WONDROUS BOCCACCIO
FLORENCE 1348 AT THE TIME OF THE PLAGUE
I’m dying,,,
without having enjoyed life,,,
Not even,,,
this much,
I’ve lost a daughter, I won’t have these two taken from me!
- Keep away! - You touched her!
Keep away!
Don’t come looking for us,
I’m going with them, Lauretta,
I’ll accompany them,
I won’t abandon them,
We’re done,
We have to go,
Not like that! Don’t treat my family like that!
Here, give him a hand,
I want them close together,
Side by side,
No, no!
- Come here! - Come back up here!
Come away!
Come back here!
We’re in a hurry, we’re paid to work,
Get out!
Or we’ll bury you too!
He’s not the first to react this way,
You saw them the other day, At least two of them,
- Shame on you! - We’re not harming anyone!
Many say the scent of flowers keeps the plague away,
I’ve got the plague, fair rose,
Why shouldn’t you catch it too?
Wait!
Anna! Paola!
- Are we all here? - All except Elisabetta,
I’m over here, I’m over here,
I’m staying here!
Elisabetta, all of us together, remember?
We’ll save ourselves,
We’re leaving,
I’m staying here,
If you can forget, I can’t,
I’ll leave on my own tomorrow,
You count the day’s dead in the evening,
I’m going up into the hills, in the open air,
And if death finds me up there, so be it,
What’s wrong, Fiammetta? You were the most determined,
To abandon everything,,,
We ourselves have been abandoned!
I know that, Many of you know that,
We can’t put it off any longer,
We’ve been looking for you for days, where were you?
We even thought,,,
Dioneo, Filostrato,,,
Panfilo,,,
we’re leaving Florence tomorrow,
Will you come with us?
Are you joking?
We’ve decided we need some peace,
These last few days have been,,,
They’ve been,,,
Come with us,
Listen!
We’ll meet at Holy Trinity bridge two hours from now,
Come over here!
This is beautiful!
Friends,,,
what are you doing?
What are we doing?
Girls, your good judgment brought us here,
I don’t know what you plan to do, what you’re thinking,
I left my worries down there,
You did too, didn’t you, Fiammetta?
We can spend these days together pleasantly,
or say farewell
and return to Florence,
Stay, Dioneo,
For our friendship’s sake at least,
We’re all very tired,,,
Dioneo, I want what you want, we all do,
Let’s give ourselves rules, the days will be long,
Neifile and Filomena came up with a good idea,
Tell them, Neifile,
Every day we’ll tell a story, we’ll all tell a different one,
A good one,
You might know some of them, they’re a century old,
Oh, God, I can’t even think of one, What shall I do?
I know a lot,,,
but we’re free to choose any topic we want, right?
No, Dioneo,
Don’t be angry,
I think the three of us should set another rule,
No romancing,
Then there’ll be no envy among the others,
All right, please yourself!
But no one can stop me kissing my beloved right now,
Then no more, I promise,
Filomena, are you asleep?
Listen!
All right then,,,
I’m really happy to be the first to tell a story, about love
and resurrection,
It’s about the plague too,
Forgive me,
but you’ll see that he, and her too,,,
This is my story:
about Catalina, a very beautiful and respectable wife,
But she falls seriously ill,
But they don’t know what her sickness is,
This is her husband, Nicoluccio,
a good husband and a successful merchant,
but like everyone in that house, he takes orders from his mother,
Lady Lucrezia, who has ordered the servant and doctor
to take Catalina far away from them
to their country house,
She’s given the coachman the order,
This is Master Gentile Carisendi,
young, handsome and distraught,
He was touched by the plague, but he survived,
For days he’s waited below the window
where the woman he loves might die,
the woman he has always loved,
If we don’t get her out of here, we’ll all perish!
While they were taking Catalina far away from her home,
the doctor and servant witnessed her death,
They stopped, but didn’t turn back,
They left her in the crypt of an abandoned church,
Doctor, I won’t get into trouble for this?
No, the sooner you bury them,
the more grateful their relatives and friends are,
- Where did you put her? - Where do you think?
On top of the slab,
I realized she was still alive,
- Alive? - Yes, I’ve brought her here,
Do you love her that much?
Look at me,
Yes,,,
I know you,
You do,
No, you can see her later,
Go back to your room,,,
and wait,
Who are you?
