Tales From the Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio Read online

  10. Pietro di Vinciolo goes out to sup with Ercolano, and his wife lets a young man in to keep her company. Pietro returns, and she conceals the youth beneath a chicken coop. Pietro tells her that a young man has been discovered in Ercolano’s house, having been concealed there by Ercolano’s wife, whose conduct she severely censures. As ill luck would have it, an ass steps on the fingers of the fellow hiding beneath the coop, causing him to yell with pain. Pietro rushes to the spot and sees him, thus discovering his wife’s deception. But in the end, by reason of his own depravity, he arrives at an understanding with her.

  (Conclusion)

  SIXTH DAY

  (Introduction)

  1. A knight offers to take Madonna Oretta riding through the realm of narrative, but makes such a poor job of it that she begs him to put her down.

  2. By means of a single phrase, Cisti the Baker shows Messer Geri Spina that he is being unreasonable.

  3. With a quick retort, Monna Nornna de’ Pulci puts a stop to the unseemly banter of the Bishop of Florence.

  4. Currado Gianfigliazzi’s cook, Chichibio, converts his master’s anger into laughter with a quick word in the nick of time, and saves himself from the unpleasant fate with which Currado had threatened him.

  5. Messer Forese da Rabatta and Master Giotto, the painter, returning from Mugello, poke fun at one another’s disreputable appearance.

  6. Michele Scalza proves to certain young men that the Baronci are the most noble family in the whole wide world, and wins a supper.

  7. Madonna Filippa is discovered by her husband with a lover and called before the magistrate, but by a prompt and ingenious answer she secures her acquittal and causes the statute to be amended.

  8. Fresco urges his niece not to look at herself in the glass, if, as she has claimed, she cannot bear the sight of horrid people.

  9. With a barbed saying, Guido Cavalcanti politely delivers an insult to certain Florentine gentlemen who had taken him by surprise.

  10. Friar Cipolla promises a crowd of country folk that he will show them a feather of the Angel Gabriel, and on finding that some bits of coal have been put in its place, he proclaims that these were left over from the roasting of Saint Lawrence.

  (Conclusion)

  SEVENTH DAY

  (Introduction)

  1. Gianni Lotteringhi hears a tapping at his door in the night; he awakens his wife, and she leads him to believe it is a werewolf, whereupon they go and exorcize it with a prayer, and the knocking stops.

  2. Peronella hides her lover in a tub when her husband returns home unexpectedly. Her husband has sold the tub, but she tells him that she herself has already sold it to a man who is inspecting it from the inside to see whether it is sound. Leaping forth from the tub, the man gets the husband to scrape it out and carry it back to his house for him.

  3. Friar Rinaldo goes to bed with his godchild’s mother; her husband finds them together in the bedroom, and they give him to understand that the Friar was charming away the child’s worms.

  4. Tofano locks his wife out of the house one night, and his wife, having pleaded with him in vain to let her in, pretends to throw herself down a well, into which she hurls an enormous stone. Tofano emerges from the house and rushes to the well, whereupon she steals inside, bolts the door on her husband, and rains abuse upon him at the top of her voice.

  5. A jealous husband disguises himself as a priest and confesses his wife, by whom he is given to understand that she loves a priest who comes to her every night. And whilst the husband is secretly keeping watch for him at the front door, the wife admits her lover by way of the roof and passes the time in his arms.

  6. Whilst she is entertaining Leonetto, Madonna Isabella is visited by Messer Lambertuccio, who has fallen in love with her. Her husband returning unexpectedly, she sends Messer Lambertuccio running forth from the house with a dagger in his hand, and Leonetto is taken home a little later on by her husband.

  7. Lodovico discloses to Madonna Beatrice how deeply he loves her, whereupon she persuades her husband, Egano, to impersonate her in a garden, and goes to bed with Lodovico, who in due course gets up, goes into the garden, and gives Egano a hiding.

  8. A husband grows suspicious of his wife, and discovers that her lover comes to her at night, forewarning her of his arrival by means of a string attached to her toe. Whilst the husband is giving chase to the lover, his wife gets out of bed and puts another woman in her place, who receives a beating from the husband and has her tresses cut off. The husband then goes to fetch his wife’s brothers, who, on discovering that his story is untrue, subject him to a torrent of abuse.

