Whether in fear of Hell or fear of the end of pleasure, men danced their lives out hopelessly, drank and fucked with abandon in the taverns. Convinced that intoxication could save them from the scourge, they hid against the cold miasma of the plague in the thick, hot mist of wine and sweat.

Mary Sativa, The Lovers’ Crusade [Amazon, Abebooks, Publisher, Local Library]