Primary Source Analysis 2

Stiles History 1

Primary Source Document Analysis Worksheet

Primary source: Giovanni Boccaccio - The Decameron

_________________________________________________1. What is the main idea Boccaccio is trying to communicate in this excerpt from

The Decameron? How does he describe the reactions of the citizens of Florence?

_________________________________________________

2. What is the author’s bias? What might have motivated Boccaccio to describe the Black

Death’s impact in Florence?

_________________________________________________

3. What was the context in which Boccaccio was writing? Where and when was this

document written, and what was going on at that time (beside the plague epidemic)?

_________________________________________________4. Who was the intended audience for The Decameron?

_________________________________________________

5. Can you connect The Decameron to other things you’ve learned about, either in class

or elsewhere? How might this source add to our understanding of history?