Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Giovanni Boccaccio's The Decameron. Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.
The Decameron: Introduction
The Decameron: Plot Summary
The Decameron: Detailed Summary & Analysis
The Decameron: Themes
The Decameron: Quotes
The Decameron: Characters
The Decameron: Terms
The Decameron: Symbols
Brief Biography of Giovanni Boccaccio
Historical Context of The Decameron
Other Books Related to The Decameron
- Full Title: The Decameron, or Prince Galahalt
- When Written: Between 1349 and 1352
- Where Written: Florence
- When Published: 1352
- Literary Period: Medieval
- Genre: A collection of short stories, including examples of history, romance, pastoral, fabliaux, and other medieval genres.
- Setting: Florence and the surrounding countryside, 1349
- Climax: Each tale has its own climax.
- Antagonist: Each tale has its own antagonist.
- Point of View: Third Person
Extra Credit for The Decameron
Love-Children. In one of his poems, Giovanni Boccaccio mourns the death of a beloved daughter, Violante, after whom two characters in The Decameron are named. It appears that she, and her four siblings, were all illegitimate, as Boccaccio himself was.
Boccaccio’s Little Flame. Boccaccio suggests that he fell in love with Maria d’Aquino, illegitimate daughter of King Robert of Naples, after whom he created characters named “Fiammetta” or “little flame” in no fewer than eight of his works. However, Boccaccio may have invented this unreciprocated affair to increase his credibility within the tradition of fin’amors or “refined loving” that was popular in the Middle Ages.