  9. Lydia, wife of Nicostratos, falls in love with Pyrrhus, who sets her three tasks as a proof of her sincerity. She performs all three, in addition to which she makes love to Pyrrhus in her husband’s presence, causing Nicostratos to believe that his eyes have been deceiving him.

  10. Two Sienese fall in love with a woman of whose child one of them is the godfather. This man dies, returns to his companion from the afterworld in fulfilment of a promise he had given him, and describes what people do there.

  (Conclusion)

  EIGHTH DAY

  (Introduction)

  1. Gulfardo borrows from Guasparruolo a sum of money equivalent to the amount he has agreed to pay the latter’s wife in return for letting him sleep with her. He gives her the money, but later tells Guasparruolo, in her presence, that he has handed it back to his wife, and she has to admit it.

  2. The priest of Varlungo goes to bed with Monna Belcolore, leaving her his cloak by way of payment; then, having borrowed a mortar from her, he sends it back and asks her to return the cloak which he had left with her as a pledge. The good woman hands it over, and gives him a piece of her mind.

  3. Calandrino, Bruno and Buffalmacco set off in search of the heliotrope along the banks of the Mugnone. Thinking he has found it, Calandrino staggers home carrying an enormous load of stones, and his wife gives him a piece of her mind, causing him to lose his temper and beat her up. Then finally, he tells his companions what they have known all along.

  4. The Provost of Fiesole falls in love with a widow, but his love is not reciprocated. He goes to bed with her maid, thinking it to be the widow, and the lady’s brothers cause him to be found there by his bishop.

  5. Three young men pull down the breeches of a judge from the Marches whilst he is administering the law on the Florentine bench.

  6. Bruno and Buffalmacco steal a pig from Calandrino. Pretending to help him find it again, they persuade him to submit to a test using ginger sweets and Vernaccia wine. They give him two sweets, one after the other, consisting of dog ginger seasoned with aloes, so that it appears that he has stolen the pig himself. And finally they extract money from him, by threatening to tell his wife about it.

  7. A scholar falls in love with a widow, who, being in love with someone else, causes him to spend a winter’s night waiting for her in the snow. But on a later occasion, as a result of following his advice, she is forced to spend a whole day, in mid July, at the top of a tower, where, being completely naked, she is exposed to the flies and the gadflies and the rays of the sun.

  8. A story concerning two close friends, of whom the first goes to bed with the wife of the second. The second man finds out, and compels his wife to lock the first man in a chest, on which he makes love to his friend’s wife whilst he is trapped inside.

  9. Being eager to ‘go the course’ with a company of revellers, Master Simone, a physician, is prevailed upon by Bruno and Buffalmacco to proceed by night to a certain spot, where he is thrown by Buffalmacco into a ditch and left to wallow in its filth.

  10. A Sicilian lady cleverly relieves a merchant of the goods he has brought to Palermo. He later returns there pretending to have brought a much more valuable cargo, and after having borrowed a sum of money from the lady, leaves her with nothing but a quantity of water and tow.

  (Conclusion)

  NINTH DAY

  (Introductio
n)

  1. Madonna Francesca is wooed by a certain Rinuccio and a certain Alessandro, but is not herself in love with either. She therefore induces the one to enter a tomb and pose as a corpse, and the other to go in and fetch him out, and since neither succeeds in completing his allotted task, she discreetly rids herself of both.

  2. An abbess rises hurriedly from her bed in the dark when it is reported to her that one of her nuns is abed with a lover. But being with a priest at the time, the Abbess claps his breeches on her head, mistaking them for her veil. On pointing this out to the Abbess, the accused nun is set at liberty, and thenceforth she is able to forgather with her lover at her leisure.

  3. Egged on by Bruno and Buffalmacco and Nello, Master Simone persuades Calandrino that he is pregnant. Calandrino then supplies the three men with capons and money for obtaining a certain medicine, and recovers from his pregnancy without giving birth.

