Objective The history of late medieval and early modern Europe was deeply affected by epidemics of plague that repeatedly broke out until 1750 AD and caused devastation and death with severe social, political and economic consequences. For decades, historians and scientists have been interested in the ancient pestilences and disputed their origin and epidemiology. One century ago, Yersinia pestis was identified as the causative agent of the current-day pandemic. Only some months ago the MedPlag team conclusively established (Haensch et al. 2010) that this bacterium was responsible for the Black Death (1346-1353 AD) and that two distinct variants of Y. pestis were simultaneously circulating through Europe during this pandemic. These results raise questions concerning the historic Y. pestis strains, their geographical origin, and whether they might have re-circulated in Europe over four centuries or were constantly reintroduced from elsewhere. Other open questions concern the routes of transmission of the medieval plagues and the role played by trade and pilgrimages in their dissemination, the mechanisms of transmission and the implication of wild and anthropochorous fauna, and the interplay between climatic conditions and plague dynamics. In addition, whether the reason for the disappearance of plague from Europe 250 years ago was due to improved hygiene or to genetic or environmental change remains unknown. Finally, while historians and scientists have speculated on the microbe responsible for the Justinian plague (541-542 AD) molecular evidence is still lacking. In this proposal, I outline the methodology by which I will answer these major questions with an inter-domain investigation involving ancient DNA, climatology, ecology, and history. The results of this work will not only settle century-old controversies by giving us valuable information about the past, but also furnish a paradigm for understanding the modality of serious epidemics in Europe; past, present, and future Fields of science natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologybacteriologyhumanitieshistory and archaeologyhistorynatural sciencesbiological sciencesecologymedical and health scienceshealth sciencespublic healthepidemiologypandemicsnatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatology Programme(s) FP7-IDEAS-ERC - Specific programme: "Ideas" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) Topic(s) ERC-AG-SH6 - ERC Advanced Grant - The study of the human past Call for proposal ERC-2012-ADG_20120411 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-AG - ERC Advanced Grant Host institution UNIVERSITETET I OSLO EU contribution € 2 497 315,00 Address PROBLEMVEIEN 5-7 0313 Oslo Norway See on map Region Norge Oslo og Viken Oslo Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Principal investigator Barbara Bramanti (Dr.) Administrative Contact Ingse Noremsaune (Dr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data Beneficiaries (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all UNIVERSITETET I OSLO Norway EU contribution € 2 497 315,00 Address PROBLEMVEIEN 5-7 0313 Oslo See on map Region Norge Oslo og Viken Oslo Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Principal investigator Barbara Bramanti (Dr.) Administrative Contact Ingse Noremsaune (Dr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data