The Flea in the Ointment?

So, it appears that we may have been wrong about the origins of the Black Death after all. Historians and scientists have been working together, looking at tree ring samples to ascertain whether the climate conditions would have been right for rats to be the primary carriers of the fleas that would then transmit the disease to humans. Initial findings appear to suggest that any link between the outbreak of the plague and the weather is tenuous, leading some to suggest that the Asian giant gerbil was actually the source of the epidemic. Startling news if true, meaning that countless generations of teachers and students have been happily passing on incorrect information for years. Worrying? Not at all; it is this uncertainty and evolution of ideas that gives History its dynamism, its energy and stretches those who seek to understand the past.



Innocent?

Troubling as it may be to have something that seems so ingrained turned on its head, this process is key to the study of history, driving us on to be better historians, to always look for a fuller understanding and to make the most of the developments of the modern world to better grasp days gone by. We should not shy away from new theories and ideas - we should cautiously welcome them and then do what all great historians do; question them from every angle and see if they stand up to scrutiny. Getting it 'wrong' in History is not a crime (unless done deliberately to shape the past the way you want it) because  frequenty there is no 'wrong' answer - just a differing opinion. Whilst dates and people may stay the same, the deeper understanding of cause and consequence is always up for discussion and forms the bedrock of the discipline. Whilst this new information might send Year 7 history teachers up and down the land rushing in a panic to the library and the internet to look up 'giant gerbils', we should also be thankful that our subject often never really comes to a neat conclusion - after all we wouldn't want to waste all that curiousity. If nothing else, it might help clear the name of the much maligned Black Rat and if History does nothing else than overturn historical miscarriages of justice, it is a still a valuable tool in today's 'I want the answer now' society. Long live controversy and debate - it makes good historians of us all.

S Shergold