Saint Roch heals pestiferous. Il Tintoretto. Church of san Rocco in Venice. 1559.
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Hope in religion, but also a search for culprits
Hope in religion, but also a search for culprits
In the Middle Ages, people were very religious, and they had to face a pandemic. They did not know the origin nor the cure, so it was common for them to look at religion for answers and protection. Masses and processions were offered in honour of Saint Roch, Saint Rosalia, Saint Sebastian...
Unfortunately, Jews were also accused of being to blame for the epidemic and in some cities they were attacked. For example, on 1349, in Strasbourg 2000 Jews were burned to dead.
2000 Jews of Strasbourg being burned to death over a pit on Feb. 14, 1349 in the Strasbourg Massacre during the Black Death. Medieval manuscript. Approximately 1350. Wikipedia Commons.
Flagellants march through the city of Tournai to rid the world of the Black Death. Chromolithograph from the 'Chronica Aegidii Li Muisius'. Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images. La Vanguardia 29/03/2020.
The processions
The processions
Here we can see a procession to pray to rid the world of the plague.
Monseigneur de Belsunce pendant the plague of Marseille
The support of the Church
The support of the Church
This picture shows how the Priests assisted the dying.
St. Roch, patron saint of plague
St. Roch, patron saint of plague
St. Rochus altarpiece by Peter Paul Rubens, St. Martin's church in Aalst, Belgium. 1623-1626.
"Saint Roque asking the Virgin to cure the victims of the plague" by Jacques Louis David, 1780. Musée des Beaux-Arts, Marseilles.
On the left, St. Roch being named by Christ as patron saint of plague sufferers. On the right, Saint Roch asks the Virgin to cure the victims of the plague.
"Saint Sebastian intercedes in a plague epidemic" by Josee Lieferinxe. 1499. Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore (USA).
St. Sebastian, patron saint of plague
St. Sebastian, patron saint of plague
Saint Sebastian in heaven asks Jesus to stop the pandemic.
Below them, the good and evil fight in the form of an angel and a demon, while on Earth, people are dying.
Saint Rosalia, patron saint of the plague
Saint Rosalia, patron saint of the plague
The Flemish artist Anton Van Dyck was in Palermo, Sicily, when the plague broke out in 1624 and painted a series of pictures in which Saint Rosalia, patron saint of the city, intercedes for its inhabitants.
Saint Rosalie of Palermo, by Anton Van Dyck. Work copied. Museo Nacional del Prado. Madrid. 1624.
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