- Am I alive or dead? - You’re a little dazed, but alive,
You’re with friends, don’t be afraid,
Yes, you have fought off your illness,
My doctor examined you,
he says you’re weak but you’ll get better,
And we will help you,
I won’t touch you, if you don’t want,
The plague has been kind,
It’s kept away from our valley,
And everyone’s saying it’s now leaving Florence too,
Good morning, Catalina, Sorry for coming into your room,
There, I won’t look at you,
But let me speak,
You know why you’re here in our home, my mother’s told you everything,
And you’ve known of my love for some time,
But for God to use this love of mine to bring you back to life,,,
it amazes me,
Really,
And I am grateful to Him,
So am I,
But I would ask you a favor,
Remain here until you are well,
Why?
Your family believes you dead,
and there’s no one waiting for you at home,
That’s why,
I don’t understand,
I want to give your husband a wonderful surprise,
Me and you,,,
No, I’ll come no closer,
I will organize a banquet here,,,
outside in the grounds,
I will invite your friends and mine,
From Florence,
Let’s have a go at this game,
You try,
Well done!
Leave us,
Friends,,,
you have honored my table,
and I wish to honor you too,
I want you to meet the person I love most in the world,
But first,,,
I’d like you to clear up a doubt I have,
Right,,,
a gentleman has in his home,,,
a kind and loyal servant
who falls seriously ill,
And this gentleman, without waiting for the end,
takes him into the street and abandons him there,
A stranger, moved by compassion,
takes him to his home,
and he’s cured,
Now then,,,
if the first gentleman
wishes to take his servant back
and the second refuses to let him,,,
who do you think is right?
I have been entrusted with the task of giving you an answer,
because in their opinion,,,
you are quite wrong, my friends,,,
I am a good,,, speaker,
It’s Nicoluccio!
How can I go out there now?
We all agree,
The first gentleman, the one who abandoned his sick servant
and left him in the street, was wrong,
Because of the kindness received,
the servant should remain with the second gentleman,
Good,
Then it’s time I kept my promise,
Friends,,,
this is the woman I hold dearest,
Tell me if I’m right to want her,
It’s the dead woman! The dead woman!
- Catalina! - Friends, wait!
Listen, let me explain!
This woman is the loyal servant I spoke of,
Yes, Catalina, I took her in and snatched her from death,
She’s mine now, and no one can take her away from me,
But she must decide,
You’ve come from hell,
No,
I’ve come from Paradise,
There!
Well done!
That was a fine story,
It’s nice, but I don’t want to be like Catalina,
Look at me and listen to what I say,
If I were to die before you,,,
stay away from my body,
and don’t touch my cold breasts,
Have someone cover me with a white sheet,
Linen preferably, and say goodbye,
You, my love, must flee,
Seek a place far from everyone
and think of me from there,
Come inside the house,
It’s very hot today, everyone,
I’ll cheer you up with a pleasant story,
Yesterday we had a gloomy one,
today we will travel to a playful Florence,
So just picture
one of our artists’ workshops, where,,,
Calandrino worked,
He was a bit of a dolt, a fool,
He couldn’t see past the end of his nose,
He was always being teased by two cunning painters,
Bruno and Buffalmacco,
Bruno,
Look at Calandrino,
- What a chump! - He’s so clumsy,
What’s he done with that gold leaf? They should fire him,
He adores you, he considers you his master!
You know that?
I wonder what he thinks about,
I don’t understand him,
What are you doing?
That’s not right,
And this scribbling won’t do either,
Look at your pupil with Master Andrea,
He’ll get on his knees now,
I told you,
Come on, let go,
Go on, get back to work,
Bruno,,,
What did you say that stone was called?
Heliotrope,
It gets its name from the sun
because its magic powers come from the sun’s rays,
- And he who finds it,,, - Becomes invisible,
Invisible?
I don’t believe that, Buffalmacco! They were fooling you,
Perhaps, but the mason who works there,,,
- At Monte Morello? - He’s a friend, an honest man,
He says they found it there,
- He did? - No, a friend of his,
He was so happy, he showed it to everybody,,,
- Then what happened? - No one knows,
- What do you mean? - He vanished,
Vanished?
- What does this stone look like? - All we know is it’s black,
Forgive me for interrupting,,,
but this stone,,,
this stone!
