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16 Dreadful Details about the Black Plague

Shaina Lucas September 18, 2018 18 min

The Decameron - Black Death — A 14th-century etching by L. Sabatelli depicting the Black Death in Florence as described in Boccaccio’s Decameron. Wikimedia Commons.

Dance of the Macabre. Black Death. Ranker.

11. Sex Played A Huge Role During The Plague

One would think sex was the last thing on the minds of medieval people during the Black Death, but it wasn’t. Sexual activity was advised to be limited since doctors thought the plague would enter through the pores of the body and heavy breathing would increase the chances. What did they expect someone to do? Tell stories with good music to delight the heart.

People would often fornicate in graveyards to laugh in the face of death and celebrate life. This eventually became illegal, and the papal office threatened people with excommunication if they were caught. People thought that sexual immorality was one of the causes of the plague, so sodomy, prostitution, adultery, etc. was outlawed and heavy fines enacted. Luckily for prostitutes, the plague helped their working conditions by institutionalizing their “job,” and they even had royal safeguards standing outside of the municipal buildings.

Written by

Shaina Lucas

Shaina Lucas is an avid historical buff. She graduated in 2013 from York College of PA with her BA in Professional Writing, Creative Writing, and World History. She then graduated from SNHU in 2015 with her MA, and in 2018 graduated with her MFA in Creative Writing from National University. She is a local actress in York, PA and specializes in Shakespeare, Medieval history, comic history, and the French Revolution. She is also an avid collector of swords and knives from various time periods.