El Primer Dia Del DECAMERON

7/29/2019 El Primer Dia Del DECAMERON

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The Modality of Moral Communication in the Decameron's First Day, in Contrast to theMirror of the Exemplum

Author(s): Timothy KircherSource: Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 54, No. 4, Part 1 (Winter, 2001), pp. 1035-1073Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Renaissance Society of AmericaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1261966 .

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_r1f)eAlodalityAloral ommunication0in the ecameronsirst ay, nContrastotheAfirrorthe xemplumbyTiMOTHY KiRCHER

Theessaynalyzes pisodesrom he irst ayof tory-tellingn theDecameron nd thecontemporaryraditionfmendicantxemplaomparingheir ifferingeansf nfluencingmoral ehaviorheDecameronisclosescrisisnthexemplumraditionetweenonventionalsermonizingnd a heightenedensef lericalfrailty,ndrespondsy howingnewway fnarratingoralproblemso scepticaleadership.hile he xemplumprovidesfiameworkJortheDecameron arrators,heyreathis radition ithrony,mphasizinghe ontingent,subjectivepprehensionfmoral ruth. hevarious arrativeersonalitiesndthe ubtleassociationsetweenarrator'andprotagonist,rotagonistnd audiencellustratemode fcommunicationhat ecognizeshe eader'sapacityo isten.

ver he ast wentyearscholarshipas ncreasinglyoncernedtselfwithmedieval ermonsnd their se ofthe xemplumoportraymoralesson. hetermxemplumpluralxempla)esignatedoratemedi-evalmoralistsnepisode rom saint'sife,r personivingmodel ife r,atitsmost llusive,he ymbolicnterpretationfnatural henomena.Whateverheparticularesignation,heexemplumortrayed,s its iteralsensendicates,nexampleobefollowed,nd tsmoral orceerivedromthe onceptionhat eligiouserfectionasultimatelyeterminedyone'svolition,volition,obesure, uidednd trengthenedygrace.' heanal-ysis fvariousxemplaasprovidedcholarsfreligious,ultural,ocial ndintellectualistorycommon ield f nquiry:he xemplumormsbridgebetweencholasticndpopular heology,erbalndvisual rLatin ndver-nacularmodesofexpression,ogma nd naturalcience, ndnot eastbetweenietyndpoetry.For he talian recentohis esearchn the xemplumasbeenpartic-ularly ruitful,anging rom elcorno'swritingso themulti-volumepublicationf theRaccontisemplari.3talian cholars avebeen ble to

*Researchor his ssay as upportedyfellowshipst theVatican ilm ibrarytSt.LouisUniversitynd at theNewberryibrary.amalsogratefulo RonaldWitt nd PaulGehlfor heir ommentsnearlier rafts.'The ast ignificationf xemplums foundnthe ummaor iber] eexemplist imil-itudinibuserumyJohanneseSanctoGeminiano,P (t 1333).'See the ompilationf cholars'iews f he xemplumnDelcorno, 975,191-3, ndinBranca, 983-4, 82-3.

'Among he rimaryources: e Luca, d.; Levasti,d.;Pozzi ndLeonardi,d.;Segre,Renaissanceuarterly4 (2001): 1035-1073 [ 10351

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1036 RENAISSANCE QUARTERLY

build pon he oundationsaidbyLevasti, etto, etrocchi,ndBattaglia,andthe tudy fexemplaas also enrichedhepursuitsf arthistorians,most otablyn the xaminationf he rescoesn theCamposantonPisa,which ortrayheThebaid athersndtheTriumphfDeath.'Despite his cholarlyroundwork,ittle ttentionasbeendevotedothe elationetweenheTuscan reachersrreligiousritersndtheiron-temporariesomposingecularrose rpoetry.hisrelation,n the aseoftheDecameron,evealsriticaleaturesf he ontrastetween edievalndRenaissanceulture. hat onnectionsfhistoricalmportanceanwedis-cover etween occaccio'sundredtoriesnd he xemplaecountedy hefriarsctiven andaround lorence?In oneofDelcorno'secentssays,enotes heDominicans'ole npro-moting octrinendpreachingn Trecento uscany,ndhe sees n theDecameron'scomplexhematiccore" the emarksncontemporaryre-mitism nd theparodyof certainmotifs nherentn the monastictradition."5Citingeveralnstancesn which ecameronarrativesresentvariantsnexemplae.g.,Mintro., 11.10,1.6), elcorno laims hat hework indicateshe nadequacyfthe ulturemposed ythepreachers"andthat occacciomay ave iewedhePisan rescoess ca projectfpen-itentialife ompletelytoddswith he deals xpressedntheDecameron.6Delcorno'siew,n so far s temphasizesheDecameron'sreak rommen-dicantermonizing,omplementsattaglia'sarliernalysisfthe toryfTito ndGisippoX. ),a story hichhows,nhiswords,ow"ethicalndsocial alues reno ongerble oemergescategoricalndnormative."Theresearchf hesecholars,owever,oesnot laboratepon hena-ture rthe mplicationsf theopposition etweenheDecameronndmedievalxempla. hile hepassagesecountedyDelcorno ndBattagliaunderscoreoccaccio's nowledgendrevisionf ndividualxemplandsaints'ives,heirssessmentsonot ngagehe roader,ormalelatione-tweenheDecameronndthis radition.n factheDecameronxploitshecharacteristicsfTrecentoxempla,speciallyheir urpose fteachingmoralcts hroughprescribedisualmodel,n orderoexpressnewmo-dalityfmoralommunication.ed.;andVaraninindBaldassarri,d.Amonghe cholarlynalyses,eeBranca, 981;Del-corno, 975and1989a;Getto; etrocchi,967and1983; ndSapegno.4CE Battagliaicci, 994and1987; ndBellosi.'Delcorno, 989b, 50.'Delcorno, bid., 54,referringo Balduccin V, ntro.;nd351.

7Battaglia, 11.'Delcorno asrecognizedhis ualityf heDecameron,uthis tudiesf ts reatmentof he xemplumoncentraten dentifyingourcesf eparatetories,ot othe hematice-



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DECAMERON'S FIRST DAY 1037

The Decameron'sseof xempla ay e noted ntwo evels. he exem-pla provide hebackground,venthevocabulary,hrough hich henarratorsanaddressheir thicaloncerns;et he ame xemplalso erveas a foil or heir riticismsftheChurch'smethod fmoralnstruction.The Decameronhereforerojectshe xemplumraditionhroughhe ensof rony,llowingtsreaderso see twith nprecedentedharpnessnd ex-pose ts imitations.9verythingn theDecameroningesn thepossibilityinherentn rony,hicheavests eadersoom orndependenterspectivestowardhe amephenomenarstory. he readeror, n thecase of thebrigata,he istener) ay hen eviser ffirmer erspectiven thepassageoftime,n the ontext fthe ater toriesrpersonalxperience.t is thiscontingent,ossible ualityftheDecameron'seaning,ntunewith tstemporalwareness,hatmost learly istinguishest from he upposeduniversal,bjectiveaturef hemedievalxernplum."

lationmonghem:Ironia/parodia"nBragantinindForni, d.,179. nanotherssayhatinvestigatesore eneraleaturesfTrecentoiety,elcornomphasizeshe amplitudendcoherencef the iteraryanipulationnd ofthe deologicalemystificationxercisedyBoccaccio n thecorpusfexemplaryiterature."Metamorfosioccacciane ell' exem-plum"'n1989a, 69.Theessay oweververlookshe tylisticnventionf heDecameron,especiallyhenterplaymong arrator,rigata,ndreader,ocusingnsteadn the ourcesfspecificovelle,n solation rom ne anotherndthe arger ork. attaglia'sDall'esempioallnovella"lsodevotests ttentionoa singlepisode,he riendshipfTitus ndGisippusinX.8:509-525.9Delcorno otes:He [Boccaccio]nfact oesnot imit imselfoutilizingnaparodickey ertainarticularources,utpointsheweaponsf ronygainstntirelasses f xem-pla, subordinanto thegrand hemes fpopular eligion,modeled ndguidedbythepreachingf hemendicants."Metamorfosi"n1989a, 69.1differrom elcornonpartby iewingoccaccio'sffortsot s deological,ut athersapoeticct hat xhibitsnun-derstandingfhuman sychologyndepistemologyt variance ith heunderstandingexpressedymost f hemendicantreachers.ThestatementfJohn . Lyonsmight eapplied o Boccaccio's ork: the on-sciousnesshat nexampleexemplum]s notmerelyny arrativeut narrativeith claimtoaparticularort f ruththe elationshipfgenerallass oparticularnstance)swhat l-lows ixteenth-nd eventeenth-centuryriterso useexamplena highlyronic ay."I 2,author'smphasis).'OThis haracteristicf he ecameronas argelyscapedhe ttentionf cholars. att-aglianotesBoccaccio'sttempto transferexemplarymblematicityo theprobabilityfexperience"512),buthe doesnot ustain his onclusionhroughcontinuednalysisfepisodesrom hework, ordoeshe concentraten the elationetween arratorndaudi-ence.Alfonso aolella oesnot ufficientlyifferentiatehe xemplum'sorcefpersuasionfrom hat f heDecameron,verlookinghe ronynd ubjectivityfdiscoursenthe atter,whichsconveyedlsoby hehistoricalndividualityf ts haracters37-38,110-112).Due



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The new otentialitiesf heDecameronre xhibitedy ts orm,spe-cially y heworlesargerramework.occaccio ubvertshe cclesiasticalcenterf he xemplumraditionyusingen aynarrators,ncludingevenwomen. ven s thesenarratorsell torieswith morals' r essons, hereaders nstantlyhallengedo assess heir emarks,ccept hem rrejectthem, ithoutecourseo clericaluthority.keyupportfmedievalra-dition,he heologicalnd ocial tatus f he lergy,asbeenknockedway,andone s efto considerheworthf he ales none's wn erms: liber-ating,nxiousmoment. o one narratorntheDecameronssumes hemantle fmoralpokesperson.'We eethen culturalrefigurementfKi-erkegaard'soncept f ndirectommunication:he bsence fobjectivemoraluthorityllowshe thicalmeaningo be communicatedndirectly,inaway hat equireshe eaderoappropriatehemeaningor imself IntermsfRenaissanceumanism,heDecameronresentsts wn,more ad-icalversionf hedictumepeatedyPetrarchnhis etters: hile xternalauthorityarriesomeweight,ersonalxperiencesthe ouchstonende-termininghat asmoral alue r sworthless.3This hallengehe eaderacesndiscoveringhemeaningf narrativeisheightenedy he ransitoryaturef he equencef toriesold ver en

attentionothese ualitiesf ronyndsubjectivitys alsomissingnthewritingsftwootherommentators.arlheinztierletressesow ontingencys a featurefthenovellasthat istinguisheshemromxempla582);yet isreferenceoa "new emporalimension"opened pby ontingencys not laborated,nd nparticularhis imensions not xtendedbeyondhenovellashemselves,othe xperiencef he udience.Winfried ehle iscussesthe Criticalompetition"etweenhe doctrinaireethod"fthe xemplumraditionndthe inductiveelations-hermeneutic"f henovella:[Moral bligation]ssubjectoa pro-cess inthenovella]hat isturbshe ense funivocalnessEnwereindeutigung],processwhichemporizesverzeitlicht]istoricallyhemedievalraditionffigurativenderstandingin ightf heepistemological'lternativefhumanism.moral eterminationfmeaningof toriesucceedso ongeryway f pplication,ut n the ontraryxperientially"64).While agreewith his istinction,ehle etailstsvalidityor heFrenchovella, ot heDecameron;e alsodoesnot xploreow he warenessf ronyostershe eader'sxperien-tialunderstanding,ndhow his warenesssdevelopedhroughsequence f toriesoldover ime."Thus part ompanyn this ointwith ittoreranca, ho alls arnpineala sag-gia"' nd lapRi icca i avvedutamana ,spesso,'autorevoleportavoce'ell'autoreI 981,20,43n). Branca'sentimentsfollowedyVictoria irkham3),who ayshe PersonifiesPrudence."

