tales from the decameron of giovanni boccaccio

A blasphemous citizen exposes religious hypocrisy. A Young Tuscan Monk cleverly implicates his Tuscan Abbot in his own sexual sins, while the Marchioness of Montferrat subtly rebukes King Philip II for his inappropriate desire to sleep with her. Excessively wicked Cepperello cons his way into sainthood Jewish Abraham’s intellectual curiosity leads to his Christian conversion and another Jew, Melchizedek, wisely avoids a dangerous question about whether Judaism, Christianity, or Islam is the true faith. Although the day doesn’t have an explicit theme, its tales all showcase human ingenuity and wisdom. Each day, one member rules as sovereign, directing the day’s entertainment and setting the tales’ theme. Over the next two weeks (taking a break on Fridays and Saturdays), the members of the group, or brigata, tell ten stories apiece. In the countryside, Pampinea suggests that they pass the hot afternoons telling each other tales in cool gardens. They recruit three men, Panfilo, Filostrato, and Dioneo, to join them and (along with their servants) they leave the city. Pampinea suggests they temporarily flee the city to escape the plague. During these dark days, seven young women- Pampinea, Fiammetta, Filomena, Emilia, Lauretta, Neifile, and Elissa-run into each other at the church of Santa Maria Novella. In 1348, the Bubonic Plague ravages the city of Florence, turning society upside down.

Tales from the decameron of giovanni boccaccio