The Decameron

by Giovanni Boccaccio · first published 1353

The Decameron ( dih-KAM-ər-ən; Italian: Decameron [deˈkaːmeron, dekameˈrɔn, -ˈron] or Decamerone [dekameˈroːne]), subtitled Prince Galehaut (Old Italian: Prencipe Galeotto [ˈprentʃipe ɡaleˈɔtto, ˈprɛn-]), is a collection of short stories by the 14th-century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375). It is sometimes nicknamed l'Umana commedia ("The Human Comedy"), as it was Boccaccio that dubbed Dante Alighieri's Comedy "Divine". The book is structured as a frame story containing 100 tales told by a group of seven young women and three young men; they shelter in a secluded villa just outside Florence in order to escape the Black Death, which was afflicting the city. The epidemic is likely what Boccaccio used for the basis of the book which was thought to be written between 1348 and 1353.

Summary: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Genre:

Novella

Original language:

medieval Italian

Year page:

1353