Netflix’s The Decameron took place in 14th-century Italy, with the Black Plague playing a major role in the series. The Decameron is based on a collection of short stories of the same name by Giovanni Bocaccio. It is believed that he conceived the story in 1348, a year after the pandemic hit Europe, and completed it by 1353. Some of The Decameron characters came from the short stories, but many changes were made. Still, the core story about a group seeking shelter in a villa to flee the Black Death remained in the adaptation.

The medieval show being set during the bubonic plague made The Decameron a black comedy. The series doesn’t shy away from the tragedy of the time, but its primary method of storytelling is comedy. While some characters are better off than others, they’ve all lost someone to the disease. Even while at Villa Santa, The Decameron characters can’t completely escape the Black Death. Though modern period pieces aren’t always concerned with historical accuracy, The Decameron captures how rampant and deadly the plague was during that time.

The Black Plague Really Was As Bad As The Decameron

The Black Plague Killed As Many As 50 Million People

The Decameron opened with scenes of dead and dying bodies in the streets of Firenze, with seemingly nobody unaffected by the Black Death, which ravaged Europe from 1347 to 1351. In that relatively short time, at least 25 million Europeans died from the disease. It’s widely believed that the Black Death was a result of a plague caused by a bacterial infection, while other evidence has indicated it may have been viral. While all of Europe was affected, The Decameron is set in Italy, which is where the Black Death first started spreading throughout the continent.

The Black Death killed nearly one-third of Europe’s population.

Symptoms of the plague included swellings and boils, which were graphically shown in The Decameron as a sign someone was infected. At the time, there was no rational explanation for the Black Death. Nobody knew how it was transmitted, how to prevent it, or how to treat it. All healthy people could do was avoid the sick, with many fleeing cities for the countryside, as the characters in The Decameron did. However, the plague could also affect animals, making it impossible to truly escape. The Black Death never really ended, but isolating the infected helped quell the spread.

Which Characters In The Decameron Die From The Black Plague

Multiple Characters In The Decameron Died From The Black Plague

The Black Plague killed multiple characters in The Decameron, including one of the main characters. As aforementioned, there was no way to truly escape the Black Death, though they tried. Unbeknownst to Villa Santa’s guests when they arrived, the villa had already been infected by the plague, which they called the pestilence, because its owner, Leonardo, had died of it. Misia also brought pestilence to the villa by smuggling her lover Parmena in, hoping to nurse her back to health. Sadly, she didn’t even survive the first night there.

The series doesn’t shy away from the devastation caused by the Black Death.

Most of Filomena and Licisca’s family also died of the pestilence, making them the only ones left after their father, Eduardo, died. The plague was at its deadliest at the end of The Decameron episode 4 when infected prostitutes entered the villa. By morning, the prostitutes, Rouggiero’s crew, and Dioneo had died. It’s been reported that most people died two to seven days after infection, so it wasn’t surprising when Neifile died of the disease in the following episode.

The Decameron Characters Who Died From The Black Plague

Character
Episode

Leonardo
1

Eduardo
1

Parmena
1

Rugierro’s Crew & Prostitutes
5

Dioneo
5

Neifile

6

The Decameron’s Firenze Setting Makes Its Black Plague Story Even More Brutal

Firenze Was The Hub Of The Black Plague

Image via Netflix

The Decameron short stories and Netflix series were set in Firenze (Florence, Italy), a major hub of the Black Plague. According to Brown University, the city was so devastated by the disease, that it became known as “the plague of Florence.” According to Boccaccio, 100,000 people died in the city, though that’s just an estimate. Across Italy, at least half the population died, but due to the population and density of Florence, it was hit even harder than most areas.

In The Decameron episode 7, as the characters took a moment to honor Neifile, they spoke about all the loved ones they’d lost to the pestilence. The story’s setting made the Black Plague story even more brutal, as nobody could say they were unaffected. Boccaccio wrote about how people left their sick and dying loved ones behind and abandoned God during the Black Death, as shown in Eduardo and Cardinal Agnolo’s storylines. While The Decameron often makes light of the situation, the series doesn’t shy away from the devastation caused by the Black Death.