The Black Death — Part Three
Reactions to the Plague: From Faith to Flagellation
As The Black Death continued its onslaught in Europe with lightning speed, fear and uncertainty gripped communities, driving them to take desperate measures in the face of an unknown and terrifying threat.
You can read about the origins and nature of the The Black Death in Parts 1 and 2 of this series of articles:
Reactions to the Plague were, understandably, many and varied.
Some turned to religious devotion, seeking divine intervention through fervent prayer, flagellation, and pilgrimages to holy sites.
Others, driven purely by an instinct for survival, resorted to “sealing the house,” where entire families were quarantined within their homes, often with fatal consequences.
While the image of the Flagellants, clad in sackcloth and ash, rhythmically beating themselves about the head might come to mind (thanks to Monty Python’s comedic portrayal in The Holy Grail), the above actions were only a few examples of a desperate society grappling with a seemingly evil and unstoppable force.
Religious Devotion
Due to the belief that the Plague was a natural result of God’s anger at mankind, many people turned to religion for solace and salvation.
Public prayers, long journeys to sacred shrines and acts of self-denial became commonplace. In the churches, individuals sought absolution for perceived sins, hoping to appease a wrathful God and ward off the plague’s ferocity.
This surge in religious devotion reflected a desperate attempt to regain control, find meaning in the face of tragedy, and secure divine protection in a world seemingly turned upside down.
In addition to these responses, one of the most intriguing and unsettling was the rise of the Flagellant Movement.
Origins of the Movement
Flagellation, the self-infliction of pain through whipping as a form of penance, was not a new concept.
However, the Brotherhood of the Flagellants, also known as the Brethren of the Cross, transformed it into a mass movement, particularly taking root in Germany.
Why Germany? Historians speculate that the German clergy were decimated by the Pest Jungfrau as they called the Plague. At least 35% of the higher clergy are said to have died from 1348 to 1350. Thus, the German church was numerically weaker and worse led than it had been for many years which, in turn, may have contributed to the Church being unable to contain the movement’s spread.
The Rituals
According to contemporary witnesses, the Flagellants moved in a long crocodile-line, two by two, usually in groups of two to three hundred but sometimes in groups of a thousand or more.
Word would travel ahead that the Brethren of the Cross were on the march. Village churches rang their bells and the German townsfolk gathered excitedly to welcome the marchers and witness the ‘show’ performed by the Flagellants.
Men and women were segregated with women marching at the rear of the line. At the head marched the group Master and his two lieutenants carrying banners of purple and gold.
Except for occasional hymns and chanting, the marchers were silent, their heads and faces covered in cowls with red crosses, their eyes fixed to the ground.
Upon arrival to a suitable space, either inside a church or out in the open, the Flagellants would form a circle and strip to the waist. Then they would march around the circle and, at a signal from the Master, throw themselves onto the ground in a posture of crucifixion.
Those with ‘special sins’ from which to atone might adopt other poses. For example, an adulterer lay down with his or her face to the ground. A perjurer lay on his or her side and held up three fingers.
Then, the Master would walk among the prostrate bodies of the sinners and penitents and thrash them with a whip.
Following this ritual came the collective flagellation.
Each member would rhythmically beat their backs and chests with a heavy, personal whip comprising three or four leather thongs tipped with metal studs.
Contemporary historian and witness, Henry of Herford wrote: “Each scourge was a kind of stick from which three tails with large knots hung down. Through the knots were thrust iron spikes, as sharp as needles… With such scourges, they lashed themselves on their naked bodies so that they became swollen and blue, the blood ran down to the ground and bespattered the walls of churches… Occasionally, they drove the spikes so deep into the flesh they they could only be pulled out by a second wrench.”
And while all this was happening, the Master moved through the group of self-flagellators, urging them to sing the Hymn of the Flagellants, the refrain of which appears below:
“Come here for penance good and well, Thus we escape from burning Hell. Lucifer’s a wicked wight, His prey he sets with pitch alight.”
Also according to contemporary historians, each Flagellant tried to outdo his neighbour in suffering by whipping himself or herself into a frenzy, the entire spectacle viewed by the resident townsfolk who wept and sobbed and groaned in sympathy, thus encouraging the flagellants to even greater excesses!
Such scenes were repeated twice during the day and once at night. An encore performance took place if one of the flagellants died from self-scourging during the ceremony.
The Nature of the Movement
It appears that — at least initially — the Flagellant Movement was well regulated and sternly disciplined.
All prospective members were required to make a full confession of all sins committed since the age of seven and all had to promise to whip themselves three times daily for thirty-three days, one day for each year of Christ’s earthly life.
Members had to pledge absolute obedience to the Master and make a commitment not to shave, bathe, sleep in a bed, change their clothes or speak or have sexual intercourse with a member of the opposite sex.
It’s easy to believe that the arrival of the Flagellants must have brightened the drab, hard-working existence of many German peasants (in the same way a Taylor Swift concert appears to excite many today! 😉).
Plus, having the Flagellants pay a visit also meant there was a shot at the locals dodging the Plague, thanks to their intense penance routine, almost as if the Flagellants were shouldering everyone else’s sins and punishment to keep the village safe.
Reactions to the Flagellant Movement
By the middle of 1349, the Flagellants had spread from Germany to Hungary, Poland, Flanders, and the Low Countries.
Their numbers kept growing, along with their demands on local churches and monasteries. One crusade even rolled into Konstanz in southern Germany with a whopping 42,000 followers.
If anyone dared oppose them, the Flagellants reacted ferociously.
Church folks who spoke against them were labelled Scorpions and Anti-Christs. In one incident, two Dominican monks tried to break up a Flagellant gathering and got pelted with stones, one of them fatally.
Like many movements, The Brethren of the Cross overstayed their welcome and became increasingly unpopular. They got more and more grandiose, thinking of themselves as a holy army. Some claimed superpowers, like casting out demons, healing the sick, and raising the dead. Some went as far to say they’d met with Jesus and chatted with the Virgin Mary. Some even tried to pass off the blood-stained rags of Flagellants as sacred relics.
Bit by bit, the upstanding citizens of Europe started to reject the Flagellants.
The final nail in the coffin occurred when the Catholic Church declared war on the Flagellants. On 20 October, 1349, a papal Bull was issued denouncing the Flagellants as an impious sect.
When a group of Flagellants marched into Avignon, where Pope Clement VI held court, he threatened to excommunicate them all.
European rulers followed suit and took action. Manfred of Sicily warned he’d hang any Flagellants who set foot in his land. A bishop in Breslau even had one of their leaders roasted alive. Hundreds of Flagellants ended up locked up, tortured, or killed.
And just like that, the Flagellant Movement fizzled out.
While it’s tempting to chuckle at these zealots, it’s crucial to understand why they decided on such an extreme reaction to the Black Death.
First off, they were terrified by the horrific onslaught of the Black Death. In addition to this, many genuinely believed that by whipping themselves, they could not only save their own skins, but also convince God to spare the rest of humanity from the plague.
Sadly, their pilgrimages likely helped spread the disease even more. And when their supposed miracles didn’t come through, they left behind a trail of sorrow and rage.
Lessons Learned
While the Flagellants’ methods were undeniably extreme and ultimately ineffective, it’s crucial to remember the context for their actions.
They were driven by a deep fear of the unknown and a desperate search for meaning and solace in the face of a terrifying pandemic. Their story serves as a stark reminder of the human capacity for both resilience and self-inflicted suffering when faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges.
