While the Black Death swept across towns, cities and countries, people desperately looked to the heavens for salvation. They also looked to God for an explanation for the plague, and went to extreme measures to call upon divine favour. Town squares all over continental Europe teemed with flagellants: men dressed in white robes marked with red crosses on the back, wielding whips and chanting in solemn tones. As their chorus rose to a crescendo, they would get on their knees and start lashing themselves. The whips, which had metal studs or nails tied to the
