Pestilence Stage 1

(A1) Give our Wealth to the Church

To please God we must give all our wealth to the Church.

(A2) Improve Behaviour

To please God we must stop swearing and drinking alcohol.

(A3) Religious Charms

We should wear a religious cross round our necks.

(A4) Flagellant Processions

We must punish ourselves before God does. We should hit each other with nails attached to leather straps.

(A5) Juniper and Ash Wood

To destroy bad air we should burn sweet smelling juniper and ash wood in our homes.

(A6) Diseased Air

The disease is in the air. When dark clouds appear all mouths and noses should be covered by cloth. To prevent the disease entering the body at night we should cover up our windows with waxcloth.

(A7) Preventing Entry to Yalding

The disease must be spread by people. We must make sure no one enters the village. We should put armed guards on all roads entering Yalding.

(A8) Expulsion of Villagers

People who have entered the village recently might have the disease. We should expel Benedict Dunn (carpenter); Aymer Walter (thatcher); Thomas Wood (mason) and Robert Golding (pedlar) from the village.

(A9) French Agents

The pestilence is caused by French agents who are poisoning our rivers and wells. We should expel all those people from the village who fought in the French Wars. The French might have paid them to poison our water supply.