Men In Black and the Black Plague of the 14th Century

I'm right now giving another listen to Linda Moulton Howe's 22 August 2008 Earthfiles podcast, entitled UFOs and 14th Century Black Death. She interviews Gods of Eden author William Bramley, who describes accounts from that time of black cloaked figures with long, scythe-like instruments walking through towns or being seen on the outskirts of villages, apparently spraying biological agents from these "scythes," which was quickly followed by those population centers experiencing their first cases of the Black Death, with entire villages being completely wiped out in some cases.

Bramley and Howe assert that this is where we get the archetypal image of the grim reaper.

Wow. This just blows my mind.

I'm wondering if anybody here would happen to know of anywhere on the Web where these reports from the 14th century can be read?

The main thrust of Bramley's book seems to be that UFOs are linked to the vast majority of historical wars and that their occupants may have a vested interest in fomenting military conflicts.

If these 14th century MIBs were, in fact, aliens, what possible benefit would they derive from spreading plague among human populations?

If they weren't aliens, who were they, what kind of technology were they using, and to what end (besides killing people)?

So many questions come up when I think about this, it's just mind boggling.

[edit on 2-9-2009 by flightsuit]

Well it sounds like Doctors Doctor Schnabel von Rom (Doctor Schnabel from Rome)

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/e63a786ecc05.jpg[/atsimg]
About Doctor Schnabel's costume, the attempt to treat people ill with plague and the remedies they used:

► A wide-brimmed black hat worn close to the head. At the time, a wide-brimmed black hat would have identified a person as a doctor, much the same as how a hat may identify chefs, soldiers and workers nowadays. The wide-brimmed hat might have also been used as partial shielding from infection.

Snip~~

The plague doctors' clothing also had a secondary use: to intentionally frighten and warn onlookers. The bedside manner common to doctors of today did not exist at the time; part of the appearance of the plague doctor's clothing was meant to frighten onlookers, and to communicate that something very, very wrong was nearby, and that they too might become infected. It is unknown how often or widespread plague doctors were, or how effective they were in treatment of the disease. It's likely that while offering some protection to the wearer, they may have actually contributed more to the spreading of the disease than its treatment, by unknowingly serving as vectors for infected fleas to move from host to host.

[edit on 2/9/2009 by Sauron]

Men in Black Look like Bird?

Here is a Blog that discusses that.

Scholars trace the origin of the Grim Reaper to ancient times where he was known as Cronus to the Greeks and Saturn to the Romans, but the Grim Reaper as he is depicted today comes directly to us from the Middle Ages and the Black Death.

According to William Bramley, author of Gods of Eden: "In Brandenburg, Germany, there appeared fifteen men with "fearful faces and long scythes, with which they cut the oats, so that the swish could be heard at great distance, but the oats remained standing. The visit of these men was followed immediately by a severe outbreak of plague in Brandenburg. Were the 'scythes' long instruments designed to spray poison or germ-laden gases?

"Strange men in black, demons, and other terrifying figures were observed in other European communities carrying 'brooms' or 'scythes' or 'swords' that were used to sweep or knock at people's doors. The inhabitants of these houses fell ill with plague afterwards. It is from these reports that people created the popular image of death as a skeleton, a demon, a man in a black robe carrying a scythe."

Looks like that is from a book called "The Gods of Eden"

There is more below that about a mist.

Originally posted by Blaine91555
Looks like that is from a book called "The Gods of Eden"

Originally posted by flightsuitShe interviews Gods of Eden author William Bramley, who describes accounts from that time of black cloaked figures with long, scythe-like instruments walking through towns or being seen on the outskirts of villages,

So... a one source strory?

The beak of the mask held pungent herbs and essential oils to protect the physicians from the plague.

The stick the doctor carried had antiviral essential oils impregnated into the handle.




