Richard Collins: Black Death myths challenged in new research paper

A millennium ago, climate change began drying out grasslands in Asia. Black rats there sought sanctuary in human dwellings. When the rats died of the plague, their fleas jumped onto people

New research reveals that long-held beliefs about how the Black Death swept rapidly across Asia originated from a centuries-old Arabic literary tale, not historical fact. Image: People praying for relief from the bubonic plague, black death. Designed by E  Corbould, litograph by F Howard. Picture: Hulton Archive

"What does it mean, the plague? It is life that’s all"  — Dr Rieux in La Peste by Albert Camus

The Black Death ravaged Europe from 1346 to 1353. More than fifty million people — half the continent’s population — died.