Boccaccio and the Consolation of Literature 0888442297, 9780888442291

The reader of Boccaccio's voluminous writings, from the early Filocolo through the Decameron and to the later Epist

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Boccaccio and the Consolation of Literature
 0888442297, 9780888442291

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Boccaccio and the Consolation of Literature

GUR ZAK

Toronto

PIMS

PONTIFICAL INSTITUTE OF MEDIAEVAL STUDIES

Acknowledgement T h e p u b lica tio n o f this v o lu m e w as m ad e p o s sib le b y fu n d s g e n e ro u sly p ro v id e d b y th e Israel S c ie n c e F o u n d atio n .

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Title: Boccaccio and the consolation o f literature / Gur Zak. Names: Zak, Gur, 19 7 5 - author. | Pontifical Institute o f Mediaeval Studies, publisher. Se ries: Stu d ies and texts (P o n tific a l Institute ofMediaeval Studies) ; 229. D e sc rip tio n : S e ries statem en t: Stu d ies and texts ; 229 | Includes bibliographical references

and index. Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20220218463 | Canadiana (ebook) 20220218609 I ISB N 9780888442291 (hardcover) | ISBN 9 7 8 17 7 110 4 2 2 7 (PDF) Subjects: LC SH : Boccaccio, Giovanni, 1 3 1 3 - 1 3 7 5 - Criticism and interpretation. I LC SH : Consolation in literature. Classification: L C C PQ 4293.C64 Z35 2022 | D D C 8 s3 /.i-d c2 3

© Pontifical Institute o fM e d ia e v a l Stu d ies 2 0 2 2

Pon tifical Institute o fM e d ia e v a l Studies 59 Q u e e n ’s P ark C re sc e n t E a st T o ro n to , O ntario M 5 S 2 C 4 C an a d a w w w .p im s.ca PRINTED IN CANADA

Contents

Acknowledgements • ix Introduction • 1 i The Filocolo and the Polyphony of Consolation • 25 2 The Filostrato, the Elegia, and the Consolation of Tragedy • 57 chapter 3 “Il senno di consolazion sia cagione” : The Decameron and the Consolation o f Storytelling • 88 chapter 4 The Corb accio, Dante, and the Disavowal of Love . 133 chapter 5 Boccaccio after Petrarch: The Polyphony of Consolation in the Later Writings • 154

chapter

chapter

Conclusion • 188 Bibliography » 1 9 4 Index • 2 10

Acknowledgements

This study o f Boccaccio began, appropriately enough, in Fiesole, during a visiting fellowship at the Villa I Tatti’s Harvard Center for Italian Renaissance Studies. It was completed seven years later, as the entire world struggled with the effects o f the C o v id -19 pandem ic - a mom ent that made the exploration o f Boccaccio’s engagement with literary consolation unexpectedly, even uncannily, timely. Heartfelt thanks are due to several colleagues and friends who accompanied me during the years o f working on this project and offered invaluable feedback and, at times, much needed laudevoli consolazioni: Kevin Brownlee, Raz ChenMorris, Rita Copeland, Aileen Feng, Bernhard Huss, Tim othy Kircher, Olivia Holmes, D avid Wallace, and Hanan Yoran. I also wish to thank Millicent Marcus, Giuseppe Mazzotta, and Jane Tylus for their support over the years. Thank you also to m y colleagues at the Department o f General and Comparative Literature and the Department of Romance Studies at the H ebrew University - Chiara Caradonna, Manuela Consonni, Aminadav Dykman, David Fishelov, Carola Hilfrich, liana Pardes, YoavRinon, and Tzachi Zam ir - for pro­ viding me with a stimulating and supportive academic community. M y w onderful and inspiring students at the H ebrew University have dis­ cussed with me issues related to this project in various seminars, and I would like to express m y gratitude and appreciation to all o f them. I particularly wish to thank Shachar Livne, Alieza Salzberg, and Yaakov Kroizer for their devoted and perceptive assistance over the years. Thanks always to Brian Stock, who continues to be a source o f inspiration and guidance for me. M y sincere gratitude also belongs to Fred Unwalla, the editor-in-chief at PIM S, for his extremely careful and thoughtful input on various stages o f this book. Thanks also to Jonathan Brent and M egan Jones, for their excellent assistance during the copy-editing process o f the manuscript. I also benefitted greatly from the insightful and constructive comments o f the manuscript’s anonymous readers, and I would like to express my thanks to them too. And, o f course, last but definitely not least, all my love and gratitude to Dina, Daniel, Naom i, and Rotem, whose presence is an immeasurable source o f solace for me.

x • Acknowledgements

An earlier version of chapter 1 appeared in the article “Boccaccio’s Filocolo and the Polyphony of Consolation,” Mediaevalia 42 (2 0 21): 18 7 -2 2 5 . An ear­ lier version of the second part of chapter 2 appeared in "Boccaccio’s Fiammetta and the Consolation of Literature,” M L N 1 3 1 (2 0 16 ): 1 - 1 9 . Part o f chapter 5 was published in the article “The Ethics and Poetics o f Consolation in Petrarch’s Bucolicum carmen,” Speculum 9 1 (2 0 16 ): 36-62. Finally, the research for this book was supported by the Israel Science Foun­ dation, grant number 15 8 7 / 19 .1 am grateful to the foundation for its support.

Introduction

In canto 30 o f the Am orosa visione, B occaccio’s dream vision w ritten in D antean terza rima, the fem ale heavenly guide harshly scolds the author-narrator fo r his ongoing attachm ent to w o rld ly things. Such attachment, she tells him , is bound to lead to noth in g b u t sorrow and pain: O r dunque fa che più non stieno fìssi gli occhi a cotal p ia c e r ... ... ’n gravi pene vive e dim ora chiunque ha speranza n on saviam ente, e a cotai cose tene. T u t’abagli te stesso in falsa erranza con falso im m aginar, per le presenti cose che son di fam osa mostranza. (.Am orosa visione, redazione A, 3 0 .3 4 - 4 2 )1 N o w see that yo u r eyes are no longer fixed on such jo y s ;... ... w h oever puts his hope, unwisely, in such things as those has for co m p an y burdensom e tribulations. Y o u blind y o u rse lf in m uch error w ith yo u r false im aginings o f these present things; th ey are but ostentatious show. T h ese lines contain a m osaic o f allusions to two central w orks o f con solation from the m iddle ages - B oeth ius’s Consolatio philosophiae and D an te’s Comme­ dia. In cantos 30 and 3 1 o f the Purgatorio, Beatrice rebukes D ante the pilgrim for 1 1. T h e w ork w as com posed in 1 3 4 2 - 1 3 4 3 and revised about two decades later. See B o c ­ caccio, “A m o ro sa visione,” ed. V ittore Branca, in Tutte le opere di Giovanni Boccaccio, ed. V it­ tore B ran ca (M ilan, 19 6 4 - 19 9 8 ) , 3: 1 - 2 7 2 ; Amorosa visione, trans. Robert H ollander, T im o ­ thy H am pton, and M argherita Frankel (H anover, N H , 1986).

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fixing his gaze on “im agini... false” (“ counterfeits o f goodness,” 3 0 . 1 3 1 ) , words that are closely echoed b y Boccaccio’s guide.1 Similarly, in the beginning ofbo o k 3 o f the Consolatio, L a d y Philosophy chides Boethius the prisoner for clinging to false images o f goodness, which lead to his sorrow and prevent him from realiz­ ing the nature o f true bliss: “A d u e ram ... felicitatem, quam tuus quoque somniat animus, sed occupato ad imagines uisu ipsam illam non potest intueri” ( “ T o that true happiness ... w hich yo u r mind, too, dreams of, but cannot see as it really is because your sight is too occupied w ith images,” 3.p i . 5 ) .23 C lo sely m im icking Boethius’s L a d y Philosophy, the Amorosa visiones guide goes on - in cantos 3 1 - 3 7 , the so called “ triumph o f fortune” section o f the w ork - to portray the tragic demise o f those who cling to fortune’s wheel.4 A t the end o f her dem onstration, she urges the author-narrator to turn aw ay from such “ m ondana vania” ( “w orldly vanity,” 3 7 .8 4 ) and follow her up the narrow path to heavenly bliss. A cquiescing at first, he sets off after her, hut the author-narrator soon notices a beautiful garden, filled with “festa e gran canto” (“merrymaking and great s o n g ” 3 7 . 7 0 ) .5 T o his guide’s dismay, he rushes inside, telling her that spending a little time there will surely provide them with some recreation: “ Ché

2. In Purgatorio 3 1.3 4 -3 5 , D a n te the p ilg rim w ill h im se lf declare: “L e p re se n ti co se / col falso lo r p ia c e r v o lse r m ie i p a ssi” ( “M e re ap p earan ces / tu rn e d m e asid e w ith th e ir false lo v e lin e s s ” ) - lin es that are also c lo se ly e c h o e d in Amorosa visione 30 .41-4 2. S e e D an te, La

"Commedia" secondo l'antica vulgata, ed. G io r g io P e tro c c h i, 4 v o ls. (F lo r e n c e , 1994); The Divine Comedy, tran s. A lie n M a n d elb au m , 3 v o ls. ( N e w Y o rk , 1982). 3. See Boethius, Consolatio philosophiae, ed. James J. O’Donnell, 2 vols. (Bryn Mawr, PA, 1984); The Theological Tractates, The Consolation of Philosophy, ed. and trans. S.J. Tester (Cambridge, MA, 19 73), 13 0 -4 3 5 . Boccaccio’s close acquaintance with Boethius’s Consola­ tio from very early in his career is pointed out b y Giuseppe Velli in his discussion o f the early Elegia di Costanza. See Giuseppe Velli, Petrarca e Boccaccio: Tradizione, Memoria, Scrittura (Padua, 1995), 1 2 1 - 1 2 2 . A co p y o fth e Consolatio is mentioned in the inventory o f the Parva libraria. See Antonia Mazza, “L ’inventario della ‘parva libreria’ di Santo Spirito e la biblioteca del Boccaccio,” Italia medioevale e umanistica 9 (19 6 6 ): 1-7 4 , at 36. On Boccaccio’s life-long dialogue with Boethius’s Consolatio, with a particular focus on his use o f the Neoplatonic hymn “ O qui perpetua” (Consolatio philosophiae 3.019), see Michael Papio, “Un richiamo boeziano nelle opere del Boccaccio,” Heliotropia 1 1 (2 0 14 ): 65-77. 4. Throughout cantos 31 to 3 7, the guide presents in order the types o f vanity: vanity of “ricchezza,” “riverenza,” "potenza,” “nome famoso,” and “venero piacer” (“riches,” “rever­ ence,” "power,” “famous name,” “venereal delight”). This list o f vanities adheres to the exact same order o f Lady Philosophy’s demonstrations in 3.P2-7 o f the Consolatio, in which she elaborates on the false happiness o f “opes,” “honores,” “potentiam,” “gloriam,” and “volup­ tates” (“riches,” “honors,” “power,” “glory,” and “pleasure”). (This list of counterfeits ofhappiness is provided in 34)2.12.) 5. Translations modified.

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poi alquanto / ricreati terrem nostro cam m ino” (“A little refreshed, we m ay then continue ou r jo u rn e y again,” 3 7 .6 8 - 6 9 ) .6 R ejecting - or at least p ostponin g the heavenly gu ide’s prom ise o f perfect bliss, the author-narrator chooses instead the recreation o f aesthetic b eau ty and song. T h e author-narrator’s rej ections o f the adm onitions o f the heavenly guide which essentially continue till the v e ry end o f the Amorosa visione 7 - am ount to a denunciation o f the con solato ry vision s o f both B oethius’s L a d y P h ilo so p h y and D an te’s B eatrice. B y refusing to fo llow th e guide, who expounds on h er p red ­ ecessors’ doctrin e, B o ccacc io ’s author-narrator challenges the authoritarian as w ell as oth erw orld ly dim ensions o f his precursors’ view o f consolation and in tro­ duces an alternative path - one w hich is decisively w orldly. H is fascination w ith aesthetic recreation in this passage, o f course, anticipates the governing trope o f the Decam eron, w h ich B o ccaccio w ould w rite several years later; like the authornarrator w h o tarries in the garden, the Decameron’s brigata, fleeing the plague that ravaged F lo ren ce, pass the tim e in a nearby pastoral estate engaged in the pleasurable activities o f song, dance, and tale-telling. B occaccio’s subversive dia­ logue w ith th e re v e re d m ed ieval con solato ry tradition - through w h ic h he explores and tests the con solato ry value o f aesthetic creations - thus em erges as a m ajor feature o f B o ccacc io ’s early Am orosa visione. A s w e w ill see, these co n ­ cerns dom inated his w orks throughout his entire career. B o cca cc io ’s interest in consolation has, o f course, long b een noted b y sch ol­ ars and readers.8 In discussing this interest, however, Boccaccio scholarship has tended to focus alm ost exclusively on the Decameron, while ignoring B o cca cc io ’s

6. T ran slation m odified. 7. T h e auth or-n arrator’s ongoing rejection o f the guide’s criticism is evident in his con ­ tinuing attachm ent to his earth ly beloved till the very end o f the w ork. In the closin g canto

50, m oreover, the h e av en ly guide prom ises to “ con sole” the author-narrator in the future b y bringing him b a c k to his b eloved : “ ché sanza dubbio intenta / farò di farti a tem po consolato / e quel d isio, che or p iù ti torm enta, / p orrò in p ace con quella bellezza / che l’alm a al cor tuttora ti p resen ta” (“fo r w ith ou t doubt I shall try, / in time, to console you. / A n d the desire, which n o w m o st torm en ts you , / 1 w ill p acify w ith that beauty / w hich the soul show s always to yo u r h e art,” 5 0 .2 3 -2 4 ) . E v e n i f the g u id e’ s w ord s p u rp o sely entail bo th spiritual and w orldly dim ensions, it is clear that earthly love is never abandoned in the Am orosa visione. In chapter 1 I w ill discuss the w a y B o ccaccio com bines earthly and spiritual love in his early writings. O n B o c c a c c io ’ s con tinu in g attachm ent to earthly love in the Am orosa visione, see Jam es C . K rie se l, Boccaccio's Corpus: Allegory, Ethics, and Vernacularity (N o tre D am e, IN ,

2018), 1 0 9 - 1 5 4 . 8. See, m o st recently, Sebastian a N o bili, L a consolazione della letteratura: Un itinerario fra D ante e Boccaccio (R aven n a, 2 0 1 7 ) , 8 7 - 1 6 5 . Further studies on the issue w ill be discussed in the fo llow in g notes.

