History of Cats Part IV

Cats enjoyed their ancient high standing within the European countries at first, but that would change. The great Norse goddess Freya is depicted as riding in a chariot drawn by cats and in Ireland and Scotland cats were considered in a positive sense being magical.  

But with the Christian Church beginning to demonize important pagan symbols (which included the cat, and its association to evil witchcraft that was associated with the devil) cats popularity would be brought to an end.

The medieval writer Walter Map (1140-1210 AD) associated demonic forces with cats in his writings and there are early 13th century records in Cambridge, England of cats being ritually killed.

( 1227 – 1241 AD )

A more serious downward spiraling turn took place for cats after Pope Gregory IX issued a decree in 1233 AD.

This decree announced that cats are as evil as Satan. He made it so bad, especially for black cats, that they were so strongly demonized to the point that they were regularly killed all across Europe.

It has been argued that due to the decree of Pope Gregory IX, the death of so many cats allowed the mice and rat populations to thrive and the fleas that they carried brought on the Bubonic Plague of 1348 AD. People of the time had no idea where the Plague came from but cats continued to be suspect of all manners of ill-will and danger.

As late as 1658 AD, Edward Topsel, and his work on natural history, wrote.

“The familiars of Witches do most ordinarily appear in the shape of Cats, which is an argument that this beast is dangerous to soul and body”.

The people of the European nations believed the cat to be evil and shunned anyone who seemed overly fond of the cat. If an elderly woman took care for cats, she was susceptible to punishment for witchcraft simply on the grounds of being so accused. It was believed that just the breath of a cat was infectious and could destroy a human’s lungs causing consumption.

  The poor black cat had no chance during that time.

Our villager Samantha is happy she was born in the 21st century.

The History of cats will be 

Continued…..

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S&B