NOVEL X
By Dioneo
The Marquis of Saluzzo, having been prevailed on by his subjects to marry, in order to please himself in the affair made choice of a countryman’s daughter, by whom he had two children, which he pretended to put to death. Afterwards, seeming as though he was weary of her and had taken another, he had his own daughter brought home, as if he had espoused her; whilst he sent away his wife in a most distressed condition. At length, being convinced of her patience, he brought her home again, presented her children to her, who were now of considerable years, and ever loved and honoured her as a lady.
Appeared as The Pleasant and Sweet History of Patient Grissel (s.a.), and again in 1619.
Consult Tribolati, F., La Griselda in Borghini, vol. iii (1865). Bucheim, C. A., Chaucer’s Clerkes Tale and Petrarch’s version of the Griselda Story in Athenæum, No. 3470 (1894). Siefken, O., Der Konstanze Griseldetypus in der englischen Litteratur bis auf Shakespeare (Ruthenow, 1904). Jusserand, J. J., Au tombeau de Pétrarque, in Revue de Paris (July, 1896), pp. 92-119. Savorini, L., La Leggenda di Griselda, in Rivista Abruzzese, vol. xv (1900), p. 21 et seq.
ENDNOTES.
1 Mr. Berenson (Burlington Magazine, Vol. I (1903), p. 1 et seq.) gives these panels to Alunno di Domenico; Mr. Horne to Botticelli. See Crowe and Cavalcaselle (ed. E. Hutton), A New History of Painting in Italy (Dent, 1909), Vol. II, pp. 409 and 471, and works there cited.
2 The best study is that of J. A. Symonds’s Boccaccio as Man and Author (Nimmo, 1896). It is unfortunately among the less serious works of that scholar.
3 For a full bibliography see Guido Traversari, Bibliografia Boccaccesca (Città di Castello, 1907), Vol. I (Scritti intorno al Boccaccio e alla fortuna delle sue opere).
4 He commonly signs himself “Joannes Boccaccius” and “Giovanni da Certaldo.” In his Will he describes himself as “Joannes olim Boccacii de Certaldo,” and in the epitaph he wrote for his tomb we read “Patria Certaldum.”
5 See Petrarca, Senili, VIII, i., Lett. del 20 luglio, 1366 (in traduz. Fracassetti, p. 445): “Conciossiachè tu devi sapere, e il sappian pure quanti non hanno a schifo quest’ umile origine, che nell’ anno 1304 di quest’ ultima età, cui dà nome e principio Gesù Cristo fonte ed autore di ogni mia speranza, sullo spuntare dell’ alba, il lunedì 20 luglio io nacqui al mondo nella città di Arezzo, e nella strada dell’ Orto.... Ed oggi pure è lunedì, siamo pur oggi al 20 di luglio e corre l’ anno 1366. Conta sulle dita e vedrai che son passati 62 anni da che toccai l’ inquieta soglia di questa vita; sì che oggi appunto, e in quest’ ora medesima, io pongo il piede su quel che dicono anno tremendo sessagesimo terzo, e se tu non menti, e, secondo il costume che dissi de’ giovani, qualcuno pure tu non te ne scemi nell’ ordine del nascere, io ti precedo di nove anni.” Then if Petrarch was born in 1304, Boccaccio was born in 1313. Filippo Villani, Le Vite d’ uomini illustri Fiorentini (Firenze, 1826), p. 12, tells us that Boccaccio died in 1375, aged sixty-two.
6 Cf. Davidsohn, Il Padre di Gio. Boccacci in Arch. St. It., Ser. V, Vol. XXIII, p. 144. Idem, Forschungen zur Geschichte von Florenz (Berlin, 1901), pp. 172, 182, 184, 187, 253. G. Mini, Il Libro d’ oro di Firenze Antica in Giornale Araldico-genealogico-diplomatico (1901), XXVIII, p. 156. And see for the descendants of the family an interesting paper by Anselmi, Nuovi documenti e nuove opere di frate Ambrogio della Robbia nelle Marche in Arte e Storia (1904), XXIII, p. 154.