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elaborate engagem ent w ith the them e in his other writings - bo th before and after the Decameron .9 Furtherm ore, discussions o f B o cca ccio ’s vision o f con so ­ lation often identify his position solely w ith aesthetic recreation, specifically the pleasures o f reading, and disregard the other types o f consolation that are fre­ quently introduced in his w o rk s.10 A ll too often, B o ccaccio ’ s explicit identifica­ tion o f consolation w ith pleasure and recreation, coupled w ith his c o y address o f his “ consolazion” to w o m en in love in the fam ous fram e o f the Decameron ( Conclusione. 1 ) , “ has also led scholars to regard his consolatory vision as lacking seriousness or as “m arginal,” to use Giuseppe M azzotta’s term. In contrast to the solem n Boeth ian Consolation o f Philosophy, with its grave aspirations for truth, kn o w ledge, and m oral betterm ent, B o c ca cc io ’s literary consolation has often

9. A notable exception to this tendency is Giuseppe Chiecchi’s important study o f Boccaccio’s engagement with consolation in two o f his later works, the eclogue O ly m p ia and the E p is to la co n so lato ria a P in o de Rossi. See Giuseppe Chiecchi, L a p a r o la d el d o lo re: P r im i stu di su lla letteratura consolatoria tra m edioevo e um anesim o (Padua, 2005), 264-336. T h e Epi­ stola con solatoria is discussed also in Teodolinda Barolini, “A Philosophy o f Consolation: The Place ofthe Other in Life’s Transactions,” in B occaccio 1 3 1 3 - 2 0 1 3 , ed. Francesco Ciabattoni, Elsa Filosa, and Kristina Olson (Ravenna, 2 0 15 ), 89-105. 10. This com m on view has been cem ented b y Francesco D e Sanctis, w ho described the stories o f the Decameron in the following manner: “ [I] racconti non hanno altro fine che di far passare il tem po piacevolm ente, e sono veri m ezzani di piacere e d ’am ore.” Francesco D e Sanctis, Storia della letteratura italiana (M ilan, 19 56 [ 1 8 7 0 ] ) , 1 : 3 1 7 . It was reiterated b y Charles Singleton, who declared that the art o f the Decameron is one w hich “ can exist with no other raison d’etre than that in itself it is a consolation and a delight.” C harles Singleton, “ On M eaning in the D ecam eron," Italica 2 1 ( 1 9 4 3 ) : 1 1 7 - 1 2 4 . T his notion still dominates Boccaccio scholarship to a large degree, even if developed through m ore elaborate and sophisticated analyses. Thus, for example, Lucia Battaglia R icci has declared that Boccaccio’s parodie rewriting o f his literary sources in the Decameron and the open-ended nature o f the w ork fulfill prim arily a “ludico-consolatoria” function. Lucia Battaglia Ricci, Ragionare nel giardino: Boccaccio e i cicli pittorici del "Trionfo della morte" (Rom e, 2000), 186. See also M irko Bevilacqua, Leggere per diletto: Saggi sul Decameron (Rom e, 2008), esp. 1 8 - 3 4 and N obili, L a consolazione della letteratura, 1 5 7 - 1 6 5 . A m o re elaborate attempt to analyze B occaccio’s notion o f literary recreation has been provided b y G lending Olson, Literature as Recreation in the Later M iddle Ages (Ithaca, NY, 1982), 1 6 4 - 2 1 5 . Olson shows how Boccaccio’s efforts at literary recreation are rooted in medieval hygienic and medical theories. 1 1 . In the Decameron’s proem, the author-narrator states that his entire aim in writing the cento novelle was to console wom en in love, providing them with the “consolazion” (Proemio. 12 ) men experience from pleasurable activities such as hunting and gambling. See Giovanni Boccaccio, Decameron, ed. Vittore Branca, 2 vols. (Turin, 19 92); The Decameron, trans. G.H . McWilliam (London, 1972).

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been relegated to the realm o f enjoyable pastimes, a mere break from the seri­ ous “business” o f life.11 This prevalent perception o f Boccaccio’s attitude toward the consolatory nature and value o f literature, however, is largely inadequate. As this book endeavors to show, Boccaccio’s engagement with consolation - and literature’s power to administer it - is one of the pivotal themes of his works throughout his entire career - from the early Filocolo through the Decameron to the later Epistola consolatoria. This engagement, moreover, often goes well beyond just the admin­ istration of pleasurable diversion and entails significant - and quite serious - eth­ ical dimensions, in a manner that challenges facile distinctions between “frivo­ lous” literature and “serious” philosophy. Boccaccio’s vision o f literary consolation, as the above discussion o f the Amorosa visione indicates, is developed through his subversive dialogue with cen­ tral medieval works o f consolation, including Boethius’s Consolatio and Dante’s C om m edia. In recent decades, scholars have noted this subversive dialogue (again, almost exclusively within the Decameron), yet have argued mostly that Boccaccio’s aim was to dismantle his predecessors’ solemn aspirations and advance a vision bent on affirming the consolatory value of pleasure - whether aesthetic or erotic.1213 While not denying the value of these scholarly discussions, 12 . See G iu sep p e M azzotta, The World at Play in Boccaccio's "Decameron" (P rin ceton , 19 8 6 ), 4 7 - 7 4 . W h ile referrin g to the m arginal status o f literature w ith respect to the w orld o f history, M azzotta’s p ro fo u n d analysis also argues that from its place on the m argins literature becom es a critical tool that unravels the false foundations upon which the “serious” and “ratio­ nal” w orld o f h istory hin ges. See M azzotta, World at Play, 9 - 10 ,7 0 - 7 4 - F o r a recent exam ple o f an ad option o f the b in a ry distinction betw een the “light” and “jo cose” Decameron and the “serious” con solatory tradition, see N obili, La consolazione della letteratura, 1 5 7 - 1 6 5 . In his “N o ta al testo” to the recent B u r edition o f the Decameron, M aurizio Fiorilla also identifies the

Decameron’s “intenti con solatori” solely w ith “ divertim ento narrativo” and “ destinatario fem ­ m inile,” contrasting it w ith the w o rk ’s m ore serious “ideological” and “ cultural” dim ensions. See G iovan n i B o ccaccio , Decameron, ed. A m e d e o Q uondam , M aurizio Fiorilla, and G ian ­ carlo A lfano (M ilan , 2 0 1 3 ) , 1 1 0 . 13 . O n B o ccaccio ’s subversive dialogue w ith Boethius’s Consolatio, see M azzotta, World at Play, 3 9 -4 0 ; Stephen J . M iln er, “ C om in g T ogeth er: Consolation and the R hetoric o f In sin ­ uation in B occaccio’s Decameron,” in The Erotics of Consolation: Desire and Distance in the Late Middle Ages, ed. C ath e rin e L é g h i and Step h en J . M iln er (N e w Y ork , 20 0 8 ), 9 5 - 1 1 3 ; an d B ren d a D e e n Sch ild gen , “B o eth iu s and th e C on so lation o f Literature in B o c c a c c io ’s

Decameron and C h au cer’s Canterbury Tales,” in The Decameron and the Canterbury Tales: New Essays on an Old Question, ed. L eonard M ich ael K o ff and Brenda D een Schildgen (M adison , N J, 20 0 0 ), 1 0 2 - 1 2 7 , esp. 1 1 7 - 1 1 8 . F o r M azzotta, B occaccio turns B oethius’s Consolatio on its head b y expo sin g the com p licity betw een literature and philosophy. M iln er argues that

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this book will nonetheless argue that Boccaccio was not interested in simply dismantling the solemn medieval consolatory tradition, but rather in develop­ ing a significant ethical alternative to it, one which is practiced in and through lit­ erature. As the following chapters will show, as opposed to what he perceives as the otherworldly, abstract, judgmental, and universalist consolatory approaches o f Boethius, Dante, and Petrarch, Boccaccio develops in his writings a vision of consolation that is strongly this-worldly, practical, empathetic to sorrow rather than critical o f it, and polyphonic - that is, a consolation that speaks in multiple voices and seeks to be attuned to the sufferers particular situation and needs. In developing this consolatory alternative, Boccaccio was strongly influenced by the practical dimensions of the ethical thought o f Aristotle and Aquinas and offered a vision o f consolation that is at once strongly Aristotelian and pro­ foundly literary. The exploration o f Boccaccio's unique consolatory outlook in this book will take place through a series o f close readings o f individual works in which his engagement with consolation is at the forefront. These readings will concentrate on the nature o f the consolation that Boccaccio's works seek to offer readers. This analysis will require us to explore both the intertextual dialogues these works hold with central medieval works o f consolation and the intratextual dialogues that emerge within Boccaccio's individual works on the same topic. As we will see, while Boccaccio's narrators repeatedly invite readers to obtain consolation from their reading - often adding specific instruction on the type o f solace read­ ers should expect to gain - the consolation that ultimately emerges from Boc­ caccio's works is not fixed or one-dimensional, but rather he appears to oscillate between various consolatory perspectives. These oscillations are created not only by the discrepancies between the nar­ rators' consolatory statements and the examples o f confrontations with misfor­ tune described within the narratives themselves but also by Boccaccio's tendency to offer subtle ironic commentaries on his narrators' or protagonists' actions and dispositions.14 Narratives such as the Filostrato and the Elegia, as we will see, Boccaccio replaces the Boethian consolation o f philosophy with an “ erotic rendezvous.” Schildgen contends that by insisting on the consolatory value o f literary leisure, Boccaccio was challenging the Boethian distinction between “frivolous poetry” and “ serious truth.” Another study that should be mentioned in this context is Barolini, “Philosophy of Consola­ tion,” which argues that as opposed to Dante’s association o f consolation with the pursuit of perfect bliss, Boccaccio concentrates on the experiential and interpersonal dimensions o f con­ solation. See Barolini, “Philosophy o f Consolation,” 90. 14. On Boccaccio’s ironic attitude toward his narrators, see especially Janet Smarr, Boc­ caccio and Fiammetta: The Narrator as Lover (Urbana, IL, 1986).

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include an ironic subtext that questions the narrators’ own use o f literature as a source o f consolation, thus inviting the reader to consider alternative consola­ tory pathways. Furthermore, Boccaccio’s lengthy narratives, such as the Filocolo and the D ecam eron, introduce diverse examples o f people confronting misfor­ tune. Th ese various characters often em body models o f consolation that are at odds with one another, again com plicating the nature o f the consolation that emerges from the work and enabling Boccaccio to speak to the reader in a diverse set o f consolatory voices. These different voices may be identified with four cardinal types o f conso­ lation, which are reflected in Boccaccio’s various uses o f the term “consolazione” over the course o f his writings. “ Consolazione,” as the Tesoro della lingua italiana delle origini indicates, is primarily an emotional experience, a relief from sorrow or pain.15 Such “ consolazione,” according to Boccaccio’s works, is often an out­ come o f engagem ent in pleasurable activities, such as hunting, singing, or - o f course - reading, as w e have already seen above. Y et over the course o f Bo ccac­ cio’s writings, similar emotional relief is also an outcome o f identification with the suffering o f others. N ear the beginning o f the Filocolo, for example, the authornarrator tells readers: “D i che prendere potrete consolazione se quello è vero, che a’ miseri sia sollazo d’avere compagni nelle pene” (“Thus you m ay be able to

take consolation here, if it is true that misery loves to find companions in its suf­ ferings,” Filocolo 1 .2 .2 ) .16 Reading, orhearing, about the similar suffering o f oth­ ers is in itself comforting, according to the Filocolo’s author-narrator.17 15. “ [ C ]o n fo r t o , so lliev o , alleviam en to d a pene, p reoccu p azio n i, d o lo ri” ( “ co m fo rt, relief, alleviatio n fro m pain, p reoccu p ation , so rro w ” ). “ C on so lazion e,” at the sam e tim e, also stands fo r “ acts o r w o rd s that b rin g com fort” ( “ atti o p arole che recano c o n fo rto ” ). “ C o n s o ­ lazio n e” th u s stan ds fo r b o th an em otion al experience and the discourse that p rovid es it. See

Tesoro della lingua italiana delle origini, s.v. “ con solazion e” 1, 2, h ttp :/ / th o .o v i.c n r .it/ T L IO / . 16. See Boccaccio, “Filocolo,” ed. A n to n io En zo Q uaglio, in Tutte le opere, ed. B ran ca, 1: 4 5-6 75; Il Filocolo, trans. Donald Cheney, with the collaboration of Thomas G. Bergin (New York, 1985). 17. The belief that reading about the similar hardships of others may serve as a source of consolation was commonly held in the middle ages. The theme appears, for example, in Abelard’s opening address o f his Historia calamitatum, in which he invites his unnamed friend to find solace for his troubles by reading about Abelard’s dreadful calamities: “Sepe humanos affectus aut provocant aut mittigant amplius exempla quam verba. Unde post nonnullam ser­ monis ad presentem habiti consolationem, de ipsis calamitatum mearum experimentis con­ solatoriam ad absentem scribere decrevi, ut in comparatione mearam tuas aut nullas aut modi­ cas temptationes recognoscas et tolerabilius feras.” (“There are times when example is better than precept for stirring or soothing human passions; and so I propose to follow up the words of consolation I gave you in person with the history of my own misfortunes, hoping thereby to give you comfort in absence. In comparison with my trials you will see that your own are

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While these first two types o f consolation - diversionary pleasure and iden­ tification with others' suffering - involve momentary respite, Boccaccio's works also employ the term "consolazione” in reference to a more lasting relief, the complete overcoming of sorrow or pain. Such "consolazione” m aybe a result of the attainment of the object o f desire - whether in matters o f love or otherwise as in the case of the "consolazione” that the figure of Ameto imagines he would obtain when united with his beloved Lia, in the early work Comedia delle ninfe fiorentine.l8Conversely, "consolazione” is presented at times as an outcome of the disavowal of the source of suffering, most often unrequited love. This tact is evi­ dent, for example, in the "divina consolazione” that the Corbaccws author-nar­ rator obtains from his pensiero, which instructed him to disengage from bad love.19 While the Corbaccio is a later work within Boccaccio's corpus, this type of "consolazione” is already present in Boccaccio's earlier Filocolo, embodied in the character o f Caleone, who eventually finds contentment after disengaging from destructive love.20 Boccaccio's literary works, as the following chapters will show, offer conso­ lation in all four o f these senses: on the one hand, they invite readers to obtain emotional relief through enjoying the pleasures of reading or identifying with suffering protagonists; on the other hand, they seek to administer more lasting cures by modelling heroic action that facilitates the attainment of the object of desire or conversely by providing examples o f successful disengagement from unrequited desire. Whereas in the first two cases literature serves as a source of diversion and recreation, in the latter two it functions as a type of rhetorical cure, seeking the re-creation o f the reader.21 While not all o f the types o f consolation described above are simultaneously present in all o f the works we will examine, they are all introduced very early on in Boccaccio's writing - at least since the Filocolo - and they remain a constant feature of his writings till the very end o f his life. These different modes o f con­ nothing, or only slight, and will find them easier to bear.” ) See Abelard, Historia calamitatum, ed. J. M onffin (Paris, 1967), 63; The Letters o f Abelard and Heloise, trans. Betty Radice (Lon­ don, 1974). See also Chiecchi’s comments to his edition o f Boccaccio’s Epistola consolatoria in Boccaccio, “Epistola consolatoria a Pino de' Rossi/’ ed. Giuseppe Chiecchi, in Tutte le opere, ed. Branca, 5.2: 6 15-6 8 7, at 667 n 4 i. 18. Comedia delle ninfefiorentine 5.23. See Boccaccio, “Comedia delle ninfe fiorentine,” ed. Antonio Enzo Quaglio, in Tutte le opere, ed. Branca, 2: 665-835. 19. Corbaccio § 2 1; see Giovanni Boccaccio, “Il Corbaccio,” ed. Giorgio Padoan, in Tutte le opere, ed. Branca, 5.2: 4 1 3 - 5 16 . 20. Further uses of the term “consolazione” in Boccaccio’s works, particularly within the Decameron, will be discussed in chapter 3. 2 1. I am grateful to Fred Unwalla for pointing out to me this wonderful pun.

