| Introduction |
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xxiii | |
| Headnotes |
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lxvii | |
| The Decameron |
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| Preface |
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1 | (3) |
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4 | (20) |
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1 Ser Cepparello deceives a holy friar with a false confession and dies, and although he was one of the worst of men during his life, he is reputed after his death to be a saint and is called Saint Ciappelletto |
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24 | (14) |
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2 Abraham the Jew, urged on by Giannotto di Civigni, goes to the court of Rome, and after having seen the wickedness of the clergy, returns to Paris and becomes a Christian |
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38 | (5) |
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3 Melchisedech the Jew uses a story about three rings to avoid a very dangerous trap set for him by Saladin |
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43 | (3) |
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4 A monk, having committed a sin deserving the gravest punishment, escapes paying any penalty for it by justly rebuking his Abbot for the same fault |
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46 | (4) |
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5 By means of a banquet consisting entirely of hens, plus a few sprightly little words, the Marchioness of Monferrato curbs the foolish love of the King of France |
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50 | (4) |
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6 By means of a fine quip a worthy man confounds the wicked hypocrisy of the religious |
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54 | (4) |
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7 With a story about Primasso and the Abbot of Cluny, Bergamino justly rebukes Messer Can della Scala for an unexpected fit of avarice |
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58 | (5) |
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8 With sprightly words Guiglielmo Borsiere rebukes the avarice of Messer Ermino de' Grimaldi |
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63 | (3) |
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9 The King of Cyprus, stung to the quick by a lady of Gascony, is transformed from a base coward into a man of courage |
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66 | (2) |
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10 Master Alberto da Bologna justly shames a woman who wanted to make him feel ashamed for loving her |
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68 | (8) |
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72 | (4) |
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76 | (1) |
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1 Pretending to be a cripple, Martellino makes it seem as though he is cured after having been placed on the body of Saint Arrigo. When his ruse is discovered, he is beaten and then arrested, and though in danger of being hanged, he gets off in the end |
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77 | (5) |
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2 After being robbed, Rinaldo d'Asti turns up at Castel Guiglielmo, where he is given lodging by a widow, and then, after having recovered his possessions, returns home safe and sound |
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82 | (7) |
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3 Three young men squander their wealth and are reduced to poverty. Later, a nephew of theirs, returning home in despair, falls in with an Abbot who he discovers is really the daughter of the King of England. After she takes him as her husband, she makes up what his uncles lost and restores all of them to their proper social station |
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89 | (9) |
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4 Landolfo Rufolo is impoverished, becomes a pirate, and is ship-wrecked after being captured by the Genoese. He escapes, however, on a chest filled with very precious jewels, is cared for by a woman on Corfu, and finally returns home a rich man |
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98 | (6) |
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5 Andreuccio da Perugia comes to buy horses in Naples where, during a single night, he is caught in three serious misadventures, manages to extricate himself from all of them, and returns home with a ruby |
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104 | (15) |
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6 Having been separated from her two sons, Madama Beritola is discovered living on an island with two roebucks and is taken to Lunigiana, where one of her sons, who has entered the household of the lord she herself serves, is put in prison after sleeping with the lord's daughter. Following the Sicilian rebellion against King Charles, Madama Beritola recognizes her son, who marries the lord's daughter and is reunited with his brother, and all of them are restored to their elevated social positions |
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119 | (15) |
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7 The Sultan of Babylon sends one of his daughters to be married to the King of Algarve, and in a series of misadventures spanning a period of four years, she passes through the hands of nine men in various places, until she is finally restored to her father as a virgin and goes off, as she was doing at the start, to marry the King of Algarve |
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134 | (23) |
