How did people try to cure the plague
Flagellant
14th century
European continent
The Black Death more commonly known as the bubonic plague
Swept through Europe beginning in the mid 14th century. However, this was not the first instance of the bubonic plague in the Middle Ages
rumors about the great pestilence reached the European
Continent all the way from the Middle East in Asia before the plague itself was brought by ship the plague wrought
Contagion horror and death upon the people of Europe from the time and landed in Sicily
and gradually spread over the continent and even to the British Isles the
Bubonic plague is characterized first by swelling lymph nodes in the armpits and groin known as buboes
These buboes would swell to the size of an egg. Sometimes even to the size of an apple bringing severe pain to the victims
The next stage of the sickness was the pus and blood that would seep from the swelling's
This was followed by terrible aches and pains fever vomiting and diarrhea
people at the time had no idea how the plague spread believing that even touching the victims clothing would cause contagion
However, the true cause of the plague were the fleas carried between houses by people and animals specifically rats
the contagion spread throughout the continent as healthy people fled into the countryside and even across the English Channel trying to escape
Infection but in reality they were bringing the infected fleas with them
The plague spread quickly throughout Europe killing up to 50 million people and infecting even more
Due to the intensity and horror of the black death without a plausible explanation at the time
People in the Middle Ages cast blame on a variety of things the largest of which being the wrath of God
In the middle of the 14th century some people believe the way to appease God's wrath was to kill those they saw as heretics
This meant that thousands of Jews foreigners the impoverished and other religious pilgrims were killed in an attempt to please God
However, lost some people tried to cure the play by punishing others some tried to cure it by punishing themselves
this form of religious self punishment was known as flagellation and it experienced a revival on a new scale because of the Black Death
Flatulent groups emerged in Italy Eastern Europe Germany and the Low Countries and spread throughout Europe
Flagellants were religious zealots who tried to atone for their sins and therefore cure the plague through public displays of penance
This atonement was based in the imitation of the way Jesus suffered as he was whipped by Roman guards before being crucified
for the sins of the world
The flagellants would whip themselves publicly several times a day travelling to different towns in a procession every thirty three and a half days
gaining more followers in each town they went to
Some groups of flagellants differentiated themselves from other citizens by wearing hoods over their faces
But exposed their backs to show their wounds
This provided an element of modesty and humility
into the act of flagellation
They were not to be viewed or worshipped as holy beings themselves
But their actions were meant to be viewed as atonement for the sins of all humanity
The whips consisted of three leather courts that had knots on each end which sometimes had metal nails or iron spikes
Embedded so that the flatulent would draw even more blood and possibly atone even deeper for their worldly sins
Flagellants blood could be seen spattering walls roads and bystanders and some saw the blood as a holy relic
Eventually pope clement the sixth condemned the action of the flagellants as heretical because he viewed them as
potential usurpers of catholic power that caused trouble and instill false hope
on October 20th
1349 the flatulent movement was officially condemned in a bull and church leaders were ordered to suppress it with
The end of the bubonic plague in the late Middle Ages the flatulent movement had all but disappeared
However, it was not the flagellants and their actions who cured the plague
Sanitation and cold weather finally killed off the remnants of the fleas carrying the plague leaving the European population
Devastated but still surviving
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