Medieval ideas about the reasons of plague and how to avoid the plague

1. “The most terrible of all terrors“
Part 2
Fears and ideas

2. Religious
processions

3. Flagellation

4. A flagellant
Why did people
think that by
whipping
themselves they
would make the
plague go away?

5. What people believed
• The evil planets of Mars and Saturn have
moved closer together. This has turned the air
bad. If we breath in the bad air we will catch
the plague.
• God has sent the plague because he is angry
with us. We have spent too much time
gambling, fighting and drinking.
• The plague passes from person to person.
Plague sores give off a terrible smell. If you
breath this in you will catch the plague.

6. What people did
• You should carry a bunch of herbs and hold it
to your nostrils at all times.
• The sick should be forced to leave the village.
• We need to pray to God and ask him to forgive
us.
• They say that the Bishop of Winchester has
run away.
• Thousands of people are going on pilgrimage
to Canterbury, Walsingham and other holy
places.

7. What people did
• Some people burn sweet-smelling wood in their
houses.
• We need to bury the clothes of the plague
victims.
• You should not go near stagnant water, slaughter
houses or rubbish heaps.
• They say that in London people walk through the
streets singing hymns and whipping each other to
show how sorry they are.
• We need to burn the clothes of the plague
victims.

8. Homework – Step 2
1. To work out why medieval people did these
things we need to match their actions to
what they believed. Make a table and put the
things people did in the correct column.
2. Now write the second part of your story.
Many people are dying and the villagers
meet in the church to decide what to do.
What does Willam Brewer say at the
meeting? Do other people share his views?
What happens in the village as more and
more people die of the plague?