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A volcanic eruption might have helped bring the Black Plague to Europe

Near-famine in Italy may have prompted the arrival of plague-laden grain to local ports 

An engraving of a 14th century story The Decameron, shown here, depicts the devastation of the Black Plague in the Italian city-state of Florence in 1348.

The Black Plague devasted the Italian city-state of Florence in early 1348, as depicted in this engraving of a 14th century collection of short stories called The Decameron. Italian trade ships carrying grain to the famine-struck region likely brought the plague bacterium as well.

Luigi Sabatelli/Wikimedia Commons

By Carolyn Gramling

An erupting volcano may have kicked off a chain of events that led to the swift dance of the Black Plague across Europe in the 14th century, in a pandemic that killed tens of millions of people.