[edit on 2-9-2009 by maya27]

reply to post by zorgon


Actually I found a half dozen and they all said the same thing. Google is our friend

Chronos devouring his child.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/0b1419b69b69.jpg[/atsimg]

Nice guy.

From Encyclopedia Mythica

Cronus was depicted carrying a sickle used to gather the harvest, but this was also the weapon he used to castrate his father.

Again I say, nice guy!

reply to post by flightsuit


Could you post the link to that podcast your listening to. Would like to hear it.
Thanks.

Originally posted by Sauron
Well it sounds like Doctors Doctor Schnabel von Rom (Doctor Schnabel from Rome)

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/e63a786ecc05.jpg[/atsimg]

[edit on 2/9/2009 by Sauron]

This image reminds me of Thoth, but he was around 1000's of years ago.
The image that Zorgon posted is Thoth.

i wonder if there is a connection


[edit on 2/9/2009 by wycky]

Being that we know the cause of the Black Plague, and historians have not only traced the origins of the 14th century epidemic (trade caravans from China carrying fleas) and that historians recognize other instances of the plague in history, such as Justinian's Plague, why is there need to invent another cause? Especially one that discounts and contradicts everything we know about the origins of the disease?

And why should we take reports of these Grim Reapers or Men in Black seriously? This was a period of rampant superstition and ignorance; many of the stories and rumors people believed then we would find laughable or vile. It is interesting what some people will pick-and-choose to accept in order to support their beliefs.

reply to post by Sauron


It is interesting to note that these plague doctors were not actually doctors, or rather what passed for doctors in those days. Most doctors would flee the area after an outbreak of the plague. The plague doctors were volunteers who, instead of treating the ailment, would instead travel to the area just to verify the victims were suffering from the Black Death.

Originally posted by Egyptia
reply to post by flightsuit

 

Could you post the link to that podcast your listening to. Would like to hear it.
Thanks.

Here you go:

Earthfiles Podcast August 22, 2009

Originally posted by DoomsdayRex

This was a period of rampant superstition and ignorance; many of the stories and rumors people believed then we would find laughable or vile. It is interesting what some people will pick-and-choose to accept in order to support their beliefs.

I'm not sure I see your point. Have you read some of the things on today's forums?

Originally posted by Wonderer77
I'm not sure I see your point. Have you read some of the things on today's forums?

An excellent point. I suppose the more things change...

Shouldn't this be moving towards the men in black theory ? It's in the Aliens and ufo section , so try keep it on subject. Who cares what herbs were in the mask.

Well Nasacarl, one of the questions I did ask was: If these black-garbed individuals were not aliens, what kind of technology where they using?

A 14th century haz-mat suit and the herbs incorporated into its design would certainly fall into the category of technology, so that info is not at all off-topic.

Curious to know more about these plague doctors, I found this little one-of-a-kind beauty:

Plague Doctor Doll

Doctor Osgood Bludgeon is 22 inches tall, from the top of his hat to the bottom of his gray velvet covered feet. He has articulated arms and legs, his face, hat and his entire outfit was completely hand-stitched, absolutely no sewing machines were used. His face was hand-painted with acrylic paint, and for his glasses, vintage gold rimmed buttons were sewn onto his face. His hands are made of bisque and tinted slightly in order to bring out the veins in his hands.

Too bad he's already spoken for.

Anyway, I acquired William Bramley's book earlier this evening and am about to delve into it. I shall report back.

reply to post by nasacarl


not if the theory is demostrably incorrect

From Wikipedia and other sources, regarding the plague doctors:

It's likely that while offering some protection to the wearer, they may have actually contributed more to the spreading of the disease than its treatment, in that the plague doctor unknowingly served as a vector for infected fleas to move from host to host.

So that would certainly seem consistent with the notion that these guys show up, and death soon follows.

Wouln't aliens, (Or whomever), have better means to spread a plague than guys with scythes? I.E Air sprayed aerosols? Realism is never going to go out of style.....