Embedded Files
DOCUMENT K: Procession of Flagellants at Doornik
DOCUMENT K: Procession of Flagellants at Doornik
Belgium, c. 1350
DOCUMENT L: The Flagellants
DOCUMENT L: The Flagellants
Jean de Venette, 14th century French friar and plague survivor
In the year 1349, while the plague was still active and spreading from town to town, men in Germany…and…Flanders uprose and began a new sect on their own authority. Stripped to the waist, they gathered in large groups and bands and marched in procession through the crossroads and squares of cities and good towns. There they formed circles and beat upon their backs with weighted scourges, rejoicing as they did so in loud voices and singing hymns suitable to the rite and newly composed for it. Thus for thirty-three days they marched through many towns doing their penance and affording a great spectacle to the wondering people. They flogged their shoulders and arms with scourges tipped with iron points so zealously as to draw blood…They said that their blood thus drawn by the scourge and poured out was mingled with the blood of Christ. Their many errors showed how little they knew of the Catholic faith…Many honorable women and devout matrons, it must be added, had done this penance with scourges, marching and singing through towns and churches like the men, but after a little, like the others, they desisted.”
DOCUMENT M: Muslim Cryptograms
DOCUMENT M: Muslim Cryptograms
Mysticism and magic have long had a role in the Islamic world, and the catastrophe of the Black Death seems to have reinforced these trends. Cryptograms (below left) are combinations of numbers, letters, or words used to create references to specific Qur'anic verses or names for God. Muslim anti-plague amulet (below right) contain names of God in Arabic. This pattern was usually engraved on a ring. According to popular belief, a plague patient would be guarded against the raging fever of the disease if he or she drank the water in which the ring had been soaked. Wearing the ring also gave protection. However, it had to be taken off on Saturdays and Mondays because the coldness of Saturn and the Moon, whose days these were, interfered with the powers of the charm.
DOCUMENT N: Talisman - Seal Ring with Inscription, 15th century
DOCUMENT N: Talisman - Seal Ring with Inscription, 15th century
The inscription at the center of the seal reads: "Glory to He who does not die." The protective power of the ring is comprehended in the poetic invocation that surrounds the center inscription. It reads: Call upon Ali whose miracles manifest, you will find his help in times of misfortune; All anguish and sorrow will dissipate; Through your friendship: Oh Ali Oh Ali Oh Ali"
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