peaking between 1347 and 1351 in Europe, estimates of the death toll vary widely, but is generally believed to have killed between 50 to 125 million people. The Black Death was essentially the spread of the disease known as plague (which is sometimes used to refer to the pandemic itself), caused by the Yersinia pestitis bacterium which was carried by the fleas on black rats.
The infection is believed to have originated in China or Inner Asia. Carried along the Silk Road trading route, it destroyed the army of the Mongol ruler Jani Beg, who was besieging the Genoese town of Kaffa in the Crimea. Attempting to weaken the defenders, he flung infected corpses at the Genoese inside the city. Infected sailors went back to their hometown in Genoa, Italy, thus beginning the European outbreak.
The bubonic plague (a distinct form of plague) would cause large swolen spots under the armpits and on the legs, neck and groin; this was followed by vomiting of blood and acute fever. Bubonic plague had a fatality rate of around 80%.
The Black Death had a vast effect on European society. Jewish people were persecuted relentlessly by many during the outbreak, as rumors spread that Jews had deliberately poisoned wells combined with a deep reservoir of medieval antisemitism. On February 14, 1349, several hundred Jews were burned to death in the city of Strasbourg.
Since around half of Europe's population was wiped out in an exceptionally short period of time, labor suddenly became extremely scarce, and wages for peasants much higher. Tensions around this would be one of the causes of the Peasant's Revolt in England in 1381.
Recurrences of the plague happened throughout the centuries. Europe's population did not recover to pre-Black Death levels for 200 years; some places that were extremely hard hit, like Florence, took until the 19th century to recover.
--------Source, "On This Day In History"
***I would add that during this period, a Cult within the Church, tolerated but later disavowed called the "Flagellants", would travel from town to town, and flog themselves bloody with whips and scourges, supposedly to do penance for the Sins of Man which brought the Plague. Eventually they tired of this and began beating and torturing Jews, who were blamed for the Plague. Jews had a tradition of Sanitary Laws and sheltering in place during Plagues, so the death rate was lower. Ignorant and superstitious idiots [like the Trump supporting Populist anti-government extremists of today, Ed. LFR], assumed that Jews started the Plague to kill off the Christians, and spread the lie that Jews stayed alive by killing Christian babies and drinking their blood. This became known as the "Blood Libel". For several years, notwithstanding the Pope's decree, Mobs of Flagellants would go from town to town, round up the Jews, and put them in houses to be set on fire, or thrown down the local Well. This is where the expression, "throw the Jew down the Well" came from. Even after the Pope disavowed the Flagellants, they were protected by people in the Church hierarchy and continued their Pogroms, with the support of local parishes.
Not a high point in the history of the Church, but is an unfortunate fact of History.
***source, "A Distant Mirror" Author Barbara Tuchman
