Chapter 211 The Destined Falling Leaves
Compared with the confidence of Master Francois, Master Stephen of the Knights Hospitaller on the side looked much more stable.
The differences between the two knights have always been like this.
The Knights Templar were often fiery, while the Knights Hospitaller were as calm and reserved as their robes.
"So, what did the heretic say?"
Archbishop Olivier said frankly: "That guy claimed to be the Holy One of Jerusalem, claimed to be the child of Heavenly Father, and claimed that plagues and diseases were not punishments sent by the Lord."
"Moreover, that guy practiced medicine with witchcraft. According to legend, he once dug people's stomachs to remove their internal organs."
"Eviscerate other people?"
The two masters couldn't help but be a little shocked. It was actually because in this era, human beings' views on organs were different from those in later generations.
For example, in medieval Christian belief, the heart was regarded as the seat of the soul and emotions, symbolizing faith, will, and love.
The importance of the brain is severely underestimated in comparison.
Even autopsies are often seen as desecrating the deceased and disrespecting God's creation.
Many Christian sects believe that maintaining the integrity of the corpse is important for the resurrection of the dead, so there is a strong cultural and religious demand for the integrity of the corpse.
In this cultural atmosphere, removing the internal organs of a living person is chilling.
Especially due to this word-of-mouth spread, Garris's initial intention of helping people heal became a practice of evil in the eyes of Archbishop Olivier.
"Moreover, that guy, who still has a lot of reputation among Orthodox Christians, actually claims that the bodily fluids from cow sores can be used to prevent smallpox!"
"But in my opinion, this is clear evidence that he spread smallpox!"
The archbishop once again vividly told the masters of the two knights about Gallis's vaccination with cowpox.
For these people in church, cowpox? Abscesses on cows!
This, this...can cure diseases?
Pure witchcraft, pure witchcraft, if this is not heresy, then what is heresy? !
This is using abscesses on cows to contaminate human souls!
Rather than treating smallpox, it is better to say that it is spreading smallpox!
Of course, the 12th century was actually an era of change. In this era, many places in Europe were very conservative.
However, in some cities, such as the Medical College of Salerno and later the University of Bologna in the 13th century, attempts were made to structure medical education and gradually promote the legalization of autopsy.
Garris, who is stuck at this juncture, can be said to have taken just one step more. Some people can accept it, but more people regard him as a madman, a heretic, a cultist, and a devil worshiper.
"Wait, you said smallpox?"
Compared with Francois, Stephen grasped an important point. He heard the word smallpox from Archbishop Olivier.
"Yes, that guy is currently using abscesses from cows to spread smallpox to people."
Stephen's expression changed. As a member of the Knights Hospitaller, he was actually skeptical of Olivier's words.
But no matter how suspicious you are, no matter whether the heretic is spreading smallpox, it is certain that it is in the city of Tripoli...
Possibly, indeed, there was smallpox.
At this moment, what Stephen thought about was: should he leave quickly?
But Master François was fearless.
"Archbishop, do you mean that as long as the heretic is captured, tried and purified, the spread of the plague can be stopped?"
Archbishop Olivier did not give a definite answer, but his words seemed to have the same meaning, which can be said to be a naked hint.
Unlike later generations, Archbishop Olivier and Master François, they all sincerely did not believe that cowpox could cure human diseases.
To be precise, they are not even interested in verifying whether this is true, because the absolutely correct truth is written in the Bible, and the church that holds the right to interpret the Bible is the incarnation of the truth on earth.
Why abandon the real light of the sun and chase the flickering lights?
Since the possibility that cowpox could cure diseases was rejected by the church from the beginning.
In their opinion, the effect of cowpox is just a trick of the devil.
Just when Stephen was about to make an excuse to run away, Francois slapped Stephen hard on the shoulder.
"Come! Let us clean up the filth in Tripoli together!"
……
Azrael has four faces, four thousand pairs of wings, and his entire body is made up of eyes and tongues, the number of which corresponds to the number of living people on earth.
He is so huge that if the earth were placed on his shoulders, it would be as insignificant as a bean in a field.
Azrael wrote the true names of everyone in the world on the leaves of the tree of life behind the throne of God. When a person is about to die, the leaves with the true names written on them will wither in obedience to the will of Allah.
Each eye of Azrael stared at a living person, and each tongue spoke only once.
When Azrael picks up fallen leaves and pronounces his true name, he will close the corresponding eye after forty days.
As a result, the man died.
