Usually, people who caught plague died but those that didn't die then became immune to Yersinia pestis, the bacteria that causes plague. They were then safe from the next outbreak.
When one person in a household was affected, the people in the house were supposed to lock themselves in to protect everyone else. Sometimes a giant red cross was painted on the door to indicate that the house was infected by plague. Other people would avoid the house ~ which is where the saying 'to avoid like the plague' comes from.
Unfortunately, many people died and their bodies had to be buried. People dropped down in the streets, they died in their homes and they even died in churches. Bodies had to be collected on carts and taken to churchyards for burial. When the plague was at its height, the rate of deaths was so high that huge mass graves were opened and bodies were buried together, all lying East to West, but in communal graves.
When one person in a household was affected, the people in the house were supposed to lock themselves in to protect everyone else. Sometimes a giant red cross was painted on the door to indicate that the house was infected by plague. Other people would avoid the house ~ which is where the saying 'to avoid like the plague' comes from.
Unfortunately, many people died and their bodies had to be buried. People dropped down in the streets, they died in their homes and they even died in churches. Bodies had to be collected on carts and taken to churchyards for burial. When the plague was at its height, the rate of deaths was so high that huge mass graves were opened and bodies were buried together, all lying East to West, but in communal graves.