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solation are in turn also closely related to specific literary genres, which Boccac­ cio employs over the course o f his works. In his vernacular fictions, as we will see, Boccaccio experiments with various genres in order to probe their consolatory potential and advance his consolatory message. Thus, the call to boldly pursue the object o f desire as a cure for hardship is transmitted through comic narra­ tives, which are in dialogue with the epic and romance traditions - as we will see in the case o f the Filocolo and the Decameron,22 The finding o f solace through identification with the hardships o f others is naturally pertinent to Boccaccio’s excursions into the genres o f elegy and tragedy; Boccaccio also explores those genres for their potential to instigate the disavowal of passion. This latter mode o f consolation is in turn also central to Boccaccio’s dialogues with the Ovidian Remedia amoris and the medieval tradition of the vilification cure. Throughout his works, Boccaccio continually oscillates between those various genres and modes of consolation - a fluctuation that underscores his polyphonic attitude to con­ solation, his notion that there is no one universal solution to hardship and that the administration o f consolation should be attuned to the sufferer’s particular circumstances and needs. This latter notion, as the following chapters will argue, has deep philo­ sophical roots; it grew from Boccaccio’s engagement with the ethical thought o f Aristotle, particularly the Aristotelian notion o f practical wisdom. A t the heart of this notion inheres the assertion that ethical deliberation and action should not rely on preconceived universal assumptions but rather that they must be attuned to the particular and concrete situation at hand.23 As Thom as Aquinas states in his com m entary on book 2 o f Aristotle’s Ethics: “ Oportet ipsos ope­ rantes per suam prudentiam intendere ad considerandum ea quae convenit agere secundum praesens tempus, consideratis omnibus particularibus circumstan­ tiis; sicut oportet medicum facere in medicando, et gubernatorem in regimine navis.” (“He who acts prudently must attentively consider the things to be done at the present time after all the particular circumstances have been taken into consideration. In this way a doctor must act in bringing about a cure and a cap22. The distinction between “comic” and “tragic” narratives in this study is based on the medieval understanding o f those genres. “C om ic” narratives are ones which begin badly and conclude with a happy ending; “tragic” narratives begin happily and end badly. See Henry A. Kelly, Ideas and Forms o f Tragedy from Aristotle to the Middle Ages (Cambridge, 1993), 8 4 85 and passim. 23. On Aristotle’s notion o f practical wisdom (phronesis or prudentia), see Pierre Aubenque, La prudence chezAristote (Paris, 19 63) and Martha Nussbaum, Love's Knowledge: Essays on Philosophy and Literature (Oxford, 1990), esp. 35-50 . Studies on Boccaccio’s gen­ eral reliance on Aristotle will be discussed below.

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tain in steering a ship.” ) 2,4 It is in this prudent way, as we will see, that the figures of consolers often act within Boccaccio’s works and it is also in this way that he himself, as an author, seeks to console his readers: rather than imposing a sin­ gle solution, he introduces various possible remedies and leaves to the reader the final choice as to how to use the work as a source of solace. Boccaccio’s lifelong interest in the theme of consolation and the way literature may console was deeply rooted in the culture of his day. The fourteenth century was a period of intense engagement with Boethius’s Consolatio and the theme of consolation in general: commentaries, rhetorical and philosophical treatises, and works o f literature were in close dialogue with Boethius’s Consolatio and attempted to offer their own remedies to the vicissitudes of fortune.25 Yet while drawing on Boethius, both the literature of the period and the commentary tra­ dition departed in significant ways from the Boethian model. In recent years, scholars have pointed to the strong impact of Aristotle, and scholastic philosophy in general, on late medieval appropriations of the Conso-

24. Thomas Aquinas, In decern libros ethicorum Aristotelis ad Nicomachum expositio (cited hereafter with the abbreviation In Eth.) 2.2.259, ed. Raimondo M. Spiazzi (1949; repr. Turin, 1964); the translations follow Commentary on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, trans. C.I. Litzinger (1964; repr. Notre Dame, IN, 1993). 25. On the medieval consolatory tradition, see Peter von Moos, Consolatio: Studien zur mittelalterlichen Trostliteratur tiber den Tod und zum Problem der christlichen Trauer, 2 vols. (Munich, 19 7 1) and Chiecchi, La parola del dolore. On the reception o f Boethius in the mid­ dle ages, see Pierre Courcelle, La Consolation de Philosophic dans la tradition littéraire (Paris, 1967); Erotics of Consolation, ed. Léglu and Milner; and Luca Lombardo, Boezio in Dante: La Consolatio philosophiae nello scrittoio del poeta (Venice, 2 013), 1 3 - 1 3 7 . On the widespread use of the Consolatio as a textbook in grammar schools in the Italian peninsula, see Robert Black and Gabriella Pomaro, Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy in Italian Medieval and Re­ naissance Education : Schoolbooks and Their Glosses in Florentine Manuscripts (Florence, 2000), 15 - 19 . On the translations o f the Consolatio into the vernacular in late medieval Italy, see Sil­ via Albesano, Consolatio philosophiae volgare: Volgarizzamenti e tradizioni discorsive nel Trecento italiano (Heidelberg, 2006) and Dario Brancato, “Translations o f the De consolatione in Italy ( 13 0 0 -15 5 0 ),” in A Companion to Boethius in the Middle Ages, ed. Noel Harold Kaylor and Philip Edward Phillips (Leiden, 2012), 319 -3 56 . On the translations o f the Consolatio into the vernacular in late medieval France and England, see Rita Copeland, Rhetoric, Hermeneutics, and Translation in the Middle Ages (Cambridge, 19 9 1), 12 7 - 15 0 . For a survey o f the wide range o f ancient texts which m aybe described as “consolatory” and a useful attempt at clas­ sification, see J.H .D Scourfield, “T owards a Genre o f Consolation,” in Greek and Roman Con­ solations: Eight Studies of a Tradition and Its Afterlife, ed. Han Baltussen (Swansea, 2 013), 1 36. See also Ernst R. Curtius's brief remarks on the “consolatory treatise,” which he considers as a subspecies o f epideictic rhetoric. Ernst R. Curtius, European Literature and the Latin Mid­ dle Ages, trans. Willard R. Trask (New York, 19S2), 80-82.

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latio. T h e Platonic bent that characterized Boethius's w ork as well as the twelfthcentury com m entaries on it - especially the highly influential one b y W illiam o f Conches - w as m odified and attenuated within the late medieval com m entary tradition on the Consolatio, due to a growing interest in Aristotelian concepts. F or exam ple, w hile W illiam o f C onches gave center stage within his com m en­ tary to the P laton ic theory o f rem iniscence and the preexistence o f souls, the early fourteenth century com m entaries b y Nicholas Trevet and W illiam o f Aragon em phasized the Aristotelian view that sense-perception - not rem inis­ cence - is the basis o f knowledge acquisition.26278Such shifts, as Lod i N auta has argued, dem onstrate how these later commentaries “bring down the Platonic atm osphere o f Boethius’ text to the Aristotelian world o f sense.” 17 T his new Aristotelian bent, as Jessica Rosenfeld has shown, is also reflected in the com m entaries’ rejection o f the Stoic disdain for fortune’s goods that per­ vades books 2 and 3 o f the Consolatio.zS Whereas Boethius’s L ad y Philosophy harshly criticized the Boethius figure in the Consolatio for his attachm ent to w orldly gains and his sorrow over their loss, the fourteenth-century com m enta­ tor W illiam o f A ragon asserts in his com m entary that it is “part o f the hum an condition to feel intensely, and grieve over, misfortunes which occur in relation to those [sensible] goods.” 29 This statement, as Rosenfeld observes, is based on 26. On the transformations in the commentary tradition in the later middle ages, see Alastair Minnis and Lodi Nauta, ‘“More Platonico loquitur: What Nicholas Trevet Really D id to William o f Conches,” in Chaucer's "Boece" and theMedieval Tradition ofBoethius, ed. Alastair Minnis (C am ­ bridge, 19 9 3), 1 - 3 3 , and Lodi Nauta, “‘Magis sit Platonicus quamAristotelicus’ : Interpretations o f Boethius’ Platonism in the Consolatio philosophiae from the Twelfth to the Seventeenth Century,” in The Platonic Tradition in the M iddle Ages: A Doxographic Approach, ed. Stephen Gersh and Maarten J.F .M . H oenen, with the assistance o f Pieter Th. van Wingerden (Berlin, 2002), 1 6 5 204. See also Lodi Nauta, “The Consolation : The Latin Commentary Tradition, 800-1700,” in The Cambridge Companion to Boethius, ed. John Marenbon (Cambridge, 2009), 235-278. 27. N auta, “M agis sit Platonicus quam Aristo telicus," 192. Quoted also in Jessica R osen ­ feld, “T h e D oubled Jo y s o f Troilus and C riseyde,” in Erotics of Consolation, ed. Léghi and M il­ ner, 39 -6 0 , at 44. 28. See Rosenfeld, “D o u b led Jo ys,” 4 6 -4 7 . See also Jessica Rosenfeld, Ethics and Enjoy­ ment in the Later M iddle Ages: Love after Aristotle (Cambridge, 2 0 1 1) , 1 3 5 - 1 5 9 . On the Stoic dim ensions o f these sections o f the Consolatio, see Jo h n Magee, “The G ood and M orality: C onsolatio 2 - 4 ,” in Cambridge Companion to Boethius, ed. Marenbon, 18 1- 2 0 6 , at 1 8 5 - 1 8 8 . On B oethiu s’s Stoicism as reflected in his dialogue with Seneca, see Seth Lerer, Boethius and Dialogue: Literary M ethod in the Consolation o f Philosophy (Princeton, 1985), 2 3 7 - 2 5 3 . 29. “ [U ]n d e hum anum est valde sentire et dolere de infortuniis contingentibus circa ipsa.” F o r the Latin text, see Charles T erbille, “W illiam o f Aragon’s Com mentary on Boethius' De Consolatione Philosophiae," PhD diss. (University o f Michigan, 1972), 5; for the translation, M edieval Literary Theory and Criticism, c. 1 1 0 0 - 1 37 s, ed. A.J. Minnis and A .B. Scott, with the assistance o f D avid W allace (Oxford, 1988), 3 3 1.

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Aristotle’s assertion in book 7 of the Ethics that “those who say that, if a man be [virtuous], he will be happy even when on the rack, or when fallen into the direst misfortune, are intentionally or unintentionally talking nonsense.” 30 In his com­ mentary on this passage, Thomas Aquinas directly associates this “nonsensical” position with the Stoics.31 The dominant Platonic and Stoic features o f the Boethian work were thus continually challenged in the commentaries o f the later middle ages. These challenges are also woven into the elaborate literary dialogues with Boethius’s Consolatio written in this period. In Chaucer’s dialogue with Boethius in Troilus and Criseyde, as Alastair Minnis and Rosenfeld have argued, the Eng­ lish poet replaces the “hard-nosed, Stoic realism” o f Boethius’s Lady Philosophy with an affirmation o f worldly pleasure.32 This transformation is most evident, according to Minnis, in the celebration o f erotic delights in Troilus’s hymn to love at the end o f book 3 o f the work, in a passage which alludes to book 2 meter 8 o f Boethius’s Consolatio, the hym n to cosmic love.33 For both M innis and Rosenfeld, this transformation is closely related to the introduction into the Latin West o f Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, a work that “allowed for a reevaluation of the active life so that practical goods might come to the fore and secular con­ cerns could therefore emerge more fully in vernacular literature.” 34 French literature o f the fourteenth century displays a similar leaning toward Aristotle. In her analysis o f consolation in the French dits and especially Guil­ laume de Machaut’s Remede de Fortune and Confort d'ami, Sarah K ay has argued that these works depart from the Neoplatonic features of Boethius’s Consolatio, as they replace the prisoner’s abstract ascent to perfect knowledge with an Aris­ totelian affirmation o f the particular and the contingent: “ [French medieval

30. See Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 7 .13.3 , ed. and trans. H. Rackham (Cambridge, MA, 1926), 1 1 5 3 ^ 9 - 2 2 . 3 1. “ [F] elix indiget bonis corporis, puta sanitate et incolumitate et bonis exterioribus, quae dicuntur bona fortunae, ut per horum defectum non impediatur felix in sua operatione. Illi autem qui dicunt, si homo est virtuosus est felix, etiam si circumferatur et subdatur mag­ nis infortuniis, nihil rationabile dicunt... et innuit Stoicos, quorum erat ista opinio.” (“ [T ]he happy man needs the goods o f the body, such as general health and an uninjured state, then external goods - called goods of fortune - so that he may not be impeded in his activity by a lack o f them. People who say that a virtuous man is happy even when tossed about and over­ come by great misfortune talk n onsense.... T h e reference of course is to the Stoic opinion,” InEth. 7 .13.15 0 7 .) 32. Rosenfeld, "D oubledjoys,” 39. 3 3. Alastair Minnis, '“ I speke o f folk in secular estaat’: Vernacularity and Secularity in the Age o f Chaucer,” Studies in the Age o f Chaucer 27 (2005): 25 -58 , at 50. 34. Minnis, “I speke o f folk,” 35; Rosenfeld, “D ou bled joys,” 43.

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poets] wanted a consolation that was more consoling [than that of Lady Philos­ ophy], more physical, which made more concessions to the here and now of the embodied individual, allowed him his particular circumstances and his perspec­ tive ... T h ey wanted to be allowed to experience contingency, to be exposed to the passions and to pathos.”3S Such embrace of the contingent led to the acceptance of sorrow as an inevitable part o f human existence; the goal o f consolation became not the eradication of sorrow, but the attempt to make it manageable .36 On the Italian peninsula in the early trecento, the most elaborate and influ­ ential dialogue with Boethius was of course that of Dante - a dialogue which was also mediated through Aristotle .37 In the early Vita nuova, Dante highlights - in stark contrast to the opening sections o f Boethius's Consolatio38 - the impor­ tance o f elegy as a form o f consolation; he stresses the way elegiac poetry allows him to pour out his grief in writing and stave off death.39 The Convivio, however, adopts a more Boethian perspective, as Dante describes the consolation he expe­ rienced from the study o f philosophy following the death of Beatrice. Here he explicitly credits Boethius’s Consolatio and Cicero’s De amicita (On Friendship ) for influencing his turn to philosophical consolation and subsequent recovery 35. Sarah Kay, “Touching Singularity: Consolation, Philosophy, and Poetry in the French dit,” in Erotics o f Consolation, ed. Léghi and Milner, 2 1-3 8 , at 36. On the reception o f Boethius in late medieval French literature, see also Sylvia Huot, “Guillaume de Machaut and the Consolation o f Poetry,” Modern Philology 100 (2002): 16 9 -19 5 and Alastair Minnis, “Aspects o f the M edieval French and English Traditions of the De Consolatione Philosophiae,” in Boethius: His Life, Thought, and Influence, ed. Margaret Gibson (Oxford, 19 8 1), 3 1 2 - 3 6 1 . 36. Kay, “Touching Singularity,” 36. 37. On Dante and consolation, see especially the discussion in Chiecchi, La parola del dolore, 14 0 - 17 6 ; Lom bardo, Boezio in Dante, 139 -6 0 3; and the introductory essays to the poems N e le man vostre, Donna pietosa, and L i occhi dolenti, in Dante's Lyric Poetry, ed. and commentary b y Teodolinda Barolini, with a verse translation by Richard Lansing (Toronto, 2014). 38. After the prisoner commences the Consolatio with an Ovid-like elegy, Lady Philos­ ophy appears and harshly chides him for his reliance on the muses: “Quis, inquit, has scenicas meretriculas ad hunc aegrum permisit accedere, quae dolores eius non modo nullis remediis fouerent, uerum dulcibus insuper alerent uenenis?” (“Who let these theatrical tarts in with this sick man? N ot only have they no cure for his pain, but with their sweet poison they make it worse,” i.p i.8 .) 39. Consider, for example, the following lines from Dante’s third and final canzone in the work, L i occhi dolenti: “ Ora, s’i’ voglio sfogarlo dolore, / che a poco a poco ala morte mi mena / convenemi parlar traendo guai” (“And now, if I should want to vent that grief, / which grad­ ually leads me to m y death, / I must express m yself in anguished words,” Vita nuova 3 1.8 .4 6). See Dante, Vita nuova, ed. Dom enico de Robertis, in Opere minori, ed. Dom enico de Robertis and Gianfranco Contini (Milan, 1964), 1 .1 : 3-2 4 7; Dante's Vita Nuova, trans. M ark L. M usa (Bloomington, IN, 19 73 ). On the elegiac nature o f the Vita nuova and the impact o f Boethius’s Consolatio on it, see Stefano Carrai, Dante elegiaco: Una chiave di lettura per la “Vita

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( Convivio 2 .1 2 .2 - 3 ) .*40 He also suggests that the donna gentile o f the closing chap­ ters o f the Vita nuova is no other than Boethius’s L a d y Philosophy ( C onvivio 2 .12 .6 - 7 ) . D ante’s Boethianism within the C onvivio, as Rosenfeld has suggested, is refracted through Aristotelian concepts and language.414 2Th e end point o f Dante’s philosophical consolation is the attainment o f complete beatitude, which is asso­ ciated, in clear Aristotelian terms, with the acquisition o f perfect knowledge. Alluding to book 10 o f Aristotle’s N icom achean Ethics, Dante declares that the end o f philosophy is “quella eccellentissima dile[tta]zione che non pate alcuna intermissione o vero difetto, cioè vera felicitade che per contemplazione della veritade s’acquista” (“that most excellent delight which suffers no cessation or imperfection, namely true happiness, which is acquired through the contempla­ tion o f truth,” C onvivio 3 . 1 1 . 1 4 ) . 41 W ithin the Convivio, in other words, Dante describes a kind o f consolation that is available to human reason and attained through the study o f philosophy.

