1192 - It's Easy To Blame The Weather III

2010-01-17

And here’s the last of the three catch-up posts of today. Again the image was taken on mount Dobratsch, the mountain that broke apart in 1348’s catastrophic earth quake. That quake and the begin of the black plague in Europe, all in one year, you can’t really blame people for their superstition 🙂

The Song of the Day is one last time “It’s Easy To Blame The Weather” by Billie Holiday. I have it on a 10 CD collection that isn’t available via Amazon, thus I link to “The Quintessential Billie Holiday, Vol.7: 1938-1939”. Hear it on YouTube.

There are 12 comments

Cedric   (2010-01-17)

Andreas, your images in these last three posts have been mesmerising for someone (namely me) who is currently sweltering in 30+ degree heat and 75% humidity. I feel cooler just looking at these photos 🙂

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andreas   (2010-01-18)

Forget it. Keep sweating and be happy. Yesterday night when I arrived in Vienna, we had slight snowfall, this morning a soft drizzle and all dirty sludge. Believe me: you don't want it 😄

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Paul   (2010-01-18)

What a great shot, Andreas! I'm sure that you didn't get this one from a train window! 🙂

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andreas   (2010-01-19)

You bet. I took it with nothing but a fence between me and the abyss 😉

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Juha Haataja   (2010-01-19)

A great image. I just read "Doomsday Book" by Connie Willis, but didn't realize that there was also other big catastrophes that year. However, there might have been a plus side to 1348 as well. I read some speculation that - opposite to what is usually thought - the later scientific renaissance may have benefited from the big cut on the population of Europe in 1348. Some of the people didn't have a tough time afterwards, there was also leisure to be spent on ... thinking.

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andreas   (2010-01-19)

My tasteless mind sees a great future for Haiti. Hmm ... I don't buy that speculation. Do you have anything more specific about it?

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Juha Haataja   (2010-01-19)

Well, the line of thought went something like this... In southern Europe, the plage hit mostly to the poor people, but in the well-to-do classes the effect was much more slight. And those who survived had a rather good monetary situation (less people to divide the property), and could afford to take it easy. On the other hand, it seems that in England the situation was a bit different. The plague hit both aristocrats and poor, almost in equal measure, and the rise of the middle classes was speeded up because of this. What was interesting was also the rapid spread of the disease (end of 1347 to 1348, from Italy to England). And some of the factors, such as the fact that cats were thought to be evil (church...) and killed in masses, and rats being used as pets. But I don't know much about this, although the time period is indeed very interesting. Haiti earthquake - that's another matter entirely. Help is sorely needed, in any case.

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andreas   (2010-01-19)

OK, I get it. Interesting. So, apart from fueling superstition (with the Jews blamed culprit as usual), the plague may have had a good side as well. History has a cruel sense of humor.

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Barry Armer   (2010-01-19)

Stunning capture Andreas!! Well done! Barry

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Flo   (2010-01-19)

Andreas, the minute I spied this image, the back of my neck remembered how sharp and cold and shocking it is to get ice and snow down inside my collar! You were standing under that heavily laden tree - and any minute a breeze or bird could have knocked off some of that snow down onto your head and back! BRRRR!!!!

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andreas   (2010-01-19)

Well, actually I had some snow on my head when I got back to the car 🙂

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Thomas   (2010-01-20)

That one is a real beauty! The combination of a vast mountain range in the back with the snowwwy branches in the foreground... Wonderful. And of course, the major diagonal. 🙂

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