Giovanni Boccaccio’s, Prologue to the Decameron

Boccaccio’s description of the outbreak of the Black Death in Florence in 1348 is a valuable source of information not only for historians but also for those who study human behaviour under extreme conditions. As an eyewitness the author of the Decameron reported in details how different groups and classes of the medieval city reacted to this unprecedented disaster which changed the entire course of European history.

Florence’s municipal authorities took a number of measures to prevent the spreading of the disease: “huge amounts of filth were removed from the city;……. (Download to read further).