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8 Having been falsely accused, the Count of Antwerp goes into exile and leaves his two children in different parts of England. When he later returns from Ireland in disguise and finds that they are doing well, he serves as a groom in the army of the King of France until his innocence is established and he is restored to his former station |
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157 | (17) |
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9 Deceived by Ambruogiuolo, Bernabo of Genoa loses his money and orders his innocent wife to be killed. She escapes, however, and dressed like a man, enters the service of the Sultan. Having located the deceiver, she lures her husband to Alexandria, where Ambruogiuolo is punished and she dresses like a woman again, after which she and her husband, rich once more, return to Genoa |
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174 | (14) |
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10 Paganino da Monaco abducts the wife of Messer Ricciardo di Chinzica, who, after finding out where she is, goes and befriends her abductor. When he asks Paganino to give her back, the latter agrees to do so, provided that she wants to go. She refuses to return to Messer Ricciardo, however, and after his death, becomes Paganino's wife |
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188 | (12) |
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196 | (4) |
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200 | (4) |
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1 Masetto da Lamporecchio pretends he is a deaf-mute and becomes the gardener in a convent where the nuns all race one another to get to sleep with him |
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204 | (8) |
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2 A groom sleeps with the wife of King Agilulf. When the King finds out about it, he says nothing, but tracks down the guilty party and shears off some of his hair. The shorn one then shears all the others and thus escapes a terrible fate |
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212 | (6) |
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3 Under the pretext of making her confession as someone with an exceptionally pure conscience, a lady who has fallen in love with a young man gets a solemn friar unwittingly to provide her with a means to achieve the complete satisfaction of her desires |
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218 | (10) |
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4 Dom Felice teaches Frate Puccio how to achieve blessedness by performing an act of penance he devises for him, and while Frate Puccio is carrying it out, Dom Felice has a good time with the friar's wife |
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228 | (6) |
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5 In exchange for giving one of his palfreys to Messer Francesco Vergellesi, Zima is granted permission to talk with his wife, but when she says nothing, Zima answers on her behalf, and what happens after that bears out the response he made |
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234 | (7) |
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6 Ricciardo Minutolo loves the wife of Filippello Sighinolfi, and upon learning how jealous she is, he makes her think that his own wife would be meeting with Filippello at the baths the next day and thus persuades her to go there herself, after which she discovers that she had really been there with Ricciardo although all along she thought he was her husband |
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241 | (9) |
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7 Angered by his lady, Tedaldo leaves Florence, but returns some time later disguised as a pilgrim, speaks with her, making her aware of her error, and not only liberates her husband, who has been convicted of having murdered him and been sentenced to death for it, but makes peace between the husband and his own brothers, after which he discreetly enjoys himself with his lady |
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250 | (18) |
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8 Having consumed a certain powder, Ferondo is buried for dead, but the Abbot, who has been enjoying his wife, removes him from his tomb, imprisons him, and makes him believe he is in Purgatory, until he is finally resuscitated and then raises as his own a child his wife had with the Abbot |
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268 | (11) |
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9 Having cured the King of France of a fistula, Giletta of Narbonne asks for the hand of Beltramo of Roussillon, who marries her against his will and then, in disdain, goes away to Florence. There he courts a young woman, whom Giletta impersonates, sleeping with him and bearing him two children, as a result of which he finally comes to cherish her and acknowledge her as his wife |
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279 | (11) |
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10 Alibech becomes a recluse, and Rustico, a monk, teaches her how to put the Devil back in Hell. She is then led away from there and becomes the wife of Neerbale |
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290 | (10) |
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296 | (4) |
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300 | (8) |
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1 Tancredi, Prince of Salerno, kills his daughter's lover and sends her his heart in a golden chalice. Sprinkling it with poison, she drinks it down and thus dies |
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308 | (11) |