7 He himself tells us this in De Montibus, Sylvis, Lacubus, etc.
8 See the documents published by Crescini, Contributo agli Studi sul Boccaccio (Torino, 1887), esp. p. 258.
9 See Arch. di Stato Firenze, Mercanzia, No. 137, ad ann., May 23.
10 In the carteggio of the Signoria Fiorentina (missive iv. f. 37 of Arch. di Stato di Firenze) is to be found the copy of a letter from the Priori to King Robert, which has been published. The Signoria on April 12, 1329, write to King Robert that the lack of corn in the city is so great as to cause fear of tumult; wherefore they pray him to order the captains of his ships to send certain galleys they had taken with corn to Talamone, where they might buy what they needed. Under this letter is written: “Ad infra scriptos mercatores. Predicta notificata sunt Boccaccio de Certaldo, Baldo Orlandini et Acciaiolo de Acciaiolis, et mandatum est et scriptum, quod litteras predictas domino regi presententur.” It follows that Boccaccino was among the first Florentine negozianti then in Naples. But see infra. He must have come into personal relations with King Robert on this occasion, even though hitherto he had not done so.
11 Cf. Havemann, Geschichte des ausgangs des Tempelherrenordens (Stuttgart, 1846), pp. 261-3, and Crescini, Contributo agli studi sul Boccaccio (Torino, 1887), cap. i. p. 25. Crescini’s book is invaluable.
12 He tells us this in the De Casibus Illustrium Virorum, Lib. IX.
13 See Desjardins, Négociations Diplomatiques de la France avec la Toscane, Vol. I, p. 12 et seq., and Villari, The First Two Centuries of Florentine History (Eng. trans., 1905), p. 554.
14 That he was not a mere traveller between Tuscany and France seems certain, for Boccaccio says: “Boccaccius genitor meus, qui tunc forte Parisius negotiator, honesto cum labore rem curabat augere domesticam,” etc.
15 Boccaccio, De Cas. Ill. Vir., Lib. IX. Cf. Crescini, op. cit.
16 Cf. Crescini, op. cit., cap. i; Antona Traversi, Della patria di Gio. Boccaccio in Fanfulla della Domenica (1880), II, and in Rivista Europea (1882), XXVI. See also B. Zumbini, Il Filocolo del Boccaccio (Firenze, 1879), esp. p. 58; and Crescini, Idalagos in Zeitschrift für Rom. Phil. (1885-6), IX, 457-9, X, 1-21.
17 Cf. Ameto in Opere Minori (Milan, 1879), p. 186 et seq.; and Filocolo in Opere Volgari, ed. Moutier (Firenze, 1827), Vol. II, p. 236 et seq.
18 For a full discussion of these allusions and anagrams, cf. Crescini, Contributo agli studi sul Boccaccio (Torino, 1887), cap, i. It will be seen that if our theory be correct, Giovanni Boccaccio bears the names of both his parents — Giovanna and Boccaccio. It is necessary to point out, however, that there is not much in this, for a paternal uncle was called Vanni, and Giovanni may have been named after him, as his brother was named after another uncle. Cf. Baldelli, Vita di Gio. Boccaccio (Firenze, 1806), p. 274, note 1.
19 In the Filocolo (ed. cit., Vol. II, pp. 242-3) we read: “Ma non lungo tempo quivi ricevuti noi dimorò, che abbandonata la semplice giovane e l’ armento tornò nei suoi campi, e quivi appresso noi si tirò, e non guari lontano al suo natal sito la promessa fede a Giannai ad un’ altra, Garamita chiamata, ripromise e servò, di cui nuova prole dopo piccolo spazio riceveo.” Cf. Baldelli, Vita di Gio. Boccaccio (Firenze, 1806), p. 275.
