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

Religious Rationale for the Plague in Rosemary Horroxs The total darkness DeathAfter the September 11th, 2001 attacks, magnanimous sacred figures claimed that depraved American lifestyles were to strike for the bombings Protestant leader Jerry Falwell came out and narrated that the attacks were a manifestation of Gods irritation at impious people. This attitude stems from a reaction to contemporary events, but possesses root that date back to 1348. Throughout the time of plague in gothic England, priests and other spiritual leaders insisted that mass devastation via disease was a God-sent punishment for decadent lifestyles and impious behavior. These officials claimed that the promiscuous, the scantily 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 correctitude and decorum were highl y pertinent to medieval apparitional authorities attempting to pin down the causes of plague. In 1348, spiritual authorities determined that the immodest behavior of certain groups led to outbreaks of present 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 attend the tournaments is a telling example. He laments that, they spent and wasted their goods, and (according to the common report) maltreat their bodies in wantonness and scurrilous licentiousness. They neither feared God nor blushed at the censure of the people, but took the marriage bond lightly 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 biblical law, and condemning displays of impropriety. Individuals who failed to adhere to religious dictates regarding frugality and matrimony were bla med for ushering in the disease. Those who ignored social conventions regarding sightly dress and gender codes were also accused of inciting Gods indignation and bringing society to ruin. According to excerpts of Rosemary Horroxs The Black Death, the religious message of 1348 states that human pain and suffering 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 remain an inherent part of any(prenominal) religious diagnosis for societal ailments.