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2 Frate Alberto, having given a lady to understand that the Angel Gabriel is in love with her, assumes the angel's form himself and sleeps with her on numerous occasions, until, scared by her relatives, he throws himself out of her house and takes refuge in that of a poor man. The next day the latter leads him to the piazza dressed up like a wild man, where he is recognized and apprehended by his fellow friars who proceed to incarcerate him |
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319 | (11) |
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3 Three young men fall in love with three sisters and run away with them to Crete, where the eldest sister kills her lover out of jealousy. The second, by giving herself to the Duke of the island, saves her sister from death, but she herself is killed by her own lover who then takes flight with the eldest sister. The murder is blamed on the third sister and her lover, who are arrested for it and confess, but fearing execution, they bribe their guards and flee, now destitute, to Rhodes, where they die in poverty |
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330 | (8) |
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4 Violating a pledge given by his grandfather King William, Gerbino attacks a ship belonging to the King of Tunis in order to abduct his daughter, but when she is slain by those on board, he kills them, after which he himself is beheaded |
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338 | (6) |
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5 After Lisabetta's brothers kill her lover, he appears to her in a dream and shows her where he is buried. She secretly digs up his head and puts it in a pot of basil, weeping over it for hours every day, but when her brothers take it away from her, shortly afterward she herself dies of grief |
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344 | (5) |
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6 After Andreuola, who is in love with Gabriotto, tells him about a dream she had, he tells her about one of his and then, suddenly, dies in her arms. While she is carrying him back to his house, assisted by one of her maids, they are arrested by the officers of the watch. She explains what happened to the podesta, who tries to rape her, but she fends him off. Her father learns of what has been going on, and since his daughter has been found innocent, he procures her release. She, however, absolutely refuses to go on living in the world any longer, and instead, becomes a nun |
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349 | (9) |
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7 Simona loves Pasquino, and while they are together in a garden, Pasquino rubs his teeth with a sage leaf and dies. Simona is arrested, and as she attempts to show the judge how Pasquino met his death, she rubs one of the leaves against her teeth and dies in the same manner |
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358 | (5) |
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8 Girolamo loves Salvestra, but yielding to his mother's prayers, he goes to Paris, and when he returns, he finds that Salvestra has gotten married. After sneaking into her house, he lies down at her side and dies. His body is borne to a church, where she, too, dies at his side |
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363 | (7) |
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9 Messer Guiglielmo Rossiglione slays his wife's lover, Messer Guiglielmo Guardastagno, and gives her his heart to eat, but when she finds out about it later, she throws herself down to the ground from a high window, and after her death, is buried with her beloved |
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370 | (4) |
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10 The wife of a doctor assumes that a lover of hers, who has taken an opiate, is dead and puts him in a chest, which two usurers carry off to their house with the man still inside. When he comes to, he is arrested as a thief, but the lady's maid tells the Signoria that she was the one who stuck him in the chest, which the usurers stole, thus enabling the lover to escape the gallows, while the moneylenders are condemned to pay a fine for having taken the chest |
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374 | (14) |
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384 | (4) |
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388 | (2) |
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1 Cimone acquires wisdom through his love for his lady Efigenia, whom he then abducts at sea. Imprisoned in Rhodes, he is freed by Lisimaco, with whom he once again abducts both Efigenia and Cassandrea during their wedding. They then flee with their ladies to Crete, where they get married, after which they are summoned to come back to their homes with their wives |
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390 | (12) |
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2 Gostanza is in love with Martuccio Gomito, but when she hears that he has died, in her despair she sets off alone in a boat, which is carried by the wind to Susa. Upon finding him alive in Tunis, she reveals herself to him, and he, who was a great favorite of the King's because of the advice he had given him, marries her and then, having become a rich man, returns with her to Lipari |
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402 | (7) |
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3 Fleeing with Agnolella, Pietro Boccamazza runs into a gang of thieves, and while the girl escapes through a forest and is led to a castle, Pietro is captured by them. He manages to get out of their clutches, however, and after one or two more adventures, he happens upon the castle where Agnolella is staying, gets married to her, and returns with her to Rome |
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409 | (8) |
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4 Ricciardo Manardi is discovered by Messer Lizio da Valbona with his daughter, whom Ricciardo marries, thus remaining on good terms with her father |
