Womanizing Abbot Character Analysis in The Decameron

The Womanizing Abbot appears in Lauretta’s third tale (III, 8) as another part of The Decameron’s ongoing anticlerical satire. He is young, attractive, and his reputation for extreme holiness covers up the affairs he carries on with local women like Ferondo’s Wife. He is also unkind, cultivating a friendship with Ferondo to make fun of his lack of intelligence and uncouth manners.

Womanizing Abbot Quotes in The Decameron

The The Decameron quotes below are all either spoken by Womanizing Abbot or refer to Womanizing Abbot. 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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“Ferondo, be of good cheer, for God has decreed that you should go back to earth, where, after your return, your wife will present you with a son. See that the child is christened Benedict, for it is in answer to the prayers of your reverend Abbot and your wife, and because of His love for Saint Benedict, that God has done you this favour.”

This announcement was received by Ferondo with great glee.

“I am very glad to hear it,” he said. “God bless Mister Almighty and the Abbot and Saint Benedict and my cheesy-weesy, honey-bunny, sweetie-weetie wife.”

Related Characters: Lauretta (speaker), Womanizing Abbot, Ferondo, Ferondo’s Wife

Page Number and Citation: 262

Explanation and Analysis:

Womanizing Abbot Character Timeline in The Decameron

The timeline below shows where the character Womanizing Abbot appears in The Decameron. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...a supposedly resurrected man, but her protagonist isn’t as clever as Tedaldo. In Tuscany, a Womanizing Abbot with a reputation for holiness becomes acquainted with Ferondo, a wealthy but simple-headed man who... (full context)

Ferondo’s Wife complains to the Womanizing Abbot about being married to a bumpkin like Ferondo and being subject to his jealousy. Seeing... (full context)

The Womanizing Abbot answers that sex is only a sin of the body, and that saintliness resides in... (full context)

When Ferondo visits the monastery a few days later, the Womanizing Abbot drugs him with a special powder he procured in the East. Ferondo falls unconscious to... (full context)

The following day, the Womanizing Abbot visits Ferondo’s Wife to pay his respects—and to arrange to come by later. She readily... (full context)

The Bolognese Monk keeps up this charade—while the Womanizing Abbot continues his affair with Ferondo’s Wife—for ten months, until she realizes that she’s pregnant. They... (full context)

The Womanizing Abbot drugs Ferondo, dresses him in his own clothes, and puts him back in his coffin.... (full context)