The C om m edia may then be understood as a correction to the philosophical position Dante expressed in the C onvivio, as it demonstrates the inadequacy of a purely philosophical consolation and highlights the importance of love, poetry, and Christian theology as sources of true heavenly consolation 43 Beatrice her­ self, scholars have suggested, may be seen as supplanting none other than

nova" (Florence, 2006). On the strong link between the style of lamentation in the Vita nuova and the expectation o f future joy, fulfilled in the reencounter with the beloved in Purgatorio 30, see Ronald Martinez, “Mourning Beatrice: The Rhetoric ofThrenodyin the Vita nuova,” M L N 1 1 3 (1998): 1-2 9 . Jelena Todorovic has argued that Boethius’s Consolatio deeply informs the Vita nuova and inheres behind Dante’s turn to the “stilo de la loda” within the work. See Jelena Todorovic, Dante and the Dynamics of Textual Exchange: Authorship, Man­ uscript Culture, and the Making of the "Vita N ova" (New York, 2016), 18-66. 40. See Dante, Convivio, ed. Franca Brambilla Ageno (Florence, 1995), 2: 1 1 7 - 1 1 8 ; Convivio, trans. Richard H. Lansing (New York, 1990). 4 1. See Rosenfeld, Ethics and Enjoyment, 147. 42. Compare with Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 10.8.7, ed. and trans. Rackham, 1 1 78b21-2 3 : “Among human activities that which is most akin to the divine activity o f con­ templation will be the greatest source of happiness." 43. On Dante’s modification of the Boethian consolation ofphilosophy in the Comme­ dia, see especially Giuseppe Mazzotta, Dante's Vision and the Circle of Knowledge (Princeton, 1993), 14 3-153 - See also Olivia Holmes, Dante’s Two Beloveds: Ethics and Erotics in the Divine Comedy (New Haven, 2008), 42-48. For a general account of Dante’s diachronic intellectual development from the Vita nuova via the Convivio to the Commedia, see Zygmunt G. Baranski, Dante e i segni: Saggi per una storia intellettuale di Dante (Naples, 2000) and Simone Mar­ chesi, Dante and Augustine: Linguistics, Poetics, Hermeneutics (Toronto, 2 0 11).

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Boethius’s L ad y Philosophy, as she arrives in Purgatorio 30 to serve as the guide who would lead Dante to the eternal bliss that resides beyond the confines o f human reason.44 W hile adhering to the Boethian notion o f ascent toward per­ fect beatitude and knowledge, Dante also offers an alternative to philosophical consolation that is at once theological and poetic. B occaccio’s perspective, as our opening discussion o f the Amorosa visione already demonstrated, shares m any aspects with the late medieval reception o f Boethius’s Consolatio. Sim ilar to Chaucer and Machaut, Boccaccio also rejects the B oethian goal o f ascending to a perfect union with a supreme entity - a process that depends on turning one’s back on worldly goods. A s in William o f Aragon’s Commentary, the complete disavowal o f earthly goods is for Boccaccio nonsensical, and so too is the notion that one can avoid feeling sorrow over loss.4S Furtherm ore, not only does Boccaccio remain attached to worldly goals that are dependent on fortune, but he also m oves away from the Boethian and D antean pursuit o f perfect knowledge as a cure for sorrow, focusing on the em bodied and experiential dim ensions o f consolation - much as M achaut does - according to K ay.46 D espite the strong parallels betw een Boccaccio’s works and other late medieval appropriations o f the Consolatio, none o f the studies o f late medieval consolation m entioned above have given particular attention to Boccaccio. This fact is surprising given Boccaccio’s well-attested acquaintance with A ristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, A quinas’s Commentary thereon, and Boccaccio’s evident impact on poets such as Chaucer.47 Furthermore, while recent Boccaccio schol­

44. On D an te’s rejection o f Boethius’s Lady Philosophy in his reencounter with B ea­ trice in Purgatorio 30, see Holm es, Dante's Two Beloveds, 42-48. 45. Given the limited circulation ofW illiam o f Aragon’s Commentary, it is likely that B oc­ caccio did not know the work. T he affinities between the two should be attributed to the com ­ mon influence o f Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. Trevet’s Commentary, on the other hand, was highly popular (m ore than a hundred manuscripts o f the work survive) and Boccaccio may have had access to it. T he inventory o f the Parva libraria shows that he had a copy o f Trevet’s Commentaries on Seneca’s tragedies. On the circulation ofW illiam o f Aragon’s and Trevet’s commentaries, see Nauta, “T he Consolation: T h e Latin Commentary Tradition,” 263-267. On Boccaccio’s knowledge o f Trevet, see M ichael Papio, “ On Seneca, Mussato, Trevet and the Boethian ‘Tragedies’ o f the De casibus," Heliotroy ia 10 ( 2 0 13 ) : 4 7 -6 3, at 5 1 - 5 3 . 46. K ay, “T ouching Singularity,” 3 1 -3 6 . 47. B occaccio’s acquaintance with A ristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics and Aquinas’s Com­ mentary on the Nicomachean Ethics already in the 13 3 0 s is pointed out by Francesco Bruni, Boccaccio: L'invenzione della letteratura mezzana (Bologna, 1990), 1 3 3 - 1 3 5 . On Boccaccio’s autograph m anuscript o f the Ethics and Aquinas’s Commentary, see Marco Petoletti’s entry in Boccaccio autore e copista, ed. T eresaD eR o b ertiseta l. (Florence, 2 0 13 ), 34 8 -350 , and Marco

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arship has given much attention to the role o f A ristotle in B o ccaccio ’s m oral vision (especially in the Decameron),4® the particular influence o f A ristotle on Boccaccio’s elaborate engagement with consolation has not yet been discussed. One o f the central aims o f this book w ill therefore be to show h ow Boccaccio’s vision o f consolation and efforts to console his readers w ere refracted through and shaped b y his close acquaintance w ith Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics and Aquinas’s Commentary (as well as his Summa theologiae). T his Aristotelian dimension, as the following chapters will show, is evident not only in Boccaccio’s affirmation o f the value o f w orldly goods and his accept­ ance o f sorrow over their loss, but also in his attention to the particular and con­ crete details o f the situation o f the sufferer in the administration o f consolation. Furtherm ore, the im pact o f Aristotelian ethics is also strongly apparent in one o f the main paths Boccaccio lays out for coping with misfortune: the heroic path o f patiently, actively, and w isely pursuing one’s object o f desire. T his pursuit, as w e w ill see especially in chapters i and 3, is based first and forem ost on the perfec­ tion o f the Aristotelian virtues o f fortitude and prudence or practical w isdom .4 49 8 Furtherm ore, the im pact o f Aristotle is apparent in the central role B occaccio grants to the consolatory value o f friendship over the course o f his writings from the early Filocolo to his very last Epistles. T h e sym pathy o f a friend, his expression o f compassion, is in itself a pivotal source o f consolation according to Boccaccio. T his notion, as w e will see, is strongly based on the w ritings o f

Cursi and Maurizio Fiorilla, “ Giovanni Boccaccio,” in Autografi dei letterati italiani: Le Ori­ gini e il Trecento, ed. Giuseppina Brunetti, M aurizio Fiorilla, and M arco Petoletti (Rom e, 2 0 13 ), 1 : 4 3 - 1 0 3 at 52, 64 -65. 48. T he impact o f Aristotle on Boccaccio's moral vision is discussed in Victoria Kirkham, The Sign o f Reason in Boccaccio's Fiction (Florence, 19 9 3), as well as in her entry “M orale,” in Lessico critico decameroniano, ed. Renzo Bragantini and Pier M assim o Forni (Turin, 19 9 s), 2 4 9 -2 6 8 . See also Filippo Andrei, Boccaccio the Philosopher: A n Epistemology o f the "Decameron" (Cham , 2 0 16 ); Susanna Barsella, “I marginalia di Boccaccio all’Etica Nicomachea di Aristotele (M ilano, Biblioteca Am brosiana A 204 Inf.),” in Boccaccio in America: Proceed­ ings o f the 2010 International Conference at the University o f Massachusetts Amherst, ed. Michael Papio and Elsa Filosa (Ravenna, 2 0 12 ) , 1 4 3 - 18 6 ; Francesco Bausi, “ G li spiriti magni: Fili­ grane Aristoteliche e Tom istiche nella decima giornata del ‘D ecam eron,’” Studi sul Boccaccio 27 (19 9 9 ): 2 0 5 -2 5 3 ; M aria Pia Ellero, “Una mappa per l’inventio: L ’Etica Nicomachea e la prima giornata del Decameron,” Studi sul Boccaccio 40 ( 2 0 12 ): 3 - 3 0 ; Sim one M archesi, Stratigrafie decameroniane (Florence, 2004), esp. 6—16 ; M azzotta, The World at Play, passim-, and M ichael Sherberg, The Governance o f Friendship: L a w and Gender in the "Decameron" (C olum ­ bus, 2 0 1 1 ) . 49. T h e particular importance o f the Aristotelian concept o f phronesis to Boccaccio’s m oral outlook is pointed out also b y Andrei, Boccaccio the Philosopher, 1 8 3 - 2 1 6 , and M ar­ chesi, Stratigrafie, 14.

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17

Aquinas and will be one o f the central challenges Boccaccio poses to Petrarch’s Stoic consolatory position in their close exchange in the latter part o f Boccac­ cio’s career. Boccaccio’s appropriation o f these Aristotelian traits is manifest not only in the them atic dim ensions o f his w orks but also in the formal ones. T h e medium o f literature, with its concentration on the embodied experience o f multiple characters and penchant for dialogism and ironic reversals, emerges from his works as especially conducive to the advancement o f an ethical vision that is bent on the validation o f worldly experience and the need to be attuned to the particular and the concrete. It is in turn this reliance on literary form that turns B occaccio’s consolation into a veritable “consolation o f literature” : not only is his consolation delivered through the Aristotelian-inflected con­ tent o f his works, but it also depends on the creative em ploym ent o f various literary techniques and genres. I f the Boethian “ consolation o f philosophy” (at once a personification and a mode o f discourse) is based upon a com bi­ nation o f austere Stoic rhetoric and an abstract dialectical ascent to know l­ edge o f the perfect order that governs the universe, then the Boccaccian con­ solation o f literature depends on the oscillation between different exem pla o f confrontation with hardship and different literary genres, in a m anner that establishes a consolation that is strongly attuned to passion and to dif­ ference. These formal features, moreover, not only constitute a consolation that strives to address the particular circumstances o f the sufferer but m ay also turn the reading o f Boccaccio’s fictions into a type o f training, an exercise that develops the reader’s practical wisdom through his or her close engage­ ment with the w ork and thus ideally assists in the pursuit o f one’ s w orld ly goals. Although this book will highlight Boccaccio’s close reliance on Aristotle, it is important to note that Boccaccio was by no means a slavish follower o f the philosopher. As the above discussion o f Dante’s Convivio demonstrates, the belief that human beatitude inheres in the contemplation o f truth, and that such contem plation is attainable to hum an reason, was an essential part o f Aristotelian ethics. By challenging hum anity’s capacity to ascend to such per­ fect knowledge, Boccaccio defied the convictions o f Aristotle and Aquinas no less than those o f Boethius and D ante. W hile he drew heavily on the Nicomachean Ethics, it is to the practical aspects o f Aristotle’s discussion that B o c­ caccio was drawn, not to the praise o f the contemplative life and overconfi­ dence in human reason. Furthermore, and likely on account o f this mistrust o f human knowledge, Boccaccio also challenged Aristotle’s rigid and hierar­ chical view o f human society - a challenge that is especially apparent in the Decameron. F or Boccaccio, as we will see in chapter 3, even (or especially)

l8



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lower-class women - not just princely men - can serve as prime embodiments o f Aristotelian virtues. The following analysis of Boccaccio’s engagement with the consolation o f liter­ ature also aims to contribute to recent discussions of the ethical dimensions of Boccaccio’s works. Up until the 1970s, Boccaccio was mostly considered a care­ free aestheticist and a propagator of a new “Renaissance” affirmation o f the sen­ sual world and the beauty of both nature and art.50 Revolting against this pre­ vailing view, scholars such as Vittore Branca, Robert Hollander, Victoria Kirkham, and Janet Smarr have posited a “moral” Boccaccio - painting the Cer­ taldese as an author who is essentially committed to Dante’s moral vision and whose vernacular fictions amount to a sophisticated ironic attack on the con­ ventions of courtly love .51 More recent criticism, however, has again shifted and moved away from this view of Boccaccio as a moralist. Instead, scholars have emphasized the parodie and ambiguous elements o f his works, which make it impossible to assign a sin­ gle normative moral position to him. For some, as already noted above, Boccac­ cio’s irony is aimed at dismantling the presumption that truth, absolute knowl­ edge, and moral perfection are accessible, a presumption which was inherent to

50. See Mario Baratto, Realtà e stile nel Decameron (Vicenza, 1970); Salvatore Battaglia, “La coscienza del realismo nell’arte del Boccaccio,” in La coscienza letteraria del Medioevo (Naples, 1965), 669-683, esp. 680-683; Guido di Pino, La polemica delBoccaccio (Florence, 19 53 ); and Aldo Scaglione, Nature and Love in the Late Middle Ages (Berkeley, 1963). The position o f both Scaglione and Baratto has been criticized in The Ethics of Nature in the M id­ dle Ages (New York, 1998), 36-39, by Gregory B. Stone, who claims that the attempt to see in Boccaccio a binary distinction between "nature” and “culture,” “physis” and “ethos,” and a call to “return to nature” is essentially anachronistic. Stone’s view, however, does not take into account the possible role of Boccaccio in the genealogy o f such binary oppositions. See, in this respect, Albert Russell Ascoli’s reevaluation of Auerbach’s interpretation of Boccac­ cio’s "realism” - another notion that is often associated with his “naturalism” - in “Boccaccio’s Auerbach: Holding the Mirror up to Mimesis,” in A Local Habitation and a Name: Imagining Histories in the Italian Renaissance (New York, 2 0 11) , 59-79 (originally published in Studi sul Boccaccio 20 [19 9 1-19 9 2 ]). On Boccaccio’s realism, see also Justin Steinberg, “Mimesis on Trial: Legal and Literary Verisimilitude in Boccaccio’s Decameron,’’ Representations 139 (2 0 17): 118 - 14 5 . 51. Consider, for example, Branca’s well-known statement on the Decameron’s linear moral trajectory: “Dalla prima all’ultima giornata si svolge un ideale itinerario che va dalla riprensione aspra e amara dei vizi dei grandi (I giornata) allo splendido e architettato elogio della magnanimità e della virtù (X giornata).” Giovanni Boccaccio, Decameron, ed. Vittore Branca (Florence, 1965), xvii. See also Robert Hollander, Boccaccio’s Two Venuses (New York, 1 977); Kirkham, “Morale,” 268; Kirkham, Sign o f Reason-, and Smarr, Boccaccio and Fiammetta.

