The Decameron

The Decameron (subtitle: Prencipe Galeotto) 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. Many notable writers such as Shakespeare and Chaucer are said to have borrowed from The Decameron.

By : Giovanni BOCCACCIO (1313 - 1375), translated by J. M. RIGG (1855 - 1926)

000 - Proem. 001 - How It Came About 002 - Day 1, The First Story 003 - Day 1, The Second Story 004 - Day 1, The Third Story 005 - Day 1, The Fourth Story 006 - Day 1, The Fifth Story 007 - Day 1, The Sixth Story 008 - Day 1, The Seventh Story 009 - Day 1, The Eighth Story 010 - Day 1, The Ninth Story 011 - Day 1, The Tenth Story 012 - Day 1, Conclusion 013 - Day 2, Introduction 014 - Day 2, The First Story 015 - Day 2, The Second Story 016 - Day 2, TheThird Story 017 - Day 2, The Fourth Story 018 - Day 2, The Fifth Story 019 - Day 2, The Sixth Story 020 - Day 2 The Seventh Story 021 - Day 2, The Eighth Story 022 - Day 2, The Ninth Story 023 - Day 2, The Tenth Story 024 - Day 2, Conclusion 025 - Day 3, Introduction 026 - Day 3, The First Story 027 - Day 3, The Second Story 028 - Day 3, The Third Story 029 - Day 3, The Fourth Story 030 - Day 3, The Fifth Story 031 - Day 3, The Sixth Story 032 - Day 3, The Seventh Story 033 - Day 3, The Eighth Story 034 - Day 3, The Ninth Story 035 - Day 3, The Tenth Story 036 - Day 3, Conclusion 037 - Day 4, Introduction 038 - Day 4, The First Story 039 - Day 4, The Second Story 040 - Day 4, The Third Story 041 - Day 4, The Fourth Story 042 - Day 4, The Fifth Story 043 - Day 4, The Sixth Story 044 - Day 4, The Seventh Story 045 - Day 4, The Eighth Story 046 - Day 4, The Ninth Story 047 - Day 4, The Tenth Story 048 - Day 4, Conclusion 049 - Day 5, Introduction 050 - Day 5, The First Story 051 - Day 5, The Second Story 052 - Day 5, The Third Story 053 - Day 5, The Fourth Story 054 - Day 5, The Fifth Story 055 - Day 5, The Sixth Story 056 - Day 5, The Seventh Story 057 - Day 5, The Eighth Story 058 - Day 5, The Ninth Story 059 - Day 5, The Tenth Story 060 - Day 5, Conclusion 061 - Day 6, Introduction 062 - Day 6, The First Story 063 - Day 6, The Second Story 064 - Day 6, The Third Story 065 - Day 6, The Fourth Story 066 - Day 6, The Fifth story 067 - Day 6, The Sixth Story 068 - Day 6, The Seventh Story 069 - Day 6, The Eighth Story 070 - Day 6, The Ninth Story 071 - Day 6, The Tenth Story 072 - Day 6, Conclusion 073 - Day 7, Introduction 074 - Day 7, The First Story 075 - Day 7, The Second Story 076 - Day 7, The Third Story 077 - Day 7, The Fourth Story 078 - Day 7, The Fifth Story 079 - Day 7, The Sixth Story 080 - Day 7, The Seventh Story 081 - Day 7, The Eighth Story 082 - Day 7, The Ninth Story 083 - Day 7, The Tenth Story 084 - Day 7, Conclusion 085 - Day 8, Introduction 086 - Day 8, The First Story 087 - Day 8, The Second Story 088 - Day 8, The Third Story 089 - Day 8, The Fourth Story 090 - Day 8, The Fifth Story 091 - Day 8, The Sixth Story 092 - Day 8, The Seventh Story 093 - Day 8, The Eighth Story 094 - Day 8, The Ninth Story 095 - Day 8, The Tenth Story 096 - Day 8, Conclusion 097 - Day 9, Introduction 098 - Day 9, The First Story 099 - Day 9, The Second Story 100 - Day 9, The Third Story 101 - Day 9, The Fourth Story 102 - Day 9, The Fifth Story 103 - Day 9, The Sixth Story 104 - Day 9, The Seventh Story 105 - Day 9, The Eighth Story 106 - Day 9, The Ninth Story 107 - Day 9, The Tenth Story 108 - Day 9, Conclusion 109 - Day 10, Introduction 110 - Day 10, The First Story 111 - Day 10, The Second story 112 - Day 10, The Third Story 113 - Day 10, The Fourth Story 114 - Day 10, The Fifth Story 115 - Day 10, The Sixth Story 116 - Day 10, The Seventh Story 117a - Day 10, The Eight Story, Part A 117b - Day 10, The Eight Story, Part B 118 - Day 10, The Tenth Story 119 - Day 10, The Tenth Story 120 - Day 10, Conclusion 121 - The Author's Epilogue

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. To pass the evenings, every member of the party tells a story each night, except for one day per week for chores, and the holy days during which they do no work at all, resulting in ten nights of storytelling over the course of two weeks. Thus, by the end of the fortnight they have told 100 stories.

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. Many authors have argued that Dioneo expresses the views of Boccaccio himself. 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 include mocking the lust and greed of the clergy; tensions in Italian society between the new wealthy commercial class and noble families; and the perils and adventures of traveling merchants.