- This stone,,, - What does it look like?
It comes in all shapes,
And they’re all black,
And you only find them at Monte Morello?
No, you can find them here too,
Where exactly?
I hear they found one on the bed of the River Mugnone,
The Mugnone!
Mugnone,,,
Buffalmacco!
- Shall we go to the Mugnone? - No, it’s too hot,
Good, the black stones will stand out from the dry white ones,
Let’s go and look for this stone,,,
this,,, what’s it called?
Heliotrope,
We’ll strike it rich,
Calandrino!
We’ve had no luck,
Bruno,,,
where’s Calandrino?
I don’t know, He was here a moment ago!
There’s the church bell, Buffalmacco,
It’s time to eat,
That’s where Calandrino will be, having lunch,
He couldn’t find a stone, so he left us here to go insane,
Let’s go, Let’s head back,
Yes, I’ll come too,
But I swear if that rogue were here now,,,
I would throw this black stone at him!
Look how nice this stone is!
I’d throw it at his back!
What’s wrong?
Pretend you can’t see him!
Calandrino’s coming this way, Your eyes must not see him!
Young maid!
Pretend you can’t see him,
Go inside!
Master Andrea!
No!
Bruno, is Calandrino coming now?
- Yes, - I’m in!
Thank you!
Calandrino, is that you?
Did you get lost?
Everyone else has had their lunch, and now you come home,
You can see me,,,
- You can see me! - Of course,
Why shouldn’t I be able to see you?
You’ve ruined everything,
You’ve ruined everything!
Wicked woman!
She’s a witch!
You’re a witch!
You’ve taken away the magic from the black stone!
I’ll teach you! I’ll teach you!
Curse you, daughter of the devil!
Tessa, have you already eaten?
Listen to me!
I know what you’d have done, but it didn’t happen,
Bruno and Buffalmacco got there just in time,
They saved Calandrino,
and with great difficulty reconciled husband and wife,
Nice story, except for the ending,
Here’s our ending!
Right!
For every end you need a finale!
Friends!
Have you forgotten?
- We need to bake some bread, - I’m coming!
I just wanted to say I know a bit about farmhouse chores,
My grandparents were country folks,
And when I was a child, in summer, I would watch them baking,
So, if you trust me, I can help you,
Yes, give us a hand,
Thanks,
You, Pampinea, Neifile, and Lauretta,
fetch the flour and spread it on the tables,
Filomena, Emilia, you bring some water,
Fiammetta, it’s your home, find us some yeast,
Filostrato, you’re the strongest, you will chop the wood,
Dioneo and Panfilo, you will light the oven,
Let’s get started!
Just look at them!
You’d think they’d always been peasant girls,
You only need the first letters,
- Name or surname? - As you wish,
I’d rather have you underneath, not the loaf,
We’ve been fasting too long,
“Eating without drinking, is like bricklaying without cement,”
Listen to mine: “When Bacchus triumphs, all worries flee!”
I wish, Emilia,
I drink,,,
but all my worries stay with me,
So do mine,
I’ve said something stupid, I’m sorry,
But the devil has the right proverb for us!
“He who eats and drinks well,
craps at length and fears not death!”
Duke Tancredi only had one daughter, Ghismunda,
He loved her so much he didn’t want to marry her off,
But then for reasons of status, he found her a husband,
noble and elderly,
After the marriage Tancredi became melancholy,
But today,
seven years later,
Ghismunda is returning to him, a widow,
Tancredi’s only consolation during those seven years
was his affection for Guiscardo, a young man of humble origin,
but a master in the working of steel, silver and gold,
Hey there!
You let me win,
But I’m not for the trash heap, I’m not that old,
You look rejuvenated!
Happiness is the best medicine,
It makes one’s face more handsome,
And I was testing my new sword,
It’s a fine one,
Light but easy to handle,
I surely would have won with this,
What’s that?
It’s a gift for your daughter Ghismunda,
It’s nice,
Well done, Guiscardo, You’re a bright boy,
A fine swordsman and a fine craftsman,
Ghismunda will drink our milk from this cup,
Thank you, Father,
Come here, talk to me,
- Do you remember? - Do I remember?
