It is as clear as the sun that the recent increase of the
pestilence came by the carelessness of the people, and their
greediness in receiving infected goods into their houses
what is the cause that this pestilence is so great in one part of
the land but not in another? Only that it pleaseth the Lord in
wisdom to defend some but not the rest. Therefore let us believe
that in these dangerous times God much be our only defence
People wore charms such as this
abracadabra amulet to ward off the plague
Plague doctors wore costumes when they visited victims.
They wore gloves, legs were fully covered, a glass nose
stuffed with perfume, herbs or flowers, and a stick for
prodding victims to see if they were alive or not
Dead People
Plague victims were buried usually at
night in a very well organised way
Searchers would check each dead body to work out the cause
of death. Each week the number of dead and their cause of
death were written on a 'Bill of Mortality'.
The Government
Special orders were issued by the Mayor of London in an attempt to stop the spread of
the Plague. Any house containing someone with the plague has to be sealed up for up to 40
days until the person is dead or better. Public entertainment is to be stopped and the door
of the house has to be marked with a red cross and the words, "Lord, have mercy upon us"
Regulations of the City of London council were that examiners and searchers should be apoointed. And
infected house should be shut up for a month and no one should leave unless they go to a pest-house.
Watchmen should be appointed to guard houses to make sure no one escapes. Also people inside
infected houses should be supplied with essential food if they're too poor to pay for their own. Stray
dogs should be killed by council dog-killers. No other animals should be kept in the City.
Cure
People spent a fortune on crazy cures like recipes. You were told to wrap in
woollen clothes, compel the sick party to sweat which if he does, keep him there
until the sores begin to rise. Then apply a live pigeon cut in half or a plaster
made of the yolk of an egg, honey, herbs and wheat flour.
People wore amulets (charms) made of toad's poison which, if there is any
infection, it raises a blister, which a plaster heals, and so they are well.
To draw the poison from the plague sore, take the feathers from the tail of a chicken and apply them to
the sore. The chick will gasp and labour for life, when the poison is drawn out by the chicken, the patient will
recover. Then use the recipe.
God
What is the cause that this pestilence is so great in
one part of the land but not in another? Only that it
pleaseth the Lord in wisdom to defend some but not
the rest. Therefore let us believe that in these
dangerous times God must be our only defence.
There were regulations ordering people to pray and fast to persuade God to
stop the plague. Did most people explain the plague in supernatural terms?