20 See F. Villani, Le Vite d’ uomini illustri Fiorentini (Firenze, 1826). F. Villani was a contemporary of Boccaccio, and succeeded him in the chair founded at Florence for the exposition of the Divine Comedy.
21 See Galletti, Philippi Villani: Liber de Civitatis Florentiæ famosis civibus ex codice Mediceo Laurentiano, nunc primum editus, etc. (Firenze, 1847), and on this Calò, Filippo Villani e il Liber de Origine civitatis, etc. (Rocca S. Casciano, 1904), pp. 154-5.
22 The son of his “natural father” may mean that Boccaccio di Chellino was not his adoptive father, or it may mean that Giovanni was a bastard. See on this Crescini, op. cit., p. 38 et seq., and Della Torre, La Giovinezza di Gio. Boccaccio (Città di Castello, 1905), cap. i.
23 Domenico Bandini Aretino says: “Boccatius pater ejus ... amavit quamdam iuventulam Parisinam, quam prout diligentes Ioannem dicunt quamquam alia communior sit opinio sibi postea uxorem fecit, ex qua genitus est Ioannes.” See Solerti, Le vite di Dante, Petrarca e Boccaccio scritte fino al secolo XVII (Milano, 1904). The lives of Boccaccio constitute the third part of the volume; the second of these is Domenico’s. Cf. Messera, Le più antiche biografie del Boccaccio in Zeitschrift für Rom. Phil. (1903), XXVII, fasc. iii. See also Crescini, op. cit., p. 16, note 1, and Antona Traversi, op. cit. in Fansulia della Domencia, II, 23, where many authors of this opinion are quoted.
24 Giova
nni Acquettino da Prato was a bad poet. His sonnet says: “Nacqui in Firenze al Pozzo Toscanelli.” Pozzo Toscanelli was in the S. Felicità quarter, close to the Via Guicciardini.
25 St. della Lett. Ital. (1823), V, part iii. p. 738 et seq.
26 Op. cit., pp. 277-80.
27 Corazzini, Lettere edite e inedite di G. Boccaccio (Firenze, 1877), p. viii. et seq.
28 Koerting, Boccaccio’s Leben und Werke (Leipzig, 1880), p. 67 et seq., and Boccaccio Analekten in Zeitschrift für Rom. Phil. (1881), v. p. 209 et seq. If Antona Traversi has disposed of Corazzini’s assertions, Crescini seems certainly to have demolished the arguments of Koerting.
29 All the dates and facts so carefully established by Crescini and Della Torre are really dependent on the date of Boccaccio’s birth, 1313, being the true one. This is the corner-stone of their structure. But the story of his illegitimacy and foreign birth was current long before this date was established. It was the commonly received opinion. Why? Doubtless because Boccaccio himself had practically stated so in the Filocolo and the Ameto. That Filippo Villani’s Italian translator was dependent on these allegories for his story seems to be proved (cf. Della Torre, op. cit., p. 30); so probably was the general public. The question remains: Was Boccaccio speaking the mere truth concerning himself in these allegories? Filippo Villani himself, as we have seen, believed that he was born at Certaldo; so did Domenico Aretino. For myself, I do not think that enough has been allowed for the indirect influence of Fiammetta in the Filocolo and the Ameto. They were written for her — to express his love for her. She was the illegitimate daughter of King Robert of Naples by the wife of the nobleman Conte d’Aquino — a woman of French extraction. It is strange, then, that Boccaccio’s story of his birth in the allegories should so closely resemble hers. She doubtless thought herself a very great lady, and was probably prouder of her royal blood than a legitimate princess would have been. But Boccaccio was just the son of a small Florentine trader; and he was a Poet. To proclaim himself — half secretly — illegitimate was a gain to him, a gain in romance. How could a youthful poet, in love with a princess too, announce himself as the son of a petty trader, a mere ordinary bourgeois, to a lady so fine as the blonde Fiammetta? Of course he could not absolutely deny that this was so, especially after his father’s visit (1327), and also we must remember that the Florentine trader held, or is supposed to have held, quite a good social position even in feudal Naples. Nevertheless his bourgeois birth did not please the greatest story-teller of Europe. So he invented a romantic birth — he too would be the result of a love-intrigue, even as Fiammetta was. And because he loved her, and therefore wished to be as close to her and as like her as possible, he too would have a French mother. Suppose all this to be true, and that after all Boccaccio is the son of Margherita, the wife of his father; that he was born in wedlock in 1318; that he met Fiammetta not on March 30, 1331 (see Appendix I), but on March 30, 1336, and that he told Petrarch he was born in 1313 because he knew his father was in Paris at that date — this last with his usual realism to clinch the whole story he had told Fiammetta.
