In the wake of the plague (101- 146)

Death comes to the archbishops
Even thought ranking mattered in the medieval times the Black Death still attacked the rich people to the people, even the archbishops were victims of the Black Death. “Cleanliness is next to holiness to Godliness” did not work in this time. England was in war with France and needed strong spiritual leadership so the king appointed and called for his archbishop, John offord. Not long after he entered office the archbishop died of the plague on May 2nd 1349. His decaying body was unable to with stand pestilence. The next guy appointed to be the archbishop was Thomas Bardwardine, the morning after he arrived at his destination in Rochester, he got the high fever, and the buboes began to appear around his armpits and groins, he lingered for 5 days, and he later died of the plague. The Death of both archbishops was a blow to the royal family, the Black Death was not sparing the royal family nor England’s leading intellectuals and religious figures. Religion relating to the plague was the ninth biblical plague cattle disease and perhaps the origin of the Black Plague. The burning of the Germans Jews accused of poisoning wells and causing the Black Death. In the city of Strasbourg in 1492; Jews were because they were suspected to be responsible for the Black Death.
Women and Men of Property
90% of England’s wealth was in land, owners of these lands often go with titles like “Duke”, “Earl” or “Lord”. 30% of the lands are also owned by ecclesiastical offices and corporation. The gentry were the poorest of the class during the middle ages most of them were Knights in England. Before the Black Death, the population of the gentry was half a million and after the plague it was half it original size. The only two groups that succeeded from the Black Death were the common lawyers and the women. The Common lawyers made their money protecting, expanding and defending the gentry’s estates. Their fees were high, but no gentry’ family could not endure without their services. For common lawyers, it was not enough to know the law; they had to be expert at drawing complicating documents in a highly specialized language. The other beneficiaries were the women of the gentry’s class. The common lawyer had to protect the widows. Lords would try to take their lands because their husbands were no more and because they did not have male heir so the law stepped in and make sure that the women were properly taken care of. The Black Death resulted either from bubonic plague or anthrax. The male of the gentry would have a higher mortality rate because they worked on the farm which cattle and other animals would be infested by fleas.
Quote
"Cleanliness is next to Holiness next to Godliness" (Acts 9:32).
"The Plague was not sparing the royal family nor England's leading intellectual and religious figures"(Cantor 107).

Reaction
The The first quotes I find to be very true and yet funny because God is seen as a clean and having no sin which is why he is holy but this is untrue of the archbishops in England at this time. The religious people are also dying in this plague and yet they are seen as the only ones during the middle ages, closer to the Pope. Also ranking seems to be important, but the plague did not see any of that, it continued to kill those in its part which I thought was very interesting.