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19

the literary traditions that preceded him .52 F or other critics, such as Tim othy Kircher, Sim one Marchesi, and most recently Marilyn Migiel, the ironies and ambiguities that govern Boccaccio’s works become in themselves the defining feature o f his ethical vision, establishing a new - dialogic and open-ended - type of ethical writing in the late middle ages. According to Kircher, by presenting the reader with a collection of open-ended moral conundrums, Boccaccio invites the reader to participate in a dialogue over moral issues and leaves to him or her the responsibility to reach a final conclusion.53 In Migiel’s view, the ethical dimen­ sion o f Boccaccio’s stories resides in the way they invite the reader to probe his or her preconceived beliefs, judgments, and decision-making processes rather than in the particular ethical messages they convey.54 As she pithily puts it, the stories o f the Decameron do not aim to “teach” but rather to “test” the reader. Establishing consolation as a major ethical concern o f Boccaccio’s oeuvre, this present study, in line with recent scholarship, will highlight Boccaccio’s sub­ versive dialogue with ancient and medieval traditions - concentrating on his spe­ cific dialogue with the medieval consolatory tradition. Yet, as already noted, in contrast to this recent scholarly position, which may overemphasize the deconstructive edge o f Boccaccio’s narratives, this study will show that he was not sim­ ply interested in dismantling the revered traditions he inherited, but also in build­ ing a new ethical alternative to them - one which draws upon the practical side o f Aristotelian ethics and which is strongly this-worldly, receptive to sorrow, and polyphonic. Boccaccio’s polyphonic approach to consolation creates a generative ethical stance, rather than a deconstructive one. I will argue in this book that the openended nature o f Boccaccio’s works trains his readers to make discerning deci­ sions - rather than “tests” them, as M igiel suggests. Moreover, Aristotle’s privi­ leging o f the particular and practical wisdom not only informs the polyphonic 52. See, in addition to Màzzotta, World at Play, and Milner, “Coming Together,” the later studies o f Robert Hollander, Boccaccio’s Last Fiction: II Corbaccio (Philadelphia, 19S8) and Boccaccio's Dante and the ShapingForce o f Satire (Ann Arbor, 1997), as well as F. Regina Psaki, “T h e Play o f Genre and Voicing in Boccaccio’s Corbaccio," Italiana 5 (19 9 3): 4 1-5 4 , and Psaki, “Boccaccio’s Corbaccio as a Secret Adm irer,” Heliotropia 7 (2 0 10 ): 10 5 - 13 2 . 53. T im othy Kircher, “The Modality of Moral Communication in the Decameron’s First Day, in Contrast to the M irror o f the 'Exemplum,”’ Renaissance Quarterly 54 (2 0 0 1): 10 3 5 10 7 3, further developed in Kircher, The Poet's Wisdom: The Humanists, the Church, and the Formation o f Philosophy in the Early Renaissance (Leiden, 2006), 99-144, and Marchesi, Stratigrafie, 1 - 2 7 . See also Tobias Foster Gittes, Boccaccio's Naked Muse: Eros, Culture, and the Mythopoeic Imagination (Toronto, 2009), 2 10 -2 4 2 , and Roberta Bruno Pagnamenta, II Decameron: L'ambiguità come strategia narrativa (Ravenna, 1999). 54. M arilyn Migiel, The Ethical Dimension ofthe "Decameron" (Toronto, 2 0 15).

20 .

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nature o f Boccaccio’s literary consolation - leaving to the reader the final choice as to how to use his works - but also inspires the construction o f a unique mode o f heroic consolation. In contrast to his predecessors, Boccaccio portrays, and praises, characters who develop their practical wisdom and endeavor to attain their worldly goals, alongside the other paths to consolation that he offers. Boc­ caccio’s writing, then, trains his readers to choose their own path and teaches them how to apply practical wisdom in their own lives. His literature, thereby, provides an ethical practice for his readers and does not abandon them as he cri­ tiques earlier moral works.ss In addition to engaging with the ethical dim ensions o f B occaccio’s works, this study o f consolation also has im plications for the scholarly debate over the relationship betw een Boccaccio’s early and later works, those w ritten follow ing his celebrated encounter w ith Petrarch in 13 5 0 . W hereas Italian scholarship remains largely com m itted to the notion o f a decisive break in Boccaccio’s career - w hat Francesco Bruni has called T im p egn o del secondo Boccaccio’’5556 - AngloA m erican scholars have em phasized, o f late, the continuity b etw een the early and late Boccaccio, insisting on “ a singular Boccaccio.” 57 Y et if for scholars such as K irkh am this singularity related to B o cca cc io ’s unbroken m oralism , m ore

55. In the middle ages, literature was often considered a part of ethics, mainly due to the assumption that it offers exempla of right and wrong behavior. See M edieval Literary Theory and Criticism, ed. Minnis et al., 13. Bo ccaccio evokes this same notion in the proem of the Decameron when he declares that his stories will instruct readers on “what should be avoided and likewise what should be pursued” (“ quello che sia da fuggire e che sia simil­ mente da seguitare,” Proem io. 14). Boccaccio’s ethics of consolation, however, as this book suggests, go beyond this medieval notion, precisely due to their reliance on Aristotelian particularity and practical wisdom. Rather than advocating for a one-dimensional moral, his works speak in multiple voices and seek to heighten the reader’s awareness of the particu­ lar and to develop his or her practical wisdom. In considering the reading of literature as a form of ethical training, this study follows the recent scholarly tendency to associate the ethical value of literature with its capacity to fine-tune the reader’s “skills of navigation through the labyrinth of moral life.” See Joshua Landy, H o w to D o Things with Fictions (Oxford, 2012), 9. The scholar who is mostly associated with this view is Martha Nussbaum, who interestingly developed her position mainly through Aristotle’s Ethics and his notion of phronesis. See especially Nussbaum, L o ve’s Knowledge. I will discuss Nussbaum’s view in more depth in chapter 3. See also Tzachi Zamir, D ouble Vision: M ora l Philosophy and Shakespearean D ram a (Princeton, 2007) and Zamir, Ju st Literature: Philosophical Criticism and Justice (New York, 2019). 56. Bruni, Boccaccio, 405-480. See also Francisco Rico, Ritratti allo specchio (Boccaccio, Petrarca) (Padua, 2012), 29-45. 57. Martin Eisner, “A Singular Boccaccio: Defending Poetry in the Decameron and the Genealogie," Quaderni d'ltalianistica 38.2 (2017): 179-199.

I N T R O D U C T IO N



ZI

recent studies have stressed Boccaccio’ s sustained commitment to the body, erotic love, vernacular composition, and poetic fictions throughout his life’s work .s8 In the follow ing discussion o f consolation, I would like to stress the need for a m ore nuanced approach to the question o f the relationship betw een the early and later B o ccaccio, one w hich will be attuned to the continuities as well as rup­ tures in his corpus. W h ile with respect to his attitudes toward earthly love there is, in m y view , an undeniable shift in B o cca ccio ’s later writings (as will be dis­ cussed in chapters 4 and 5 ), w hen w e lo o k at his views and strategies o f consola­ tion there are striking continuities betw een his early and later works. A s w e will see especially in the discussion o f Boccaccio ’s highly influential Epistola consola­

toria a Pino de' Rossi, written in the early 136 0 s, a letter to an exiled Florentine friend, the sam e this-worldly, empathetic, and polyphonic outlook that dom i­ nated the early fictions remains central. W ith in the letter, m oreover, B o cca ccio often em ploys consolatory techniques similar to those present in his vernacular fictions. Su ch continuities am ount to a consolatory vision that differs from Petrarch’s - a difference that is almost com pletely ignored in studies o f hum an­ ist consolations and which is w orthy o f m uch more attention and consideration.58 59 T h e follow ing analysis will be divided into five chapters. T h e first four chapters are dedicated to close analysis o f Bo ccaccio ’s engagem ent w ith consolation in the follow ing w orks: the Filocolo, the Filostrato and the Elegia di madonna

58. On Boccaccio’s sustained commitment to vernacular composition and erotic desire in his later writings, see Martin Eisner, Boccaccio and the Invention of Italian Literature (Cam ­ bridge, 2 0 13 ) and Kriesel, Boccaccio's Corpus, 2 5-58 ,2 0 3-2 54 . On continuities between Boc­ caccio’s defences o f poetic fictions in the Decameron and Genealogia, see Eisner, “A Singular Boccaccio”; David Lummus, “The Decameron and Boccaccio’s Poetics,” in The Cambridge Companion to Boccaccio, ed. Guyda Armstrong, Rhiannon Daniels, and Stephen J . M ilner (Cambridge, 2 0 15 ), 65-82, at 7 4 -8 1; and Lummus, The City of Poetry: Imagining the Civic Role o f the Poet in Fourteenth-Century Italy (Cambridge, 2020), 2 0 1-2 0 3. Roberta M orosini finds the seeds o f Boccaccio’s theory o f poetry, made manifest in the Decameron and the Genealogia, already in the early Filocolo. See Roberta Morosini, "Per difetto rintegrare": Una let­ tura del "Filocolo" di Giovanni Boccaccio (Ravenna, 2004), 13 7 - 16 5 . On continuities in Boc­ caccio's representation o f women between the Decameron and De mulieribus claris, see Elsa Filosa, Tre studi sul "De mulieribus claris" (Milan, 2012), 89-140. On continuities in his ethicopolitical views between the Decameron and the Esposizioni sopra la "Comedia", see Kristina Olson, Courtesy Lost: Dante, Boccaccio, and the Literature of History (Toronto, 2014). 59. George W. M cClure’s otherwise excellent study ofhumanist consolations tellingly does not consider Boccaccio’s attitude toward consolation at all. See M cClure, Sorrow and Consolation in Renaissance Humanism (Princeton, 1990).

22

• IN TRO D U CTIO N

Fiammetta, the Decameron, and the Corbaccio. This list o f course does not include all o f Boccaccio’s vernacular fictions but rather focuses on those in which the engagement with consolation is particularly central. B y reviewing these works chronologically, these chapters will allow us to trace the trajectory o f Boccaccio’s engagement with consolation over the course o f his career: whereas the early fic­ tions up to and including the Decameron oscillate between various ill-fated situ­ ations and possible remedies for them - generally leaving to the reader the final choice as to how to use the work as a source o f solace - the Corbaccio marks a turning point in Boccaccio’s writing on consolation, as it concentrates exclusively on the disavowal o f unrequited love as a cure for its pains. T h e fifth and final chapter will turn to Boccaccio’s engagement with consolation in several o f his later writings, written following the encounter with Petrarch, and will highlight the shifts as well as the continuities between his early and later treatments o f consolation. Chapter 1 treats Boccaccio’s vernacular prose epic, Il Filocolo, which embod­ ies the polyphonic approach mentioned above. In the introductory section of the work, the author-narrator invites his readers to find “consolazione” in read­ ing about the misfortunes o f the protagonists, Fiorio and Biancifiore. The nar­ rative itself is then filled with scenes o f lament and consolation, in which various figures try to console the two beleaguered lovers. These consolatory efforts evoke Boethius’s Consolatio, yet, at the same time, they consistently depart from it, exhibiting a consolatory outlook that is this-worldly and empathetic. Fiorio’s own story demonstrates the limited effect o f a passive reliance on the consolatory words o f others and suggests that true consolation resides in confronting one’s fortune head-on, b y actively and cunningly pursuing the object o f one’s desire. Nonetheless, the consolatory message that is embodied in the heroic figure o f Fiorio is challenged by the depiction o f the author’s doubles in the closing book o f the work (book 5), as well as in the stories o f other unfortunate lovers. The message o f consolation that emerges from Boccaccio’s most ambitious early work is thus essentially polyphonic and open ended, a fact which is reflected in the mixture o f genres within the work and which encourages the reader’s awareness o f particularity. An open-ended attitude also dominates Boccaccio’s Filostrato and Elegia di madonna Fiammetta, which will be examined together in chapter 2. While the Filocolo explored the question of how one ought to deal with misfortune through a heroic tale with a happy ending, the Filostrato and Elegia interrogate how tragic narratives may provide consolation. Both works are cast as elegies in which the narrators, Filostrato and Fiammetta respectively, seek consolation for their own personal sorrow through the reading and rewriting o f tragic narratives. The ques­

IN TR O D U C T IO N • 2 3

tion that comes up in both works, however, is how exactly such tragedies should serve as a source o f solace: should the reader identify with the protagonists and find comfort in the knowledge that others have suffered similar pain (as the two narrators explicitly do), or should readers respond to literary tragedy critically, learning from the characters’ downfall to detach from such love while there is still time (as the Latin Stoics, represented in the Elegia through the figure o f the nurse, suggest)? Although in both w orks the question is left largely open, it appears that the young Boccaccio leans toward the Cavalcantian notion that love is an insurmountable power from which there is no w ay out, and, hence, believes that the only feasible means o f consolation under such circumstances inheres in elegiac writing and identification with the sorrow o f tragic protagonists. T h e third chapter will discuss the consolation o f storytelling that emerges from the Decameron. It begins with a survey o f the numerous allusions to the term “ consolazione,” which are spread over the course o f the work. These uses suggest that literature functions in the w ork as a source o f solace in various ways. Acknowledging that the final choice as to how to use the w ork as a source o f so­ lace is left once again to the reader, the chapter then concentrates on the ethicoconsolatory lessons that emerge from the Decameron. Exploring its intertextual dialogues w ith previous works, the intratextual dialogues between tales, and the dramatic contrasts between figures within tales, the chapter shows h ow the Decameron departs from Stoic-Boethian, Dantean, and hagiographic traditions o f consolation and how it advances, instead, a consolatory lesson that is strongly inflected b y Aristotelian ethics: the need to moderate sorrow in the face o f m is­ fortune, remain patient and hopeful, and astutely and sensitively pursue one’s w orldly goals. As the chapter will further argue, the narrative strategies Boccac­ cio employs within the w ork turn it into a type o f ethical practice that not only demonstrates the value o f Aristotelian practical wisdom but also seeks to cultivate it in the reader. Chapter 4 will take up “Boccaccio’s last fiction” - the Corbaccio. The umile trattato, as this chapter will argue, represents a transition in Boccaccio’s engage­ ment with literary consolation for the hardships o f love. The Corbaccio endorses exclusively - for the first time in Boccaccio’s fictions - a disavowal o f love as the means for curing grief. While introducing a narrator who suffers from love like those o f the earlier Filostrato and Elegia, the Corbaccio’s narrator does not end where he began, with another amorous supplication; rather, he is cured o f love through the elaborate (and extreme) advice o f another. This dedicated treat­ ment o f the disavowal o f love is accentuated by Boccaccio’s elaborate dialogue with Dante’s works in the Corbaccio. Permeating the entire structure o f the Cor­ baccio are subversive allusions to Dante’s works which assert that true consola-

24 • INTRODUCTION

tion inheres only in complete freedom from love. At the same time, the Corbaccio’s focus on the author-narrator’s particular story and the questionable nature of its generalized attack on women suggest that its argument for the disavowal of love does not necessarily amount to a universal repudiation o f earthly love but is rather directed only at those who suffer from or are not suited to it. Perhaps more than anything else, the Corbaccio is Boccaccio’s flamboyant farewell to his previ­ ously dominant engagement with the hardships caused by love. While he turned away from fictional love stories in the latter part o f his career, Boccaccio’s engagement with consolation later in his life continued to share striking features with his early fictional works. The fifth and final chapter will analyze Boccaccio’s views and practices of consolation in several o f his later works through a comparison o f these works with Petrarch’s own consolatory vision. Responding to the widespread assertion that Petrarch had a prodigious influence on Boccaccio’s later works, the chapter will highlight how Boccaccio’s continued adherence to his early views and practices of consolation allowed him to subdy, but defiantly, depart from Petrarch’s consolatory convictions. Through this challenge to Petrarch, Boccaccio bequeathed future generations of human­ ists and poets - both in Italy and beyond - no less than an alternative vision of consolation to continue to build upon. Boccaccio’s consolatory outlook remained, even in his later writings, decid­ edly less ascetic, more empathetic, and open ended in comparison to that o f his older friend and the medieval traditions he countered. Continuing to experiment with various literary techniques and genres and continuing to exhibit a suspicion toward totalizing views o f truth and techniques of healing, Boccaccio’s later works persisted in proclaiming one of the central convictions of his rich and varied cor­ pus: the undeniable value of literature as a means o f coping with the difficulties and heartaches that inevitably visit humanity. The following chapters will unpack this persistent conviction in its various manifestations.

