Black Death Generation trivia

Black Death Generation Mini Quiz

Test your knowledge with these top questions!

Question 1

Which bacterium caused the Black Death in 14th-century Europe?

Rat fleas transmit Yersinia pestis; a flea bite delivers the bacteria into a human's bloodstream.

Question 2

Where on the body did the Black Death's painful buboes typically swell?

Buboes are swollen lymph nodes; flea bites on the legs made groin swellings the most common.

Question 3

How did the Black Death's labor shortage change the fortunes of surviving peasants?

With millions of workers dead, lords competed for scarce labor and peasants bargained for higher pay.

Question 4

Which Italian author opened his Decameron with a portrait of the Black Death in Florence?

Boccaccio wrote the Decameron, in which ten Florentines flee the plague and trade stories.