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Marshal Lamiens
In Elissa’s second tale (II, 8), Jacques Lamiens is the only son of the Marshal Lamiens and Madame Lamiens. When he falls in love with Jeanette (Violante) but fears his parents won’t approve of their marriage, he becomes desperately lovesick. He demonstrates nobility of character when he rejects his mother’s suggestion that he enjoy Jeanette by force. He is also charitable, providing food and shelter to the disguised Walter, although he sometimes speaks harshly to a man he believes to be of lower class than himself. When he’s put in charge of the English forces alongside Perrot (Louis) and learns that his wife and father-in-law are French nobility, he graciously repents of any harsh treatment he gave his father-in-law in the past.
Jacques Lamiens Quotes in The Decameron
The The Decameron quotes below are all either spoken by Jacques Lamiens or refer to Jacques Lamiens. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Day 2: Eighth Tale
Quotes
But knowing her to be a woman of gentle birth, doing penance for another’s sin through no fault of her own, the Lord above, who rewards all according to their deserts, arranged matters otherwise. One must in fact conclude that He alone, out of His loving kindness, made possible the train of events which followed, in order to prevent this nobly-born maiden from falling into the hands of a commoner.
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The doctor was holding [Jacques] by the wrist, taking his pulse, when Jeannette […] entered the room in which the youth was laying. When he saw her coming in, the flames of passion flared up in the young man’s breast, and although he neither spoke nor moved, his pulse began to beat more strongly. The doctor noted this at once, but concealing his surprise, he remained silent, waiting to see how long his pulse would continue to beat so rapidly.
As soon as Jeannette left the room, the young man’s pulse returned to normal […] [The doctor] waited for a while, and then, still holding the patient by the wrist, he sent for Jeannette […] and no sooner did she enter the room than the youth’s pulse began to race all over again: and when she departed, it subsided.
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Get the entire The Decameron LitChart as a printable PDF.
Jacques Lamiens Character Timeline in The Decameron
The timeline below shows where the character Jacques Lamiens appears in The Decameron. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Day 2: Eighth Tale
...her station in life: it just so happens that Madame Lamiens’s son (later identified as Jacques) has fallen violently in love with Jeannette. Fearing parental reproach for loving someone they believe...
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None of Jacques’s physicians can identify or treat his illness until one happens to be taking his pulse...
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Jacques’s parents are relieved to know the cause of his illness, but they’re disturbed by his...
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Madame Lamiens, although impressed by Jeannette’s morals, is frustrated. She suggests locking Jeannette in Jacques’s room so he can have his way with her. But Jacques finds this plan horrifying...
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...labor, and hardship have made him almost unrecognizable. In London, he loiters near Jeannette and Jacques’s home. When Jacques invites him to receive charity, their children instinctively love their grandfather in...
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...The English king sends an army to his aid under the command of Perrot and Jacques. Walter joins Jacques’s contingent as a groom (someone who cares for horses). The French Princess,...
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Walter reveals the truth of his identity—and his children’s—to Perrot and Jacques. He tells Perrot that Jacques married his sister without a dowry (the property and wealth...
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Jacques presents Walter and Perrot to the king, claiming the great reward, and the king gives...
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