The most devastating event in Medieval European history was that of the Black Death, or plague. Over the course of several years, the highly contagious disease killed up to half of Europe's population. The disease was believed to come from Asia Minor, sailors brought the disease to Europe. Tiny flea bites caused those infected to lose their lives within three days while their bodies were filled with buboes and bleeding underneath the skin. The disease caused a major debacle in medieval times. The plague had no prejudices of wealth, sex, or color - wherever the disease went, despair soon followed. There were various reactions to Black Death that included loss of inhibitions and morals, the abandonment of cities which lead to economic strain, and seeking solace in different forms of religion. .
Initial reactions to the plague were those of the development of a new set of moral standards and values. While some found more practical ways of dealing with the pandemonium, "Others, losing the sense of restraint, indulged in orgies of drink and lechery" (Davies p. 411). Some even believed that reveling in self-pity could cause sin, and thus the disease so they began to indulge in what the church believed to be sin. "The tellers were frivolous and selfish young people whose only thought was pleasure and, like many others, they believed that gloominess was fatal, for it lowered resistance to the disease" (Chamberlin, handout 5). There was no extreme to this group of people. They felt that this was their last chance to be happy, if they were going to die, why not die living every moment as the last. "Some took refuge in sensual pleasures and ate, drank, and were merry until they died" (Strayer and Munro p. 465). Boccaccio, wrote a historical account of the plague. The story was called the Decameron. The book gave a descriptive account of the real-life goings on within the cities in Europe. The story tells of three young men and seven young women who fled Florence to the foothills of the countryside to avoid the plague.
