In the autumn of 1347, twelve Genoese galleys drifted into the port of Messina, Sicily. They were not crewed by boisterous sailors, but by specters ravaged by a mysterious illness, their bodies covered in dark swellings and their minds lost to a feverish delirium . Within days, an invisible killer was unleashed, beginning a reign of terror that would bring Medieval Europe to its knees and erase nearly half its population.

Medical Mysteries – The Bubonic Plague chronicles the history of the world’s most devastating pandemic. Journey back to a time of unimaginable horror and confusion, where physicians in terrifying beaked masks performed deadly treatments and the Church’s prayers went unanswered. In the face of a disease that defied all explanation, society fractured, turning to desperate theories of corrupt air , angry planets , and, most tragically, malicious conspiracies that led to the frenzied persecution of innocent scapegoats.

This definitive account delves deep into the science behind the slaughter, revealing the true culprits: a resilient bacterium, a common black rat, and a tiny, ravenous flea. Follow the centuries-long investigation that finally unraveled the biological secrets of the pestilence, from the breakthroughs of 19th-century bacteriologists to the stunning analysis of ancient DNA recovered from plague pits.

More than just a story of death, this is the story of survival and the birth of a new world. Discover how the Black Death shattered the chains of feudalism , laid the foundation for modern public health , and left an indelible and surprising mark hidden in the DNA of its survivors. This is the complete story of the Great Mortality, an apocalyptic event that ended the Middle Ages and forever changed the course of human history.