In September 1349, Robert of Avesbury, a clerk who worked for the archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth Palace, stepped into the streets of London to witness a parade of Flemish flagellants. Around six hundred of these curious characters had recently appeared in the city, and they were now a regular sight. Twice each day they appeared, dressed in simple white open-backed shifts, wearing caps with red crosses on their heads. “Each carried a scourge with three tails in his right hand,” wrote Robert. “Each tail had a knot and through the middle many had fixed sharp nails. They marched in a line,
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