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417 | (6) |
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5 Before he dies, Guidotto da Cremona entrusts a young girl to the care of Giacomino da Pavia. Later, in Faenza, Giannole di Severino and Minghino di Mingole fall in love with her and come to blows on her account, but when she is identified as Giannole's sister, she is given in marriage to Minghino |
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423 | (7) |
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6 Having been found with the girl he loves, who had been given to King Frederick, Gianni di Procida is tied to a stake with her, and they are about to be burned when he is recognized by Ruggieri de Loria. He is then released and becomes her husband |
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430 | (7) |
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7 Teodoro falls in love with Violante, the daughter of his master, Messer Amerigo, and gets her pregnant, for which he is condemned to be hanged. While he is being whipped along the way to the gallows, however, he is recognized by his father and set free, after which he takes Violante as his wife |
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437 | (8) |
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8 In love with a lady from the Traversari family, Nastagio degli Onesti spends all his wealth without obtaining her love in return. At the urging of his friends and family, he goes away to Chiassi where he sees a young woman being hunted down and killed by a knight and devoured by two dogs. Nastagio then invites his relations as well as his beloved to a banquet where she sees that same young woman being torn apart and fearing a similar fate, accepts Nastagio as her husband |
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445 | (7) |
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9 In love with a lady who does not return his affection, Federigo degli Alberighi consumes his fortune, spending it all on courting her, until the only thing he has left is a single falcon. When she comes to call on him at his house, he serves it to her to eat because he has nothing else to offer her. Upon discovering what he has done, she has a change of heart, takes him as her husband, and makes him a rich man |
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452 | (7) |
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10 After Pietro di Vinciolo goes out to have supper, his wife invites a young man to come to her house, but hides him underneath a chicken coop when her husband returns. Pietro tells her that while he was eating at Ercolano's place, they discovered a young man who had been brought there by his wife. Pietro's wife criticizes her severely, but then an ass unfortunately steps on the fingers of the young man underneath the coop, and when he screams, Pietro runs out and sees him, thus discovering his wife's deception. In the end, however, because of his own perversion, he reaches an understanding with her |
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459 | (13) |
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469 | (3) |
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472 | (3) |
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1 A knight offers Madonna Oretta a horseback ride in the form of a story, but he tells it in so disorderly a fashion that she begs him to set her down on foot |
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475 | (2) |
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2 By means of a single phrase, Cisti the baker makes Messer Geri Spina see how he has made an inappropriate request |
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477 | (4) |
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3 With a ready retort, Monna Nonna de' Pulci silences the unseemly banter of the Bishop of Florence |
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481 | (3) |
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4 Chichibio, Currado Gianfigliazzi's cook, saves himself by means of a prompt retort that converts his master's anger into laughter, allowing him to escape the unpleasant fate with which Currado had threatened him |
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484 | (4) |
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5 Messer Forese da Rabatta and Master Giotto the painter, returning from Mugello, cleverly mock one another's disreputable appearance |
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488 | (3) |
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6 Michele Scalza proves to certain young men that the Baronci are the noblest family in the whole wide world or even in the Maremma, and wins a supper |
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491 | (3) |
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7 When Madonna Filippa's husband discovers her with a lover, she is called before a judge, but secures her freedom by means of a prompt and amusing reply, while also getting the statute changed at the same time |
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494 | (3) |
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8 Fresco urges his niece not to look at herself in the mirror, if, as she has said, she is annoyed by the sight of disagreeable people |
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497 | (2) |
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9 With a clever quip, Guido Cavalcanti justly puts down a group of Florentine gentlemen who had taken him by surprise |
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499 | (3) |
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10 Frate Cipolla promises a group of peasants that he will show them a feather belonging to the Angel Gabriel, but when he finds lumps of coal in its place, he declares that they were the ones used to roast Saint Lawrence |
