Creating A Modern Version of The Decameron
Written by Rebecca Larson
Let’s do like they did in the 14th century during the outbreak of the Black Death. As some of you are self-quarantining, or self-isolating, let’s use the inspiration of Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio who compiled:
100 tales told by a group of seven young women and three young men sheltering in a secluded villa just outside Florence to escape the Black Death, which was afflicting the city. Boccaccio probably conceived of The Decameron after the epidemic of 1348, and completed it by 1353. The various tales of love in The Decameron range from the erotic to the tragic. Tales of wit, practical jokes, and life lessons contribute to the mosaic. In addition to its literary value and widespread influence (for example on Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales), it provides a document of life at the time. (“Giovanni Boccaccio: The Decameron.”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 18 December 2013.)