12Kierkegaard,972,1:273,"Communication;"lso1992,pt. I ch.2,72-79. t squestionableo assumehat, or occaccio,he thicalsalways resentsa theme. nter-tainment,he esthetic,ay bscurehe thicalromime otime,s BoccacciondicatesnhisProemio3-15."E.g.Familiares.3.3, II.6.3;also mphasizedn the ecretum.1.10,2.3.3,2.14.5.



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days, rtwoweeks,ountinghedays frest." toriesold aternthe irstdayrespondoearliernes, evisingrunderscoringheirmessages.'5achstory-telleroo sscrutinizedy he thers,licits heir eactions,nd thusalsocommandshereader'svaluation. he flow f time ndhistory,nwhich oth henarratorsndtheirudience articipate,stablishescoher-encefor hehundredtoriesotfoundnother ollectionsftales,uch stheNovellino.In addition odemandinghis oherence,hetemporal low ntheDecamerononveyshe ense fmovementndmutability,ndof hemedi-ationofmeaning ya particularersona. mong henarratorsistinctpersonalitiesomeforth,milia's hemostntriguing;hereadermust c-count orheirointsfview,ndread he toriesn ightf he ubtlehiftsofnarrativeerspective.ycontrasthe raditionalseofexemplaresentseach s a monasticell: ompletendentire,venlylluminated,nd ulti-matelytrest. he stasis f he xemplumsexhibitednthe ormalivisionsoftheThebaid ftheCamposantonPisaand n thenarrativeragmenta-tion fthe aints'ivesntheGoldenegend." he mendicantxemplumsimmuredy tsmoral, ehindwhich hepersonalitiesfboth reacherndreaderrehidden romiew.The ecclesiasticalritersxaminedor heirnfluencenmid-Trecentopietyrefor hemost art ominican: acobuseVoraginet 298),com-piler ftheLegendaurea Goldenegend],collectionf aints'ives ndliturgicaleastshatwasquicklyranslatednto he ernacular;ohanneseSanctoGeminianot1333),a composerf popular eferenceanual orpreachersxplaininghe se f xemplaryymbols,he umma exemplistsimilitudinibuserumThe umma fExamplesndLikenessesfThings];Bartholomeoa SanConcordiot1347),author fa popular enitentialmanualnd lsoof collectionf ayingsy lassicalndChristianuthors,knownnthevernaculars theAmmaestramentieglintichi[TeachingsftheAncients];omenico avalcat1342), he oremostastoralriterfhistime,whose pecchio,elta roceMirrorf heCross]ndtranslationftheVite atrumLives f he athers],heVite e'santiadri,were xtensivelycopied;Rainerius e Pisis t1348), themost cholasticmember fthe

14Story-tellingssuspendednFridaysndSaturdays,etweenaysI and II and be-tween ays II andVIII.15SeeDelcorno's emarksnDecameronianelf-parodynday V,under he nfluenceofDioneo: Ironia/parodia,"nBragantinindForni, d.,187.While arodysoneelementof his esponsenday ,we hall bservether,ess bviousonnectionsmongtory-tellers."Among he lementsf he xemplumranca otests finalityndpersuasivenddi-dactiventent,"983-84, 83.SeeHaydenMaginnis' iscussion141-144) f he episodiccharacterf he rescoes"nPisa,which elps reate heirdepartureromaturalism."



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group)who composed the Tantheologia, a dictionary of theological concepts;Taddeo Dini (t 13 59), a renowned preacher; and not least Jacopo Passavanti(t 13 57), whose S rupecchio delta verapenitenza [Mirror of T e Penitence] is themost significant religious treatise written in Florence immediately after thePlague of 1348. Passavanti was also the preacher for the Dominican house ofSanta Maria Novella, the setting for the Decameron )s opening scene. Round-ing out this list of contemporary sources is the lay chronicler Matteo Villani(t 1363); his assessment of the Black DeatEs effectswill be compared to themoral discussions of the Decameron narrators. These writers then, wrote inboth Latin and the vernacular, for clerical and lay audiences. Despite theirdifferences in approach and even subject matter they shared the conceptionthat the exemplum provided a pattern for moral improvement by portrayingmodels of behavior established by clerical authority.Given the significance of the exemplum as a visual model of behavior, wemay note a second, closely related term that surfaces among Boccaccio'smendicant contemporaries: the mirror or speculum. Cavalca, in his Lives ofthe Fathers, claims that he translated [recato in volgare] the bellissimi esempliof the holy fathers "recognizing that the life of the saints is a living reading[una viva lezione] ... and as it were a mirror where man can ponder and en-gage in self-reflection [s'pecchiarese] and by this means amend and direct hisown life. ,17 Similarly, in his Mirror ofthe Cross, he calls Christ a "book andmirror of all erfection." The exem lum is thus brought into relation withspeculum, perhaps as one might relate 'model' with 'paradigm.' The mirrorof behavior permits the opportunity for self-reflection. Because both exem-plum and speculum propose a visual example (as opposed to verbalinstruction) for the reader to follow, they'reflect' to the reader the state ofhis (or her) perfection or imperfection 19The ecclesiastical writers are conscious of the exemplum's mimetic powerwhen promoting a person as a model to their audience. They may empha-size, within the narrative itself, the need to reduplicate not just the saint'sefforts,but also the struggles of those who overcome adversity through the

17 49conciossiacosachea vitade'sand ia unaviva ezione .. e quasiuno pecchioveNomopubconsideratespecchiare4eper uestomodo a suavita rnmendaredirizzare."Cavalca, 858,13;emphasis ine.18"libro spechio oneperfecione,"Specchio,"v; nothermss. ume especchio:"fthemoderndition,992, 6.

'9johannese SanctoGeminianoLix h.66) omparescriptureoamirror,iting re-goryashis ource. isreasoningscomparableoCavalca'shoughtsnthe athers,amelythat he peculumf cripturahows sthe egreef urbeautyrugliness,f urperfectionor ack hereofiScripturaacra ssimilatorpeculo. ndeGrego. icit: cripturaacramen-tisoculis uasiquoddam peculumpponitur:t nterna ostraacies:nipsavideatur.bi



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saint'spiritual elp.The idealdisciples well sthe deal eacherrepre-sentedto thereader.This doubling s portrayedn thepopular ifcontroversialreatise,hisdoublingsportrayednthe opularf ontrover-sialtreatise,heMirouer usimplesmes Mirrorf imple ouls]bytheBeguineMargueriteoretet13 01, s well sin themiracleegendsftheVirgin,heMiracoli. nereadsttheMirouer'sutset bout princessho,after aintingn image f thedistant, obleAlexander,reams f himthroughsecond,nternalmage.2'The miracletoriesfMary,madepop-ular hroughouturopen ermonsnd ollections,re seriesf xemplanwhich he allenriest,un rknights saved hroughevotionotheVir-21gin. Porete's irouernd theMiracolihereforeotonly resentxemplaor pecula;heylso how,nthe oursef he xemplumarrative,ow ead-ers re ousethesemodels. heseworksmphasizehemoral alue fthisuse, f he ctivereflection'f hemodel. heTrecentoeader,raineds heor he s nthe rt f ssociation,ay ome o view isorher ife s that fenim eda: bipulchra ostraonspicimus:bi entimusuantum roficimus:bia profectuquamlongeistamus."Cf alsohowPassavanti,nthe rologueohis pecchioellapenitenzia,efersoJer-"la cuivita la cuidottrinaono ssemplospecchioi i " as hisprecursorome, vera enitenzia,andconcludes: imperbhe nquestoibro idimostrauello i richiedei fare quellodi che ltri i deeguardareccib he i faccia era enitenzia,onvenevolementeragionev-olemente'appella pecchio ella era enitenzia"6-7;emphasis ine).It s mportantoobserve,foutsidehe cope fthis ssay,ow hemajor lericalprosewritersttemptedoadapt he xem um raditionotheir recentoudience y m-phasizingndincorporatingoredramaticmomentsn their arratives.occaccio, ycontrast,ay esaid oemployhis raditionnordero break romtdecisively.Thisassociationetween irrorndexampleontinuedfterheRenaissance,.g.in thepopular reatisefSamuelClarkeO 599-1682):A mirrourr ookinkglasseothorsaintsnd inners,eldforthn omehousandsf xamples....3rd d.,1657).21"Or ntendez,arhumilt6ngpetitxemplee 'amour emonde, 1'entendez,ussipareillemente a divinemour.... Adonc ist llepaindrengymageui representoitasemblenceuroy,ueueamoit,upluspres u'elle eut e apresentacionont lle 'amoite en 'affectione 'amour onte lle stoitourprinse,tpar emoyeneceste magevec esautressages ongaeroymesmes.Porete,0-1 .2'Tocite wo itles orhis eries,ontainedn theMiracoli elta loriosa erginearia:"Comeunadonnaper perationseldemonio ece ccidereuogenero fu iberataellagloriosa ergine aria," r "Dunochavaliereiovanehevennenpovertapoi perbontadellabeata gloriosaergine ariadivento iccho"4,75). Thematerialims f his iety,the ensual ature f hesetories,tressingeautynd ust,ndtheir arrativetructure,e-lying ften n anactofdeception, eed tobeconsideredmore ullynrelation otheDecameron.elcorno asemphasizedhe riental,atristicraditionfexempla,t the x-pense f hesemore antasticarrativenventionsromhe hirteenthentury.or scholaryintroductiono themiracle-stories,fLevy,d.,xi-clxviii.



