How did England react to the arrival of the Black Death?
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There were quite a few different reactions, and panic was probably the main one. People didn't understand much about disease in those days so some of what they did wouldn't make much sense to us today.
Here's one reaction before the plague came to England - yes, people knew it was coming:
By June 1348, the plague was in Paris, but the fear of it travelled more swiftly and England watched and prayed.
King Edward III didn't show any signs of panic - he carried on as normal and even held tournaments instead of resorting to "excessive religious fervour and abstemious living in the hope that God would see fit to keep them safe". Later he was more cautious and left plague-infected London.
For the population in general, sciencemuseum says
With no accurate knowledge about the disease and the way it was spread, what could be done in the face of such horror? While many followed Hippocratic advice and fled, others waited.
Here are some other things people did.
The people of the Medieval Ages were uneducated about diseases and cleanliness. Many thought it was caught through the air, so they would burn incense like juniper and rosemary to try to prevent infected air. People would dunk their handkerchiefs in aromatic oils to cover their nose and mouth from the air. Another common remedy was the cure of sound. Church bells would ring to ward off the plague. Church bells were often rang during a crisis, so they felt this was a justifiable remedy. Sometimes cannons were fired because they were so loud. Local apothecaries made a lot of money off people during the plague years by selling and marketing all sorts of talismans, charms, and spells for protection.
from https://sites.google.com/site/theblackdeathmary/medical-prevention
Also, there were some religious fanatics called The Flagellants. These were more common in Europe than in England but 600 came to London and beat themselves in "Attempt to Repel the Black Death".
from http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/flagellants.htm
The question specifies England but one interesting reaction in neighbouring Scotland involved taking advantage of the plague by invading England. A BBC article quotes Henry Knighton who wrote
The Scots, hearing of the cruel plague of the English, declared that it had befallen them through the revenging hand of God, and they took to swearing by 'the foul death of England' - or so the common report resounded in the ears of the English. And thus the Scots, believing that the English were overwhelmed by the terrible vengeance of God, gathered in the forest of Selkirk with the intention of invading the whole realm of England.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/middle_ages/black_01.shtml
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