Good Morning everyone,
Yesterday whilst thinking about the great sacrifices so many people have made during the current pandemic, I remembered there was a village somewhere in England, which, in the Middle Ages had sacrificed itself, to prevent the spread of plague. A quick bit of research online revealed this to be the village of Eyam in Derbyshire, England. (I wonder if we have any members from that county who know the village and the story?)
Anyway, here’s what happened.
The plague was thought to have been introduced to the village from London, where thousands of victims had already died. It came in a bale of cloth, brought to be made into clothing for ‘Wakes Week’, a religious festival. The cloth bale contained plague bearing fleas and the first victim in Eyam was the man who had brought the cloth to the village.
The plague swept through the community. Between September and December 1665, 42 villagers died and by the spring of 1666, many were on the verge of fleeing their homes and livelihoods to save themselves.
But then, in stepped the newly appointed rector, William Mompesson who believed it was his duty to prevent the plague spreading to the nearby towns of Sheffield and Bakewell, and he determined to introduce quarantine for the village.
He wasn’t at all popular in the village to begin with and now he had the job of persuading everyone to put their lives on the line.
Mompesson, realising he would need help, decided to reach out to the previous rector and they met and decided on a plan. In June 1666, Mompesson told his parishioners that the village must be enclosed, with no-one allowed in or out.
He explained that supplies would be sent into the village if the villagers agreed his plan and said that if they agreed to stay and face almost certain death, he would do everything in his power to alleviate their suffering and would remain with them, together with his wife.He did succeed in persuading all the villagers to stay, with the result that very few of them survived.
Mompesson and the villagers were people of enormous courage and most gave their lives for the greater good.
Eyam is now known as the ‘Plague village’ and I’ve written only a small portion of the events there. It’s a fascinating read for anyone who is interested in English history.
But, it’s also why I’ve chosen courage for my quotation today.
It comes from Rabindranath Tagore, the Indian poet and writer, who said:
“Let us not pray to be sheltered from dangers but to be fearless when facing them”
In our current situation too, we see so many people who have indeed been fearless in facing danger.
Hope you all have a great start to the new week.
(Pictured are some of the plague victims' final resting place, a part of Eyam village museum)
Quotation for Monday 11th May 2020