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thepious inner eforeheVirgin r theprincesseeking erking.Andwouldnotthereader eethenobilityftheVirginrAlexandernthosewho repreachinghe xempla,nthe lergy,ho reresponsibleor heirspiritualure?Boccaccio'sontemporary,omenico avalca,waspreoccupiedy hequestionfthe lergy'sole sexemplum.he twowritershare concernabout hemoraluthorityf he lergy,ndrespondndifferentays. samomentnTrecentoulturalistory,heir ifferenceshedsightn the is-tinction etween he ensibilitiesfmendicanteachingnd Renaissancehumanismt this ime.The ecclesiasticaluthorityhat aspromotedhebona xemplancour-agesCavalca,nhisMirrorfthe ross,oregardhe lergytselfsamirrorofpurityor he aity:the cclesiastical inisters ust e mirrorshroughwhich he aitymustngagense#-reflectionnd ntheministers'aintlyivesacknowledgeheir wnuncleannessndtheir lawsndtherebyorrectthem. 2 It is consistent ith heChurch'seachinghat heclergy,sChrist'sepresentatives,houldpproachhe tandardsfbehaviorxhibitedby he aintsndChrist imselfndbecome "living eading"or heiron-gregations.addeoDiniexpresseshis learlyna sermon,erhapsohisfellow ominicansfSantaMariaNovella: just s the aintshroughheirmartyrdomndpenancesremirrorsot nlylluminatinghedivineon-gregationut vengnitingovewithint, otoowe,because eoughtobethemirrorftheaityndbecausehe ulewefollowscalled mirrorspecu-lum],must ustainmanyribulationsndpenanceso thatwecansay:weareput odeath: heApostlealls stothis ol. :51:put odeathwhateverinyour atureelongso the arth.,23But clericfCavalca'sensitivity,nvolveds he was n ssues fmoralreform,lsoperceiveshe roblem ith lericssexemplarspecula: hat fthe nfluencef he ad,mmorallergy?ehear avalca'sharpestritiqueofclerical ecadence,ivallinghat fPetrarch:e holds hese lerics c-

""gliministricclesiasticiebbono sserepecchioe iquali li eculariidebbonopec-cbiare ne la loro sanctavitaconoscano a loro mmonditia la loromacula e si lacorregiano."avalca, 490?, 6r ch.46).Myemphasis.23-c-csicut ancti ermartiriatpenitentiasancti unt pecula on olumlluminantiaddei ongregationerned tiarnnflarnmantiad dilectionernicnosquiadebemussse peculamundorumtregulauam enemuspeculumicitur,portetos ustinere ultasribula-tionestpenitentiastpossimusiceremortificamur:d hocmonet os postolusol.3[:51:(mortificateembraostrauaesunt upererram"'ol.128';my mphasis.u6tif-Lhard(1,647b)placehisdeathn1359andcite hepraise xpressedyMichele occiantinhisCataloguscriptorumflorentinorum:Multamilia ermonumdomnemmateriarnlegantiumeteruditorum,ui perordinernon tanturnostrum,edetper lios diffusianquarngemmaretiosasservantur."



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countableorhe infulctionsf heaity.But rulyodaynecan ay haton account f hewickedxampleshichome orthromnumberf ec-ular lericsndreligiouslerics,aypeoplerebecomingoarse ndareavoidinghe leansingfthemselvesndarenotgiving loryoGod,be-cause he lergy'sife s not mirrorftruth,ut fg-reatniquity,othat helaity elievestmightepermittedo do thatwhich t seesdoneby hosevery eoplewhoought o beinstructinghem.""Aselsewherenmuch fmedievalnticlericalriticism,he erydeal ontainednthe lerical owsdamns hemany hofail o ive ptothisdeal.Buthow, tthismomentfcrisis,re he aityo knowwhichxamplesofollow,hich oavoid,whenthemirrors,nwhich heyhould aze, re hemselveslawed, hen hoseresponsibleor xemplaryehaviornsteadeadonetowarderdition?histroublinguestion,avalca'sonundrum,ay ave romptedheDomin-icanto translateheLives f he athers andperhapsor otonly,s heclaims,simplend lliteratei.enonLatin-reading]eople.""Cavalca'sn-swer o this roblems ncomplete:buthewhowouldbewise chifussesavio]wouldnot ttend o the ife fthewicked riestsnd false eligious,but ttend ncemore o the ife fthegood,both hosewho ived nthepast nd those till resent."26cChifusse avio:" ut ndeed owdoesonebecome wise" nd earnodistinguishhe oodfromhe adexempla?av-alcarefrainsromxploringhis edagogicalonundrum.Thisproblem,owever,ecomesmain hematicoint fdepartureortheDecamerontorytellers,oth n theirctions nd ntheir arratives.twas shamelessxamples"disonestissemphl,hichhe even oung omenviewed likedeath tself' comea morte],hatmoved hem o eave heplague-stricken, ty

2' And nthe irstf heDecamerontories,henarratorPanfiloresentsfictionalntithesiso theurban ecay.nFlorencehe n-nocentfallto corruptionnd indignity; etPanfilo ecounts owinBurgundyhewicked epparellos aidtorestwith onors,sa model f24"Ma verameriteogi ipuo'dire heperglimali sempliheprocedono alquantichiericieculari chiericieligiose,li ecolarie brutanonon imondano nondanogloriaa dioperhoch'a lorovitanon spechioiverita, adi moltaniquita,icl gli ecolariep-utano uasi icito ifareuello hevedano are quelli qualiglideverebbenomaestrare.,"

Specchio,ewberrync.4973,56r,ch.46),my mphasis.25 (uominiemplicinon itterati"1858,Prologue,3).26ma chifusse aviononguarderebbela vitadimali acerdotifalsi eligiose,are-guarderebbee avita ebuoni he onopassatidiquelli he onopresenti.avalca, 490?,56r,ch.46).27Pampineaells er ix ompanions:iogiudichereittimamenteatto henoi .. diquesta errascissimo,fuggendoome amorte disonestissempliegli ltri nestamentea)nostriuoghincontado.. ceneandassimo stare."1.1n.65).



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sanctityor thers. epparello'sice s concealed romhefriar ndthetownspeopleyhisfalse onfessionnd his laborate,plendidurial. hefraudulencefhis ife nd thepreacher'sulogy, owever,reobvious oPanfilo'sudience. occaccio'srigata,ndby mplicationiswider eader-ship, reaware hat great eal nmoralnstructionepends pontheethicalensibilityfboth eachernd tudent,fboth he ellerf he xem-plum ndhisreaders. enuinemoral evelopment,hebrigatandicates,cannot e catalyzedimplyy hepreachingfexempla.he preacher aytoooften e compromised,ither enal Filomena'sriarn II.3), duped(Panfilo'sriarn .1), orduplicitousDioneo'sBrothernion nVI.10).Correspondingly,is udiencemay eeitheroo mperceptiver, ncreas-ingly,oo cynical. heDecamerononfirmshecrisisntheexemplumtraditionetweenhe onventionalodel f ermonizingndtheheight-enedperceptionfclericalrailty,nd trespondsy howingnewway fnarratingoral roblemsoa morecepticaleadership.Boccaccio'storytellersrethereforeoncentratingoton preachingmoral ruthss knowledge,utonpresentingariousmomentsnwhichreadersmay chievensightntohumannature. hestoriesmploy ewmethodsf ligningheperspectivesfnarratorndreader,nalignmentnecessaryo ny enuineommunication.sdoother enaissanceexts,heDecameroniberateshetoricndepistemologyrommetaphysical,octri-nalpurposendpracticeshemn an ndividualizedannerhat ecognizesthe apacityf hereadero isten.28occaccio's ork ttendso the rocessofbecomingware fthehuman apacityor oodnessndwickedness,process uoyed ytime's otentiality,atherhan o the ertainmeasure-ment fmoral oodness, hichsthe imof he xemplum.While nvestigatingheDecameron'status s a moral ext, owever,scholarsave ftenpplied reconceivedategoriesrdefinitions,ndhaveoverlookedhe emporal ovementhat onditionshe bilitiesfboth hestorytellerndhisorher eaders.29ommentatorsave truggledorecon-cile he bvious arietyf he ooWsvents ith uniformoral isionhat

28See ickers,31.29Kirkham,nherdiscussionftheDecameron's orality,mits eadingheworkthroughtsnarrativeersonalities.ithouthis eading,er laim or "moralystem"iedto scholasticotionsfmoralityoundersncounter-examplesf cts erformedithm-punity,ndon the ritiquehe torytellersxerciseneachothernthe ftermathfthemoral issolutionroughty he lague.eeher Morale"nBragantinindForni,d., 52-3.Similar roblemsace anetmarr'sonceptionhat heDecamerontoriesresentan dyl-licvisionf possibler t east oped-forationalovernmentf he elfnd ociety."986,174. For perceptiveummaryf hedifferingiews f heDecameron'soral urpose,ee



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would rovidenobjective eaningo thework." hevarietyr'inconsis-tency'ftheDecameron,owever,s created reciselyy tsmultitudefnarrators,alkingndactingntime, nderscoringowBoccaccio ses heforce f emporalityoqualifyny ttemptt moral bjectivity.ncontrastto the clericalexemplum,hetemporal low s not irrelevant o theDecameron,or stemporalityncillaryoa prescribed oral urpose,sonefinds,or xample,nthe llegoryfDeath nthefrescoest Pisa.Onthe ontrary,hetemporal,ubjectiveorm fdiscourse,nwhich verystory-tellernd readers vested ith isorher wnhistoricalndividuality,is themediumhroughhich heDecameron's oral esignsexpressed.Thequandaryndecidingn the onsistencyr nconsistencyfBoccaccio'sworkmay eresolvednlyfwe ookfirsttBoccaccio'sracticef he rt fcommunication,mong is haractersnd between isnarrativesndtheirreaders.The differenceetweenxemplumndnarrativentheDecameron'sirstday anbe characterizeds one betweenstatic nda dynamicosmos, e-tween universenwhich he lericalstate ould bjectivelydentifyhemoral ood, oaworldnwhichmoral valuationfbehaviors nherentlysubjective.3' hisdoesnotmean hat he thical ood eases o beas anob-jective eality,ut tspresencerabsencemust eassessedy veryone,nrelationohis rher wn ndividualxistence.hemoral ruthsre ess elf-evidenthan he lerics ould ike hemobe,and nfact eednotbethesame ruthshat he lericsdvocate. ypresentingts lternativeo themendicant orld iew, occaccio'sworkmarks criticalmomentntheearly enaissanceistoryf deas.Hollander'sThe Proem f heDecameron"n1997,92.He characterizesour ositionso-wards heDecameron'soral ntentions1) traditionalhristian/humanistoral ision; )literaturef musement,escape;") anewmoral isionnimicalo the ldorder;nd4) hisown,nwhich heDecameronxamineshehumanncapacityo ive nharmonyithmo-ralityrnature,nd eeksnartisticxpressionommensurateothis roblem. ollander'sviews most ompatibleithheDecameron'sronic,ndirectormfutterance,ndwithtstreatmentf he xemplum,ut ike he therositionstputs orwardconceptuallaim ntheworlesontent ithoutullynalyzingow hework'sormmightolor his laim. nes-sentialomponentf his ormsthewayt ddresseshe emporal,istoricalituationf helistener.

30SeeBranca, 981,152;andBarolini,26.3'Burckhardt, :473 (VI.3),earlydentifiedhis ubjectiveualityfRenaissanceul-ture, lthough eassociates he ubjective ith he ecular. eealso thedevelopmentsnfourteenth-centurycholasticismWilliam fOccam,Jean uridan, regoryfRimini,Nicholas fAutrecourt),hose elationohumanismas carcelyeen tudied.hisomis-sionhasbeennoted rinkaus,41-244.



