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 A reward not for the faint of heart June 17, 2008
A wonderful work, these refreshing pieces have a verve that is hard to find in medieval literature. Irate Italians who complain of Chaucer stealing from Boccaccio should consider medieval thought on authority and originality. A complex collection, rightfully earning its place as one of Italy's greatest literary products.
Bawdy tales of love April 30, 2007
15 out of 16 found this review helpful
This was required reading for a graduate course in medieval history.
The "Decameron" is a collection of 100 novellas by Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio, probably begun in 1350 and finished in 1353. It is a medieval allegorical work best known for its bawdy tales of love, appearing in all its possibilities from the erotic to the tragic. Other topics such as wit and witticism, practical jokes and worldly initiation also form part of the mosaic. Beyond its entertainment and literary popularity, it remains an important historical document of life in the fourteenth century.
Decameron is structured in a frame narrative, or frame tale. Boccaccio begins with a description of the Black Death and leads into an introduction of a group of seven young women and three young men who flee from plague-ridden Florence to a villa in the (then) countryside of Fiesole for two weeks. To pass the time, each member of the party tells one story for each one of the nights spent at the villa. Although fourteen days pass, two days each week are set aside: one day for chores and one holy day during which no work is done. In this manner, 100 stories are told by the end of the ten days. Each of the ten characters is charged as King or Queen of the company for one of the ten days in turn. This charge extends to choosing the theme of the stories for that day, and all but two days have topics assigned: examples of the power of fortune; examples of the power of human will; love tales that end tragically; love tales that end happily; clever replies that save the speaker; tricks that women play on men; tricks that people play on each other in general; examples of virtue. Only Dioneo, who usually tells the tenth tale each day, has the right to tell a tale on any topic he wishes, due to his wit. Each day also includes a short introduction and conclusion to continue the frame of the tales by describing other daily activities besides story telling. These frame tale interludes frequently include transcriptions of Italian folk songs. The interactions among tales in a day, or across days, as Boccaccio spins variations and reversals of previous material, forms a whole and not just a collection of stories. The basic plots of the stories including mocking the lust and greed of the clergy; tensions in Italian society between the new wealthy commercial class and noble families; the perils and adventures of traveling merchants. The title is a portmanteau, or combination of two Greek words meaning "ten" and "day". Boccacio made similar Greek etymological plays of words in his other works. The subtitle is Prencipe Galeotto, which derives from the opening material in which Boccaccio dedicates the work to ladies of the day who did not have the diversions of men (hunting, fishing, riding, falconry) who were forced to conceal their amorous passions and stay idle and concealed in their rooms. Thus, the book is subtitled Prencipe Galeotto, that is Galehaut, the go-between of Lancelot and Guinevere, a nod to Dante's allusion to Galeotto in "Inferno V", who was blamed for the arousal of lust in the episode of Paolo and Francesca.
Throughout Decameron, the mercantile ethic prevails and predominates. The commercial and urban values of quick wit, sophistication, and intelligence are treasured, while the vices of stupidity and dullness are cured, or punished. While these traits and values will seem obvious to the modern reader, they were an emerging feature in Europe with the rise of urban centers and a monetized economic system beyond the traditional rural feudal and monastery systems, which placed greater value on piety and loyalty. Beyond the unity provided by the frame narrative, Decameron provides a unity in philosophical outlook. Throughout runs the common medieval theme of Lady Fortune, and how quickly one can rise and fall through the external influences of the "Wheel of Fortune". Boccaccio had been educated in the tradition of Dante's Divine Comedy, which used various levels of allegory to show the connections between the literal events of the story and the hidden Christian message. However, Decameron uses Dante's model not to educate the reader, but to satirize this method of learning. The Roman Catholic Church, priests, and religious belief become the satirical source of comedy throughout. This was part of a wider historical trend in the aftermath of the Black Death, which saw widespread discontent with the church. Many details of the Decameron are infused with a medieval sense of numerological and mystical significance. For example, it is widely believed that the seven young women are meant to represent the Four Cardinal Virtues (Prudence, Justice, Temperance, and Fortitude) and the Three Theological Virtues (Faith, Hope, and Charity). It is further supposed that the three men represent the classical Greek tripartite division of the soul (Reason, Spirit, and Lust, see Book IV of Republic). Boccaccio himself notes that the names he gives for these ten characters are in fact pseudonyms chosen as "appropriate to the qualities of each". The Italian names of the seven women, in the same (most likely significant) order as given in the text, are: Pampinea, Fiammetta, Filomena, Emilia, Lauretta, Neifile, and Elissa. The men, in order, are: Panfilo, Filostrato, and Dioneo.
Recommended reading for anyone interested in literature and medieval history.
A 10 days work to read March 14, 2007
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
The Decameron is one of the most revered works in Italian literary history. That being said it is surpsingly not hard for the modern reader to both understand and enjoy this lengthy novel. The book tells the tale of 10 people, 7 female and 3 male, and the 100 stories that they tell while in the Italian countryside while trying to escape from the plague. The stories are even whimsically funny at times but in the end a deep moral truth is revealed. A student of history would be well advised to read this classic tale as it allows for a deeper understanding of the time period.
 A book to dip into January 2, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
For history-lovers, medieval scholars and anyone interested in the development of story-telling in the written as opposed to verbal form, this book is very important. I started by dipping into it, reading one story here and one there (it is a collection of a hundred short stories) and then slowly reading the whole book. Some of the stories could have benefited from a more 'up-beat/modern' translation but overall the book works well and Boccacio is good, although, I have to say, nothing beats reading Chaucer in the original Middle English. It's like Strindberg - great in Swedish, dreadful in English. Boccacio in Latin would probably be awesome but beyond me I'm afraid!!!
 The Howard Stern of the Middle Ages October 12, 2006
6 out of 11 found this review helpful
Yes, the Decameron is an iconic classic, and a fascinating and valuable piece of medieval literature, and I did find some of the stories funny and entertaining, but is it really of value today on its own merits or only as a historical/literary artifact? Most of its very predictable stories revolved around casual adultery, fornication and/or scatalogical humor, which doesn't necessarily condemn it as a piece of art, but I personally found the majority of the tales to be either silly or prosaic. Read it if you have the yen; it's divided into easily digestible tales that will enable you to put the book down for any length of time and not lose any sort of continuity when you pick it up again. Just try to read it without any preconceived notions of veneration, just because of its age.
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