After lying completely dormant for centuries, the Black Death staged a comeback in the mid-fourteenth century, decimating much of Europe. An estimated 20 million people, or a third of Europe's population, were killed, prosperous cities were laid in ruins, and the course of European civilization was altered.
十四世紀中葉，黑死病在絕跡多時後捲土重來，估計至少造成兩千萬人喪生，約佔當時歐洲人口的三分之一，往日繁華的城市幾成廢墟，歐洲文明也遭受重創。