Murrain is a highly infectious disease of
cattleCattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
and sheep. It literally means "death" and was used in
medievalThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
times to represent just that. The population of that era had no way of identifying specific diseases in their livestock so they simply put all illnesses under one heading. There were major sheep and cattle murrains in Europe during the 14th century, which combined with the
Little Ice AgeThe Little Ice Age was a period of cooling that occurred after a warmer era known as the Medieval Warm Period. While not a true ice age, the term was introduced into scientific literature by François E. Matthes in 1939...
resulted in widespread famine during the Great Famine of 1315-1317, weakening the population of Europe before the onset of the
Black DeathThe Black Death was one of the deadliest pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. It is widely thought to have been an outbreak of bubonic plague caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, but this view has recently been challenged...
in 1348.
Murrain is also mentioned once in the Bible relating to the fifth plague brought upon Egypt.
Exodus 9:3: "Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain."
PestilenceA pestilence is any virulent and highly infectious disease that can cause an epidemic or even a pandemic. The word can also be used about parasites causing large scale sickness and death, such as Guinea worm...
, which is mentioned 47 time in 46 verses of the Bible, can be translated "murrain"
[Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon].
see
PsalmsPsalms is a book of the Hebrew Bible , included in the collected works known as the "Writings" or Ketuvim.-Etymology:...
91:3 KJV
The word in Hebrew is דֶּבֶר "deber" (Strong's # 01698), derived from the primitive root "dabar" in the sense of "to destroy".
In some parts of
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
,
force-fireThe force-fire , or a fire produced by friction, was used in folk magic practice in the Scottish Highlands up until the 19th century. Believers considered it an antidote against bewitching, as well as the plague, murrain and all infectious diseases among cattle...
was believed to cure it and in some remote regions of
CumbriaCumbria is a shire county in the North West of England. Cumbria came into existence as a county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, murrain is still used as a term for a
curseA curse is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or unhappiness will befall another person or persons. In particular, a wish that harm or hurt will be inflicted by any supernatural power, such as a spell, a prayer, an imprecation, an execration, magic, witchcraft, a god, a natural force,...
, specifically a
curseA curse is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or unhappiness will befall another person or persons. In particular, a wish that harm or hurt will be inflicted by any supernatural power, such as a spell, a prayer, an imprecation, an execration, magic, witchcraft, a god, a natural force,...
placed upon land or livestock. It is believed that the medieval term has, by a process of syncreticism become synonymous with
witchcraftWitchcraft, in various historical, anthropological, religious and mythological contexts, is the use of certain kinds of supernatural or magical powers. Witchcraft can refer to the use of such powers in order to inflict harm or damage upon members of a community or their property...
. This usage inspired the
ATVAssociated TeleVision, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licenses to broadcast on the ITV network from September 24, 1955 until December 31, 1981.-Formation:...
television play, Murrain, written by
Nigel KnealeNigel Kneale was a Manx screenwriter who worked mostly in the United Kingdom. Active in television, film, radio drama and prose fiction, he wrote professionally for over fifty years, was a winner of the Somerset Maugham Award and was twice nominated for the British Film Award for Best...
, which was broadcast on 27 July 1975 as part of the channel's
Against the Crowd drama strand.