renaissance europe

Modern medicine is a beautiful thing. In 1495 Europe was hit with an acutely horrendous disease: syphilis. As it was a completely new disease being introduced to the population, the people of Europe had no resistance mechanisms to the grossness that was syphilis. And when I say gross, I mean it, people. Those first several years, before eventually being replaced by milder strains, the disease-- also known as "The Great Pox" or "The French Disease" -- manifested itself in its victims in truly grotesque ways. The following description was written by Ulrich Von H[...]