C H A P T E R ONE

T h e Filocolo and the P o lyp h o n y o f Consolation

One o f the striking features o f Boccaccio's early vernacular epic, Il Filocolo , is the prevalence o f scenes o f lament and consolation throughout the narrative.1 T im e and again, suffering characters enact the defining features o f the elegiac style (the declamations “ deh” or “ oimè,” uncontrolled weeping, the call for death)j1 their laments then elicit the compassion o f a companion, who is moved to offer lengthy speeches o f consolation in response. In book 1, for example, the pagan knight Ascalion consoles Giulia, the Rom an-Christian wife, who is mourning her hus­ band’s death in battle; throughout books 2 and 3, several figures offer lengthy consolatory speeches to the unfortunate lovers Fiorio and Biancifiore; and finally, in book 5, Fiorio him self is transformed into a wise consoler, offering verbal aid to those in need. T h e emblematic scene that opens Boethius’s Consolatio 1. The work was written probably between 1336 and 1338. See Andrea Mazzucchi, “Filocolo,” in Boccaccio autore e copista, ed. Teresa De Robertis et al. (Florence, 2 0 13 ), 67-74, at 67. See also Quaglio’s introduction to his edition in Boccaccio, “Filocolo,” ed. Antonio Enzo Quaglio, in Tutte le opere di Giovanni Boccaccio, ed. Vittore Branca (Milan, 19 64 -199 8 ), 1: 6 0 -6 7 5 ,at 47- All quotations from the Filocolo are taken from this edition. Translations are from Boccaccio, Il Filocolo, trans. Donald Cheney, with the collaboration of Thomas G. Bergin (New York, 1985), unless otherwise indicated. 2. In the De vulgari eloquentia, Dante defines elegy as “stilum ... miserorum” (“style ... o f the unhappy,” 2.4.5). See Dante, “De vulgari eloquentia,” ed. Pio Rajna, in Le opere di Dante, ed. Michele Barbi et al. (Florence, i960); De vulgari eloquentia, trans. Steven Botterill (Cambridge, 1996). In the later middle ages, such poetic expressions o f suffering are an outcome o f either erotic frustration (following the example of Ovid’s Fleroides and Amores) or personal calamities o f other kinds, such as exile and death o f loved ones (following the model o f Ovid’s Tristia and the opening meter o f Boethius’s Consolatio). On medieval elegy, see Stefano Carrai, Dante elegiaco: Una chiave di lettura per la "Vita nova" (Florence, 2006), 1 1 - 4 1 . On the centrality o f erotic frustration to late medieval elegies, see M aggie FritzMorkin, "Dante’s Blood Elegies,” Dante Studies 135 (2 0 17 ): 10 7 - 13 5 . According to Carrai, the transition of elegy from poetry to prose, which took place in the trecento, is mainly a result of vulgarizations such as Filippo Ceffi’s translation of Ovid’s Heroides. See Carrai, Dante ele­ giaco, 25, and Carrai, “Boccaccio, i volgarizzamenti e l’invenzione dell’elegia volgare,” in Gli antichi e i moderni: Studi in onore di Roberto Cardini, ed. Lucia Bertolini and Donatella Coppini (Florence, 2010), 1: 293-309.

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philosophiae, in which the author’s elegiac lamentation is followed by the appear­ ance o f Lady Philosophy; who comes to cure his malaise and offer him solace; is thus repeated over and over again over the course of the Filocolo. Allusions to the opening scene o f the Consolatio are not limited to the intradiegetic scenes o f consolation, however. Near the beginning o f the Filocolo, in the introductory frame, the author-narrator himself invites his readers to find “consolazione” (1.2.2) for their own hardships through their reading o f the story o f Fiorio and Biancifiore, which is about to unfold. The Boethian triangle o f a lamenting protagonist, a consoler, and a text o f consolation, thus, is embodied not only by the literary characters, but also by the relationship formed between the reader, the author-narrator, and the literary text, whose primary task becomes associated with consolation. Despite the evident centrality of consolation to Boccaccio’s early prose work, scholars have by and large ignored this aspect of the Filocolo. While recent schol­ arship has done much to elucidate the complex moral, literary, and theological underpinnings of the work - deviating from the traditional scholarly tendency to focus on the Filocolo’s stylistic shortcomings - its elaborate engagement with consolation has not been discussed.3 The aim of this chapter will be to elucidate the centrality o f consolation to the Filocolo’s overall meaning and, in the process, to highlight the novelty o f Boccaccio’s approach to consolation: for in this work he establishes a significant literary alternative to the Boethian consolation o f phi­ losophy, an alternative that is strongly indebted to Aristotelian ethics. In recent years, as discussed in the introduction, scholars such as Sarah Kay, Alastair Minnis, and Jessica Rosenfeld have demonstrated the centrality o f con3. For a summary o f unfavorable aesthetic appreciations o f the Filocolo, see Steven Grossvogel, Ambiguity and Allusion in Boccaccio's “Filocolo" (Florence, 19 9 2), 9 -2 2 , and Roberta Morosini, “Per difetto rintegrare": Una lettura del “Filocolo" di Giovanni Boccaccio (Ravenna, 2004), 9 - 1 1 . For recent works that elucidate the Filocolo’s complex allegorical and moral dimensions, particularly with respect to its attitude to love, see Francesco Bruni, Boc­ caccio: L'invenzione della letteratura mezzana (Bologna, 1990), 17 4 -18 8 ; Grossvogel, Ambi­ guity and Allusion; Victoria Kirkham, Fabulous Vernacular: Boccaccio's Filocolo and the A rt of Medieval Fiction (Ann Arbor, 2001 ); Morosini, Per difetto rintegrare, as well as Morosini, “Boc­ caccio the Poet-Philosopher of the Filocolo: Rewriting Floire et Blancheflor and Writing Literary Theory,” Exemplaria 18 (2006): 275-29 8; Jan et Smarr, Boccaccio and Fiammetta: The N ar­ rator qs Lover (Urbana, IL, 1986), 34-60; and Luigi Surdich, La cornice di amore: Studi sul Boccaccio (Pisa, 1987), 1 1- 7 5 . The relationship between the Filocolo and Boethius’s Consolatio has been discussed in Grossvogel, Ambiguity and Allusion, 33-56 , yet his emphasis is on Boc­ caccio’s dialogue with the Boethian philosophical themes o f fate and fortune, not consola­ tion per se. According to Grossvogel, the fictional starting date o f Boccaccio’s narrative - 5 24 AD - is also the year o f the writing o f Boethius’s Consolatio (and his execution), a fact that attests to the centrality o f Boethius to the Filocolo. See Grossvogel, Ambiguity and Allusion, 34.

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solation to the vernacular literature that emerged in the late middle ages, espe­ cially in England and France.4 In their analyses, they emphasize the impact o f the recently translated Aristotelian corpus on this literature; as they argue, the Aris­ totelian affirmation o f the senses as a vehicle for gaining knowledge, its validation o f tem poral goods depending on fortune, and its general substantiation o f the saeculum all find their w ay into the literary works o f the period and influence their attitude toward consolation. In the w orks o f authors such as M achaut and Chaucer, these scholars contend, we detect a vision o f consolation that is both world-affirm ing and accepting o f sorrow for the loss o f worldly goods - an out­ look they attribute to the major impact o f Aristotelian philosophy.5 N one o f these recent works, however, give particular attention to Boccac­ cio’s writings - a fact which is regrettable given the centrality o f consolation to Boccaccio’s works and his own reliance on Aristotle’s Ethics in developing his unique consolatory outlook.6 The present chapter will outline this unique vision and its A ristotelian underpinnings b y offering a close analysis o f B occaccio’s ongoing engagement with consolation throughout the Filocolo. Ini the first section o f this chapter, I will show how the author-narrator’s opening consolatory state­ ment and the m any scenes o f consolation that fill the first three books o f the w ork repeatedly invoke Boethius’s Consolatio and at the same time challenge its Stoic and otherw orldly attitudes. The second section will then explore the consola­ tory significance o f the development o f the figure o f Fiorio over the course o f book 4, highlighting how Boccaccio’s hero brings together features taken from 4. See Sarah Kay, “Touching Singularity: Consolation, Philosophy, and Poetry in the French dit,” in The Erotics o f Consolation: Desire and Distance in the Late M iddle Ages, ed. Catherine E. Léghi and Stephen J. Milner (N ew York, 2008), 2 1 - 3 8 ; Alastair Minnis, “Aspects o f the M edieval French and English Traditions o f the De Consolatione Philosophiae,” in Boethius: His Life, Thought, and Influence, ed. M argaret Gibson (Oxford, 19 8 1), 3 1 2 - 3 6 1 , and Minnis, " 1 speke o f folk in secular estaat’: Vernacularity and Secularity in the A ge o f Chaucer,” Studies in the Age o f Chaucer 27 (2005): 2 5 - 5 8 ; Jessica Rosenfeld, “T h e D oubled Jo y s o f Troilus and Criseyde,” in Erotics of Consolation, ed. Léghi and Milner, 39-60, and Rosenfeld, Ethics and Enjoyment in the Later M iddle Ages: Love after Aristotle (Cambridge, 2 0 10 ), 1 3 5 159-

5. On Machaut, see Kay, “Touching Singularity,” 3 1 - 3 6 , and Minnis, “I speke o f folk,” 44-48. On Chaucer, see especially Minnis, “I speke o f folk,” 4 8-S2, and Rosenfeld, "Doubled Jo ys,” 4 8 -5 5 . 6. Recent Boccaccio scholarship, as noted, has given much attention to the impact o f Aristotle on Boccaccio’s moral outlook. H owever, the particular impact o f Aristotle on B oc­ caccio’s consolatory views has not been discussed. For recent studies that explore the impact o f Aristotle’s Ethics on Boccaccio’s Decameron, see note 48 in the introduction. On the impact o f Aristotle and Aquinas on the Filocolo, see the remarks in Bruni, Boccaccio, 1 3 3 - 1 3 5 , and Kirkham, Fabulous Vernacular, 169.

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the traditions of both epic and romance while also embodying the Aristotelian virtues o f prudence and fortitude. The third and closing section will focus on Florio’s encounter in the fifth, final book with the figures o f Idalagos and Caleone, two characters who look to Florio’s story for consolation and thus becom e dou­ bles o f the reader within the text. These two figures, however, eventually seek two means o f consolation that are markedly different from the one finally pursued by Fiorio. By the end o f the Filocolo, as a result, the work speaks to the reader in at least three distinct consolatory voices. This polyphony o f consolation, I will ultimately argue, shows how Boccaccio’s Filocolo develops a vision o f consola­ tion that is not only this-worldly and empathetic, but also strongly attuned to the sufferer’s particular needs and abilities - an attitude which itself has deep roots in Aristotelian ethics.

Transforming Boethian Consolation Let us begin our exploration o f consolation’s role in the Filocolo with the authornarrator’s opening address to his readers. After describing how he was prompted b y his lady M aria-Fiammetta to retell and “ ennoble” the romance o f Fiorio and Biancifiore,7 the author-narrator addresses his readers with the following elabo­ rate statement, inviting them to find consolazione in their reading: Adunque, o giovani, i quali avete la vela della barca della vaga mente dirizzata a’ venti che muovono dalle dorate penne ventilanti del giovane figliuolo di Citerea, negli amorosi pelaghi dimoranti disiosi di pervenire a porto di salute con istudioso passo, io per la sua inestimabile potenza vi priego che divotamente prestiate alquanto alla presente opera lo ‘ntelletto, però che vo i in essa troverete quanto la mobile fortuna abbia negli antichi amori date varie per­ mutazioni e tempestose, alle quali poi con tranquillò mare s’è lieta rivolta a’ 7. On the various earlier medieval versions o f the tale and the manuscript tradition, see Patricia E. Grieve, Floire and Blancheflor and the European Romance (Cam bridge, 1997). The centrality o f consolation to the Filocolo is evident also from a comparison o f the work to those earlier versions. The earlier French versions o f the tale, dating back to the twelfth century, include some scenes ofplanctus (for example, lines 7 17 - 7 9 2 o f the “ aristocratic” version), yet Boccaccio expands them considerably and adds the accompanying extended consolations. Boccaccio also adds the opening consolatory address to the readers and the entirety o f book 5, in which Florio him self becomes a consoler. For the French “aristocratic” version, see Le conte de Floire et Blancheflor, ed. Jean-Luc Leclanche (Paris, 19 83). For the Italian “cantare” version, which is probably based on the Filocolo, see II cantare di Fiorio e Biancifiore, ed. Vin­ cenzo Crescini, 2 vols. (Bologna, 1899).

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sostenitori; onde per questo potrete vedere voi soli non essere sostenitori prim i delle avverse cose, e ferm am ente credere di non dovere essere gli ultimi. D i che prendere potrete consolazione se quello è vero, che a’ miseri sia sollazo d’avere compagni nelle pene; e similemente ve ne seguirà speranza di guiderdone, la quale non verrà sanza alleggiamento delle vostre pene. Therefore, O youths w ho have directed the sails o f your yearning spirits toward the winds stirred and fanned by the gilded wings o f Cytherea’s young son, while you linger in the seas o f love and desire to come safely to port b y you r charted course, b y that same inestimable power o f love I beg you to turn you r attention to this present work, since you will find in it how chang­ ing Fortune has given various stormy permutations to loves o f old, and yet subsequently returned her victims to calm seas. B y this you will be able to know that you are not the first to bear such setbacks, and you m ay surely believe that you will not be the last. Thus you m aybe able to take consola­ tion here, if it is true that misery loves to find companions in its sufferings; and sim ilarly there will follow for you hope o f recompense, w hich cannot fail to lighten your burden. ( 1 . 2 . 1 - 2 ) 8 While dealing prim arily with the hardships o f love, the author-narrator’s attri­ bution o f the lovers’ tribulations to “la mobile fortuna” and his invitation to read­ ers to find “consolazione” in the act of reading strongly situate the Filocolo in a dia­ logue with Boethius’s Consolatio. Moreover, the very simile of the turbulent sea in which lovers often find themselves recalls Boethius’s association o f fortune’s tribulations with sea storms, for example in book 2 prose 2.8 o f the Consolatio.9 Nonetheless, while Boccaccio evokes the Consolatio, from the very beginning o f the Filocolo the author-narrator also makes sure to turn the Boethian paradigm on its head: whereas Boethius’s Lady Philosophy, as already noted, insists on the need to detach oneself from worldly goods - including love - in order to find 8. Translation slightly modified. 9. A s Lady Philosophy, impersonating D am e Fortune, tells Boethius: "Ius est mari nunc strato aequore blandiri nunc procellis ac fluctibus inhorrescere: N os ad constantiam nostris moribus alienam inexpleta hominum cupiditas alligabit?” (“The sea has a right to smile with smooth stillness, and then shudder and rise with storms and great waves. But I, shall I be bound b y the insatiable desire o f men to a constancy quite foreign to m y nature?” 2.p2.8). See also earlier in 2.p 1 .18 : “ Si uentis uela committeres, non quo uoluntas peteret sed quo fla­ tus impellerent prom oueres” ( “I f you spread your sails for the wind, you must go where the wind takes you, not where you wish to go”) . See Boethius, Consolatio philosophiae, ed. Jam es J. O ’Donnell, 2vols. (BrynM aw r, PA, 1984); The Theological Tractates, The Consolation o f Phi­ losophy, ed. and trans. S.J. T ester (Cam bridge, M A, 19 7 3), 130 -4 35 .