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502 | (16) |
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511 | (7) |
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518 | (2) |
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1 Gianni Lotteringhi hears a knocking at his door during the night and awakens his wife. She makes him believe it is the bogeyman, and after they go and exorcise it with a prayer, the knocking stops |
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520 | (6) |
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2 When her husband returns home unexpectedly, Peronella stashes her lover in a barrel. Her husband has sold it, but she says that she herself had already done so to a man who had climbed inside to see if it was in good condition. Leaping out of the barrel, the lover gets the husband to scrape it out and then to carry it back home for him |
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526 | (5) |
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3 Frate Rinaldo goes to bed with the mother of his godson, but when her husband discovers them in her room, they get him to believe that he was using an incantation to cure the little boy of worms |
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531 | (6) |
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4 Tofano locks his wife out of the house one night, and when she cannot get back in despite all her pleading with him, she pretends to throw herself down a well, but drops a large rock into it instead. Tofano comes out of the house and rushes over to the spot, at which point she slips back inside, locks him out, and screams insults at him |
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537 | (5) |
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5 Disguised as a priest, a jealous man hears his wife's confession and is given to understand that she is in love with a priest who comes to see her every night. Then, while her husband is secretly keeping watch by the front door, the wife has her lover come to her across the roof and passes the time with him |
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542 | (9) |
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6 While she is with Leonetto, Madonna Isabella is visited by a certain Messer Lambertuccio, who has fallen in love with her. When her husband then returns, she sends Messer Lambertuccio out of the house with a dagger in his hand, and her husband winds up escorting Leonetto home |
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551 | (5) |
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7 When Lodovico reveals to Madonna Beatrice how much he loves her, she persuades her husband Egano to dress up like her and sends him out into a garden. She then sleeps with Lodovico, who gets up afterward, goes into the garden, and gives Egano a beating |
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556 | (7) |
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8 A man becomes jealous of his wife when he discovers that she has been tying a piece of string to her toe at night so that she will know when her lover has arrived. While her husband is off pursuing him, the lady gets another woman to take her place in bed. The husband beats the woman, and having cut off some of her hair, goes to fetch his wife's brothers, but when they discover that his story is untrue, they direct a stream of insults at him |
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563 | (9) |
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9 Nicostrato's wife, Lidia, is in love with Pirro, who asks her to do three things to persuade him that she is sincere, and not only does she do all of them, but in addition, she makes love to him while Nicostrato is watching and gets her husband to believe that what he saw was unreal |
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572 | (11) |
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10 A woman is loved by two Sienese, one of whom is the godfather of her child, and after he dies, he returns to his companion, as he promised he would, to tell him all about what people do in the Beyond |
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583 | (9) |
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588 | (4) |
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592 | (1) |
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1 Gulfardo borrows a sum of money from Guasparruolo after having agreed to pay his wife exactly that amount in order to let him sleep with her. He gives it to her, but later tells Guasparruolo, in her presence, that he returned it, and she admits that he did |
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593 | (3) |
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2 The priest of Varlungo sleeps with Monna Belcolore in exchange for a cloak he leaves her by way of payment, although then, after borrowing a mortar from her, he sends it back and asks her for the cloak he left behind as a pledge. The good woman returns it, while directing a witty jibe his way |
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596 | (7) |
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3 Calandrino, Bruno, and Buffalmacco go down along the banks of the Mugnone in search of the heliotrope. Believing he has found it, Calandrino returns home with a load of stones, and when his wife scolds him, he gets angry and beats her. Finally, he tells his friends the story, which they know better than he does |
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603 | (10) |
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4 The Rector of Fiesole is in love with a widow, who does not return his affection, but while he is in bed with one of her maids, thinking he is sleeping with the widow, her brothers contrive to have him discovered there by his Bishop |
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613 | (6) |
