Summary of Decameron tales

Summary of Decameron tales. This article contains summaries and commentaries of the 100 stories contained in Giovanni Boccaccio's The Decameron.

First Day

Under the rule of Pampinea, the first day of story-telling is open topic.

First Tale

The Tale of Saint Chapeletto by Panfilo. Panfilo begins by telling of a wealthy merchant who is overwhelmed by a large number of business affairs. He decides to place the duties into the hands of a number of a different people, however, when it comes to assigning a person to Burgundy, a place full of wicked and quarrelsome people, he is at a loss for an appointment. After much thought he settles his choice on Ser Cepperello a debauchery-hardened scoundrel who is known by the name of Ciappelletto. Coaxed by the merchant with promises of favors, Ciappelletto takes off to Burgundy, where he unfortunately falls ill. His two hosts summon a friar to his deathbed, where Ciappelletto proceeds to deceive the friar with a false confession. The poor friar is so moved by the man's righteousness that he summons a vigil over his deathbed and the next day a crowd gathers to witness his burial. Ciapperello's fame grows to such proportion, that in times of trouble people will summon the help of "Saint Ciappelletto".

Second Tale

The Tale of Abraham the Jew told by Neifile. In Paris, there lived a decent and enormously rich Jew by the name of Abraham, whose only 'fault' was his adherence to Judaism. Concerned for Abraham's salvation, his friend Jehannot tries to covert the Jew to Christianity. At first Jehannot's efforts are futile, however after some time Abraham expresses interest in the faith and (to the dread of his friend) decides to pay a visit to Rome to more properly acquaint himself with it. In Rome, the Jew is so struck by the perseverance of Christian faith in the face of the depravity of the clergy that when he comes back he decides to convert and become baptised.

Third Tale

The Tale of the Jew and Saladin told by Filomena. Saladin the sultan of Egypt is direly in need of funds and as he can find no way to conjure up the necessary sum he decides to borrow the money from a notorously miserly Jew. Racking his brains over a way to extract the sum, he decides to create a pretext for taking it by force. When he visits the Jew, Saladin asks him: "Because of your esteemed wisdom I would like to ask you a question. Which faith's laws do you find the most authentic? Jewish, Saracen, or Christian?" The clever Jew spots the trap right away and to get himself out of the predicament side-tracks with a story. His story is about a father who was so much equally in love with all three of his sons that he could not decide which one should receive the family ring. In order to resolve the problem, he sent the ring to a goldsmith who made two copies so identical that even the goldsmith himself could barely tell which one was authentic. The Jew concludes the story by saying: "And so it is with the three religions. Each one makes a claim to being the sole heir to the throne of God, yet as with the three rings, the question whose claim is right is in abeyance." Saladin, impressed by the Jew's wile, finally comes straightforward with his true intent. The Jew gladly consents and in the years to come they become great friends.

Fourth Tale

The Tale of the Fornicating Monk told by Dioneo.

Sixth day

Under the rule of Elisa, tales are told of those who have responded to a witticism directed at them, or told a witticism themselves, to escape destruction, danger or contempt.

Seventh tale

The Tale of Filippa by Filostrato. In this story the main character Filippa is charged by her husband with adultery. During the trial she pleads guilty, however she states that since no women aided in the drafting of the law and the punishment was aimed only at women, then she should not be put to death. In her argument, she also states that she carried out all her womanly duties to her husband which included never denying him in bed. The court was so moved by her statements that it acquitted her and revoked the law.