Essay about The Black Death in The Decameron by Boccaccio

this route, embracing the good side of humanity. While others where lashing out and living recklessly, some chose to take a more reasonable response. Giovanni Boccaccio provides a first hand account of the occurrences surrounding the black plague in the introduction to his stories in From the Decameron. In Giovanni Boccaccio’s From the Decameron: The Plague Hits Florence he depicts one of the more positive responses to the pandemic: Many other people steered a middle course between these two extremes…

Florence Italy, where he wrote the Decameron from the years 1348-1353 A.D.. Uncoincidentally, the composure date overlaps with the prime infecting period of the bubonic plague. Boccaccio was a wealthy merchant who produced other literature prior to the Decameron, reflecting moral attributes of Italian society (Encyclopedia Britannica). Also occurring in this time was the transition away from everyday use of the Catholic Church’s official language: Latin. The Decameron begins to follow the new trend from…

"The Black Death" alone was not the only factor that was responsible for the social and economic change although it was the most important (Ziegler 234). Even without "The Black Death" continued deterioration in Europe would have been likely. The social and economic change had already set in well before 1346. For at least twenty-five years before "The Black Death," exports, agricultural production, and the area of cultivated land had all been shrinking. "The Black Death" contributed a large part…

of course, of the Black Death of Europe. The Black Death or as its also known as “Bubonic Plague”, was a serious pandemic that infected Europe and nearly wiped out 60% of its population during its 2 year spread all across Europe. A rough estimate of about 60-200 million people were claimed as victims of The Black Death. At the time, which was around the 1400's, there was no way to cure the sickness and if you had it, you most likely were left to die in the streets. The Black death lingered on for centuries…

European economy and society changed drastically following the Black Death. Because so many people had died, there was a huge labor shortage. This contributed to the end of the feudal system, since serfs could often leave their manors and make a better living in cities. In addition to better work opportunities, survivors of the plague had a surplus of material goods. Many of the dead had left behind entire estates and other belongings. These goods were available through inheritance and looting. At…

Different interpretations of the past This documentary clarified two aspects concerning the Black Death: the origins/spread of the plague, and what made it possible to survive the illness. First, one has to understand the Black Death started in the Middle Ages and it spread throughout the European continent. Around 1347, thirteen Genoese galleys entered the harbor of Messina, Sicily carrying the disease. Actually, the ships contained rats infected by flea that transmitted the tiny bubonic…

bubonic plague was the main contender of the Black Death (Byrne 15-16) which was primarily spread through the bacteria Yersinia pestis found in the stomach (Corbishley 47) of the Xenopsylla cheopis, a common flea (Byrne 197). The flea would then feed on a host’s blood, and regurgitate the bacteria into the host, causing the victim to become infected the bubonic plague (Nox). The Rattus rattus, or black rat, is considered to have helped the spread of the Black Death by carrying the fleas that carried the…

of bodily humors. Imbalances caused by emotional, dietary, or external factors like noxious odors could result in sickness or even death. Contemporary writers associated plague with the influence of planets and stars, or with earthquakes, which they thought to cause the release of noxious gases from the center of the VI EFFECTS OF THE PLAGUE The Black Death and the other epidemics of bubonic plague had many consequences. One was a series of vicious attacks on Jews, lepers, and outsiders…

months, affected the lungs and was easily transmitted, for it could be spread by coughs and sneezes. It was 95 per cent fatal, victims normally dying within three days of the onset. Spread of the Black Death [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE][IMAGE][IMAGE]The Black Death of the mid-14th century probably began in the steppes of Central Asia and spread to China and India. Contemporary chroniclers thought that a series of natural disasters, such as earthquakes, had upset…

The Black Death refereed in Philip Ziegler’s book takes place in Western Europe, and we learned the different civilizations during the Classical era in Western Europe such as the Roman Empire and the Greek empire. Moving on the Post Classical era, we learned how different regional authorities were established when invasions from the Magyar, Muslims, and Vikings happened throughout Western Europe; this is how countries like England, Germany, and France were ultimately established. This plague happened…