The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio
chamber wherein he knew the girl slept. Then, with a great lighted
flambeau before him, he entered therein and looking upon the bed, saw
her and Gianni lying asleep and naked in each other's arms; whereas he
was of a sudden furiously incensed and flamed up into such a passion
of wrath that it lacked of little but he had, without saying a word,
slain them both then and there with a dagger he had by his side.
However, esteeming it a very base thing of any man, much more a king,
to slay two naked folk in their sleep, he contained himself and
determined to put them to death in public and by fire; wherefore,
turning to one only companion he had with him, he said to him, 'How
deemest thou of this vile woman, on whom I had set my hope?' And after
he asked him if he knew the young man who had dared enter his house to
do him such an affront and such an outrage; but he answered that he
remembered not ever to have seen him. The king then departed the
chamber, full of rage, and commanded that the two lovers should be
taken and bound, naked as they were, and that, as soon as it was broad
day, they should be carried to Palermo and there bound to a stake,
back to back, in the public place, where they should be kept till the
hour of tierce, so they might be seen of all, and after burnt, even as
they had deserved; and this said, he returned to his palace at
Palermo, exceeding wroth.
The king gone, there fell many upon the two lovers and not only
awakened them, but forthright without any pity took them and bound
them; which when they saw, it may lightly be conceived if they were
woeful and feared for their lives and wept and made moan. According to
the king's commandment, they were carried to Palermo and bound to a
stake in the public place, whilst the faggots and the fire were made
ready before their eyes, to burn them at the hour appointed. Thither
straightway flocked all the townsfolk, both men and women, to see the
two lovers; the men all pressed to look upon the damsel and like as
they praised her for fair and well made in every part of her body,
even so, on the other hand, the women, who all ran to gaze upon the
young man, supremely commended him for handsome and well shapen. But
the wretched lovers, both sore ashamed, stood with bowed heads and
bewailed their sorry fortune, hourly expecting the cruel death by
fire.
Whilst they were thus kept against the appointed hour, the default of
them committed, being bruited about everywhere, came to the ears of
Ruggieri dell' Oria, a man of inestimable worth and then the king's
admiral, whereupon he repaired to the place where they were bound and
considering first the girl, commended her amain for beauty, then,
turning to look upon the young man, knew him without much difficulty
and drawing nearer to him, asked him if he were not Gianni di Procida.
The youth, raising his eyes and recognizing the admiral, answered, 'My
lord, I was indeed he of whom you ask; but I am about to be no more.'
The admiral then asked him what had brought him to that pass, and he
answered, 'Love and the king's anger.' The admiral caused him tell his
story more at large and having heard everything from him as it had
happened, was about to depart, when Gianni called him back and said to
him, 'For God's sake, my lord, an it may be, get me one favour of him
who maketh me to abide thus.' 'What is that?' asked Ruggieri; and
Gianni said, 'I see I must die, and that speedily, and I ask,
therefore, by way of favour,--as I am bound with my back to this
damsel, whom I have loved more than my life, even as she hath loved
me, and she with her back to me,--that we may be turned about with our
faces one to the other, so that, dying, I may look upon her face and
get me gone, comforted.' 'With all my heart,' answered Ruggieri,
laughing; 'I will do on such wise that thou shalt yet see her till
thou grow weary of her sight.'
Then, taking leave of him, he charged those who were appointed to
carry the sentence into execution that they should proceed no farther
therein, without other commandment of the king, and straightway betook
himself to the latter, to whom, albeit he saw him sore incensed, he
spared not to speak his mind, saying, 'King, in what have the two
young folk offended against thee, whom thou hast commanded to be
burned yonder in the public place?' The king told him and Ruggieri
went on, 'The offence committed by them deserveth it indeed, but not
from thee; for, like as defaults merit punishment, even so do good
offices merit recompense, let alone grace and clemency. Knowest thou
who these are thou wouldst have burnt?' The king answered no, and
Ruggieri continued, 'Then I will have thee know them, so thou mayst
see how discreetly[280] thou sufferest thyself to be carried away by
the transports of passion. The young man is the son of Landolfo di
Procida, own brother to Messer Gian di Procida,[281] by whose means
thou art king and lord of this island, and the damsel is the daughter
of Marino Bolgaro, to whose influence thou owest it that thine
officers have not been driven forth of Ischia. Moreover, they are
lovers who have long loved one another and constrained of love, rather
than of will to do despite to thine authority, have done this sin, if
that can be called sin which young folk do for love. Wherefore, then,
wilt thou put them to death, whenas thou shouldst rather honour them
with the greatest favours and boons at thy commandment?'
[Footnote 280: Iron., meaning "with how little discretion."]
[Footnote 281: Gianni (Giovanni) di Procida was a Sicilian noble, to
whose efforts in stirring up the island to revolt against Charles of
Anjou was mainly due the popular rising known as the Sicilian Vespers
(A.D. 1283) which expelled the French usurper from Sicily and
transferred the crown to the house of Arragon. The Frederick (A.D.
1296-1337) named in the text was the fourth prince of the latter
dynasty.]