You’ve no idea how many times when I was far away
I’ve thought of our special corner,
But not today,
Don’t be upset, but I want to be on my own today,
My husband has only been dead a few days,
But he was an old man, and you didn’t love him,
- Did you? - That’s right,
But now he’s gone, he is dear to me,
He was kind to me, and I respect him,
I will mourn him for a month and keep to my chamber,
Please be patient,
Patience is for the elderly,
You don’t think I’m that old, do you, Ghismunda?
Then let me stay here,
You want me to leave?
Really?
Yes,
Is that so?
A MONTH LATER
Look at me,
- Do I look pretty? - Yes,
- Is my mantle pretty? - Yes,
Here she is,
I would die of envy if I saw a father with such a daughter,
Now arrange a good marriage for her,
This is no time for marriage!
She’s staying here,
She won’t give it to him,
She’s a cheeky little swallow, she won’t let him have it,
The man with the swallows, is he your protégé?
That’s Guiscardo,
Make me happy and go and thank him for the cup he gave you,
He’s really ingenious, but so uncouth,
- Uncouth? Why? - The language he uses,
You heard him this morning in the square!
The swallows romancing!
He’s uncouth!
You’re right, he goes too far sometimes, and I lose my patience,,,
but he’s so creative,,,
You should see the crest he’s working on for us,
Pity I will lose him one of these days,
Why will you lose him?
He’s too talented, word has gotten out to the workshops,
You brought him up, educated him, and you’d let him go?
- It’s not like you, - I’m happy for him,
He deserves it,
May Florence admire him!
I’ve been expecting you,
- Why? - Why?
No reason, You’re here, that’s all that matters,
Is this the crest? My father told me about it,
He’s right, it’s lovely,
No it’s not, it’s awful,
It’s my 100th attempt, there’s too much on it,
- There’s no central idea, - But it’s imaginative,
You shouldn’t have looked, it’s crap,
Why must an artist be so uncouth?
You made this with love, didn’t you?
Yes, Ghismunda,
I’d like to act indifferent, but,,,
this horse was forged by torment,,,
I’d make a mistake and lie awake all night,
But I’d have happy awakenings too,
Don’t go to Florence,
Come here!
Come with me,
It’s my room!
I’m looking at it through your eyes,
and it looks beautiful,
Much more beautiful,
Don’t run away,
I thought so too,
I have a lump in my throat, Guiscardo,
I want to cry,
Why?
Are you frightened?
Of whom? Of what?
I’m happy here with you,
Me too,
I want nothing else,
Only to be with you,
What about your father?
I don’t know,
I don’t love anyone anymore, only you,
Or rather,,,
I love everyone,
Everyone!
Hey there,
Why did you do this to me?
- Now I,,, - I know what awaits me,
But, sire,,,
what can we do when love strikes?
Nothing,
If you do him harm, my lord,,,
you’ll hurt yourself even more,
What must I do with you?
You can’t imagine how much I love you,
A father can’t do any more, or rather he mustn’t do any more,
You know my disposition,
Those who offend me must be wiped out,
He must be wiped out,
But as for you, before I decide,
I want to know what you’ve got to say to me,
Tancredi,,,
I won’t answer you to beg you or to deny it,
I have loved Guiscardo,
and for as long as I live,,,
which won’t be for long, I will love him,
And if love exists after death,,,
I will love him still,
You’re made of flesh,
your daughter’s made of flesh, not stone,
You can’t have forgotten the pleasures of youth,
I experienced them in my marriage bed,
I sought them out again, and you helped me find them,
You sang the virtues of Guiscardo,
I have found them again, Tancredi,
I mean no disrespect by calling you by name,
But can I go on loving a father who now wants,,,
What was it you said?
To “wipe out” his favorite,
You don’t know what to do with me?
Don’t worry about it,
what you do to him and not to me,,,
I will do with my own hands,
Father,,,
you won’t do it,,,
She’s a woman,
he’ll vanish from her sight,
and she will forget him,
Strangle him, and bring me his heart,
The next morning a servant came to me
and brought me the gold cup my father had ordered for me,
the one Guiscardo had made,
Inside it was his heart,
I washed it with my tears and kissed it,
I poured in the poisoned herbs I had picked that morning,
And I drank,
I dried my eyes,
I didn’t want to go to Guiscardo with tears on my cheeks,
I lay down on the bed without fear,
When,,, I don’t remember, at dawn,,,
I felt a hand
on my hair,
It was my father’s hand,
He was there,
Forgive me,
Forgive you?
