When the Bubonic Plague struck Europe in the Middle Ages many people died. Since bad odors were thought to be the cause of disease people carried pockets full of spices and flowers. This, of course, did not work as well as they had hoped. Groups of individuals known as Flagellants would travel all over and whip themselves so that God would forgive them for their sins and take away the plague. This, besides causing more pain before catching the plague, did not work either. One method that may have worked was when the Pope sat close between two large bonfires. The heat kept fleas away and he was able to avoid catching the plague. Art became very dark during the plague. Skeletons and other personifications of death became very common artistic material. This was because death was so common that was all the artists could think to paint in such dark times.   

     The Plague, carried by rats, brought new ideas an ways of expressing one's true feelings out of the shadows and into the minds of the people. The population lost some of their spirituality at the time, but they regained it quite quickly once the plague disappeared.