30 In 1318 Boccaccio di Chellino is spoken of as having been a dweller in the quarter of S. Pier Maggiore for some four years. See Manni, Istoria del Decameron (Firenze, 1742), p. 7, who gives the document. This may mean little, however, for the residence may have been purely formal, and have signified merely that a business was carried on there in his name. But see Crescini, op. cit., pp. 40 and 41, Note 1, and Della Torre, op. cit., pp. 7-14.
31 Cf. Filocolo, ed. cit., Vol. II, pp. 242-3.
32 Della Torre, op. cit., p. 2.
33 Moreover, as we shall see, the story of the “two bears” which in his allegory followed his father and drove himself out of the house — to Naples — seems to make it necessary that they should all have been living together. See infra, p. 14.
34 In the first page he says: “Vagabondo giovane i Fauni e le Driadi abitatrici del luogo, solea visitare, et elli forse dagli vicini monti avuta antica origine, quasi da carnalità costretto, di ciò avendo memoria, con pietosi affetti gli onorava talvolta....”
35 The document is given in full in Appendix II. The fact that the parish of S. Pier Maggiore is mentioned proves that when Boccaccio di Chellino was married, he was living therein, for the property was part of the dowry of Margherita di Gian Donato his first wife.
36 See my Country Walks About Florence (Methuen, 1908), pp. 13-15 Casa di Boccaccio is within sight and almost within hail of Poggio Gherardo, the supposed scene of the first two days of the Decameron.
37 In the De Genealogiis Deorum, Lib. XV, cap. x., he says “Non dum ad septimum annum deveneram ... vix prima literarum elementa cognoveram....” At this time he was already composing verses, he says.
38 Cf. Massera, Le più antiche biografie in Zeitschrift für Rom. Phil., XXVII, pp. 310-18. But see Crescini, op. cit., p. 48, note 3; and in reply Della Torre, op. cit., p. 3, note 5.
39 “Qui ... ferula ... ab incunabulis puellulos primum grammaticæ gradum tentantes cogere consueverat,” writes Boccaccio in the letter to Iacobo Pizzinghe. See Corrazini, Le Lett. ed. e ined. di G. B. (Firenze, 1877), p. 196, and Filocolo, ed. cit., I, 75-6. It was probably the Metamorphoses of Ovid that he read with Mazzuoli, though in the Filocolo he speaks of the Ars Amandi! The Metamorphoses were read for the sake of the mythology as well as for the exercise in Latin. Cf. Della Torre, op. cit., p. 4.
40 Cf. Hecker, Boccaccio Funde (Braunschweig, 1902), p. 288, and Massera, op. cit., p. 310.
41 Della Torre, op. cit., pp. 5, 6.
42 In the Ameto: —
“Lì non si ride mai se non di rado,
La casa oscura e muta, e molto trista
Me ritiene e riceve a mal mio grado;
Dove la cruda ed orribile vista
D’ un vecchio freddo, ruvido ed avaro
Ogn’ ora con affanno più m’ attrista.”
No doubt, after the gaiety of Naples and its court, the life with an old and poor Florentine merchant seemed dull; and besides, Fiammetta was far away.
