Death from the Hands of an Angry God
Another prevalent belief was that the plague was a form of divine retribution.
There was too much greed in the world, too much blasphemy, and worldliness. God was mad, and the only way to stop it was to appease him. Processions of flagellants who whipped themselves with metal-studded straps traveled from town to town as a form of penance.
Others decided the best thing to do was to purge the world of those that offended God. Heretics and Jews being the obvious choice.
“Christians massacred Jews in Germany and other parts of the world where Jews lived, and many thousands were burned everywhere, indiscriminately,” wrote Jean de Venette.
“Doctors need three qualifications: to be able to lie and not get caught; to pretend to be honest; and to cause death without guilt.” — Jean Froissart’s Chronicles (1380)
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