Part 1

Archaic spellings have been preserved, but obvious printer errors have been corrected.

In the untranslated Italian passage in Day 3, Story 10, the original is missing the accents, which have been added using an Italian edition of Decameron (Milan: Mursia, 1977) as a guide.

John Payne's translation of The Decameron was originally published in a private printing for The Villon Society, London, 1886. The American edition from which this e-text was prepared is undated.]

The

Decameron

Giovanni Boccaccio

Translated by

John Payne

WALTER J. BLACK, INC. 171 Madison Avenue NEW YORK, N.Y.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Contents

PROEM.

DAY THE FIRST 1

THE FIRST STORY. Master Ciappelletto dupeth a holy friar with a false confession and dieth; and having been in his lifetime the worst of men, he is, after his death, reputed a saint and called Saint Ciappelletto 16

THE SECOND STORY. Abraham the Jew, at the instigation of Jehannot de Chevigné, goeth to the Court of Rome and seeing the depravity of the clergy, returneth to Paris and there becometh a Christian 25

THE THIRD STORY. Melchizedek the Jew, with a story of three rings, escapeth a parlous snare set for him by Saladin 28

THE FOURTH STORY. A monk, having fallen into a sin deserving of very grievous punishment, adroitly reproaching the same fault to his abbot, quitteth himself of the penalty 30

THE FIFTH STORY. The Marchioness of Monferrato, with a dinner of hens and certain sprightly words, curbeth the extravagant passion of the King of France 33

THE SIXTH STORY. An honest man, with a chance pleasantry, putteth to shame the perverse hypocrisy of the religious orders 35

THE SEVENTH STORY. Bergamino, with a story of Primasso and the Abbot of Cluny, courteously rebuketh a fit of parsimony newly come to Messer Cane della Scala 37

THE EIGHTH STORY. Guglielmo Borsiere with some quaint words rebuketh the niggardliness of Messer Ermino de' Grimaldi 40

THE NINTH STORY. The King of Cyprus, touched to the quick by a Gascon lady, from a mean-spirited prince becometh a man of worth and valiance 42

THE TENTH STORY. Master Alberto of Bologna civilly putteth a lady to the blush who thought to have shamed him of being enamoured of her 43

DAY THE SECOND 48

THE FIRST STORY. Martellino feigneth himself a cripple and maketh believe to wax whole upon the body of St. Arrigo. His imposture being discovered, he is beaten and being after taken [for a thief,] goeth in peril of being hanged by the neck, but ultimately escapeth 49

THE SECOND STORY. Rinaldo d'Asti, having been robbed, maketh his way to Castel Guglielmo, where he is hospitably entertained by a widow lady and having made good his loss, returneth to his own house, safe and sound 52

THE THIRD STORY. Three young men squander their substance and become poor; but a nephew of theirs, returning home in desperation, falleth in with an abbot and findeth him to be the king's daughter of England, who taketh him to husband and maketh good all his uncles' losses, restoring them to good estate 57

THE FOURTH STORY. Landolfo Ruffolo, grown poor, turneth corsair and being taken by the Genoese, is wrecked at sea, but saveth himself upon a coffer full of jewels of price and being entertained in Corfu by a woman, returneth home rich 63