In the 1340’s, approximately one third to one half the population of Europe was wiped out by what was called “The Black Death”. The people of the time were armed with little to no understanding of why and how the plague happened and how to control it; and this allowed for the vast destruction that occurred in little more than three years time. The origin of the epidemic has, with little doubt, been identified as …showed first 75 words of 681 total…

…showed last 75 words of 681 total…life to the full, go around singing and merrymaking, gratify all of one's cravings whenever the opportunity offered, and shrug the whole thing off as one enormous joke.’ -Giovanni Boccaccio, The Decameron” (Wark). Still, some people took a different view of the situation. Germany was the center for two phenomena spawned by the plague the Flagellant movement, and a wave of anti-Semitism. The Flagellants believed that by chastising themselves they could avert the wrath of