The Decameron

"McWilliam's finest work, [his] translation of Boccaccio's Decameron remains one of the most successful and lauded books in the series." -The Times (London) "The Decameron, by Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375), made a great impression on me. . . . Ten youths-seven women and three men-take turns telling stories for 10 days. At around the age of 16, I found it reassuring that Boccaccio, in conceiving his narrators, had made most of them women. Here was a great writer, the father of the modern story, presenting seven great female narrators. There was something to hope for. . . . The seven female narrators of the Decameron should never again need to rely on the great Giovanni Boccaccio to express themselves. . . . The female story, told with increasing skill, increasingly widespread and unapologetic, is what must now assume power." -Elena Ferrante, The New York Times

Boccaccio (1313-1375) was an Italian writer of both verse and prose. He wrote The Decameron over a period of ten years, and is also the author of Teseide and Filostrato. G H McWilliam was the first Professor of Italian at Leicester University.He has also translated Verga's Cavalleria Rusticana for Penguin Classics

The DecameronPreface to the Second Edition Translator's Introduction Select Bibliography THE DECAMERON Prologue First Day (Introduction) 1. Ser Cepperello deceives a holy friar with a false confession, then he dies; and although in life he was a most wicked man, in death he is reputed to be a Saint, and is called Saint Ciappelletto. 2. A Jew called Abraham, his curiosity being aroused by Jehannot de Chevigny, goes to the court of Rome; and when he sees the depravity of the clergy, he returns to Paris and becomes a Christian. 3. Melchizedek the Jew, with a story about three rings, avoids a most dangerous trap laid for him by Saladin. 4. A monk, having committed a sin deserving of very severe punishment, escapes the consequences by politely reproaching his abbot with the very same fault. 5. The Marchionness of Montferrat, with the aid of a chicken banquet and a few well-chosen words, restrains the extravagant passion of the King of France. 6. With a clever remark, an honest man exposes the wicked hypocrisy of the religious. 7. Bergamino, with the help of a story about Primas and the Abbot of Cluny, tellingly chides Can Grande della Scala for a sudden fit of parsimony. 8. With a few prettily spoken words, Guiglielmo Borsiere punctures the avarice of Ermino de' Grimaldi. 9. The King of Cyprus is transformed, on receiving a sharp rebuke from a lady of Gascony, from a weakling into a man of courage. 10. Master Alberto of Bologna neatly turns the tables on a lady who was intent upon making him blush for being in love with her. (Conclusion) Second Day (Introduction) 1. Martellino, having pretended to be paralysed, gives the impression that he has been cured by being placed on the body of Saint Arrigo. When his deception is discovered, he is beaten, arrested, and very nearly hanged: but in the end he saves his skin. 2. Rinaldo d'Asti is robbed, turns up at Castel Guiglielmo, and is provided with hospitality by a widow. Then, having recovered his belongings, he returns home safe and sound. 3. Three young men squander their fortunes, reducing themselves to penury. A nephew of theirs, left penniless, is on his way home when he falls in with an abbot, whom he discovers to be the daughter of the King of England. She later marries him and makes good all the losses suffered by his uncles, restoring them to positions of honour. 4. Landolfo Rufolo is ruined and turns to piracy; he is captured by the Genoese and shipwrecked, but survives by clinging to a chest, full of very precious jewels; finally, having been succoured by a woman on Corfu, he returns home rich. 5. Andreuccio of Perugia comes to buy horses in Naples, where in the course of a single night he is overtaken by three serious misfortunes, all of which he survives, and he returns home with a ruby. 6. Madonna Beritola, having lost her two sons, is found on an island with two roebucks and taken to Lunigiana, where one of her sons, having entered the service of her lord and master, makes love to the daughter of the house and is thrown into prison. After the Sicilian rebellion against King Charles, the son is recognized by his mother, he marries his master's daughter, he is reunited with his brother, and they are all restored to positions of great honour. 7. The Sultan of Babylon sends his daughter off to marry the King of Algarve. Owing to a series of mishaps, she passes through the hands of nine men in various places within the space of four years. Finally, having been restored to her father as a virgin, she sets off, as before, to become the King of Algarve's wife. 8. The Count of Antwerp, being falsely accused, goes into exile and leaves his two children in different parts of England. Unknown to them, he returns from Ireland to find them comfortably placed. Then he serves as a groom in the army of the King of France, and having established his innocence, is restored to his former rank. 9. Bernabo of Genoa is tricked by Ambrogiuolo, loses his money, and orders his innocent wife to be