The Plague of 1347-1351, later referred to as “The Black Death”, was an epidemic event occurring during the Medieval Period for several reasons. The disease was carried unknowingly aboard transport ships, where it would emanate from port cities across the countryside like wildfire. While the incubation rate was low and mortality rate high, it could perhaps be argued that it was a lack of scientific understanding about the disease which allowed it to spread so unabated. Many believed it was spread through air, so containment methods against this were ineffective. Also, many would see the plague was a reckoning from God and so, considered attempts to avoid it as sacrilege. Although, some cities did make efforts to keep the pestilence at bay, as we see with the quarantine procedures instituted at Ragusa.
Compared to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, we see that the mortality rate of the Black Death was significantly higher, though rate of transmission could be similar. With modern scientific methods at our disposal, the world was much better equipped to respond to COVID, as researchers were able to quickly determine its cause and effect a solution. Still, we can see again how easily a disease can spread through a population and across continents in a world where technology allows people to travel more speedily than at any point in human history.