The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio, Giovanni Boccaccio [buy e reader .TXT] 📗
- Author: Giovanni Boccaccio
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[8] i.e. gravediggers (becchini).
[9] Lit. four or six. This is the equivalent Italian idiom.
[10] i.e. but few tapers.
[11] i.e. expectation of gain from acting as tenders of the sick, gravediggers, etc. The word speranza is, however, constantly used by Dante and his follower Boccaccio in the contrary sense of "fear," and may be so meant in the present instance.
[12] i.e. the cross.
[13] i.e. walled burghs.
[14] i.e. in miniature.
[15] Or character (qualità).
[16] I know of no explanation of these names by the commentators, who seem, indeed, after the manner of their kind, to have generally confined themselves to the elaborate illustration and elucidation (or rather, alas! too often, obscuration) of passages already perfectly plain, leaving the difficult passages for the most part untouched. The following is the best I can make of them. Pampinea appears to be formed from the Greek πᾶν, all, and πινύω, I advise, admonish or inform, and to mean all-advising or admonishing, which would agree well enough with the character of Pampinea, who is represented as the eldest and sagest of the female personages of the Decameron and as taking the lead in everything. Fiammetta is the name by which Boccaccio designates his mistress, the Princess Maria of Naples (the lady for whom he cherished "the very high and noble passion" of which he speaks in his Proem), in his earlier opuscule, the "Elégia di Madonna Fiammetta," describing, in her name, the torments of separation from the beloved. In this work he speaks of himself under the name of Pamfilo (Gr. πᾶν, all, and φιλέω, I love, i.e. the all-loving or the passionate lover), and it is probable, therefore, that under these names he intended to introduce his royal ladylove and himself in the present work. Filomena (Italian form of Philomela, a nightingale, Greek φίλος loving, and μελός, melody, song, i.e. song-loving) is perhaps so styled for her love of music, and Emilia's character, as it appears in the course of the work, justifies the derivation of her name from the Greek αἱμύλιος, pleasing, engaging in manners and behaviour, cajoling. Lauretta Boccaccio probably intends us to look upon as a learned lady, if, as we may suppose, her name is a corruption of laureata, laurel-crowned; whilst Neifile's name (Greek νεῖος [νεός] new, and φιλέω, I love, i.e. novelty-loving) stamps her as being of a somewhat curious disposition, eager "to tell or to hear some new thing." The name Elisa is not so easily to be explained as the others; possibly it was intended by the author as a reminiscence of Dido, to whom the name (which is by some authorities explained to mean "Godlike," from a Hebrew root) is said to have been given "quòd plurima supra animi muliebris fortitudinem gesserit." It does not, however, appear that there was in Elisa's character or life anything to justify the implied comparison.
[17] This phrase may also be read "persuading themselves that that (i.e. their breach of the laws of obedience, etc.) beseemeth them and is forbidden only to others" (faccendosi a credere che quello a lor si convenga e non si disdica che all' altre); but the reading in the text appears more in harmony with the general sense and is indeed indicated by the punctuation of the Giunta Edition of 1527, which I generally follow in case of doubt.
[18] Syn. cooler.
[19] See ante, p. 8, note.
[20] Filostrato, Greek φίλος, loving, and στρατὸς, army, met. strife, war, i.e. one who loves strife. This name appears to be a reminiscence of Boccaccio's poem (Il Filostrato, well known through its translation by Chaucer and the Senechal d'Anjou) upon the subject of the loves of Troilus and Cressida and to be in this instance used by him as a synonym for an unhappy lover, whom no rebuffs, no treachery can divert from his ill-starred passion. Such a lover may well be said to be in love with strife, and that the Filostrato of the Decameron sufficiently answers to this description we learn later on from his own lips.
[21] Dioneo, a name probably coined from the Greek Διωνη, one of the agnomina of Venus (properly her mother's name) and intended to denote the amorous temperament of his personage, to which, indeed, the erotic character of most of the stories told by him bears sufficient witness.
[22] e prima mandato là dove, etc. This passage is obscure and may be read to mean "and having first despatched [a messenger] (or sent [word]) whereas," etc. I think, however, that mandato is a copyist's error for mandata, in which case the meaning would be as in the text.
[23] Or balconies (loggie).