Yes,,,
forgive you,
Her face had softened again,
She seemed to be smiling,,,
when they buried her next to Guiscardo,
According to her family’s wishes,
I’ve finished,
- Where are you going? - What are you doing?
- No more sadness! - What did you say?
Come on, I’m going for a swim,
There’s a lake down there,
- What? - The ladies’ lake,
- That’s what the peasants call it, - Why’s that?
I don’t know, It’s a nice name, isn’t it?
You almost made us feel guilty when you wept before,
I hope this one will make you laugh,
Well, you should know that not far from here,
perhaps over there,
was a convent famous for its holiness,
To be honest, not many nuns had a real vocation,
most were sent there by powerful families,
You know that, right?
All destined for the convent from childhood,
Like Isabetta, unaware of the odd future that awaited her,
Like Usimbalda, the future abbess,
And what an abbess she was!
Isabetta was the prettiest nun in the convent
and the unhappiest,
One morning Isabetta went to greet her family at the grating,
and she fell in love with Leonetto,
the handsome Leonetto
who had gone to visit with them,
What’s the matter?
- What’s the matter? - We must call the abbess!
Isabetta has done something terrible!
Let’s go!
Quiet!
Don’t make a noise, or they’ll run away,
How dare you wake up your abbess in the dead of night?
- A man,,, - A naked man,
- Where? - With Sister Isabetta,
Naked,
Wait!
Are you all right?
Can you breathe?
My long johns!
Usimbalda,,,
My long johns on her head!
Keep your eyes to the floor,
On your knees,
Cursed by God!
Go on, tremble,,,
In some corner of hell they’re making room for you,
Forgive me,
What sin could be more shameful
than to ruin the reputation of this convent,
sanctified over centuries?
Your own convent, my daughters,
You honor it with your prayers, with your purity,
and this sister of yours has sullied it with her shame,
And we’re supposed to blush before the eyes of God and the world
for your sake?
We can make you disappear,
you’ve no idea what we can do,
And now dare to look me in the eye,,,
Mother,,,
may God help you,,,
fasten those ties that are hanging down,
What ties?
What are you talking about, you wicked girl?
Holy Mother, I beg you,,,
fasten those ties,
and then tell me what you want to say,
Yes, you wicked girl,
this is what I have to say to you,
Look up, sisters, because this is meant for everyone,
In a corner of your souls you are all wicked women,
Many of you know that,,,
and keep it hidden,
I don’t, I don’t hide it,
I am a wicked woman, because that’s how the Lord made us,
Spirit,,,
and Flesh,
Faith and Sin,
And we should glorify the Almighty for that too,
who wants his children free to know the Beatitudes of the Faith
and the tribulations of the Flesh,
It’s impossible to give these things up
because with this clay he molded us,
Isabetta,,,
this is your key,
Go back to your room where someone awaits,
and I will return to mine where someone awaits me,
I would ask you to put aside envy and resentment
and find what we have found for yourselves,
Not everyone will find it easy,
Nature, unfortunately, did not make us all equal,
But it’s not impossible,
Now, quietly,,,
try and enjoy yourselves as much as you can,
It’s the story of the falcon,
They told it to me when I was a child, but I would believe it and laugh and cry,
I loved that falcon and its young master,
They were friends,
Right, I’ll start with Cavalier Federico Alberighi,
young, handsome, wealthy and much esteemed with weapons,
Yet lovelorn for Monna Giovanna,
a beautiful, respectable and loving wife,
For her, he had squandered on banquets, jousts and gifts
all his wealth,
But she didn’t care, she totally ignored him,
And Federico became poor, creditors took all his money,
You’ll never have my friend!
He sought solitude in the only property he had left,
TWO YEARS LATER
She’s beautiful, isn’t she?
- Do you know her? - Yes,
She’s been here a year now,
- She came here for her son’s sake, - Is he sick?
It’s strange, it comes and goes,
But he’s doing well now, the fresh air will do him good,
It does everyone good,
It would have done the master good, too,
Is he dead?
Yes, we were all very sad,
Yes,,,
it’s Giovanna,
Go and say hello to her,
Here you are!
He’s my best friend,
And he’s your friend too now,
So that means that you and I are friends too,
If you promise to bring him every morning
and teach me to hold him,
Yes,
What’s he saying?
