Francesco da Montefeltro

Within the next few hours I make it to my patient, an old merchant and his wife lying on their deathbed. They had contracted the plague the day before. Against my wishes, before I could even begin his much needed treatment, I am required by the church to question this dying couple if they have repented for their sins. It is imperative to mention that a common symptom of this terrible disease is eventual speech impediment or descent to madness. How am I to question a person on such a matter, when they are incapable of properly asking for a cup of water? I am, of course, a man of God. But I do not believe He would’ve asked this of us.

I must admit, the Church’s actions have been truly questionable. The few churches that have not yet shut their doors have offered cleansing rituals. I’ve attended a few of those sickrooms, and to me it looked less like a holy cleanse and more like a daytime robbery. According to the priests in that room, the only way to rid of the disease is through practices such as appeals to the saints, holy relics, and Masses. All of which cost the patient gifts of money to the Church. I was only permitted to treat the patient after the Church had milked every last coin. The few times the patient was effectively healed, the Church had taken all the credit for their recovery. However, when one of my patients died shortly after the service, the Church fully blamed the death on me. I had heard from fellow physicians that they’d shared a similar experience.

After the patients make their promise, I start by examining them. As far as I know, a patient wouldn’t feel hot to the touch when infected. When asked, a patient usually describes their pain as internal waves of strong heat and inflammation. They typically have labored breathing, dry mouth, visible spasming, and most importantly, black ulcers. I have been taught by other doctors to use ulcers as a directory to identify which viral organ has been affected by the illness. An ulcer in the armpit identifies the heart, the groin for the liver, and behind the ear for the brain. Once I identify the vein connected to their ulcer, I begin bloodletting, drawing out enough blood to cleanse it from the toxins. After drawing out a sufficient amount of blood, I take an extra preventive measure and pull out a chopped snake. Since a snake is the animal of the Devil, rubbing the chopped pieces against those black ulcers will allow me to draw out the evil lurking beneath, after all evil is drawn to evil. As I leave, I hand them a Four Thieves Vinegar, a combination of vinegar and spices that will surely keep the plague astray.