plague came from. Many people who were ignorant believed that the plague was the vengeance of God upon a sinful world. This belief formed two extremes. One extreme was that people become completely devoted to God and religion. The other extreme was made up of people who if were asked would frankly state that they did not care about God and religion. These people felt damned already and wanted to live life the way they wanted. Contrary to what you might think, the reaction from public officials, and from many churchmen, was that this calamity was not the vengeance of God upon a sinful world but was a disease. Those extremists who believed God brought upon this disaster out of anger began to do things to please God. One activist group was called the Flagellants. People formed bands of people who wandered through towns and countryside doing penance in public. They inflicted all sort of punishments upon themselvesfor the worlds sins in imitation of Jesus. Yet, another group believed that the Jews were the immediate cause of the Black Death. The Jews were accused of poisoning the water supply. People in Europe, out of rage and out of the need for explanation for the plague, persecuted and massacred the Jews. While many people were looking for an explanation for the Black Death, some tried to find a medical cure. Several believed that the disease was transmitted through the air. There were many dead and dying which presented an awful smell and people believed in some way the smell was connected to the disease. So, the living turned to scents to ward off the deadly vapors. The burning of incense became popular. People began to burn: juniper, laurel, pine beech, lemon leaves, rosemary, camphor, sulpher and other Handkerchiefs were dipped in aromatic oils, to cover the face when going out. Sound was another remedy used. Cities and villages rang church bells, fired cannons believing the loud and unbearable sounds would d...
