The Plague in Europe in the 14th century was devastating and changed society in many ways. Dr. Guido Ruggiero joins the show to discuss what romantic relationship were like in northern Italy during the Plague.
Some topics explored
- What the Plague of the 14th century was (i.e., the Black Death)
- What’s believed to be its vector (the host that spread it)—newer research doesn’t believe that rats were the key vector
- Differences between the Plague from the 14th century and the Bubonic plague
- How the Catholic Church was officially responding to the Plague
- How the Plague affected humans
- How long the Plague lasted
- Relationships in northern Italy during the 14th century
- How marriage functioned during this period
- The dichotomy between marriage based on duty vs. love
- If sex continued to be prevalent during the Plague
- Writings of Boccaccio on the topic of love and mating in this period
- How the Plague changed Italy
Listen to the episode
The episode is available on major podcast apps: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music.
Show Notes
- Professor Ruggiero is author of many publications including The Renaissance in Italy: A Social and Cultural History of the Rinascimento (Cambridge University Press, 2014) and Love and Sex in the Time of Plague: A Decameron Renaissance (Harvard University Press, 2021)
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