The Decameron: sex, plague, and a medieval Love Island

With the release of a new Netflix drama based on Boccaccio's The Decameron, Rebecca Bowen explains why this text was a medieval bestseller, which helped people come to terms with the horrors of the plague

Published: July 26, 2024 at 7:00 AM

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What would you do if your home town was ravaged by plague? Would you lock your doors and hide? Run for the hills? Or accept that the end was nigh and party? Boccaccio's The Decameron - a medieval bestseller written during the Black Death - considers all these options. With the launch of a new Netflix series based on the pivotal work, David Musgrove chats to historian Rebecca Bowen to find out more – and uncover why its author thought that risqué stories could help people come to terms with the horror of the plague.

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Authors

Dr David Musgrove, FSAContent director

David Musgrove is the content director at HistoryExtra

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