Boccaccio provides a wealth of information about the plague in his Decameron. The book is set in 1338, the year the plague struck Florence. Seven women and three men flee the plague in the city for the safety of a country villa. On their ten-day journey to the villa, each of the travelers entertains the others with a story. The result is a set of one hundred tales framed within the larger story of the travelers' journey. Boccaccio writes realistically and lyrically of the horror of the plague. He allows each of his characters a distinct voice to tell stories of charm, sadness, bawdiness, mystery, and drama. The plague and the death resulting from it are two major motifs in the Decameron.

It can be argued that the Black Plague of 1338 and 1339 was the most devastating natural disaster to ever strike the

The average person sees only the Black Plague as a negative disaster. Yet when the facts are laid out, so many good things came out of it. Specific changes in technology are of course primarily attributed to the inventive genius of individuals. But the huge losses caused by the plague and the high cost of labor were the challenge to which these efforts responded. In sum, the Black Plague broke the Malthusian deadlock of the thirteenth century, which threatened to hold Europe in its traditional ways forever. The Black Plague devastated society, but it did not cripple human resilience. Throughout history, humans have always been able to bounce back from every sort of disaster. Europeans do not just bounce back from the Black Plague, they expand and create an entirely new world for themselves and their descendants.

Thus it happened that for lack of people

and services unperformed. "Against plagues no medicine was better than or even equal to simple flight." (Boccaccio, 13) The retreat of the ten young Florentines to a country villa, portrayed in

At first glance, this poem shows only the destruction of the plague. When examined more closely, it is noted that the plague creates a huge labor shortage. Lords are drawing a blank on the labor issue, which gives the laborers themselves an increased negotiating position when dealing with lords and other entrepreneurs. In the poem, it is suggested that some lords offered triple salary to laborers. Looking at the price movements in Europe during and after the plague confirms that there is a huge swell in wages, which results in a higher standard of living for the laborers and their families.

European continent. The populations of some cities and villages as far removed from each other as in England and Italy fall by over seventy or eighty percent by the end of the plague. By 1420, Europe can only boast about a third of its population compared to what it could only one hundred years before. To truly understand the plague and its devastation, one must understand its origins.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Navarre French, Mediterranean Sea, Black Plague, Black Death, Middle Ages, Golden Horde, Florence Seven, Nature Mater, England Italy, Population Malthus, black plague, standard living, malthusian deadlock, middle ages, thirteenth century, malthus concludes, population malthus, labor shortage, plague struck, country villa,
Approximate Word count = 1946
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)