[24] i.e. Nine o'clock a.m. Boccaccio's habit of measuring time by the canonical hours has been a sore stumbling-block to the ordinary English and French translator, who is generally terribly at sea as to his meaning, inclining to render tierce three, sexte six o'clock and none noon and making shots of the same wild kind at the other hours. The monasterial rule (which before the general introduction of clocks was commonly followed by the mediæval public in the computation of time) divided the twenty-four hours of the day and night into seven parts (six of three hours each and one of six), the inception of which was denoted by the sound of the bells that summoned the clergy to the performance of the seven canonical offices i.e. Matins at 3 a.m., Prime at 6 a.m., Tierce at 9 a.m., Sexte or Noonsong at noon, None at 3 p.m., Vespers or Evensong at 6 p.m. and Complines or Nightsong at 9 p.m., and at the same time served the laity as a clock.
[25] The table of Boccaccio's time was a mere board upon trestles, which when not in actual use, was stowed away, for room's sake, against the wall.
[26] i.e. to take the siesta or midday nap common in hot countries.
[27] i.e. three o'clock p.m.
[28] i.e. backgammon.
[29] Or procurators.
[30] A Florentine merchant settled in France; he had great influence over Philippe le Bel and made use of the royal favour to enrich himself by means of monopolies granted at the expense of his compatriots.
[31] Charles, Comte de Valois et d'Alençon.
[32] Philippe le Bel, a.d. 1268-1314.
[33] The Eighth.
[34] Sic. Cepparello means a log or stump. Ciapperello is apparently a dialectic variant of the same word.
[35] Diminutive of Cappello. This passage is obscure and most likely corrupt. Boccaccio probably meant to write "hat" instead of "chaplet" (ghirlanda), as the meaning of cappello, chaplet (diminutive of Old English chapel, a hat,) being the meaning of ciappelletto (properly cappelletto).
[36] i.e. false instruments.
[37] A "twopence-coloured" sketch of an impossible villain, drawn with a crudeness unusual in Boccaccio.
[38] i.e. if there be such a thing as a holy and worthy friar.
[39] i.e. ex voto.
[40] It will be noted that this is Boccaccio's third variant of his hero's name (the others being Ciapperello and Cepparello) and the edition of 1527 furnishes us with a fourth and a fifth form i.e. Ciepparello and Ciepperello.
[41] i.e. a story.
[42] i.e. of God's benignness.
[43] Lit. cardinal brethren (fratelli cardinali).
[44] Lit. losing (perdendo), but this is probably some copyist's mistake for podendo, the old form of potendo, availing.
[45] i.e. stood sponsor for him.
[46] Lit. amorous (amorose), but Boccaccio frequently uses amoroso, vago, and other adjectives, which are now understood in an active or transitive sense only, in their ancient passive or intransitive sense of lovesome, desirable, etc.
[47] Compagne, i.e. she-companions. Filomena is addressing the female part of the company.
[48] Lit. his church (sua chiesa); but the context seems to indicate that the monastery itself is meant.
[49] Lit. a pressure or oppression (priemere, hod. premere, to press or oppress, indicative used as a noun). The monk of course refers to the posture in which he had seen the abbot have to do with the girl, pretending to believe that he placed her on his own breast (instead of mounting on hers) out of a sentiment of humility and a desire to mortify his flesh ipsâ in voluptate.
[50] An evident allusion to Boccaccio's passion for the Princess Maria, i.e. Fiammetta herself.
[51] Or standard-bearer.
[52] i.e. the One-eyed (syn. le myope, the short-sighted, the Italian word [Il Bornio] having both meanings), i.e. Philip II. of France, better known as Philip Augustus.
[53] i.e. with sword and whips, a technical term of ecclesiastical procedure, about equivalent to our "with the strong arm of the law."
[54] i.e. a lover of money.
[55] A notorious drinker of the time.
[56] i.e. money.
[57] "And every one that hath forsaken houses or brethren or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my name's sake shall receive an hundredfold and shall inherit everlasting life."—Matthew xix. 29. Boccaccio has garbled the passage for the sake of his point.
[58] Syn. gluttonous (brodajuola).
[59] i.e. gleemen, minstrels, story-tellers, jugglers and the like, lit. men of court (uomini di corte).
[60] Dinne alcuna cosa. If we take the affix ne (thereof, of it), in its other meaning (as dative of noi, we), of "to us," this phrase will read "Tell somewhat thereof," i.e. of the cause of thy melancholy.
[61] i.e. Latinist.
[62] Lit. was (era); but as Boccaccio puts "can" (possono) in the present tense we must either read è and possono or era and potevano. The first reading seems the more probable.
[63] i.e. have most power or means of requiting it.
[64] Fem.
[65] Uomo di corte. This word has been another grievous stumbling block to the
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