The 1321 lepers' plot was an alleged conspiracy of French lepers to spread their disease by contaminating water supplies, including well water, with their powders and poisons.[1] According to the American historian Solomon Grayzel, lepers were the most abused group of people during the Middle Ages: they were thrown out of settlements and treated as wild animals due to the widespread belief that their disease was highly contagious.[2] However, other historians have contested such a view, pointing out that lepers often lived within communities in leper houses (leprosaria) and were supported by charitable donations.[3][4]
As the alleged conspiracy progressed, Jews and Muslims were also said to be implicated, providing an excuse for local authorities to attack both Jewish and leper communities. The hysteria quickly spread to the neighbouring realms, most notably to the Crown of Aragon.
- ^ McVaugh, Michael R. (2002). Medicine Before the Plague: Practitioners and Their Patients in the Crown of Aragon, 1285–1345. Cambridge University Press. p. 220. ISBN 0521524547.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Grayzel47_389was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Rawcliffe, Carole (2006). Leprosy in Medieval England. Woodbridge: Boydell.
- ^ Miller, T. S. (2006). "Medieval leprosy reconsidered". Social Science Review. 81: 16–28.