Summary of “Decameron” Boccaccio
“In the sequel, after the author informs about what they gathered about and what they talked about, the persons who will act further spoke, the people gathered on the day of Pampinae’s rule talk about what is more to everyone’s liking”
In 1348, Florence was visited by a destructive plague, and a hundred thousand people died, although before that no one had imagined that there were so many inhabitants in the city. Separated family and friendly ties, servants refused to serve the masters, the dead were not buried, but dumped in pits dug in church cemeteries.
And in the midst of misfortune, when the city was almost empty, in the church of Santa Maria Novella, after the divine liturgy, seven young women from eighteen to twenty-eight years old “connected with each other by friendship, neighborhood, kinship”, “sensible, generous, beautiful, well-behaved, captivating in their modesty “, all in the” gloomy year-old mourning
Recalling how many young men and girls the terrible plague carried away, Pampinea suggests “decently retiring to suburban estates and filling leisure with all kinds of entertainment.” Leaving the city, where people, in anticipation of their mortal hour, surrendered to lust and debauchery, they will protect themselves from unpleasant experiences, while they themselves will behave morally and with dignity. In Florence, nothing holds them: all of their loved ones died.
The ladies approve the idea of Pampinae, and Philomena proposes to invite men with him, for a woman is difficult to live with her own mind and the advice of a man is extremely necessary. She is objected to by Elissa: they say, at this time it is difficult to find reliable companions – close people have died, part of them have left wherever, and it’s indecent to address someone else’s. She
During this conversation, the church includes three young people – Panfilo, Filostrato and Dioneo, all pretty and well-bred, the youngest of whom is at least twenty-five years old. Among the ladies in the church there are also their beloved ones, the rest are related to them. Pampinea immediately suggests inviting them.
Neifil, blushing with embarrassment, expresses himself in the sense that the young men are good and smart, but they are in love with some ladies present, and this can cast a shadow on their society. Filomena, however, objects that the main thing is to live honestly, and the rest will follow.
Young people are pleased with the invitation; having agreed on everything, the girls and boys, accompanied by servants and servants, leave the city the next morning. They arrive in a picturesque area, where a beautiful palace stands, and are located there. The word takes Dioneo, the most gay and witty, offering fun as anyone. He is supported by Pampinae, who suggests that someone should be in charge of them and think about the structure of their lives and amusements. And that everyone knows and cares, and the joys associated with the primacy, and that no one is enviable, you should place this honorable burden in turn on everyone.
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