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5 Three young men pull down the breeches of a judge from The Marches while he is sitting on the bench and administering justice in Florence |
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619 | (4) |
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6 Bruno and Buffalmacco steal a pig from Calandrino, and then, pretending to help him recover it, they get him to undergo a test involving ginger pills and Vernaccia wine. They give him two of the pills, one after the other, consisting of dog ginger seasoned with aloes, which make it appear as though he himself had stolen it. Finally, they force him to pay them blackmail if he does not want them to tell his wife about it |
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623 | (7) |
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7 A scholar falls for a widow who is in love with someone else and gets the scholar to spend a winter's night waiting for her in the snow. Later on he persuades her to follow his counsel and spend an entire day in the middle of July, naked atop a tower, exposed to flies and gadflies and the sun |
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630 | (25) |
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8 Two men are close friends, and when one of them sleeps with the other's wife, and he finds out about it, he arranges with his wife to have his friend locked up in a chest on top of which he then makes love with his friend's wife while he is inside |
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655 | (5) |
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9 Eager to be made a member of a company of privateers, Master Simone, a physician, is persuaded by Bruno and Buffalmacco to go one night to a certain spot, where he is thrown into a ditch by Buffalmacco and left to wallow in filth |
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660 | (17) |
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10 A Sicilian woman masterfully relieves a merchant of the goods he has brought to Palermo, but when he later returns, pretending he has much more merchandise than before, he borrows money from her and leaves her with nothing but water and tow instead |
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677 | (16) |
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690 | (3) |
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693 | (2) |
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1 Madonna Francesca is courted by a certain Rinuccio and a certain Alessandro, but is not in love with either man, and since neither one can complete the task she assigns him, the first being required to enter a tomb and pose there as a corpse, while the second must climb inside and carry out the supposedly dead man, she discreetly rids herself of both of them |
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695 | (6) |
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2 Arising hurriedly in the dark, an Abbess rushes out to catch one of her nuns who was reported to be in bed with her lover, but the Abbess herself was with a priest at the time and places his breeches on her head, thinking she is putting her veils there, with the result that when the accused nun sees them and points them out to the Abbess, she is acquitted and from then on is able to spend time with her lover at her leisure |
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701 | (4) |
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3 Egged on by Bruno, Buffalmacco, and Nello, Master Simone makes Calandrino believe he is pregnant. Calandrino then gives them all capons and money in return for medicine, and he is cured without having to give birth |
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705 | (5) |
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4 At Buonconvento, Cecco, the son of Messer Fortarrigo, gambles away not only everything he possesses, but the money belonging to Cecco, the son of Messer Angiulieri, as well. He then runs after him, clad only in his shirt, saying that he has been robbed, and causes Angiulieri to be seized by some peasants, after which he puts on Angiulieri's clothing, mounts his palfrey, and rides away, leaving him behind in nothing but his shirt |
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710 | (5) |
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5 When Calandrino falls in love with a young woman, Bruno makes a magic scroll for him, with which he no sooner touches her than she goes off with him. Then, however, he gets caught by his wife and finds himself in a very serious and unpleasant predicament |
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715 | (9) |
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6 Two young men find lodging overnight, and while one of them goes to bed with their host's daughter, the host's wife inadvertently sleeps with the other. Then the youth who was with the daughter gets into bed with her father, and thinking he is talking to his companion, tells him everything. A great commotion ensues, at which point the wife, realizing her mistake, gets into bed with her daughter and by means of a few choice words restores the peace |
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724 | (6) |
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7 Talano d'Imolese dreams that a wolf rips up his wife's throat and face, but when he tells her to be on her guard, she ignores him, and that is exactly what happens to her |
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730 | (3) |
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8 When Biondello plays a trick on Ciacco about a dinner, Ciacco cleverly avenges himself by arranging for Biondello to get a shameful beating |
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733 | (5) |
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9 When two young men ask Solomon's advice, one wanting to know what he must do to gain people's love and the other how he should punish his obstinate wife, Solomon tells the first to love and the second to go to Goosebridge |
