The Great Plague persisted because of the poor s<u>a</u>n<u>i</u>t<u>a</u>ry conditions in European cities. People often ate s<u>t</u>a<u>l</u>e or d<u>i</u>s<u>e</u>a<u>s</u>ed meat and personal h<u>y</u>g<u>i</u>e<u>n</u>e was a priority for most people. A group of religious people called f<u>l</u>a<u>g</u>e<u>l</u>l<u>a</u>n<u>t</u><u>s</u> believed the p<u>l</u>a<u>g</u>ue was a sign from God and tried to atone for the sins of the world by inflicting p<u>u</u>n<u>i</u>s<u>h</u>m<u>e</u>n<u>t</u>s on t<u>h</u>e<u>m</u>s<u>e</u>l<u>v</u>es and others.