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From: Kayte Siegle
T1: itgirl48@hotmail.com
Date: 4/13/98
Time: 9:32:01 AM
Remote Name: 130.68.21.160
I explored several religion-related links on this site, especially the ones dealing with the Flagellantes and how they felt about the Jews. I had no idea that Jews were so heavily blamed (and wrongly so) for the Plague. I began to get an idea of how greatly the Plague must've affected the common Medieval psyche for people to riot and kill, not to mention resort to self-mutilation in order to attempt to appease God's supposed wrath. Strangely I knew a great deal about how the Plague affected the Medieval social structure and caused many people (post-Plague) to move to towns and cities. However, I could only really guess at the emotional and psychological toll the Plague must've taken.
One of the more interesting things I looked at was the miniature of Pope Gregory. Aside from being a fine example of Medieval art (skewed perspective and all), it was a rather interesting look at what was going on at the time. The Church was trying to maintain a hold on its congregation, and trying to maintain a semblance of peace and order throughout Europe. However, with people literally dropping like flies, regardless of age, sex, or social status (note the priest and the monk falling dead in the painting), this obviously became more and more difficult. Pope Gregory's march, and the legend that goes along with it, seems like a bittersweet story of a last-grasp reach for hope in a dark time.