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738 | (6) |
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10 Donno Gianni is prevailed upon by compar Pietro to use an incantation in order to turn his wife into a mare, but when the priest comes to stick on the tail, compar Pietro says he did not want one and completely ruins the spell |
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744 | (8) |
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749 | (3) |
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752 | (1) |
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1 A knight in the service of the King of Spain feels he is being inadequately rewarded, so the King offers him irrefutable proof to demonstrate that it is not his fault, but that of the knight's own malevolent Fortune, and in the end bestows quite a handsome gift on him |
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753 | (4) |
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2 After having captured the Abbot of Cluny, Ghino di Tacco cures him of a stomach ailment before releasing him, and when the Abbot returns to the court of Rome, he effects a reconciliation between Ghino and Pope Boniface and makes him a friar in the Order of the Hospitallers |
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757 | (6) |
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3 Envious of Nathan's reputation for courtesy, Mithridanes sets out to murder him. After accidentally coming across him without recognizing him, and being informed by him as to how he might do the deed, he finds him, just as Nathan had arranged it, in a little wood. When Mithridanes realizes who it is, he is filled with shame and becomes Nathan's friend |
|
|
763 | (8) |
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4 Messer Gentile de' Carisendi comes from Modena and takes the lady he loves out of the tomb in which she had been buried for dead. After she is revived and gives birth to a male child, Messer Gentile restores both her and her little boy to Niccoluccio Caccianemico, her husband |
|
|
771 | (8) |
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5 Madonna Dianora asks Messer Ansaldo for a garden in January as beautiful as it would be in May, and he provides it for her byhiring a magician. Her husband then gives her permission to satisfy Messer Ansaldo's desires, but upon hearing of her husband's generosity, Messer Ansaldo releases her from her promise, and the magician releases Messer Ansaldo from his, refusing to accept any sort of payment from him |
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779 | (6) |
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6 The victorious King Charles the Old, having fallen in love with a young girl, feels shame over his foolish fancy and arranges honorable marriages for her and her sister |
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|
785 | (7) |
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7 Upon learning that a young woman named Lisa had become ill because of her fervent love for him, King Peter goes to comfort her, after which he weds her to a young nobleman, and having kissed her on the brow, from then on always calls himself her knight |
|
|
792 | (9) |
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8 Sophronia thinks she is marrying Gisippus, but she actually becomes the wife of Titus Quintus Fulvius with whom she travels to Rome, where the impoverished Gisippus eventually turns up. Believing that he has been slighted by Titus, Gisippus claims to have killed a man so that he will be put to death, but Titus recognizes him, and in order to save him, says that he himself committed the crime. Upon witnessing this, the real murderer reveals himself, at which point they are all released by Octavianus, and Titus not only gives his sister to Gisippus in marriage, but shares everything he possesses with him |
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801 | (19) |
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9 Disguised as a merchant, Saladin is honorably entertained by Messer Torello, who, when a Crusade is launched, establishes a time period for his wife to wait before she remarries. He is taken prisoner, but because of his skill in training falcons, he comes to the attention of the Sultan, who recognizes him, reveals himself in turn, and entertains him lavishly. Having fallen ill, Messer Torello is transported by magic in a single night to Pavia, where his wife's second marriage is about to be celebrated. She recognizes him, and he then returns with her to his house |
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820 | (19) |
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10 Induced by the entreaties of his vassals to take a wife, the Marquis of Saluzzo, wanting to choose one his own way, selects the daughter of a peasant. After he has had two children with her, he makes it look to her as though they have been put to death. Later on, pretending to have grown weary of her, he claims he has married another woman and arranges to have his own daughter brought home as though she were his bride, meanwhile having turned his wife out of doors wearing nothing but her shift. On finding that she has borne everything with patience, however, he takes her back home again, dearer to him than ever, shows her their grown-up children, and honors her as Marchioness and causes everyone else to do so as well |
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|
839 | (12) |
| Conclusion |
|
851 | (4) |
| The Author's Conclusion |
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855 | (6) |
| Acknowledgments |
|
861 | (2) |
| Notes |
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863 | (82) |
| Suggestions for Further Reading |
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945 | |