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This nalysisentersn the irstay f tory-telling,orhenarrativesfthis ayfind heirwntheme. hecontinuitymong he toriesmergesgradually,n theprocessftheir arration.nlike he hemesffollowingdays, o deliberate otifsputforward,oward hich hebrigata ustd-dress heirales; nd ncontrastoDay X, nwhich themesconsciouslyavoided,he irstay s morexperimentalnd ess tructured.herules orstory-tellingavenotbeen xploredrtested,ndso thebrigatappearsonly obegin processtwould ater evise. oreover,he irstay inds heFlorentinesespondingo their ividmemoriesf hePlaguendtheir is-location romheirity. hus the hemehey itupon eems o be morespontaneous,esspremeditated,nd more ccurateepresentationf heirthoughtsndfeelingssthe hemeakes ormrganicallyetweennenar-rativendthenext.Theexaminationocusesn threepisodes rom his ay oldbyNei-file, ilostratond Emilia. achepisode espondsothe torymmediatelyprecedingt. Neifile'storyf .2 concernsheJewishmerchantbraamwho,urgedo convertyhisChristianriend iannotto,ravelsoRomeandobserveshedecadencefthe urial lergy,nd thendopts heChris-tian aith. his toryicks pon the heme fdivine oodnesshat anfilointroducednhisopeningale.Filostraton .7 recountsowBergaminopersuades an Grande o be more enerousohimbydescribinghe n-counter fPrimasso, nother oorartist,withtheAbbotofCluny.Filostrato'sarrativeeferso theprevioustoryoldbyEmilian .6 of helayman homockshe reedyranciscannquisitor. eclose y xaminingEmilia'smysteriousallad t theday'snd.Her ong,n tsproclaimedelf-absorption,anbe understoods a criticaleactionoParnpinea'semarksl-lustratednher ale f . 1 . Pampinea,hohasbeen esignatedy cholarsas themoraleader f thebrigata,arratesowthe adyMalgheridaeiGhisolieris embarrassednher ttempto make un f he espectedoctorAlbertofBologna.2Thoughwemay onceptualizehis nalysissa series f hreeairs, eshall ncovern allthesepisodesn ironicommentarynthe raditionalnotion fmotivatingeople nthemoral ife hroughheexemplumrspeculum.n fact he equencefthe toriesreates differentype fmir-roring,'ngaginghe ctive articipationf Boccaccio's eaderships asecond rigata.hesubsequentarrativeseflecthe deas fthepreviousones, ormingnever-deepening,mplicitritiquef hehumanapacityomakemoraludgmentshat ranscendime ndcircumstance.

"See above,n. I 1: Branca,1981, andKirkham.



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Scholars ave dentifiedhefirstay's heme s thepower fthebuonimotti,he leverpeech rrepart6e."hisconceptionhouldbe revisedmore recisely,or he deaofbuonimotti ails oaccount or hedevelop-mentsneitheranfilo rNeffile'sarratives,he irstwo ales, ordoes tpoint utthe bject fthiswit.Whatweobserventhis peningtringfstoriesrenot ust lever ords, utwords irectedgainstuthority,othsecularnd piritual.ampineanfact ebukes er ompanionsor heirr-reverence,houghweshall ee howher xception onethelessrovesherule.4Neffile,ollowingponPanfilo'sale fCepparello,lsobeginswithmoral: er tory,ikePanfilo's,illunderscoreowhat egree od's ll-stif-fering oodness benigniti), providestsownproof fitsunerringrighteousnessybearingatientlyhedefects fthose,who nword nddeed ughtobe ts ruewitness,ndyet ehavena preciselyontraryash-ion" 1.2.3).3' This ntroductoryoral sreminiscentftheformfthetraditionalxemplum,ornstancenthevariouspisodes romheLives fthe athers.But nNeffile'sale hosewho re mpugnedy heirdefects"re heclergy,hichs ndicatedot nly y he tory'sescriptionthe depravityoftheclergy"1.2.1]),butalsoby tscharacteristicistinctionetween"word"nd"deed,"which orrespondsothe lergy'sisual ndverbaln-struction,dificationhroughctanddoctrine,hroughxem um ndsententia.effileresentsnironicexemplum,nwhich hepower ftheclergy'sehaviorsamirrorrmodel s used ooverturnnd ubverthe ra-ditionalnderstandingf ts nfluence.nher tory e eeBoccacciondhis"Cf Branca, 1981, note2 to 1.10.20."See Smarr's bservation hat ntheDecameron thewitty se oflanguage"helps"forma bridge cross ocialboundaries" 173). 1question,however, erassertion hatBoccaccio'sintention s"torestoreociety hroughn indirectddress," ince t spossible hat hisuse oflanguage xacerbatedocial tensions nd promotedrreverence.35ccsostenendo azientementedifetti i coloro i quali d'essanedeono dare con l'operee con le paroleveratestimonianza,l contrario perando,di s6arguments 'infallibile eritdimostri."

We shouldnoticehowfar heshadow oftheplagueextends vertheseopening to-ries. Both narrators, anfiloand Neifile,emphasizeGod's patientgoodnessin theface ofhumanwickedness, s ifto discount he dea oftheplagueas punishment;f.Panfilo's on-clusion1.1.90-91. Butcompare lso Boccaccio's tatementnthe first raft ftheTrattatelloin laude di Dante,perhapswrittenn the1350's: "Aquale [nostro iconoscimento;.e. penti-mento]se a lungoandare non seguir, niunodubiti che la sua [i.e. di Dio] ira, a quale conlentopasso procedealla vendetta,non ci serbitantopiti grave ormentorhe appiena sup-plisca la sua tardiW 1995, 7-8 (I. Red. 7). Sasso aptlynotes here thereference oValeriusMaximus,perhaps akenfromBartholomeo i San Concordio'sAmmaestramenti,3.4.11.



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narratorshiftingheweightf he xemplumethod rom lericaluthor-ity proper ehaviorndpreaching)o the ayreaderproper erception:listening,eading,nderstanding).occaccio'smphasisn thereader'se-sponsibilitynd cumen ill ecome,tthe lose f heDecameron,isfirstline fdefensegainstis ritics.6Thisoverturningf xpectationss ndicatedyNeifile'shrasebehaveincontraryashion." heplot ontains eversalsotonly or haracterswithinhe toryut lso, rue o the urposef he xemplumsa "mirror,"fortsreaders. braam, merchantndadditionally,hetells s,"agreatmasternJudaicaw,"1.2.9),s asked epeatedlyyhisfellowmerchanti-annottooconvert.iannotto'sttemptsmade crudelyntheway fmostmerchants,"herefinedarratoremarks1.2.8])finally oveAbraam oannounce visitoRome ndtheCuria.As educateds he s, strainednwords ndphilosophy,e alsodesireso see how heChristianaithsputinto ction y ts eaders: ewill onvertif heyeem o me uch hat cancomprehendoth hroughourwords ndthroughhemtheRoman ler-ics] hat our aith sgreaterhanmy wn" 1.2.1 )."

Consonant ith he xemplumradition,braam ishesoseedoctrinemademanifestybehavior,ords ydeeds. Trecentohristian ould e-mandno ess.To cite hemaxim tteredyBartolomeoi SanConcordio,Ccexamplesovemore han o words."" utAbraam'sesires the ccasionforNeifile'satirend,wehave een, or avalca's istress.orGiannottoe-callstohimselfhevicesoftheRoman lergy,heir ives s mirrorsfiniquity,'ndnowdoes ll n hispower o dissuade braam romeekingsuch xempla.here re,hetells im, greater astersndwisermen" nPariswho ould nswerll his uestionsbout heFaith1.2.14).'9Neifilehus ddresseshe onundrumhich avalca,nhishonesty,couldnot urmount:fone must ook to theclergys exempla,s ideal16CEDecameron,oncl.8 and 1: "Lequali, hentihe lle isieno, nuoceregiovarpossono,f ome ssonoutte'altreose, vendo iguardoll'ascoltatore.... iuna orrottamententesemai anamentearole: cosf ome e oneste quellanongiovano,osf uelleche anto neste on ono abendispostaonpossonontaminate,enon ome l oto so-lari aggi le terreneruttureebellezzeel ielo."37(cse essimiparannoali he opossa ra er etueparole per uelli chiericiomanil

comprederehe avostraede imigliorehe a mia."31111. 13,p.41. This ommonplacesexpressedlsobyCavalca, 858,13;andJacobusdeVoragine,n?112 [117];v.11, p.957-8.'90ne subtletyfNeifile'satiresthat tundercutshe ignificancefdoctrinendscholasticheology,fwhich ariswasthe apital. braamsnot ooking or he Masters"and hewise,' ut he ood funlearnedlergy.e isresponding,houghnon-Christian,ntheway hemendicantreachersftheTrecentoequestedftheir aithful,ntheway,nfact, epparello'sholy riar"sked fhis ongregation:ith focus n the xternalanctity



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Christians,hathappenso one'sfaith ndone'smorals,f heirives rewicked?Giannotto's espair verAbraam's onversionppears o bejustified.Abraam eturns rom omeanddescribes hathe saw nwords fmoral riticismhatre emarkablyhristian,lmost rommendicanter-mon:"there as, nany ne whoseemed ome a cleric, oholiness, odevotion,ogoodworkbuona opera]rmodel fpious iving "essemplodivita"] rof nythinglse, ut atherust,varicendgluttony,raud,nvyandpride nd similarhingsndworse."1.2.24).4' Apart romnalmostcompleteist fmortalins,we find hephraseessemploi vita" lacednconjunctionith he lergy'sorks,heir uona pera,s thefriars ouldhavedone.1 Giannotto,xpectingheobvious, s then tunned yhisfriend'seactionothe lerical epravitynd their efariousessemploivita."Abraam'surveyftheRoman lergyas ed himnot oreject,utratheroacceptheChristianaith. e notes hat hristianitys ncreasing,becomingmoreucid nd learer,"espitehe lergy'sest ffortsounder-mine t. ncontradictionothe utwardppearancef he lergy,e "seemstodiscern"heHoly pirithining ithinhe eligion.2 The ronicmplica-tions rerichhere, ndmadepossible yAbraam'sbilityo"discern"meaningo hisobservationshat uns ppositeo the iteralnterpretationfearedyGiannottoandCavalca): hat adclergyanonly epresentbadreligion. iannotto, eifile ecords,was xpectingconclusioniametri-cally ontrar othis ne" 1.2.28)." Neifile resentshroughbraarnreadingfexemplanwhich he ndividualeadersanactiventerpreter,of he lessedife. f. .1. 5:T nella ostolo,lsantorate,he onfessato'avea,aliton ulpergamoi luicomincib delta uavita, e'suoidigiuni,elta uavirginit,eflaua sim-plicite innocenziasantitmaraviglioseose predicate."40(cquiviniuna antit,niuna ivozione,iuna uona pera ssemploi vita d'altroinalcuno hechiericoosse edermiparve,ma ussuria,variziagulosit, raude,nvidiasuperbiasimiliose piggiori."41With egardo thephrase ssem deplodivita,f, he recento orona 'monaci, trans-lation nd revision ftheCarolingian iademaMonachorum:3 (ch. 15). "Erono uasiottantamonaci, a tuttira ssemploisantit."For he ssociationetweenxemplumndactions,sopposedowordsf nstruction,eeDomenico avalca's irrorff Cross,herehedescribeshrist'siftf lo[suolparlarenarnaestramento[davita lamorte uta nes-empio." avalca, LoSpecchio,"3v; h.5.