What’s he saying, Bellindia?
What?
Bellindia, I don’t understand him,
Rinuccio, what are you trying to say? What are you saying?
Mama, look at the falcon up there,
If you get him for me, I promise I will get better,
You’re lovely!
He’s a hunter too, you know, like your falcon,
But I want to hold the falcon,
And what will we do with this puppy?
I’m here,,,
My son Rinuccio,,,
Forgive me, I’d like to sit down,
It’s hot today, isn’t it?
I’ve come here, Federico, how can I put it,,,
to compensate you for the damage your love for me has caused,
What damage, Giovanna? It’s been a good thing,
If I am what I am, I owe it to the love I feel for you,
I’ve come here to eat with you, as a friend,
Here, in my home?
Yes,
Here,,,
What’s wrong?
Nothing,
You’ve gone as white as a sheet,
- I live on my own here, - I knew that,
I cook my own food,
Yes, the game you hunt with your falcon, I knew that too,
- You’re very good, - It’s not the hunting season now,
- I’ll help you, - No, thank you,
Wait here, please,
Or over there, the view’s better,
I’ll go and prepare something,
Help me,
What do I do?
She’s come to my home
to ask me for something simple, and I,,,
She won’t come again,
You’ll be surprised, Federico,,,
when I tell you my little boy,,,
When do I tell him?
Before or after we’ve eaten?
Don’t look at me like that,
This linen’s nice,
The tablecloth’s nice too,
What is it, Gubbio linen?
Why haven’t you eaten anything?
Aren’t you feeling well?
Federico,,,
you’ll be surprised when I tell you why I came,
It’s been nice, of course,,,
but I also came to ask you for a gift,
A gift?
I am a poor man, but if it makes you happy,,,
What kind of gift?
Something you love dearly,
Let’s say it’s your only solace amidst your misfortune,
- Your falcon, - What?
Your falcon, Federico!
My son is so obsessed with it, I’m worried if I don’t take it back,
his health will deteriorate,
- The falcon,,, - Yes,
There are no falcons here,
You don’t want to, eh?
I see, Federico,
There’s my falcon,
Federico degli Alberighi!
We’re Monna Giovanna’s brothers,
No, let’s talk here,
I am Ricciardo, the eldest, and the first to speak,
I’ll be honest with you, we came here reluctantly,
Since her son died, Giovanna has not left the house,
It’s been a year now, and she must remarry,
We’ve been back and forth from Florence with names of suitors,
the finest in the city, but in vain!
She’s not interested,
One day Giovanna called us to her: “I will marry again”, she said,,,
“as you wish, but only one man will do,,,
Federico degli Alberighi,”
“But Federico doesn’t own a scrap of land, you know that!”
“I know”, she replied,
“He is poor, but you, my brothers, know not the riches of his soul, I do,”
It’s a woman’s whim,
You, Federico,,,
standing there in silence on your own,,,
is it a yes or a no?
I’ve found the drinking fountain, The water’s nice and cool!
Come on, Filostrato! I’ve found some blackberries!
Here’s the basket,
What are you doing? We’ll do that later,
Dioneo’s about to begin,
Neifile, you sit down too,
Don’t be surprised, but I’m not going to tell you my story,
I’ve had something else on my mind all day,
I don’t know if you’ve counted, but we’ve been here 15 days,
Only ten crazy people could have hoped to forget
and rediscover the joys of life,
And perhaps we have succeeded,
With our rules,,,
I think the chastity rule was too much,
But now,,,
I want to ask you something,
Do we have the courage to admit that 15 nights is a long time,,,
and that the fine weather cannot last much longer?
And we may grow tired of each other?
No!
It’s just that it’s only right we go back where we came from,
No one knows what we’ll find there, Not even you, Dioneo!
Who knows!
When?
Tomorrow,
- All right, - That’s too soon,
- Everyone! - Just a bit longer!
It’s raining,,,
Listen to the raindrops!
Filostrato, Pampinea, Filomena, Lauretta, everyone!
Come over here!
Let’s say goodbye now, here,
in this lovely rain!
Will we meet again? I hope so,
And if we do, we’ll remember our days together in this house,
Tomorrow feel free to leave when you want,
I will stay here with some of you to tidy up the house,