The Black Death Plague of the Middle Ages spread across Europe in the 14th-15th centuries through rats and fleas carrying bacteria. It originated in the Gobi Desert and arrived in Europe through ships carrying infected rats. There were three forms of the plague - bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic - that killed victims through different means. The plague started in Cyprus in 1347 and spread to Italy, France and other parts of Europe over the following years.