41I .2.26: E per i6che oveggio onquello vvenireheessiprocacciono, acontin-uamenteavostraeligionsumentarsipiu'ucida piu' hiara ivenire,eritamenteipardiscerneroSpiritoanto sser 'essa, lcomedivera disanta i " he lcun' ltra,onda-mento sostegno.43 ccaspettavairittamenteontrariaonclusionsquesta";my mphasis.



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whomay each onclusionspposed oexpectations,hat s,to thepur-portedmoral.Even f he eader'sndependentnterpretationffersresolutiono thefearonfrontedyCavalca, bouthow odetermineoodfromadexem-pla,thisndependencesscarcelyonsideredy hemendicantreachersfexempla,nd nfact t sdiscouraged.nCavalca's ranslationfthe ives fthe athersisobedienceo clericalounsel ntailsts infulonsequence,swhen monkgnoresis bbot'sdvice nd fallsnto ornication."he ex-empla rom is ollectionpholdhemoraluperiorityf he lericalstateover he ay,withouteservationndambiguity.bbot amon,ravelingoAlexandriaith thereligious,ells group f aymeno "standpanddohonor othese riarssic], o that hey lessyou,for hey ften alkwithGod,andtheirmouthsreblessed." avalca mphasizesow holyman'sfamehroughis ctionsnd eachingsesempliammaestramenti]broughtmanyo knowhe ath f alvationndperfection."y ontrast,he ecularworldsclearlyistinguishedsa place f emptationndentrapment.l-luring omen, pious athernformsis on, aremonksfthe orld,they]buthave differentress romur wn."44Apart rom braam'shallengeo theChurch's uthorizationfthemeaningfexempla,isreaction aisesnotherroublingonsequenceorthe lergy.tbears epeatinghat he xemplumakes ittlementionf tsspecificarratorr udience.aintlyiving,nthe yes f heChurch,snota categoryonditionedy imendplace.Neifile'sbraarnepresentsnew,criticalbserver,imiliarothe enyoung lorentines.e reactso there-cent uria, allen romts dealglorya referenceoAvignon?),ustasNeifile'sine istenersespondo her ale ntheFlorentineountrysidef1348.Theexemplumstransformedy heDecameron'sistoricaletting.tbecomes particularncidentonethelessossessingreatignificanceorits mmediateudience.5 Inkinship ith occaccio'swnnarrativeftheplague, braam'sescriptionfhis bservationsmphasizeshemportance

44 1858,v. ,ch. 8 (P.21Ob): D'unmonaco heper asua nobbedienzaadde nfor-nicazione;". ,ch. 19 P.199b): Stateue fate nore ifrati,cciocch6glinopesse olteparlanoonDio,e la oro occa santa;" . ,ch. 43 p.212b):"Unmonacoolitarionticoe digran ama stavanunmonte elle arti Antiochia,er icuiesempliammaestramentimoldvenivanonconoscimentoiviadisalute perfezione;". ,ch. 33 p.208b):"Figli-uolomio, uestionomonaci elmondo,manonhanno uell'abitohenoi."My mphasis.The fatherill iminishhewomen'sttractiony his escription,nd heres a distincts-sociation etweenmondondsecolo,s an arena rom hich hefather ants oescape("uscendoelsecolo," 08a).Thischapters a text arodiedyBoccaccio'storyfFilippoBalduccindhis on nhis ntroductionoday Vof heDecameron.

45This deaofhistoricalityntheDecameroneservesbroaderreatmenthe onceptmay efound oth n DanteandPetrarch,nDante's urportedudiencef1300tohis



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of he henomenonnhistory,f hepecificemporaloment,sperceivedyaparticularitness.isaccount epartsignificantlyrommendicantan-guage hroughhepronouncedubjectivityfhis mpressions,he epeatedmiparve,it eems o me."" Andnot nlyAbraam'sole s at ssue, ut lsothat fNeifilend ofthenarratorf heDecameronsawhole. heatten-tive eaderr istenerannot egardny ommentssobjective,utmustdetermineheirmeaninghroughisorher wn ubjectiveppreciationfeventsndofnarrativeharacter.his ubjectivityfviewpoint,fnarratorandaudiencen theDecameron,istinguishestsuseof he xemplumradi-tion romhemethod f hemendicantources.47Commediand nPetrarchsontinuedpistolaryreatmentfhisexperiences.historicalsetting,y ontrast,smissingromheNovellino.Scholars ave ecognizedow heDecameron'storiesransformhe xemplahroughamore reciseeterminationf henarrativeetting;.g.C. Degani, 98.ButBoccaccio e-termineshe ime, lace ndcircumstancefthe udienceswell, ndthe pistemologicalconsequencesfthis etting,oo,need obeinvestigated.eganiremarkslsewhere,ithspecificegardo Boccaccio'storyfFilippo alduccinNintro., hat everyoneandrawhisown onclusions,or oodor ll" 200),yet hedoesnot laborate ow hebrigata,nlightf ts wn oncrete,articularxperience,howstsndependencef nterpretationimeandagain, o the ffecthat he xemplums not renewed"200),but, n tsmoral ssence,overturned.

46(cparendoghssai ver eduto"1.2.22); mi iparventanta razia i tutti edere....e conogni rtemiparche lvostro astore.... meritamenteipardiscernero SpiritoSanto"1.2.24-26).4'The imitationsfthe lericaluctoritasere ot ost oallmendicants,ndamongtheTrecento ominicanst sagainCavalcawhorecognizesheproblem ith hegreatestsensitivity.ritingt the peningfhisMirrorf he ross,easkshisreadersche' reginodio ch6 erdonila miapresoncioneero hedico uello hnon pero mostroer lcunasientiauelle ose henono per xperiential"Lospecchio,"'-2'. Thisremarkableonfes-sion tands s the xceptionothenorm monghiscolleaguessuch sRainerius), hopresentheirmoral iewswith n mpersonaltyle esignedoeraseny oubtsbout heirobjectivity.The standpointfAbraamndNeifilehat ubvertshe xemplumxtendsotheveryctofhisbaptismndconfirmation.ere he arisian astersre llowedheiray.Gi-annotto, aving ivenAbraarnheChristian ame fGiovanni,appresso gran alentiuominilfece ompiutamentemmaestrareellanostraede,a qualeegliprestamentep-prese: fupoibuono valente omo disanta ita"1.2.29).Neifile sesproperlyhe erbam'Maestraren the ense f instruct"r indoctrinate."utdoesAbraarnecomegood ndworthy"buono valente]naccountfhis onversion,isbaptismrhis nstruction?e-ifile's eaderswillrecall hat twasprecisely braam'sntegrityt theoutset hat edGiannottoopress or isconversion:La cuidiritturala cui ealt veggendo iannotto,gl'incominciborte increscerehe 'animad'un coslvalente savio buonouomoperdifettoifedendasse perdizione"1.2-5).Wehear he ame djectives worthy,ooddescribingbraarn owbeforendthen fter isconversion.heproblematicelationetweenlergynd aity,lreadyddressednAbraarnseadingftheRoman xemplum,re-



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Abraam,hegoodreader fexempla,s himselfesignedoguide nd'mirror'hereader'sesponseo the tory.ybeing lert onuance ndthless bviousignificancef heRoman lergy'sorruption,econfirmse-ifile's oralbout ivine oodnessearingatientlyhosewhoviolate heirChristianalling. urtherssociationsetween eifile ndher rotagonistbring er torynto hewider ontextf heDecameron'spening ay.Nei-file s alsoperceptivend well nstructedn themoral sychologyftheChurch. hisqualitynturns sharedy thermembersf hebrigata,s-peciallyPampinea nd Emilia. Partly n account of thesecommoncharacteristics,eifile'storyannot e readn solationromthersnBoc-caccio'swork.On the ontrary,achnarrativesincompletey tself;hereader eeds o weave henarrativesnto whole, herebylsodistinguish-ing hehundredtoriesromhe xemplafholyives.Neifile, aving ncouraged erreaderso follow heexemplumfAbraam,putsher ownpersonality orward ortheir crutiny. heDecameronarratorescribeser s "adorned o esswith ourtly annersthanwith eauty"1.2.2).4' This combinationfcourtlinessndbeautymighteem heperfectionfFlorentinerecento omanhood.4'Butthereadererceivesmore riticalacultyf femaleharactert work ere.Neifile as revealed erfluencyith hemendicants'istinctionetweenword nddeed, perendparole,nd he scapable f ppreciatingndex-pressingbraam'srudition,n hisuse,for xample,f"essemploi vita"andhis ist fRoman ices. ut he squick ospeakn her wnvoice,n-dicting lerical enalityn termsworthyfa contemporary oralist,mendicantrotherwise:he Abraam]oundhat enerallyllof he hemfrom hegreatestown o the east innedwithouthe lightestesitation[disonestissamente]n ust lussuria],ndnotustnnaturalust ut ndeedntheway f odomites,ithoutny estraintf hame rmodesty... In ad-dition, eopenlyawthem o beuniversallyluttons,ipplers,runkardsand,next o ust, reaterlaveso their ellies han oanythinglse,nthe50mannerfbrute nimals."1.2.19-20).sents tselfo Neifile's istenersn thisfinal entence,his onclusion fher tory. ather hanclosingthistroublesome arrative itha tidymoral,Neifilequestionsthisvery idiness fmoralconclusions, n the spiritof the contrarynterpretationsarlier ntroducedby thestorys rotagonist.48(cnon menodi cortesi osturnihe di bellezzaornata."Note the courteousmanner fthenarrator'sescription.OE.g., theMarchioness fMontferrat,.5; BartolomeaGualandi, IL 10; and the adywho fools hefriarn III-3: "unagentil onnadi bellezzaornata di costurni, 'altezza d'an-imoe di sottile wedimenti" 111.3-5).