  4. Cecco Fortarrigo gambles away everything he possesses at Buonconvento, together with the money of Cecco Angiulieri. He then pursues Cecco Angiulieri in his shirt claiming that he has been robbed, causes him to be seized by peasants, dons his clothes, mounts his palfrey, and rides away leaving Angiulieri standing there in his shirt.

  5. Calandrino falls in love with a young woman, and Bruno provides him with a magic scroll, with which he no sooner touches her than she goes off with him. But on being discovered with the girl by his wife, he finds himself in very serious trouble.

  6. Two young men lodge overnight at a cottage, where one of them goes and sleeps with their host’s daughter, whilst his wife inadvertently sleeps with the other. The one who was with the daughter clambers into bed beside her father, mistaking him for his companion, and tells him all about it. A great furore then ensues, and the wife, realizing her mistake, gets into her daughter’s bed, whence with a timely explanation she restores the peace.

  7. Talano d’Imolese dreams that his wife is savaged all about the throat and the face by a wolf, and tells her to take care; but she ignores his warning, and the dream comes true.

  8. Biondello plays a trick on Ciacco in regard of a breakfast, whereupon Ciacco discreetly avenges himself, causing Biondello to receive a terrible hiding.

  9. Two young men ask Solomon’s advice, the first as to how he may win people’s love, the second as to how he should punish his obstinate wife. Solomon replies by telling the former to love, and the latter to go to Goosebridge.

  10. Father Gianni is prevailed upon by Neighbour Pietro to cast a spell in order to turn his wife into a mare; but when he comes to fasten on the tail, Neighbour Pietro, by saying that he didn’t want a tail, completely ruins the spell.

  (Conclusion)

  TENTH DAY

  (Introduction)

  1. A worthy knight enters the service of the King of Spain, by whom he feels that he is ill-requited; so the King gives him irrefutable proof that the fault lies, not with himself, but with the knight’s own cruel fortune, in the end rewarding him most handsomely.

  2. Ghino di Tacco captures the Abbot of Cluny, cures him of a stomach ailment, and then releases him. The Abbot returns to the court of Rome, where he reconciles Ghino with Pope Boniface and creates him a Knight Hospitaller.

  3. Mithridanes is filled with envy over Nathan’s reputation for courtesy, and sets out to murder him. He comes across Nathan by accident but fails to recognize him, and after learning from Nathan’s own lips the best way to carry out his intentions, he finds Nathan in a copse, as arranged. When he realizes who it is, he is filled with shame, and thenceforth becomes Nathan’s friend.

  4. Messer Gentile de’ Carisendi comes from Modena and takes from the tomb the lady he loves, who has been buried for dead. She revives and gives birth to a male child, and later Messer Gentile restores her and the child to Niccoluccio Caccianimico, the lady’s husband.

  5. Madonna Dianora asks Messer Ansaldo for a beautiful May garden in the month of January, and Messer Ansaldo fulfils her request after hiring the services of a magician. Her husband then gives her permission to submit to Messer Ansaldo’s pleasure, but on hearing of the husband’s liberality Messer Ansaldo releases her from her promise, whilst the magician excuses Messer Ansaldo from the payment of any fee.

  6. King Charles the Old, victorious in battle, falls in love with a young girl; but later he repents of his foolish fancy, and bestows both her and her sister honourably in marriage.

  7. On hearing that a young woman called Lisa has fallen ill on account of her fervent love for him, King Peter goes to comfort her, and later on he marries her to a young nobleman; and having kissed her on the brow, he thenceforth always styles himself her knight.

  8. Sophronia, thinking she has married Gisippus, has really married Titus Quintus Fulvius, with whom she goes off to Rome, where Gisippus turns up in abject poverty. Believing that Titus has snubbed him, he confesses to a murder so that he will be put to death. But Titus recognizes him, and claims that he himself has done the murder, in order to secure Gisippus’ release. On perceiving this, the real murderer gives himself up, whereupon all three are released by Octavianus. Titus then bestows his sister upon Gisippus in marriage, and shares with him all he possesses.