43 Filocolo, ed. cit., Vol. II, p. 243. He says: “Io semplice e lascivo” (cf. Paradiso, v. 82-4) “come già dissi, le pedate dello ingannator padre seguendo, volendo un giorno nella paternale casa entrare, due orsi ferocissimi e terribili mi vidi avanti con gli occhi ardenti desiderosi della mia morte, de’ quali dubitando io volsi i passi miei, e da quell’ ora innanzi sempre d’ entrare in quella dubitai. Ma acciocchè io più vero dica, tanta fu la paura, che abbandonati i paternali campi, in questi boschi venni l’ apparato uficio a operare.” Crescini in Kritischer Jahresbericht über Fortschrifte der Rom. Phil. (1898), III, p. 396 et seq., takes these two bears to be old Boccaccio and Margherita, but Della Torre, op. cit., pp. 18-30, asks very aptly how could Boccaccio speak thus of a father he allows in the Fiammetta “per la mia puerizia nel suo grembo teneramente allevata, per l’ amor da lui verso di me continuamente portato.” Della Torre takes the two bears to be Margherita and her son Francesco, born ca. 1321. See op. cit., p. 24, and document there quoted.
44 See Appendix I, where the whole question is discussed. Cf. Della Torre, op. cit., p. 30, note 1, and caps. ii. and iii.; Casetti, Il Boccaccio a Napoli in Nuova Antologia (1875); and De Blasiis, La Dimora di Gio. Boccaccio a Napoli in Arch. St. per le prov. Nap. (1892), XXII, p. 11 et seq.
45 It seems strange that Boccaccio did not follow the Via Francigena for Rome, as Henry VII and all the emperors did, till we remember that the Pope was in Avignon and the City a nest of robbers. The route given above is, according to De Blasiis, the one he took, though of course there is no certainty about it. Cf. De Blasiis, op. cit., pp. 513-14.
There is also this to be considered that, according to Della Torre’s theory, which we accept, Boccaccio’s journey took place in December, 1323. But Mr. Heywood informs me that at that date the country about Perugia was in a state of war. Spoleto was then being besieged by the Perugians, and the Aretine Bishop was perpetually organising raids and incursions for her
relief. In the autumn Città di Castello had revolted and given herself to the Tarlati, and even if (owing to the season of the year and the consequent scarcity of grass for the horses of the milites) military operations were impossible on a large scale in the open country, the whole contado must still have been full of marauding bands. This route then via Perugia would have been dangerous if not impossible. The explanation may be that the Florentines and Sienese were allied with the Perugians. Certainly in the spring of 1324 there were Florentine troops in the Perugian camp before Spoleto. Perhaps the boy found protection by travelling with some of his military compatriots. In 1327 (see infra) the route suggested by De Blasiis and accepted by Della Torre would have been reasonable enough.
46 Ameto (Opere Minori, Milano, 1879), p. 225.
47 My translation is free; I give therefore the original: “... le mai non vedute rughe con diletto teneano l’ anima mia, per la quale così andando, agli occhi della mente si parò innanzi una giovane bellissima in aspetto, graziosa e leggiadra, e di verdi vestimenti vestita ornata secondo che la sua età e l’ antico costume della città richiedono; e con liete accoglienze, me prima per la mano preso, mi baciò, ed io lei; dopo questo aggiugnendo con voce piacevole, vieni dove la cagione de’ tuoi beni vedrai.”
48 One may contrast this vision of welcome with that which had driven him away. Of such is the symmetry of Latin work. He himself calls this a prevision of Fiammetta. We cannot help reminding ourselves that the Vita Nuova was already known to him when he wrote thus.
49 G. Villani, Cronica, Lib. VIII, cap. 112.
50 Ibid., Lib. IX, cap. 8.
51 Ibid., Lib. IX, cap. 39.
52 Ibid., Lib. IX, cap. 56.
53 Cf. De Blasiis, op. cit.
54 See Crowe and Cavalcaselle, ed. E. Hutton (Dent, 1908), Vol. I, p. 26.
Collected Works of Giovanni Boccaccio Page 487