50 ccegli [Abraam]trov6dal maggiorenfino l minoregeneralmenteuttidisonestissa-mentepeccare n ussuria, non solo nellanaturalema ancora nellasogdomitica,enza freno



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Neifile'sseof heword lust"lussuria]howsnunderstandingf hemendicantsychologyf inbeyond er ocial tation. he DominicanRaineriusePisis,whose antheologiaas contemporaryncyclopediafscholasticerms, rote hat lust s an inordinateppetitefvenereal e-iight."51he "inordinateppetite"s indicated yNeifilenthe dverbdisonestissamentend thephrasewithoutnyrestraintf hame rmod-esty." ccordingoRainerius,honestaspurity] y tsnature epels rtempersrude ensualmpulses."Thequalityfpurityfmind honestasmentis]onsistsn argemeasurefrimordimentondvergogna;r, nhisLatin, erecundiandpudicitia,hame ndmodesty.3Both raits,ike has-tity,reak rrestrainexualmpulsesnoteNefile'sse f restraint"frenol);theyven void he ndicationssignalf he ustful.Henceust schastityrepelsrrepressesnd restrainsrefrenat]he erydmixturef ensuality:otoomodestys shame eforehendicationsf he ustful....becausemod-esty eddensefore,voids nddetestsuch ndications."51nthe bsence fthis estraint,hisfieno,he lergy,eifileays, asbecome ike bruteni-mals,"ackinghehighestuman acultyfreason. his alsoaccords ithmedicantsychology.oRainerius,he irstvil f uststhat he intellectisdarkenedrblinded y he loom f in."55alcuno i rimordimentodivergogna....Oltre questo, niversalmenteulosi, evitori,ebriachipiu' lventreerventiguisa 'animali ruti,ppressolla ussuria,he altro liconobbepertamente."51"luxuriast nordinatusppetituselectioniseneree"2:66).52"honestasecundum ationernepellitelmoderatoncupiscentiasravas"1:250v).See alsoCavalca, 8 8,v. ch. 32 P.207b):"PerbuandoNomo sisentemuovereimov-imenti isonestiisordinati,iguardi pensi uale ia acagione secondoAbisogno ongalrimedio." yemphasis.53Thethreeigns fhonestas entisre onversatioxtrinseca,erecundiandpudicitia(Ibid.,1:250v); llaremissingromhe uria nAbraam'siew. or his elation etweenonestandvergognalsewherentheDecameron,fPanfilo'sescriptionfAlatiel'seductionin11.7.29:piu' aldidi vino hed'onestaemperate,uasi ome e Periconena sue ferninefosse,enza lcuna itegnoivergognanpresenzai ui pogliatisi,e n'entrbel etto,"nd tsantecedentn ntro., 9: "a uisenza lcunavergognagniparte elcorpo prire onaltri-menti he unaferninavrebbe atto . . ilche nquelle heneguerironouforse i minoreonesta,el empohe uccedette,agione." yemphasis.54 cunde icut astitasepellitelreprimittrefrenatpsammixtionerneneream:icpu-dicitia stverecundiairca igna enereorum....quodsigna udicitiarubescit,avet tdetestatur."bid., 1:250v;my mphasis. f.also Decameron1.3.8: senza lcunofrenoritegnoominciaronospendere."55"intellectusburnbraturel ecatureccatialigne."bid.,1:66r-66v,lso iting re-goryater: Primumeccatumluxuriae]stcecitasmenti,nquanturnuxuriampeditintellectumt ubvertit."



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Neifile'spersonalitynd her words ssociateherstorywiththeDecameron'sntroduction,nwhich he wonarratorsoccaccio ndPamp-ineadescribehe ocial ndmoral isintegrationaused y heplague.Hercriticismecallsarnpinea'sefensefonestin thentroduction:twasnec-essaryor hebrigads,elf-preservation,ot nly hysicallyutmorally,oleave hemali semplifFlorentinecoundrels,mongwhom oth ecular56andreligiouslergy ust e counted.P.Ampinearecedeseifilenher rticulatendobservantndictmentfclericalmisdeedsndhypocrisy,lsoemployinghemendicantanguagefmoral sychology,ontrastingub-missionounbridledappetite"ndobedienceo reason nd aw.' Neifile'sreference,ertainf blique,oParnpinea'speechndicateshat er torysto beread sa confirmationfPampinea'seasoningndthebrigatdsubse-quent ctions.ust sAbraamsrepelledywhat ewitnessesnRome, henominalapital fthe hurchthough ot he ctual eat n1348), o toothebrigataoulddepart romheir ative ity nd ts icentiouslergy,whose orruptionsexacerbatedy heplague.8Thus t s ikelynthis ontexthatNeifile'sudiencewouldhaveun-derstood er emarks,onotableivenheir ontrastoher ourteous ays,

"Both follow solo cheI'appetito heggia," ampinea ays;for e non che le soluteper-sone,ma ancora e racchiusene' monisteri,accendosi credere he quello a lorconvenganonsi disdica heall'altre, otte ella obedienza e leggi, atesi ' diletti arnali,ntalguisa v-vissando carnpare,ondivenuteascive dissolute" I. Intro. 2).571f we turn o thePantheologia, e see Parnpinea'sharge upportedbyRainerus'de-scriptionfthepower fdiletti arnali.The luxuriosus,esays,91appetit iu vivere tvoluptatediu frui; tperhoc desperationernncurrit uturi eculi:quantadum mens detineturarnal-

ibusdelectationibus,d spirituales enirenon curatsed eas fastidit"; : 66v,myemphasis.Rainerus efersere oAquinas,SummaTheologiaea2ae 153 ch.5.Ascited bove nrelationtoNeifile,Rainerus ees therationaljudgment bscuredbythepowerofsensuality:nam nactibusvenereis onestintelligere:t hoc propter electationis ehernentiamxqua impedi-tur udicium ntellectus." : 66v.58The tie between heswirlingaturnalia f thepapalcuria nd theplague-shocked lo-rence s strengthenedf one recallsBoccaccio'sown accountofthe disease.He describes negroupof nhabitants ho,with "Proponimentoestiale," ive hemselves ver o "il bere s-sai e il goderee I'andarcantandoa tornoe sollazzando e il sodisfared'ognicosa all'appetitoche sipotesse .. senzamodo e senzamisura." I. Intro.21-22). Even fBoccaccio shows nunderstandingor heir ctions n the rrational ear fdeath,he anticipatesNeifile's piu" lventre erventi guisad'animalibruti.. senza freno lcunodi rimordimentodivergogna.)(I.2.20;19). Her words enzafreno ind strongeresonancen theaccountoftheplaguebythe moralchroniclerMatteo Villani.Viltinaiondemns hose urvivors ho "sidierono piu"sconciae disonestavita,che primanon haveanousata.... scorrendo enza freno lla lus-suria." p. 16: IV 14-15; 18-20); myemphasis.Of Florencehe says [el senzaalcunoritegnoquasi tutta a nostra itt scorse ll disonesta ita, cosl,e peggio, 'altre itt e provincie elmondo." (pp. 16-17: IV. 6-29).



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as a commentaryot nly n the isreputablevignonuria, ut lso nthesocial isorderesultingromhe eactiono the lague. er ayprotagonistAbraam,na contrary,nexpecteday, espondsositivelyothis haos ndmalfeasance.oesnot, he eader onders,hebrigataothe ame y eav-ing he ity? ndtoaskthe uestionnanotherevel freading:maynotthis amereadereedified,nd not orrupted,y he ensuality,onfusionanddeceit xpressedn the toriestrecounts?braampsetshe ommon-placeunderlyinghemendicantxemplum:hat henarrationf mmoralbehavior rovokesmmoral esiresnthereader.59Neifile's tory f Abraam's ravels dvises hereader o entertain per-spective n events n oppositionto their nitialorobviousappearance. tservesnot easttoreiterate,n a subtler,more ronicform,hemeaning t-tachedbyPanfilo o hisstory fCepparello.The commonpeople,he says,maybe deceivedbyCepparello's ruenature, utGod's goodnessrespectstheir ious prayersI.1.90]. Abraam, nhis rectitude nd intelligence,eesclearlyheclerical enality heis notdeceived yet t the ame timeherec-ognizes hedivine pirit twork. n its ndirectdvice o ts udienceher ale

also introduces ilostrato'story fBergamino1-7).The talesof theopen-ingday,at first lanceartlesslyrranged, dify ne another n reciprocalrelation.ForFilostrato ses themendicant onceptionofexemplumndspeculum o elucidatetheDecameron's ense ofeffectivestorytellingndproperisteningo thisnarration.The titleofFilostrato's aleevokestheclericalexempla s itconnectsstory-tellingo ethicalcorrection:"Bergamino,with a novellaabout Pri-massoand the Abbot ofCluny,rightfullyhames onestamente orde] navaricenewly ound nMesserCan dellaScala" (1-7. ).60 ilostratosquicktodeclare hatBergamino'sffort illoccurbywayof iteraryssociation,notdirectly,utfiguratively.ergaminos one who"bymeansof a charm-ingtale,representinghrough nother tory hatwhich hewished to sayabout himself nd Can Grande,ashamedmesserCan della Scala, a greatlord,ofa sudden and uncommonstinginess hathad appeared n him."61(1-7.4).

"Boccaccio refutes hisassumptionexplicitlyn his epilogue: Concl. I 1. But at theother ole,contrast assavanti'sxemplumftheyoungnuncorrupted ythepriest'snquiryaboutforbidden leasure:1863, 135-137 (dist.Vcap.IV)."'Bergamino, con una novelladi Primasso delloabate di ClignI,onestamentemordeun'avarizia uova venuta nMesserCan della Scala."61- MesserCane dellaScala,magnificoignore, 'una subita disusata varizia n lui ap-paritaMorse on unaleggiadra ovella,naltrofigurando uelloche di s6 e di lui intendeva idire."



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IfNeifile nderstooderDrotaeonistbraarnorepresenthe tudent'L C.7ofexempla,nassociationnalogouso that etweenhepenitentsnthemendicanttoriesndtheir eaders,ilostratoowdevelops urtherheDecameron'sronyf he xemplumradition.istale escribesot nly heacute bserverf xempla,sAbraarnas,but lsothe deal ellersfexem-pla: Bergaminond, n theroleofprotagonistithin ergamino'swnstory,rimasso.ikeNeifile, ilostratoses he onnotationsfthe xem-plum,whichre o familiaro hisFlorentineeaders,n order oexposetsshortcomings.nhis toryecritiqueslericalidacticismy mphasizingthe ndirectaturefpoetic iscourse.his ndirect,sychologicallyorerefineduality,esuggests,rovidesoetry ith reaterthical ersuasive-ness hanmendicantermonizing.Filostratoses he ameverbmordere:to hame"theroot fNeifile'srimordimento),utnow with charmingtory,epresentinghroughn-other." sdidNeifile,ilostratoakes is uefromhe toryrecedingisown.n Emilia'sccountf hemalevolentranciscannquisitor,heaymanaccused ythe nquisitorwith namusing emarkshamedmorsi]imand theothermendicant uffoons"1.6.20).Bycontrast ilostrato'salecontainsmore ndirectebuke,nd ts argetsnot the ice-filledndcor-rupt ifeof theclergy," hich s,hesays "a fixed i.e.,easy]target fwickedness"1.7.4).To summarizerieflyilostrato'story:hewretchedergamino,e-jectedbyCan Grandewhenvisiting iscourt, raduallyonsumes issavings ntilCan Grande skshimthereason orhismelancholy.er-gamino esponds y'tellingheepisode f the mpoverishedrimasso,whom heAbbot fCluny ailed orecognizentil,pon cknowledgingiserror,e rewardsimwith isnormalenerosity.an Grandemmediatelysees hepoint fBergamino'storyndhonors im ccordingly.Bergamino,story-tellerithinstory,sdescribedyFilostratos"anincrediblyuick-wittedndpolishedpeaker"1-7.7). o hispovertyo hishost anGrande,ndhishost'swn tinginess,ergaminoells he toryfa thirdwordsmithrimasso,(amostworthy an nthe inguisticrts nd.. . peerlesss a greatndextemporaneousersifier"1.7.1 ).62 BothBer-gamino nd hisalter goPrimassorequick-wittedpresto) ithwords.Bergaminonturn eflectshe ubtlemind ndsharp hetoricfhisowncommemorator,ilostrato,ndperhapshe ualitiesfthemodelnarratorof heDecameron.3