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consolation, the Filocolo’s author-narrator promises a consolation that consists of urging his readers to remain hopeful about love - finding “speranza” in the ulti­ mate happy ending of Fiorio and Biancifiore’s tribulations. Furthermore, whereas Lady Philosophy harshly criticizes Boethius for his tearful laments at the begin­ ning o f the work and urges him to completely curb his grief, Boccaccio's authornarrator appears to accept sorrow as inevitable and invites his readers to find emotional relief and respite in identifying with the similar sorrow o f his literary protagonists. The aim o f reading - and consolation in general - according to the Filocolo’s author-narrator, is not to facilitate the eradication o f grief, but rather to assist in somehow sustaining it. Boccaccio’s evocation of Boethius and simultaneous departure from his con­ solatory outlook are further apparent throughout the intradiegetic scenes of lament and consolation that fill books 2 and 3 o f the work. Book 2 concentrates on the attempts o f Florio’s parents to dissuade him from loving Biancifiore, whom they consider unworthy of their royal son because of her low birth. They first send Fiorio to the nearby city of Montoro, hoping that the distance will cure him o f love. When this plan backfires they falsely accuse Biancifiore o f trying to poison the king and send her to prison and plan to execute her. While in prison, Biancifiore bitterly bewails her misfortune, lamenting - just like Boethius in the beginning o f the Consolatio - her unjust imprisonment (2.48). A s soon as she completes her lament, a noble lady suddenly appears before her, Venus herself shrouded in a cloud o f light, who tells her that she has come from the sky to offer her consolation.10* The parallels to the apparition o f Lady Philosophy in Boethius’s prison cell in the Consolatio are unmistakable.11 W hile the feminine apparition evokes Boethius’s Lad y Philosophy, we should note that the appearance o f Venus in this passage also hints at Dante’s Virgin. When Biancifiore responds to V enus’s comforting words, she addresses 10. “N on avea Biancifiore ancora com piute di dire queste parole, che nella prigione subitamente apparve una gran luce e maravigliosa, dentro alla quale Venere ignuda, fuor sola­ mente involta in uno porporino velo” (“Biancifiore had not yet finished saying these words, when there suddenly appeared in the prison a great and marvelous light, in which there dwelt Venus, naked except for a purple veil which covered her,” 2.48.16). i t . The appearance o f Lady Philosophy in the Consolatio is described as follows: “Haec dum me cum tacitus ipse reputarem querimoniamque lacrimabilem stili officio signarem asti­ tisse mihi supra uerticem uisa est mulier reuerendi admodum uultus, oculis ardentibus et ultra communem hominum ualentiam perspicacibus, colore uiuido atque inexhausti uigoris.” (“While I was thinking these thoughts to m yself in silence, and set my pen to record this tear­ ful complaint, there seemed to stand above m y head a woman. H er look filled me with awe; her burning eyes penetrated more deeply than those o f ordinary men; her complexion was fresh with an ever-lively bloom ,” 1 .p 1.1.)

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her in the following manner: “ O misericordiosa dea, lodata sia la tua potenza. Niuno conforto era a me misera rimaso, se tu venendo non m ’avessi riconfortata. Ahi, quanto ti dobbiam o essere tenuti pensando alla tua benignità.” (“ O merci­ ful goddess, praised be your power. N o com fort was left to me in my sorrow, if you had not calmed me by your arrival. H ow much we must be bound to you, when we think o f your kindness,” 2.48.19.) The allusions to Venus’s misericor­ dia and benignità in this statement strongly recall St Bernard’s prayer to the V ir­ gin in the closing poem o f the Paradiso :12 Donna, se’ tanto grande e tanto vali, che qual vuol grazia e a te non ricorre, sua disianza vuol volar sanz’ali. La tua benignità non pur soccorre a chi domanda, ma molte fiate liberamente al dimandar precorre. In te misericordia, in te pietate ... (Paradiso 3 3 .1 3 - 1 9 ; emphasis added) [Lady,] you are so high, you can so intercede, / that he who w ould have grace but does not seek / your aid, m ay long to fly but has no wings. / Your loving-kindness does not only answer / the one who asks, but it is often ready / to answer freely long before the asking. In you compassion is, in you is p i t y - 13 Misericordia and benignità - the attributes of the Virgin - are thus associated in Boccaccio’s account with no other than the goddess o f love. The evocation of the apparition ofb oth Boethius’s Lady Philosophy and Dante’s Virgin therefore serves to underscore Boccaccio’s transformation o f the nature of the consolation offered b y both, as he clearly focuses on the attainment of earthly love. As Venus promises Biancifiore, she will never abandon her and will make sure that her love will come to a good end: “Ahi, bella giovane, non ti sconfortare. N oi già mai non ti abandoneremo: confortati.” (“Beautiful maiden, do not worry. W e shall never abandon you; so take comfort,” 2.48.17.) In the opening books o f the Filocolo, the consolation o f philosophy and Dantean heavenly love are replaced with the promise o f the fulfillment o f earthly desire and erotic satisfaction. 12 . This association between Venus and the Virgin is also pointed out by Grossvogel, Ambiguity and Allusion, 103. 13 . Dante, La "Commedia" secondo l'antica vulgata, ed. Giorgio Petrocchi, 4 vols. (Flo­ rence, 199 4); The Divine Comedy, trans. Alien Mandelbaum, 3 vols. (N ew York, 1982).

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The rejection o f a Boethian outlook and the valuing o f this-worldly and material goals, such as love, also dominate the recurrent scenes o f consolation that involve the figure o f Fiorio in book 3 o f the work. Over the course o f book 3, it is mainly the duke o f M ontoro, Florio’s host and friend, who assumes the role o f the consoler and repeatedly strives to assuage Florio’s grief over his sep­ aration from Biancifiore. The duke’s consolatory efforts commence near the beginning o f book 3 when he finds Fiorio enclosed in his room, bitterly bewailing his condition and his beloved’s tenuous situation at the court. His laments recall not only those o f Boethius in the opening section o f the Consolatio but also D ante’s in the Vita nuova, after he was denied Beatrice’s greeting.14 Seeing Fiorio in such dire straits, the duke urges him to desist from weeping and to reveal the source o f his grief so that he might offer him consolation. His language, steeped with medical metaphors, echoes that of Boethius’s Lady Philosophy: “Pensa che infino a tanto che la piaga si nasconde al medico, diviene ella putrida e guasta il corpo, ma, pale­ sata, le più volte lievemente si sana” (“ C onsider that so long as a wound is hidden from the doctor, it becomes infected and damages the body, but when it is revealed it can usually be easily cured,” 3.3.6). Lad y Philosophy often refers to her task using similar metaphors: “Si operam medicantis exspectas, oportet uulnus dete­ gas” (“If you are looking for a healer’s cure, you must lay bare the wound,” i.p 4 .1). W hile evoking Boethius’s Lady Philosophy, the duke’s speech also recalls A ristotle’s discussion o f friendship in book 9 o f the Nicomachean Ethics and Thom as Aquinas’s com m entary thereon. In his commentary on book 9 o f the Ethics, Aquinas explicates Aristotle’s assertion regarding the need for friends dur­ ing adversity in the following manner: Ipsa enim visio am icorum est delectabilis ... et specialiter hom ini infortu­ nato, qui ab amico adiuvatur ad hoc quod non contristetur, inquantum ami14 . Florio’s weeping is described as follows: “ C on queste e con altre parole malinco­ nico m olto si ritornò alla sua camera, nella quale tutto solo si rinchiuse. E quivi gittatosi sopra il suo letto, cominciò a piangere.” ( “After these and other words he returned in great melan­ choly to his room, where he shut him self up all alone. T here he threw him self on his bed and began to w eep,” 3.2.6.) In the Vita nuova, after Beatrice denies him her greeting, D ante responds in a similar mournful manner: “P oi che la mia beatitudine mi fue negata, mi giunse tanto dolore, che, partito me da le genti, in solinga parte andai a bagnare la terra d’amarissime lagrime” (“N o sooner was m y bliss denied m e than I was so stricken with anguish that, with­ drawing from all company, I went to a solitary place to bathe the earth with bitterest tears,” Vita nuova 1 2 .1 ) . See Dante, Vita nuova, ed. D om enico de Robertis, in Opere minori, ed. D om enico de Robertis and Gianfranco C ontini (M ilan, 19 6 4 ), 1 .1 : 3 - 2 4 7 ; Dante's Vita Nuova, trans. M ark L . M usa (Bloomington, IN , 1 9 7 3 ).

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cus consolatur suum amicum, et ex visione, et etiam ex sermone si sit epidexius, idest idoneus ad consolandum. Cognoscit enim unus amicus morem alterius et in quibus amicus suus delectatur et tristatur; et sic potest ei con­ veniens remedium adhibere contra tristitiam. The very sight o f a friend is com forting... and especially to an unfortunate person whose sorrow is assuaged b y the friend; to this extent a man con­ soles his friend both b y his countenance and his word if he is epidexios, i.e., apt at offering consolation. For one friend knows the feeling o f another, and what com forts and distresses his friend; thus he can apply a fitting rem edy for sorrow .15 According to Aristotle and Aquinas, the presence o f a friend is itself comforting; in addition, a friend has the capacity to offer useful words o f consolation as he is familiar with the friend’s particular needs. Echoing this notion, the duke tells Flo­ rio that they are joined together through the bond o f “perfettissima amistà” (“ a most perfect friendship,” 3.3.5 ). Then he adds that as a result he is particularly apt to assist Fiorio in his time o f need: “E chi soverrà gli uomini negli affanni e nelle avversità di consiglio e d’aiuto, se i parenti e i cari amici non gli sovengono?” (“Who will assist men with advice and aid in their labors and troubles, if not their kinsmen and friends?” 3.3.5). In line with these Aristotelian echoes, the duke’s ensuing efforts to console Fiorio are much closer to the Aristotelian viewpoint than the Boethian one. While he first urged Fiorio to curb his excessive weeping and “unmanly” tears,16 after hearing Florio’s complaint the duke him self becomes filled with compassion for Florio’s plight: “Valoroso giovane, assai compassione porto alla tua miserabile vita, tanta che più non posso” (“Valiant youth, I greatly pity your unhappy life, and could not pity it more,” 3.5.2). In his discussion of remedies for sorrow in the Summa theologiae ( 1- 2 .3 8 .3 ) , Aquinas specifically highlights the consolatory value o f a friend’s compassion, explaining that such expressions o f sympathy con­ sole a friend b y sharing in his burden as well as by reassuring the friend that he is

15 . Thom as Aquinas, In decern libros ethicorum Aristotelis ad Nicomachum expositio (hereafter In Eth.) 9 .13 .19 3 3 , ed. Raimondo M . Spiazzi (1949; repr. Turin, 1964); transla­ tions follow Commentary on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, trans. C.I. Litzinger (1964; repr. Notre Dame, IN, 19 9 3). The translation here is slightly modified. 16. “ [L] ascia il piangere, il quale è atto feminile e di pusillanimo cuore” (“Leave o ff your weeping, which is a womanish act and one showing a pusillanimous heart,” 3.3.5; translation slightly m odified).

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lo ved .17 It is such an em pathetic stance that the duke show s Fiorio. T h is expres­ sion o f sym pathy is then followed b y a len gth y consolatory speech, in w h ich the duke in no w a y strives to convince Fio rio to detach h im self from fortune’s goods - nam ely his love - bu t rather urges h im to rem ain hopeful and trust that his am orous vicissitudes will com e to a g o o d end: "D u n q u e sperando confortare ti d e i ... Pensa che la fortuna non terrà sem pre ferm a la rota: così com e ella v o l­ vendo dal cospetto di Biancifìore ti tolse, così in quello ancora lieto ti riporrà.” ("T h e re fo re yo u should take com fort in hope ... C o n sid er that Fo rtu n e will not hold h er w heel always fixed; and just as h er turning o f it rem oved y o u from Biancifiore’ s sight, so it w ill yet bring yo u h ap pily back,” 3 .1 4 .5 .) Instead o f urging Fiorio in the m anner o f L a d y P h ilo so p hy to detach from fickle fortune, the duke tells him that he should trust in its changeability - a m arkedly un-B oeth ian p osi­ tion.18 U n til this turn o f fate m ight take place, the duke advises Fiorio to engage in pleasurable activities, such as hunting, to w hile aw ay the time, anticipating

17. Aquinas’s striking explanation should be quoted in its entirety: “Respondeo dicen­ dum quod naturaliter amicus condolens in tristitiis, est consolativus. Cuius duplicem rationem tangit philosophus in IX Ethic. Quarum prima est quia, cum ad tristitiam pertineat aggravare, habet rationem cuiusdam oneris, a quo aliquis aggravatus alleviari conatur. Cum ergo aliquis videt de sua tristitia alios contristatos, fit ei quasi quaedam imaginatio quod illud onus alii cum ipso ferant, quasi conantes ad ipsum ab onere alleviandum et ideo, levius fert tristitiae onus, sicut etiam in portandis oneribus corporalibus contingit. Secunda ratio, et melior, est quia per hoc quod amici contristantur ei, percipit se ab eis amari; quod est delectabile, ut supra dictum est. Unde, cum omnis delectatio mitiget tristitiam, sicut supra dictum est, sequitur quod ami­ cus condolens tristitiam mitiget.” (“When one is in pain, it is natural that the sympathy o f a friend should afford consolation: w hereof the Philosopher indicates a twofold reason [Nicomachean Ethics 9 .11] . The first is because, since sorrow has a depressing effect, it is like a weight whereof we strive to unburden ourselves: so that when a man sees others saddened b y his own sorrow, it seems as though others were bearing the burden with him, striving, as it were, to lessen its weight; wherefore the load o f sorrow becomes lighter for him: something like what occurs in the carrying o f bodily burdens. The second and better reason is because when a man’s friends condole with him, he sees that he is loved by them, and this affords him pleasure, as stated above [Summa theologiae 1-2 .3 2 .5 ]. Consequently, since everypleasure assuages sorrow, as stated above [Article 1 ], it follows that sorrow is mitigated b y a sympathizing friend," Summa theologiae 1-2 .38 .3 resp.). See Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae, in Opera omnia, ed. Roberto Busa (Stuttgart, 1980), 2: 18 4 -9 4 5 ; The "Summa theologica" o f St Thomas Aquinas, trans. Fathers o f the English Dominican Province, rev. ed. (London; N ew York, 19 2 2 -19 3 7 ). 18. Throughout book 2 o f the Consolatio, Lady Philosophy concentrates in a Stoic man­ ner on the need to detach oneself entirely from fickle fortune and to look for one’s happiness only within: “An uero tu pretiosam aestimas abituram felicitatem et cara tibi est fortuna prae­ sens nec manendi fida et cum discesserit allatura maerorem?” (“ Or do you think that happi­ ness precious, which you are bound to lose? Is fortune so dear to you, while she is with you, although she cannot be trusted to stay with you, and will bring you sorrow when she leaves you?” 2 .p i.i3 .)

