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(BBC)   Archaeologists discover skeleton of 15th Century religious hermit who lived walled-up in a cell in a church; a chaste woman who died of a mysterious disease that had all the hallmarks of advanced venereal syphilis   (bbc.co.uk) divider line
    More: Interesting, God, Lady German, Prayer, Sin, Live, Woman, strong association, Live CD  
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912 clicks; posted to STEM » and Main » on 09 Feb 2023 at 8:20 AM (5 weeks ago)   |   Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook



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2023-02-09 7:46:49 AM  
How touching.
More likely, she was trafficked to be a bang bucket for priests and kept as a slave.
Because that is based on historical anecdote, not archeological assumption.
 
2023-02-09 8:04:38 AM  
Talk about overreacting to one bad date.
 
2023-02-09 8:23:20 AM  
...For the kingdom and the power and the glory-hole are yours forever. Amen.
 
2023-02-09 8:33:27 AM  
For the love of God, Montresor.
 
2023-02-09 8:33:29 AM  
Advanced syphilis in a fifteenth century skeleton would be a major discovery.
 
2023-02-09 8:43:25 AM  
Was she the Anchoress in Cristopher Moore's _Fool_?
 
2023-02-09 8:45:53 AM  

shellcat: Advanced syphilis in a fifteenth century skeleton would be a major discovery.


If your thinking of the old idea that the disease was first brought to Europe by those who visited the America, that has been known to be false for a long time.
 
2023-02-09 8:51:20 AM  

vudukungfu: How touching.
More likely, she was trafficked to be a bang bucket for priests and kept as a slave.
Because that is based on historical anecdote, not archeological assumption.


I'm not saying that was not what happened, but there were a lot of people back then who became "religious hermits" to avoid sin and/or to purify themselves. To say nothing of the people who whipped themselves or made themselves to suffer in other ways to get closer to God. Getting an STD certainly could be a motivation for such behavior.
 
2023-02-09 10:23:08 AM  
She got it from the Holy Spirit, who has been trying to seed the second coming of Jesus for centuries.  I'm sure it'll eventually clear up on its own and we can all finally be saved.
 
2023-02-09 10:29:31 AM  

TheMysteriousStranger: shellcat: Advanced syphilis in a fifteenth century skeleton would be a major discovery.

If your thinking of the old idea that the disease was first brought to Europe by those who visited the America, that has been known to be false for a long time.


I think they're saying that Advanced Syphilis was invented by Ben Franklin in the 1700s.
 
2023-02-09 10:56:17 AM  
walled into a cell to live a life of prayer and contemplation

That reads like rewritten history but sure sounds good now.
 
2023-02-09 11:32:29 AM  

TheMysteriousStranger: shellcat: Advanced syphilis in a fifteenth century skeleton would be a major discovery.

If your thinking of the old idea that the disease was first brought to Europe by those who visited the America, that has been known to be false for a long time.


Certainly it didn't seem to have been the same disease in pre-contact Americas or in Europe that it was in the mid-1490's and beyond. Whether it was a less harmful infection in the Americas that mutated when it got lose in an unexposed population or something that had been in Europe previously and suddenly became worse, finding a skeleton with signs of advanced syphilis from even a few years before contact is significant. (Remembering that it takes years for a particular case to affect bones as opposed to all the other unpleasant symptoms.)
 
2023-02-09 12:09:05 PM  

edmo: walled into a cell to live a life of prayer and contemplation

That reads like rewritten history but sure sounds good now.


If by 'revisionist history' you mean very well documented then ya, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchorite
 
2023-02-09 3:11:39 PM  

shellcat: TheMysteriousStranger: shellcat: Advanced syphilis in a fifteenth century skeleton would be a major discovery.

If your thinking of the old idea that the disease was first brought to Europe by those who visited the America, that has been known to be false for a long time.

Certainly it didn't seem to have been the same disease in pre-contact Americas or in Europe that it was in the mid-1490's and beyond. Whether it was a less harmful infection in the Americas that mutated when it got lose in an unexposed population or something that had been in Europe previously and suddenly became worse, finding a skeleton with signs of advanced syphilis from even a few years before contact is significant. (Remembering that it takes years for a particular case to affect bones as opposed to all the other unpleasant symptoms.)


I always thought this painting from 1400 infinitely hilarious. The guy has his diseased Willy out in front of Jesus on the cross!

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