Medieval Manuscripts Reveal 3,500-Year-Old Sheeppox Virus

10:08 AM ETDeveloping

Faith Desk

In Short: Scientists have discovered evidence of the sheeppox virus in medieval manuscripts, shedding light on the disease's long history and its impact on livestock.

Scientists have uncovered evidence of the sheeppox virus in medieval manuscripts, revealing its presence for over 3,500 years. This discovery, made by researchers at University College Dublin and published in Science Advances, provides a unique insight into the historical spread of the disease. The virus, which is highly contagious and often fatal, was found not only in sheepskin but also in calfskin and goatskin, suggesting cross-species infections or contamination during the parchment-making process.

In a study that analyzed over 3,500 years of sheeppox virus evolution, researchers identified traces of the disease in numerous medieval manuscripts, including the 1,000-year-old York Gospels and other important codices from across Britain and continental Europe. The findings indicate that the virus has been affecting livestock for millennia, with the earliest known detections coming from ancient pastoralist settlements in the Eurasian steppe.

‘Parchment making has been considered a vanishing craft, but we are beginning to understand just how much of the past it has retained. This project shows that parchments not only preserve our cultural history for hundreds of years, but also the landscape of disease in our livestock in the medieval period,’ said Kevin G., an Associate Professor at University College Dublin. The research also highlights the ongoing threat of sheeppox, with an outbreak currently causing economic damage in Greece.

‘People around the world are still fighting against this pathogen - there is currently an outbreak of sheeppox in Greece, causing much economic damage,’ said L’Hôte, a researcher involved in the study. The parchment used in the making of these documents serves as a unique bio-archive, preserving the health of the animal at the time of its death centuries ago.

What's still developing

There are more frequent mentions of deadly outbreaks of “pockes” or “variola” in sheep by the Middle Ages, recorded in various agricultural texts and accounting documents in France, Spain, and England.
Great Britain did not experience a sheeppox resurgence until 1847.
In several cases, multiple pages from the same manuscript were found to contain sheeppox virus DNA, indicating that infected animals were used in their production.
A highly contagious disease, sheeppox spreads rapidly and can affect large portions of a flock in a short time.
“This kind of exciting, surprising discovery is only possible when researchers from a range of disciplines come together to share their expertise and data - a generosity and trust that collaborative science depends on.” By combining the study of manuscripts with even older samples from Bronze Age sheep teeth, the study reveals that Sheeppox has threatened livestock for over 3,700 years.

Sources

University College Dublinlink