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The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio

            The story 'Ser Cepperello' was taken from the first tale of 'The Decameron.' Ser Cepparello is also known as Ciapelletto who was a wicked man. Musciatto Franzesi has hired him to handle his business management which had spread far in many regions. He was staying at the house of two Florentine brothers. He became ill there. The brothers became fearful of the impact that if he would die at their home without the last rites, it would be like a sin so they decided to go in search for a friar. The brothers called a friar from the convent near the house in order to hear the wicked man's confession and to grant him his last rites. Ciappelletto started telling his lies related to his life. His lies made him a pious person, but he was pretending to cringe over his sins. The friar believed him and preached a sermon on his afterlife. The people of the town who heard about the sermon believed that he was a pious man and revered Ciapelletto as a saint after his death. .
             This story was a mysterious work of Panfilo. The most interesting part in this story was human intellect had been predicted with twisting and turning of the improbable i.e. the sainthood of Cepparello. The purpose of this story was that there were hidden workings in divine and fate will with the mistaken notions in humanity. Elements like friar believing on his lies and becoming saint after his death, made it well-rendered from the reader's point-of-view. Ser Ciappelletto was the worst man ever on Earth and he was vulnerable to the community. He was a skilled liar and such people have no right to be saints and to be remembered after their death. In short, the scoundrel managed to be a virtuous man during his last days of life. He was remembered as Saint Ciappelletto after his death. People from all over the place came to him and prayed for their favors because they believed in him and his miracles. .
             Andreuccio da Perugia - Portrait of a Character .


Essays Related to The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio

1. Sex in the Decameron

... think it would be too far off the mark if someone said that Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron could be summed up in one word - sex. Sex is found in nearly every one of the seven hundred odd pages it seems, and its depiction varies from humorous to serious. If I were to try and summarize the varying representations of sex in the book I would end writing a book in itself ... summarizing I will instead focus my essay on the elaboration of what I feel are the three main influences on the depiction of sexual intercourse in the narrative. First, the freedom of sex in the narrative is a direct re...

  • Word Count: 1609
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

2. The Decameron

The Decameron From 1348 to 1353 Giovanni wrote his classic, the Decameron, a collection of one hundred short stories told by a group of young ladies and gentlemen during a retreat from Florence in order to escape the plague. Many people consider this book as the greatest of all that were written about the plague. The plague itself killed millions of people and changed the world as a whole. Many families, communities, and cities were wiped ... was a sign that Christ's return to reign over the earth was imminent. Whatever effects that the plague had on religion helped shape the way the world wo...

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3. Giovanni Boccaccio

Birth: Giovanni Boccaccio was born around June or July of the year 1313. Although it's not known where he was actually born, records say Florence, Paris, and Certaldo. Boccaccio called himself a Florentine, his mother had a good family from Paris, and the family had some family in the valley of Elsa about 20 m. from Certaldo. Unfortunately, no record has been found on his parents. Death: During his last ... it, he still managed to write it as well as put his style into it. His second work is a 50-chapter poem called L amorosa Visione. It tells a dream in which Boccaccio, guided by a lady, see...

  • Word Count: 873
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Death in The Decameron

Death in The Decameron is prominent and often on the minds of the Brigata members. Beginning with their escape from the bubonic plague that was killing as many as seventy percent of the population in Florence, Italy. (1963) The first story on the first of the ten days the Brigata members would tell stories death shows up in the first line. Because "Ser Cepperello deceives a holy friar with false confession, then ... he dies." (1965) "He lived a wicked, sinful life, it is possible that at the eleventh hour he was son sincerely ... before the words were out of his mouth he had driven the lance...

  • Word Count: 281
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5. Epidemic of the Black Death

... plague was or what had caused it, "some even said they could see it in the form of a cloud of mist or black smoke, " (Corbishley). During this frenzy, many responded by trying to flee the plague and running off into the countryside, stated in Giovanni Boccaccio's The Decameron (1353). Boccaccio also recalled some taking advantage of the ill, the sick being deserted, rushed burials, wasting fields, wandering animals. Some members of ... the rich upper class gave into hedonistic desires such as excessive drinking and spending large quantities of ... ...

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6. Wake Of The Plague

... and undereducated men became priests. People began to view God with a pessimistic attitude, and found less comfort in religion as they had in the past. Their prayers went unanswered as more of their loved ones were struck by the plague. The wealthy families of Europe formed private chapels, which eventually provided funeral and burial services for their people. As some people lost faith in ... wrote about their ideas on the cause and effects of the black plague. One of the most well known pieces of literature was Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron, which told stories of the wealthy, prestig...

  • Word Count: 1752
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7. Interpreting the Late Middle Ages as a period of decline

... improperly. Moreover they declare that they cannot be excommunicated by this Roman Pontiff and these prelates Manual of the Inquisitor - Bernard Gui Early in the fourteenth century unorthodox religious movements (heretics) sprang up claiming a divine relationship with God, which threatened the Papacy's domination of the people. The Inquisition (with the backing of the Roman Catholic Church) was implemented to research and ... . The Decameron The Plague in Florence - Giovanni Boccaccio Nobody knew how the plague was spread or what caused it. The plague effected everybody. The result of th...

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8. Italian Renaissance in General

... and early 1400's, many large Italian cities came under the control of one family, such as the Visconti and later the Sforza families in Milan. The form of government established by the ruling families of the various Italian cities came to be known as signoria, with the chief official being called the signore. Soon elaborate court systems, controlled by the ruling families, began to spring up in each city- ... of classical Greeks and Romans, which were not only models of literary style, but considered to be guides to the understanding of life. The first, and most recognized pioneers of h...

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