In Christian folk mythology, Death is a black-robed skeleton who wields a sickle and swings at mortals to harvest their souls. Now in Tripoli, a city where panic is growing, they have heard the hooves of Death's skeletal horse.
Azrael in space is also reciting the true names of mortals one after another.
The number of living people on the streets gradually decreased, and the bustling bustle was replaced by doubts and rumors.
Rumors about smallpox became more and more intense and could no longer be contained.
Death rode into Tripoli, and he alone was not enough.
Therefore, death divides into two, two into four, four into eight...it divides in this way eleven times before it stops.
Doesn't seem right? Why so few?
But Death, after all, would never ask such a question. They just went about their duties and reached their assigned positions.
When Death moved towards its designated position, Garris also arranged the positions of his men.
These days, with the help of the Cyprus Church's influence on the city of Tripoli, more than half of the Greeks in Tripoli are currently connected.
And knights like Jos are also ready to move.
Everything is ready, just waiting for an auspicious day.
The streets of Tripoli are crowded and narrow, and the stone roads are unevenly paved.
Most of the buildings on both sides are made of stone bricks, with shabby linen hanging on the windows, blocking the weak light.
The sky was covered with dark clouds, and the thick clouds seemed to be pressing down on everyone. A gloomy atmosphere enveloped every corner of the city.
At a street intersection, a wooden platform stood, looking like a temporary structure.
People were surrounding the wooden platform in twos and threes, looking up at the man on the platform,
It was a middle-aged man wearing a dark robe. His voice was loud and powerful. Even under the cloudy sky, it could still be clearly conveyed to the ears of people around him.
"St. Augustine once said: Do your best and pray for what you cannot do, and God will give you strength."
St. Augustine, whose full name is Augustine Hippo, was an important theologian and philosopher in early Christianity and is considered one of the founders of Western Christian thought.
On the stage, Archos borrowed the words of St. Augustine, but he actually did not agree with many of St. Augustine's views.
But there's no way, that's just the way it is.
"But what is something that can be done with one's own strength, and what is something that human power cannot do?!"
"Our Lord, Jesus did not surrender to the cross of death. He defeated hatred and death with his forgiveness and love!"
“The Lord’s calmness in going to the cross proved that nothing in the world is fatal, nothing is unforgivable, and completely irredeemable, everything can be renewed, and the destiny of the world is to realize the utopia of the Kingdom of God! ”
“The only thing we pray to our Heavenly Father is not to eliminate death and suffering, but to free us from the fear of death and suffering.”
"The same is true for smallpox. Any supplicating prayer must pay attention to two points. One is the confidence that it will be heard, and the other is giving up the idea that the Heavenly Father will answer according to your and my wishes."
"Plagues can be repelled, famines can be eliminated, wars can be restrained... The grace and freedom God has given us are more than what you and I thought in our hearts!"
Aljos's loud cry received responses from the surrounding citizens. Occasionally, crying and coughing were mixed in, making this already depressing scene even more desolate.
Now, these days, the people represented by Aljos are constantly traveling through the city of Tripoli, taking in those patients.
People around you can see it. At least, this is much better than leaving the patient at home to die.
However, the invisible boundary is cut in the city of Tripo after all.
Catholics and Orthodox Christians are like two unrelated groups of people.
Archos's preaching may still receive some feedback from the Orthodox Christian side, but it is a stagnant water from the Catholic side.
Aljos himself had been stoned more than once.
Suddenly, the sound of neat and powerful footsteps came from the street nearby.
A group of heavily armed Templars rushed towards the temporary wooden platform.
Although the long swords in their hands were not unsheathed, the shields in their left hands also turned into weapons, and they charged all the way.
Innocent people screamed and ran away, and the bystanders were suddenly plunged into chaos and panic, with cries, calls for help and the sound of shields clashing intertwined.
The leading knight pointed his sword at Aljos, and a bolt of lightning struck in the sky, followed by a burst of thunder.
Then, the knight roared loudly: "This person is a heretic! If you fight against the church and spread heresy, you will be punished!"
After saying that, he drew out his sword without hesitation and pointed it at Aljos.
Recommend a new medieval book:
Family, the new book is here! It is a medieval historical text about the Hundred Years' War between England and France, a chivalric literature, super accurate! I've been immersed in it. If you like this subject, don't miss it. It's great! 70,000 words are being tested in a round, and everyone who has read it says it is "good". Medieval fans should not miss it, come and "spoil" it!
(End of chapter)