Religious Rationale for the Plague in Rosemary Horrox’s The Black Death

unearthly Rationale for the Plague in rosemary Horroxs The Black terminalAfter the September 11th, 2001 attacks, prominent religious figures claimed that depraved American lifestyles were to whack for the bombings Protestant leader Jerry Falwell came forth and stated that the attacks were a manifestation of immortals irritation at impious people. This attitude stems from a answer to contemporary events, but possesses roots that date back to 1348. Throughout the clip of fire in medieval England, priests and other spiritual leadership insisted that rush devastation via disease was a God-sent punishment for decadent lifestyles and impious bearing. These officials claimed that the promiscuous, the scarce dressed, and the flamboyant were all to blame for outbreaks of pestilence. Religious responses to the plague of 1348, found in passages of Rosemary Horroxs The Black Death, clearly display this sentiment, signifying the fact that standards of propriety and decorum were highly r elevant to medieval religious authorities attempting to trap down the causes of plague. In 1348, religious authorities determined that the immodest behavior of certain groups led to outbreaks of ubiquitous plague. The tendency to regard indecency as the cause of plague is displayed in records of the day. Henry Knightons description of a guilty crowd attending the tournaments is a telling example. He laments that, they fagged and wasted their goods, and (according to the common report) abused their bodies in wantonness and scurrilous licentiousness. They neither feared God nor blushed at the criticism of the people, but took the marriage bond light and were deaf to the demands of modesty (130). As one can gather from this passage, the 1348 religi... ...se of the plagues presence by delimiting impious behavior according to scriptural law, and condemning displays of impropriety. Individuals who failed to adhere to religious dictates regarding frugality and matrimony were blamed for ushering in the disease. Those who ignored social conventions regarding decent dress and gender codes were also criminate of inciting Gods wrath and bringing society to ruin. According to excerpts of Rosemary Horroxs The Black Death, the religious message of 1348 states that human pain and pain are divine punishment for decadence, licentiousness, and frivolity. It is interesting to note that religious leaders of the 21st century state much the same thing regarding catastrophic events. This leads one to conclude that standards of propriety and decorum will always pillow an inherent part of any religious diagnosis for societal ailments.