We know now that the Black Plague was started by fleas and rats. In the time of the Plague, though, the people had their own ideas about the cause of the plague. One of the most amusing theories was that wind blew in from the swamp lands and brought the plague with it. One of the ways of avoiding this swamp wind was to build houses with no windows that faced in the direction of the swamp lands. Of course, since the wind was not the true reason for the plague, the disease spread on, as you can see in the above pictures. Note in the top picture that the air seems to be dark, as if the wind itself had been tainted, and had become a strange color. Also, there are skeletons running around in various parts of the painting, and the skeletons appear to be touching individuals. The skeletons may also represent the wind, because the people believed that even being touched by the swamp wind would cause them to contract the plague. This picture shows the horror felt during Plague times. In the lower left picture, a higher being (perhaps God) is shown, casting angels from the heavens. This picture is also done with a dark theme, and the idea could be that God was creating diseased wind to punish the evil creatures of Earth. Notice the clouds that make up the heavens, because even the heavens in this picture seem to be disease-ridden! Perhaps the people of that time believed that no one could escape the plague, not even God. Finally, look at the picture on the bottom right. This picture, like the top picture, shows skeletons touching a person. In both pictures, the people seem to not notice that the skeleton is touching them, so the skeletons represent an unseen force. In the third picture, the clouds that are shown in conjunction with the skeletons seem to make the skeletons appear to be part of the wind. All three pictures can be taken at face value, and the person viewing them can recognize two things: that the people were unsure of the origin of the plague, and that they were all scared.