  9. Messer Torello offers hospitality to Saladin, who is disguised as a merchant. A Crusade is launched, and before setting off Messer Torello instructs his wife that, failing his return, she may remarry by a certain date. He is taken prisoner, but his skill in training hawks brings him to the notice of the Sultan, who recognizes him, reminds him of their previous encounter, and entertains him most lavishly. And when Messer Torello falls ill, he is conveyed by magic in the space of a single night to Pavia, where his wife’s second marriage is about to be solemnized. But he is recognized by his wife at the wedding-feast, whence he returns with her to his house.

  10. The Marquis of Saluzzo, obliged by the entreaties of his subjects to take a wife, follows his personal whims and marries the daughter of a peasant. She bears him two children, and he gives her the impression that he has put them to death. Later on, pretending that she has incurred his displeasure and that he has remarried, he arranges for his own daughter to return home and passes her off as his bride, having meanwhile turned his wife out of doors in no more than the shift she is wearing. But on finding that she endures it all with patience, he cherishes her all the more deeply, brings her back to his house, shows her their children, who have now grown up, and honours her as the Marchioness, causing others to honour her likewise.

  (Conclusion)

  AUTHOR’S EPILOGUE

  NOTES

  MAPS

  INDEXES

  PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

  First published in 1972, the present translation of the Decameron has been several times reprinted since that date, with occasional emendations of a distinctly minor complexion. Meanwhile, two further complete English translations of Boccaccio’s master work have appeared, the first by Peter Bondanella and Mark Musa in 1982, the second by Guido Waldman in 1993. My translation for Penguin Classics was compared with the Bondanella–Musa version some years ago by the American scholar Christopher Kleinhenz, who concluded that both ‘furnish texts that are remarkably close to Boccaccio’s original in meaning, tone, and nuance’ and that ‘moreover, they provide most enjoyable reading, and that is, after all, one of the principal reasons why Boccaccio wrote the Decameron.’1

  Naturally, I would not wish to dissent from either of those conclusions, but for some little time I have felt that something was lacking in the Penguin Decameron. The translation itself still seems in my not altogether impartial judgement to read surprisingly well, and a hand more dextrous than my own would be required to improve it to any significant degree. I have however taken this opportunity to make certain minor changes, one of them being the proverb that concludes the story of Alatiel (II, 7), where a slightly stilted and prosaic wording is replaced by something that is closer in spirit and cadence to Boccaccio’s original.

  If the translation requires only marginal
adjustment, my introduction to the first edition is now overdue for substantial revision. It provided the reader with a minimum of information about Boccaccio’s life and work, or about the reasons why the Decameron occupies so important a place in the history of western literature. Its original justification lay in its provision of a brief history of earlier attempts to translate the Decameron into English, highlighting their virtues and deficiencies, and hence showing why yet another translation was required. One or two of its more interesting points are preserved in the new introduction and in the notes to this second edition, but the main emphasis is now switched so as to focus in

  For the monoglot, non-specialist English reader, as indeed for many students of Italian, the range of information available about Boccaccio and the Decameron is remarkably limited. The over-literal and often inaccurate American translation of Vittore Branca’s Profilo biografico and sections of his Boccaccio medievale, flamboyandy entitled Giovanni Boccaccio: The Man and His Works (New York, 1976), falls some way short of delivering what it promises,2 and Thomas G. Bergin’s Boccaccio (New York, 1981) remains the clearest and most informative summary in English of the writer’s life and literary output. Of the numerous publications by American scholars in recent years, nearly all are devoted to a detailed and sometimes abstruse or esoteric analysis of a particular aspect of Boccaccio’s master work. The more lucid analysts, such as Aldo Scaglione, Marga Cottino-Jones, Robert Hollander, Victoria Kirkham, Giuseppe Mazzotta, Millicent Marcus and Janet Levarie Smarr, have little to offer to the general reader, whilst investigators of the Decameron’s framework, like Lucia Marino and Joy Hambuechen Potter, construct theses that even the specialist has some difficulty in deciphering. Other, more accessible American writers on the subject, apart from Cottino-Jones in her analysis of the Decameron’s structure, Order from Chaos (1982), are Janet Serafini-Sauli and David Wallace. But their books, too, have their limitations, the first because of a certain lack of critical depth and the second for its author’s over-readiness to engage in speculative historical reasoning.