Plague mandate of the Bamberg cathedral chapter

The title woodcut of the printed life of the saint Rochus of Montpellier shows the saint with the attributes typical of his iconography. The depiction of the angel spreading ointment on the plague boil refers to the legendary care of the sick pilgrim in a hut. She demonstrates vividly to the viewer that in times of epidemics the sick should above all direct their hope to heavenly help, since human help cannot be relied on.

The plague mandate issued in 1520 is one of the earliest surviving laws of the Bamberg canons in the field of disease control.