62For n ntroductionoHughPrimas,eeAdcock,d. Burckhardtited he agabondpoets, he lericiagantes,spotentialorerunnersf hehumanists.:179-180, 11 (III.and IIA).61Consider occaccio'sdoptionf he seudonymilostraton hisyouthfulorks,isdefensefhispoetrynthe ntroductionoDayIV, hedayruled yFilostrato,ndFilippo



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ForBergamino, ithhis"charmingtory"leggiadraovella] hattouchesponCan Grande'sarsimony,pproximateshe oet haracterizedbyBoccaccionhisfirstraftfhisVita iDante: hepoetwho sengagedinanedifyingurpose.Thus hepoetsn their orks, hichwecall po-etry,'ometimes ith hefictionsfvarious eities,ometimes ith hetransmutationsfmen ntovarioushapes, nd sometimesith harmingpersuasionshow he ourse fthings,he ffectsfvirtuesndvices, oththose hings eought ofollowndought oavoid."' ThisconceptntheVitadiDanteofthepoeticwriter,ho nstructsisreader ith,mongotherhings,charmingleggiadrelersuasions,"lluminatesowBoccaccio,inspiredyDante, susing oetryndrhetoricna way hat epartsromthepracticef hemendicantxemplariters,f t times lsowith nethical65end n view.Bergaminoecountso Can Grande hepoor tate fPrimassoeforetheAbbot fCluny,nd ells owhisraggedppearancenhis ourtnitiallydisgusts he abbot:"rapidly here ushed hrough is minda wickedthought,ne that adneverccurredefore,ndhesaid ohimself Lookatwhom givemy ood!"'1-7-18).utPrimasso'sersistentoiteringtthetable,nwhich eslowlyonsumesach fhis hreeoaves fbreadnsuc-cession, orceshe bbot oquestionhereasons or isdisturbedtate fmind.Assuredlytinginessught ot ohave ssailedme f hismanwere fsmallmoment: emust ossess certainreatness,ewho eems ome ascoundrel,ormymind obeso craven bouthonoring im" 1-7.24).6Thereuponhe bbot nquires hoPrimassosand strivesohonorhim(1-7.25).ForBergamino,he arallelsetween anGrandend he bbot re b-vious. anGrande lsofailsohonor isguest,naway hat sarbitraryndViflani's escriptionf Boccaccioas "Sermone aceto tqui concionibusdelectarentur,"Wittyin speechand delightingn conviviality"I 8)."'Cosl li poetinelle oroopere, e quali noi chiarniarno quando con fizionidivarii ddii,quando, on trasmutazioni 'uomini nvarieforme, quandoconleggiadrepersua-sioni,nemostrano e cagionidefle ose,glieffettiellevirtu"di' vizii, chefuggireobbiamoe che seguire.'1995, 53 (I. Red. 142); myemphasis.

"The connectionbetweenBergarninond Dante is also evokedbythefigure fCanGrande. More could be said about Boccaccio'sreferenceoGregory'sdea of a two-foldevelofpreaching or heerudite nd thevulgar;1995, 52-53 (1. Red. 138-140). It'would be re-vealing to compare the use ofGregorybyTrecentoclergy:Cavalca's translationof theDialogues omes to mind.""Fermamente avarizianon mi dee avere ssalitoperuomo di piccolo affare: ualchegranfattodee essercostuiche rebaldomi pare, poscia che cosf me s' rintuzzato 'animoonorarlo."



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exceptionalo his normal enerosity.ndBergamino'story as theex-pected ffect,s Can Grande ellshim:"Bergamino,ouhave o aptlyshown our amages, ourworthndmy tinginessnd whatyoudesirefromme:andtrulyhad never een ssailed y tinginessefore owbe-cause fyou,but shall hase twith heverylubthat ouyourselfave67devised"1.7.27).Notice, ere,hepower f he xemplum!naccordwith avalca's ur-pose nhisLives ftheathers,ergamino'sxemplumf he bbot rovokesa conversionrommeannesso iberalityn CanGrande.1 It seems hat heconceptf he lericalifesamodel r ndeedmirroror heaity,conceptdeeplymbeddednthemethod fmendicantreaching,semployedyFilostratooexplainhis hangefmind.And s Can Grandewouldhavenoticedhe lericalxemplumfBergamino,otooFilostrato'sudience.YetFilostratoepartsrom hemendicant ethodn two ignificantways, emonstrating,ikeNefile, ow traditionalonceptmay e used norder o transformt.Asin Neifile's arrative,hereadermaydiscoversense ontraryothe nitialppearance,nd ronysat workgain.

Inthefirstnstance,heAbbot fClunyshardlyhemodel fclericalpiety.' The abbot sportrayedsnothingess han secularrince,ikeCanGrande,ndthereasonsor isconversionogenerosityavemore o dowith ride hanwith umility.fhesees he rue aturefPrimassonder-neath his outward lothing,he does so forreasonsofbruised elf-satisfaction.t sbeneathim, efeels,obeoffendedy omeonensignif-icant;hereforerimasso ust ea man f omemoment.hese re eelingsof ourtlyensitivity,ot hose entimentsmendicantreacherould os-ter. he abbot'sxample,he club" reatedyBergamino,sthat fworldlyliberality,hich hould ot hirk romrantinghe alentedhehonorheydeserve.he abbot ndCanGranderenot sked o begoodSamaritans,whotreatll,butespeciallyhepoor nddowntrodden,ith nstinctive""Bergamino,ssai cconciamenteaimostratidanni uoi,atuavirtu"la mia vari-ziae quelcheda medisideri:veramenteaipiu' heoraper e daavariziassalito onfui,ma o lacaccerbonquelbastone he umedesimoaidivisato.""See the ale f he rostitute'sonversionv. ,ch. 5,203a)orof hemarriedormermonks horeturno themonastery,epentingheir avingeft the ngelicrder"Wordine

angelico,. ,ch. 37,21Oa)."One canreadnthe ife f t.BernardntheGoldenegendhowewishedopreventoneofhismonks romoing oCluny, o doubt ecausehe trictisterciannewhedec-adence fthe ldermonastery;017 2.104):"Frate uberto, onaco isanBernardo,secondoacarne,uoparente,e a suagioventudinengannatoermale onforto'alcuni,[siports Clunfl. I venerabileanto oiche ifuenfintoi non aperlolcuno emporale,manifestamenterdinoe irichiamarloer alettera;"f Bernard'sriticismf heCluniacsinhisApology.



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Christianharity.ikeNeifilendEmilia, ilostratomphasizeshedegreetowhichhe ocial lites,speciallyhe lergy,ail o chieveheirrescribedideals. ut hesedeals,n this ase, remoreecular hanpiritual.Furthermore,ilostrato'subtlepproachsrefinedyhisprotagonistBergamino.n contrastobothFilostratondthepreachingriars,er-gamino everttemptso outline moral ntentionehind isnarrativef70Primasso. t s, s Filostratoays, "charmingtory."heattempto readtasa moralxemplumr peculums eft oCan Grande.t s thereforehe is-tener rreader,ndnotthenarrator,hofinally iscernstsedifyingimport. ereweseea more bviousmovementway rom hepretencefanobjectivemorality,resentedythe lergy,hanwefirst itnessednAbraarn'sisit o theCuria.Filostratomphasizeshis yrepeating,nhisdescriptionf Can Grande, heverb ntenders:tounderstand."CanGrande,eing noblemanfunderstanding,ithoutny ther emonstra-tionunderstoodxactly hatBergarninoanted osay.71It isimportantthat hisunderstandingomes withoutnyother emonstration."anGrandes isteners betterble oreflectpon he xample,hemirroreldupbeforeim,nthatt spresentedohim bliquelyndwith it.71Byemployinghe lementf urprise, ergarnino akes is remarkmore ffective.hissudden, pontaneous eply,haracteristicf Ber-garnino'salent,s a criticallotdevicentheremainingtories fthefirstday.n the alefollowingilostrato'sarrative1.8),LaurettaecountsowErmino e' Grimaldi ho, n hisostentation,wasnot nticipatinghere-sponse"ofGuiglielmoBorsiere.Guighelmo with harmingwords""skewers"is varice,na mannerimilar oBergarnino1.8.1,15).nthenexttory,.9,Elissa escribesow heady fGasconypunctures'traflitto:the erb s that f1.8's rafiggelheweaknessf heking fCyprus ith n-expectedarcasm orhis failure oavenge errape.LikeFilostrato,hounderlinedhepower ffigurativepeech t thebeginningfhisstory,Elissa xplainshepsychologicalffectfthis lementf urprise,ntermsthat learlyetoff henarrators'epartureromhemendicant ethod finstruction:ithas lreadyappened uite ftenhat he orrection,hichdiverseriticismsndmany unishmentsiven osomeone avenotpro-

70See themoral itlesnthe xempLarom avalcaust ited: . ,ch. 25:"D'un fratelquale onvertla sirocchia eretricepenitenzia"ndv. ,ch. 37: Di duefrati,iqualivintidalla entazioneella arne ressono oglie,mapoisipenteronotornaronopenitenzia."71"Messer ane, lquale ntendenteignorera, enza ltra imostrazionelcuna ttima-mententesei6 chedir oleaBergamino.".7.27;my mphasis.72Wehle efersothe parabolic ay f peaking"nthenovella,ontrasted ith he"languagef imile"Gleichnissprachelf he xempLaI 00),thougheunderplaysheneces-sityf achreader'sndividualppropriationf he tory'smport.



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duced, asbeen ffectedanyimesy single ord,poken y hancendnotwithntentforethoughtexpropositol."'hance,pontaneityre ru-cialelementsfthenarrator'sriticism.houghheshares hemendicantconceptionf he owerfverbal ortrayaln theexemplum,occacciom-plies hroughisnarratorshat differentpproachs norderf he eaderis toengagengenuine,thicalelf-reflection.heclericalmphasisn crit-icismsndpunishments,'ngeneralhe re-conceivedexproposito)idacticsententia,an eave he eaderold ndunmoved.Boccaccio'sifferenceromhemendicant ethod fmoralnstructionisdeepenedhroughis mphasisn the udience'seadiness,he eceptivityto istenndtoreflect.lissanher rologueo1.9makes his xplicit:. . .because,nthe warenesshat ood toriesre lwayselpful,heyhould eattendedo with ne's ntiremind, o matterhomightethe peaker.4Bergamino'sessage,irectedowardhanginganGrande'sehavior,s'individualized,'ot nlyforut lsoby is istener.isnarrationllows islistenero completehehermeneuticircle'ndunderstandhe uthor'sn-tent n the istener'swnterms, ithout eing rejudicedythe uthor'sstationn ife. anGrande,nthepresencef hehumble ergamino,un-derstoodxactly hatBergaminoanted osay." he individualistener'sencounter ith hese charmingords"I.8.1) that ossess,oLauretta,CcpowerochangeErmino's] ind lmost ompletelyo theopposite fwhat thadbeenupto this oint"1.8.17) s far ifferentromhemass e-sponse othefriar'sermon nCepparello ndfromheuniversalizedlessonsf he ontemporaryreachers,ho peak rom positionfeccle-siasticaluthority.Of the irsten, ampinea'storys themost loselyelatedothe idac-tic xemplumf hemendicantreachers.rue o her ole s the nitiatorfthebrigatdseparturendasQueen,Pampineapeaksnsolemn onesabout he oss ndtransformationf type ffeminineirti.Women olongernderstandwittyemarkalcuneggiadromotto]]r f heyo,theyareunable orespond.heymasqueradeheirmutenessehind hename fonest,4,retendingobedemure ndpure fmind I.10.4;6). "Thus hatskill hat ncewas n the oulsofwomen fthepasthas been urnedy71modern omenothe dornmentf hebody"I. 10-5).

