European lazaretto quarantine originated as a response to Muslim-world contagion fears

Evidence

Europe devised the famous “quarantine,” the system of isolating people who came from the Muslim lands for a period of time, in principle forty days, in what was known from the Italian as a “lazaretto,” until they were deemed safe and allowed out. We have descriptions from the Middle Eastern side of the humiliation which they suffered in going to Europe, where even ambassadors were confined to a lazaretto for quarantine, before they were permitted to con­ tinue their journey. The forty day rule was not always strictly observed, the period of detention being sometimes longer, sometimes shorter. The quarantine was a major obstacle to travel, one frequently discussed by travelers both ways. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 785

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines ‘quarantine’ and ‘lazaretto’ as European inventions targeting travelers from Muslim lands, a concrete origin for a familiar word.
• CANDY: Even ambassadors sent to Europe were confined for forty days — a tidy fact about diplomatic humiliation worth mentioning in conversation.