The king, hearing this and certifying himself that Ruggieri spoke
sooth, not only forbore from proceeding to do worse, but repented him
of that which he had done, wherefore he commanded incontinent that the
two lovers should be loosed from the stake and brought before him;
which was forthright done. Therewith, having fully acquainted himself
with their case, he concluded that it behoved him requite them the
injury he had done them with gifts and honour; wherefore he let clothe
them anew on sumptuous wise and finding them of one accord, caused
Gianni to take the damsel to wife. Then, making them magnificent
presents, he sent them back, rejoicing, to their own country, where
they were received with the utmost joyance and delight."
THE SEVENTH STORY
[Day the Fifth]
TEODORO, BEING ENAMOURED OF VIOLANTE, DAUGHTER OF MESSER
AMERIGO HIS LORD, GETTETH HER WITH CHILD AND IS CONDEMNED TO
BE HANGED; BUT, BEING RECOGNIZED AND DELIVERED BY HIS
FATHER, AS THEY ARE LEADING HIM TO THE GALLOWS, SCOURGING
HIM THE WHILE, HE TAKETH VIOLANTE TO WIFE
The ladies, who abode all fearful in suspense to know if the lovers
should be burnt, hearing of their escape, praised God and were glad;
whereupon the queen, seeing that Pampinea had made an end of her
story, imposed on Lauretta the charge of following on, who blithely
proceeded to say: "Fairest ladies, in the days when good King
William[282] ruled over Sicily, there was in that island a gentleman
hight Messer Amerigo Abate of Trapani, who, among other worldly goods,
was very well furnished with children; wherefore, having occasion for
servants and there coming thither from the Levant certain galleys of
Genoese corsairs, who had, in their cruises off the coast of Armenia,
taken many boys, he bought some of these latter, deeming them Turks,
and amongst them one, Teodoro by name, of nobler mien and better
bearing than the rest, who seemed all mere shepherds. Teodoro,
although entreated as a slave, was brought up in the house with Messer
Amerigo's children and conforming more to his own nature than to the
accidents of fortune, approved himself so accomplished and well-bred
and so commended himself to Messer Amerigo that he set him free and
still believing him to be a Turk, caused baptize him and call him
Pietro and made him chief over all his affairs, trusting greatly in
him.
[Footnote 282: William II. (A.D. 1166-1189), the last (legitimate)
king of the Norman dynasty in Sicily, called the Good, to distinguish
him from his father, William the Bad.]
As Messer Amerigo's children grew up, there grew up with them a
daughter of his, called Violante, a fair and dainty damsel, who, her
father tarrying overmuch to marry her, became by chance enamoured of
Pietro and loving him and holding his manners and fashions in great
esteem, was yet ashamed to discover this to him. But Love spared her
that pains, for that Pietro, having once and again looked upon her by
stealth, had become so passionately enamoured of her that he never
knew ease save whenas he saw her; but he was sore afraid lest any
should become aware thereof, himseeming that in this he did other than
well. The young lady, who took pleasure in looking upon him, soon
perceived this and to give him more assurance, showed herself
exceeding well pleased therewith, as indeed she was. On this wise they
abode a great while, daring not to say aught to one another, much as
each desired it; but, whilst both, alike enamoured, languished
enkindled in the flames of love, fortune, as if it had determined of
will aforethought that this should be, furnished them with an occasion
of doing away the timorousness that baulked them.
Messer Amerigo had, about a mile from Trapani, a very goodly
place,[283] to which his lady was wont ofttimes to resort by way of
pastime with her daughter and other women and ladies. Thither
accordingly they betook themselves one day of great heat, carrying
Pietro with them, and there abiding, it befell, as whiles we see it
happen in summer time, that the sky became of a sudden overcast with
dark clouds, wherefore the lady set out with her company to return to
Trapani, so they might not be there overtaken of the foul weather, and
fared on as fast as they might. But Pietro and Violante, being young,
outwent her mother and the rest by a great way, urged belike, no less
by love than by fear of the weather, and they being already so far in
advance that they were hardly to be seen, it chanced that, of a
sudden, after many thunderclaps, a very heavy and thick shower of hail
began to fall, wherefrom the lady and her company fled into the house
of a husbandman.
[Footnote 283: Apparently a pleasure-garden, without a house attached
in which they might have taken shelter from the rain.]
Pietro and the young lady, having no readier shelter, took refuge in a
little old hut, well nigh all in ruins, wherein none dwelt, and there
huddled together under a small piece of roof, that yet remained whole.
The scantness of the cover constrained them to press close one to
other, and this touching was the means of somewhat emboldening their
minds to discover the amorous desires that consumed them both; and
Pietro first began to say, 'Would God this hail might never give over,
so but I might abide as I am!' 'Indeed,' answered the girl, 'that were
dear to me also.' From these words they came to taking each other by
the hands and pressing them and from that to clipping and after to
kissing, it hailing still the while; and in short, not to recount
every particular, the weather mended not before they had known the
utmost delights of love and had taken order to have their pleasure
secretly one of the other. The storm ended, they fared on to the gate
of the city, which was near at hand, and there awaiting the lady,
returned home with her.