The Decameron
Il Decameron
A great book. Written AD 1353*, in medieval Italian
* An approximate date: when this work was composed or first set down isn’t known exactly.
The Decameron, subtitled Prince Galehaut, is a collection of short stories by the 14th-century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375). It is sometimes nicknamed l'Umana commedia, as it was Boccaccio that dubbed Dante Alighieri's Comedy "Divine". The book is structured as a frame story containing 100 tales told by a group of seven young women and three young men; they shelter in a secluded villa just outside Florence in order to escape the Black Death, which was afflicting the city. The epidemic is likely what Boccaccio used for the basis of the book which was thought to be written between 1348 and 1353. The various tales of love in The Decameron range from the erotic to the tragic. Tales of wit, practical jokes, and life lessons also contribute to the mosaic. In addition to its literary value and widespread influence, it provides a document of life at the time. Written in the vernacular of the Florentine language, it is considered a masterpiece of early Italian prose.
Your reading
Which translation to read
Wayne A. Rebhorn2013Our pick
Complete, lively and modern, with Boccaccio's bawdiness and irony intact.
G. H. McWilliam1972
The long-standard Penguin, scholarly and readable.
Where it is set
- Fiesole
Italy
In Italy during the time of the Black Death, a group of seven young women and three young men flee from plague-ridden Florence to a deserted villa in the countryside of Fiesole for two weeks. Source: Wikipedia, reviewed
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