73 ccspesse olte i addivennehe uello hevarie iprensionimolte enedate alcunononhannon uiadoperare,naparolemolte olte,er ccidentson he xpropositoetta,Ma operator"-9-3;my mphasis.ote gain he earningscribedoa femalearrator.71"perch6,onci6 si cosache ebuone novelle]empre ossan iovare,on attenton-imo ondaricogliere,hiched'esse ia ldicitore.".9.3.Branca otes er ententiousnesshere,xpressednthe hythmf he wofinal endecasyllables;ecameron,13,n.2.71"Per i6che uella irtu"hegi funell'animeelle assateannoemoderneivoltanornamentielcorpo. . ."



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Asthebigatds ppointednd, twould ppear,elf-appointedistress,Pampineases he hemef lever ords,eggiadriotti,oaddress ot nlythe ack fwit mong er emaleontemporaries,ut lsotheirncautioususeof t;by his ddresshewillbringheday's iscussionsoanend.Shewill how hrougher toryow womanhould void mbarrassingerselfwhen ryingo embarrassthers. ertale llustratesalgherida'seversaltthehands fAlbertofBologna. hemagisterialerorationas tonenotunlikehat f hemid-Trecentolergy:Inorderhat oumightatchourselves,ndmoreoverhathroughou necould otwitnessintenders]hat roverbhatscommonlyaid verywhere,thatwomenn llmatterslwayset heworstf t,' intendhisasttoryfthosef oday,hichallsome orecount,o end ounstruction"ve erendemmaestrate"Iothat,syoure ifferentromtheromennnobilityofmind, oumaylso how ourselvesistinctromthersnexcellencyfmanners.I. 10.8)76"Iwish orenderou herebynstructed"sanother ay f ranslatingam-pinea's Vogliovene rende mmaestrate."orthefirst ime hereaderencounters,ndthe rigataears,narratormployingnher wnvoice heverb referredy heDominicanrosatorior instruct"r"indoctrinate."Amonghewriterslreadyited, artholomeoi SanConcordio'sollectionofsayingssentitledheAmmaestramentiegli ntichi,nd Cavalcade-scribed hrist's ords s anamaestramento.n theDecameron,he erm smentionedirstyNeifile,utwith egardo the lericalatechism:ian-notto engagedhemostworthy en o nstructammaestrarelAbraam]thoroughlynourfaith"1.2.29).7NowQueenPampinea ill nstructhewomen hrougher xemplumobecarefulnd well dvisednhowtheyspeak.Although ampinea'shemes the ame s herfellow lorentines,ermoral, idacticone ets er torypart romhe thers.hemoves hedis-cussionhereforeoa conceptualevel, eneralizingboutmoral ehavior.twouldbe nconsistentith heDecameron'sreatmentf xemplaopermit

76"Perche,acci6 che voi vi sappiateguardare, oltre questoacci6 che pervoi non sipossa quello proverbiontenders he comunemente i dice pertutto, io che le ferninenognicosa sempre igliano lpeggio, uestaultimanovelladi quelled'oggi, a quale a metoccadi doverdire,vogliovene renda mmaestrate,cci6 che,comepernobild d'animodall'altredivise iete, osl ancorapereccellenzia i costume eparate all'altre idimostriate."'It isworthnoting hatBoccacciodoes notusethewordammaestrarenrelation o hisnarration ftheplague,forhe drawsno explicitmoral esson from hisevent.Contrasthismore cclesiastical-mindedounterpart, atteoVillani: i uominimenocomprendonoldi-vino giudicio . . . se permemoria di simigliandcasi ne' tempipassatinon hanno alcunoamaestramento."p. 4: Pref. 7-21).



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her o maintainer ositionsmoralpokeswomanithoutleverebuttal.TheDecameron'sirstay hus oncludesnitiallyith ne narratorssum-ing he osturefpreacher,hopresentsoth he essonnd xemplum,ndthenwith heworlesronic esponseoher osturing.Pampinea,ncriticizinghepretensefprotectingnesthnorder oconceal ne's tupidity,lso calls nto uestionhereasoninghehadad-vancedarlier,ntheDominican hurchfSantaMariaNovella, oreavingthe ity:hatnorder opreserveheir nesthhewomenmust lee romheurbanmoral isease." heherselfs consciousbout owher isparagementoffemaleanitynd oss fwit eflectsn her wn omportment:myselfamembarrassedosay t,because cannot ayanythinggainst therwomen hat do not ay gainstmyself'I.10.6).But hereredeeper rob-lems n her rologue.hebegins y ayinghat charmingordsleggiadrimotti]. . beinguccinct,remuch etteruited or adies han ormen,n-sofars one blames adiesmore hanmenfor alking uch ndat ength,when his an be avoided"I.10.4).Perhapshefeels er rologuesneces-sary,ut t sanythingutbriefndconcise,nd thedoubt rises hetherher tylefdiscoursetandsnharmonyithts ontent.The appearancefcontradictionsheightenedyher hift f focus.Fromriticizingomen or heiross fwords,he urnsoadvisehemnthe roperimingf peech,neffectowarnhem ot o peakncautiouslyortoooften. er toryurnsnthe ailedttemptyMalgheridaeiGhiso-lieri orebuke distinguishedaestro: omen houldbecareful ottotransgressheir ocialposition eforeuthority.eropeningccount fwomen)s utenessndphysicalanityas ittle odowith he inalmoral ftheirtorynd n fact onflictsith t.'9It s ikely,ivenhe heme f he ther ovelle fDay1, hat occaccioismocking,hroughampinea'soseofmoraluperiority,oth he oquac-ity fclerical reachersndthe nherentroblemntheirermonizing.Their ermonsrenotmerelyooverbose.hey lso ack ubjectivity,n n-trospectivewarenessf he elationetweenhe peakerndhisutterance.Parnpinea'sttempto correcthe ubversiveaturefthe arliertoriessunlikelyo mpresser udience.hestriveso close heday's tory-tellingona note fmoral ebukendedification,ut he ffortackfiresnd eadsthereaderoaskuncomfortableuestionsboutherpersonalityndposi-tion. t is preciselyhese uestions hat heprevious tories,n their

"Intro. 3-72, sp.65: "iogiudichereittimamentoatto henoi, lcomenoi ia-mo,. . diquesta errascissimo,fuggendoome amortedisonestissempliegli ltrinesta-mente'nostriuoghincontado.79SeeGuiseppeVelli's emarksn the nconsistencyfher ommentsn fortunenVI.2,321-323.



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challengeso social uthority,ave ncouragedhereaderoraise. amp-inea, iewinghe heme f he ay sthat f leverpeech, ill oncludet sshedeemsmorallyit, ut he lsoevokes perceptionfthis heme'slu-sivenessnd nconclusiveness,tsresistanceo authoritativeefinition.ndas wehave een,nBoccaccio's andsnexemplumr peculumillnotnec-essarilyonfirmhepreacher'sreconceivedoralxpectation,ndpresenta simple, nambiguous eaning.heattemptfCavalca, assavantindother riarsopromote iety hroughaintlyxampleslicits,mong heDecameron'srigatandreaders,scepticalcrutiny.It snotPampineatday'sndwhohas he inal ord. irst ioneo sksthenext ay's ueen,Filomena,or agiftf pecial race:"mayhe breakthepre-establishedrocedure"l'ordine atadavoi")and notonly ellstorynany opic, ut lsotell he ast ne ofeveryay?Henceforthachday's inaltory illno ongeregiven otheKing rQueen,but oargu-ably hemost ecklessnd alacious arratorf hebrigataI.Concl. 2-13).Couldnot his e a reactiongainstampinea's oralizing?But he irstay's ltimatetatementbelongsoEmilia,who nher ale

in1.6, sFilostratooted,ook hemost irectim tclericalypocrisy.l-most srecompensehenow ings ballad hat ontainshemost uzzlinglines f he ay, erhapsf he ntireen. or heDecameronarratorotes:"This ittle allad omingo anend, nwhich llhadcheerfullyoined herefrain,ven s some reatlyonderedtswords. -, tpleased heQueentoendthefirstay.""Whatkindof coda isthis, hat ndsthedaywithpuzzle?Thereaderoesnotknowwhat he houghtfulre hinking,espitehescholarlyttemptsodeterminehemeaningfEmilia's allad.There reclues othismeaningontainednher hoice fwords,lueswemay estdecipherncontextftheTrecentounderstandingfexemplumnd pecu-lum. milia ings:I am opleasedymy eautythatf notherove shall evercare or elieveo ake leasure.I see n his eauty,ach imelooktmyseo'inhemirroror eoo-reflect],thatood hatontentshentellect:neitherewccidentor ld houghtcan eprive e f uch elight.What therbjectopleasingcould everee

""Otiestaballatella inita,llaqualtuttiietamentevean iposto,ncora healcunimoltolleparoleiquellapensarfacesse.. piacque llareina i darfine llaprima iornata."I. Concl.22;my mphasis.



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thatwould lacenewdelightnmyheart?Thisgooddoesnotfleewheneverdesiretogazeupon ttomy onsolation:indeedt meets ithmy leasurewithuch weet eeling,hat o mortalcould ver ive sermonnorglean nunderstandingwhohasnotburned ith uchdelight.And ,whoburnwith veryourI more irmlyixmy yes n t,givemyself hollyo t,wholly ieldmyself,alreadyastinghatwhichthaspromised e:and hopefor reateroy atern,a oy omade hat everwill ne feel ere similarelight.(I. Concl. 8-2 )"

We seeEmiliahereusing he anguage fthe choolmen, s did Neifile ar-lier:"that ood that ontents he ntellect;"Cnewaccident."This languagehas ed some commentatorsomaintain hat he smeditatingponGod or82Wisdom. Ithas also beenargued hatEmilia is recalling ante's I'animafilosofante,hephilosophizingoul,who "notonly ontemplatesruthtself,butalso contemplatests owncontemplationnd thebeauty f this."Ac-cording othis tandpoint, occaccio sclosing hefirst aywith sublimereferenceo bothmetaphysicalndlyricalraditions83While thesepoeticormetaphysicaleferencesre ikely,nemust sk:withwhattone arethey eing reated? he interpretationsfferedycom-Io sonsivaga dellamiabellezza,/che d'altro mor& mai noncurer6n6credo avervaghezza./ o veggio n quella,ognorachio mispecchio, quel ben che facontento o 'ntel-letto:/ n6 accidentsnuovo, pensiervecchio/ mi pu6 privar i sf aro diletto./Qual altrodunquepiacevole ggetto/otrei edergiammai, chemimettessencuor nuovavaghezza?Non fugge uestoben,qualordisio/di rimirarlonmiaconsolazio

El Primer Dia Del DECAMERON

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