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thereby the statem ent in the Decameron’s proem regarding the “ consolazion” men usually obtain from such diversionary activities.19 Much as in the authornarrator’s opening consolatory address to the readers, the duke provides a con­ solation that is this-worldly and empathetic, providing his sympathy and affirm­ ing the need to remain hopeful and trust in love’s future fulfillment. Although the intradiegetic scenes o f consolation that fill books 2 and 3 recall the view o f the author-narrator in the introductory frame, similarly urging people to find consolation in hope, these early books also problematize in certain respects Florio’s confrontation with misfortune. This, however, is not because he is too attached to his earthly love, as Lady Philosophy would say, but rather because he is in effect too timid, too reluctant to pursue his love, and too submissive toward his parents, and hence partly responsible for prolonging his and Biancifiore’s suffering. Florio’s tim idity is made evident not only in the way he repeatedly acqui­ esces to the dem ands o f his parents - for example when he leaves Biancifiore behind and m oves to M ontoro - but also through his behavior during the rescue mission at the end o f book 2, when he saves Biancifiore from being burned at the stake after she was falsely accused o f trying to poison the king. Throughout this mission, Fiorio depends on the promptings and assistance o f Venus and espe­ cially Mars, the god o f war. Having been informed by the two deities o f Biancifiore’s dire situation and prompted to action, Fiorio sets out to rescue his love. While on his way, however, he inexplicably dallies and falls asleep. The authornarrator directly intervenes in the narrative at this point and criticizes Fiorio for his lack o f determ ination: “Che grado alla tua sollecitudine, più tosto da dire pigrizia? Venus ha infino a qui fatto il suo dovere: se tu a quello ch’ella t’ha detto sarai pigro, ella si riderà di te, e terratti vile.” (“What will this say for your concern, or rather for your sloth? Venus has done her duty thus far; but if you are slow to respond to what she has told you, she -will laugh at you, and consider you base,” 2.56.4.) While Florio’s lethargy during his rescue mission may surely have a comic effect, we should note that the word used in this passage to describe Florio’s sloth - “pigrizia” - is the same term employed b y Thomas Aquinas in his discussion o f meekness in his commentary on book 4 o f the Ethics. Aquinas asserts that sloth

19. “Piglia alcuni diletti, come per adietro abbiamo già fatto, acciò che in quello né i pensieri t’assaliscano, né la tua vita sì vilmente si consumi” (“Have some fun, as we have done in the past, so that thereby these worries may not assail you, and your life will not be wasted so ignobly,” Filocolo 3.5.19 ). Cf. Decameron, Proemio. 12 ; Giovanni Boccaccio, Decameron, ed. Vittore Branca, 2 vols. (Turin, 1992).

36 • CH APTER ONE

manifests a defect of anger, a failure to be angry at the right people at the right time: “H oc autem consequitur ex defectu irae, quia per hoc redditur homo piger et remissus ad repellendum iniurias” (“This follows from a defect o f anger which renders a man slothful and remiss in warding off injury,” In Eth. 4.13.806; empha­ sis added). At the early stages of the narrative, Florio therefore suffers from a sim­ ilar sloth and lack of justified anger. In fact, it is only the appearance of Mars, con­ cealed within a red cloud - the color o f anger - which wakes Florio from his slumber and goads him on his way to the righteous battle: “Ahi, cavaliere, non dormire, leva su” (“Ah, knight, do not sleep, get up,” 2.57.5). Lacking in daring and warranted anger, Fiorio is thus at least partly responsible for his and Biancifiore’s prolonged anguish, a fact that is apparent also from the way he returns Biancifiore to his fathers palace after the rescue mission, despite her supplica­ tions that he not do so (2.72.4-5). Florio’s excessive meekness and lack of fortitude and daring in books 2 and 3 produce little results. Boccaccio’s subtle critique of his protagonist in the first half of the book suggests that the true confrontation o f misfortune - and accord­ ingly lasting consolation - cannot consist of passive reliance upon the comfort­ ing words of others, but should rather involve bold action. The very repetition of scenes o f lament and consolation throughout book 3 indicates that Fiorio is stuck, caught in endless cycles of sorrow and momentary relief. And indeed, toward the end o f book 3 - the midpoint o f the work - the character o f Fiorio undergoes a major transformation that completely changes the nature o f his confrontation with hardship. From a passive and timid figure, Fiorio is transformed into a model o f heroism, one who actively takes on fortune so as to obtain the object o f his desire. In this transformation, as we will now see, the development o f Florio’s fortitude and prudence - in the Aristotelian sense - will be o f central importance to his success, emerging as a cornerstone of the successful confrontation o f mis­ fortune and thus enduring consolation.

Fiorio and the Consolation o f Heroism Florio’s transformation toward the end of book 3 takes place when he learns that his parents have devised a new plot to get rid o f Biancifiore. Having been tricked into thinking that his love had died, Fiorio considers committing suicide. T o dis­ suade him, the queen reveals that Biancifiore is not dead but was rather sold to Italian merchants. This revelation serves as an important turning point, as Fiorio angrily accuses his mother o f “crudeltà” (3.65.1) and states that he intends to go sail the world in search of Biancifiore - directly disobeying his parents for the first

T H E POLYPH ON Y OF CO N SO LATIO N • 3 7

time. The narrative stresses the personal change that Fiorio experiences at this point: “M a Fiorio, cambiato viso e mostrandolo meno dolente, lasciò la madre piangendo nella camera, e, rivestito d’altre robe, venne nella gran sala ...” (“But Fiorio had changed his appearance and seemed less sad, and left his mother weep­ ing in her chamber; dressing in other garb, he came into the great h all...” 3.67.2). H aving finally put aside his lamentations, Fiorio fetches his companions among them his longtime teacher Ascalion and the duke - and urges them in an elevated speech to join him on a journey in pursuit o f his love. With highly elo­ quent rhetoric, he convinces them o f the virtuous and glorious aspects o f such an expedition: “N o i non ci nascessimo per vivere come bruti, ma per seguire virtù, Ia quale ha potenza di fare con volante fama le memorie degli uomini etterne, così come le nostre anime sono” (“We were not born to five like beasts, but to fol­ low virtue, w hich has the power by means o f soaring fame to make the memories of men eternal, just as our souls are,” 3.6 7 .12 ).2021 Florio’s oration is o f course closely modelled on Ulysses’s celebrated speech in Dante’s Inferno 26, in which he urges his companions to join him in his heroic voyage in pursuit o f experience and knowledge: “Non vogliate negar l’esperienza / di retro al sol, del m ondo sanza gente. / Considerate la vostra semenza: / fatti non foste a viver come bruti, / ma per seguir virtute e canoscenza.” (“Y ou must not deny / experience o f that which lies beyond / the sun, and o f the world that is unpeopled. / Consider well the seed that gave you birth: / you were not made to live your lives as brutes, / but to be followers of virtue and knowledge,” Inferno 16 .1 1 7 - 1 2 0 . ) Taking matters into his own hands and embarking on a mission in pursuit o f his beloved, Fiorio thus becomes a hero comparable to Ulysses, the emblematic figure o f the epic tradition. Significantly, at an earlier stage in b ook 3, when the duke encouraged Fiorio to be patient and hopeful, he also raised the example o f U lysses; however, he inadvertently compared Fiorio to Penelope, Ulysses’s wife, the expectant beloved: “A Penolope parea dolce appressarsi alla morte, sperando che ogni domane dovesse tornare Ulisse prima da Troia, e poi non sappiendo da che luogo” (“T o Penelope it seemed sweet to face approach­ ing death, hoping that every new day would bring Ulysses home first from Troy, and then not knowing from where,” 3 .5 .15 ).11 Now, toward the end o f book 3, Fiorio is transformed into the active explorer Ulysses. From an elegiac weeper who recalls Boethius o f the beginning o f the Consolatio or Dante o f the Vita nuova, Fiorio grows into a hero o f epic stature, endowed with Ulysses’s captivat­ ing eloquence and noble soul, actively pursuing virtue and glory. 20. Translation modified. 2 1. Translation slightly modified.

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W hile alluding to D ante’s Ulysses, Boccaccio makes sure to redeem his hero from the negative facets o f Dante’s depiction o f Ulysses.12 In the Amorosa visione, written a few years after the Filocolo, Boccaccio describes U lysses as the one who "trespassed the boundary” : “ Per voler veder trapassò il segno / dal qual nessun potè mai in qua reddire” (“In his desire to see he trespassed the boundary from w hich no one has ever been able to return,” Amorosa visione, redazione A, 2 7.8 6 8 7 ).13 As Barolini has pointed out, Boccaccio here conflates D ante’s portrayal o f A dam in the Paradiso - the one who is guilty o f “il trapassar del segno” (Paradiso 26 .1 1 7 ) - and his depiction o f Ulysses in the Inferno - the one who journeyed “di retro al sol, del m ondo sanza gente” in pursuit o f knowledge.22324 For Boccaccio in the Amorosa visione, Dante’s Ulysses is a transgressor in the same w ay Adam is: both pursue forbidden knowledge. It is highly significant, as a result, that in Florio’s speech w hich alludes to U lysses’s quoted above, Boccaccio omits the state­ ment D ante put in U lysses’s speech, namely, that man was born to pursue “vir­ tute e canoscenza.” Florio declares instead that man is required to follow “virtute,” rem oving the “canoscenza.” Through this omission, Boccaccio appears to stress that his own hero is not driven b y the same transgressive curiosity that ultim ately brought destruction upon U lysses and his com panions.25 Further­ m ore - and no less important - whereas Dante transformed Ulysses into the trav­ eler w ho did not return to his beloved but embarked on his destructive voyage instead,26 Florio’s mission is aimed at regaining his true love. Boccaccio thus play­ 22. O n the two sides o f Dante’s depiction o f Ulysses, a noble seeker ofvirtue and knowl­ edge on the one hand and a falsifier and transgressor on the other, see the illum inating accounts o f Teodolinda Barolini in the entry “ Ulysses,” in The Dante Encyclopedia, ed. Richard

Lansing (N e w York, 200 0), 8 4 2 -8 4 6 , and G iuseppe Mazzotta, Reading Dante (N e w Haven, 2 0 1 4 ), 8 8 - 9 1 . Barolini offers a useful sum m ary o f the extensive scholarship on the issue. 2 3 . Boccaccio, “Am orosa visione,” ed. Vittore Branca, in Tutte le opere, ed. Branca, 3: 1 - 2 7 2 ; translation is from Barolini, “Ulysses,” 845. 24 . Barolini, “ Ulysses,” 84 5. O n B o ccaccio ’s reliance on D ante in these lines, see also Piero Boitani, The Shadow o f Ulysses: Figures o f a Myth, trans. Anita W eston (Oxford, 19 9 4 ), 23. 2 5. On B occaccio’s redeem ing o f U lysses’s quest in the Filocolo (and in general), see

also T obias F. Gittes, Boccaccio's N aked M use: Eros, Culture, and the Mythopoeic Imagination (T oronto, 200 9), 5 3 - 5 5 . 26. Dante, as is w ell known, turns U lysses - with astonishing originality - into the impi­ ous deserter, the one who did not return hom e to his w ife, son, and father, but instead embarked upon his folle volo in pursuit o f know ledge and experience: “N é dolcezza di figlio, né la pietà / del vecchio padre, né ’1 debito am ore / lo qual dovea Penelopè far lieta, / vincer potero dentro a me l’ardore / ch’i’ ebbi a divenir del m ondo esperto” (“N eith er m y fondness for m y son nor pity / for m y old father nor the love I owed / Penelope, which w ould have gladdened her, / was able to defeat me in the longing / 1 had to gain experience o f the world,” Inferno 2 6 .9 4 -9 8 ) .

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fully turns true love into the proper goal o f the Ulyssean epic journey, further presenting Fiorio thereby as a perfected version o f Dante’s Ulysses - an epic hero who loves. This form ation o f an epic hero who is also a romantic lover is also made apparent b y the references to V irgil’s Aeneas in book 4 o f the Filocolo. In the beginning o f b ook 4, after Fiorio is saved from a terrible storm at sea (one which recalls the storm in Aeneid 1 .8 1 - 1 2 3 ) , he addresses Aeolo in the following words: “Apri gli occhi, e conosci ch’io non sono Enea, il gran nemico della santa Giunone: io sono un giovane che amo” ( “Open your eyes, and see that I am not Aeneas, the great enem y o f holy Ju n o: I am a young man in love,” 4 .1 1 .1 0 ) . Whereas V irgil’s Aeneas abandoned his beloved Dido in book 4 o f the Aeneid for the sake o f fulfilling his destiny as the founder of Rome, Fiorio presents him self in the opening o f b ook 4 as the hero who is loyal to his love above all else. A s in the allusion to D ante’s Ulysses, the dialogue with Virgil’s Aeneas situates Fiorio within the epic tradition while also presenting romantic love as his journey’s w or­ thy and proper goal. Florio’s transformation into an epic hero in the manner o f Ulysses, one who confronts fortune directly, is marked over the course o f book 4 by the develop­ ment and perfection o f both his prudence and his fortitude. Recent scholarship also tracks F lo rio ’s development during his heroic quest, yet it focuses on the gradual developm ent o f his love - his ascent from earthly to divine love - as well as his progress toward knowledge o f moral and divine truths.27 A s R oberta M orosini argued, Florio’s journey is one that begins with initial ignorance and grows toward “vero conoscimento” (“true knowledge”).28 Even so, I would like to argue that the description o f Florio’s quest gives particular attention to the growth ofhis practical wisdom (prudence) and courage; these worldly traits are presented as essential for his successful confrontation with misfortune and attain­ ment o f his beloved and are, thus, a prerequisite to his ultimate achievement of perfect love and consolation. During Florio’s Ulyssean speech to his companions, he asserts his intention to use whatever means necessary to obtain his beloved: “O per ingegno o per denari o per forza intendo di rivolerla” ( “ [By] guile or money or force, I intend to have her back,” 3.67.10). This resolution receives its first manifestation a short while later when Fiorio decides to take on a new name - Filocolo (literally “labor 27. See Kirkham, Fabulous Vernacular, 18 6 -19 9 ; Morosini, Per difetto rintegrare, 5 6 108; Smarr, Boccaccio and Fiammetta, 36-60; and Surdich, La cornice di amore, 65-75. Surdich’s analysis focuses on the w ay Florio’s heroic quest combines courtly, bourgeois, and Christian values. 28. M orosini, Per difetto rintegrare, 86 .

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o f love/’ 3.75.4 -5) - in order to disguise his true royal identity and avoid unnec­ essary danger during his mission. Following his transformation, in other words, Fiorio begins to deliberate on the best means to advance his goal, and, for the first time, he exercises deception and w it (ingegno) - highly Ulyssean traits - to achieve his ends. Florio’s development of practical deliberation and his use o f ingegno in the beginning of his quest clearly exemplify Aristotle’s and Aquinas’s concern with practical wisdom (phronesis), or prudence. In his commentary on book 6 o f the Ethics, Aquinas follows Aristotle in defining prudence as a principle o f action based on the ability to deliberate in advance on the best course o f action: “Illi dicuntur prudentes ... qui possunt bene ratiocinari de his quae sunt bona et utilia ad aliquem finem determinatum” (“People are called pru d en t... who can infer correctly what things are good or useful for some determined end,” In Eth. 6 .4 .116 3 ). As a principle of action, prudence is the ability to reflect on the par­ ticular details o f concrete situations,29 and it often depends on the capacity to act in a shrewd or ingenious manner: “Est itaque quaedam potentia, idest operativum principium, quam vocant dinoticam, quasi ingeniositatem quamdam sive industriam, quae talis est ut per eam hom o possit operari ea quae ordinantur ad intentionem quam homo praesupposuit.” (“There is, therefore, a particular power, i.e., an operative principle called shrewdness, as it were a certain ingenu­ ity or skillfulness. This is o f such a nature that, by means o f it, man can do the things ordered to an end,” In Eth. 6.10 .12 7 2 .) It is precisely such prudence that Florio begins to exhibit following his transformation toward the end o f book 3. The development o f Florio’s practical wisdom is evident in his use o f lan­ guage throughout book 4. When he arrives in Naples and encounters the figure o f Caleone, the latter asks him to reveal his identity. In response, Florio-Filocolo describes him self with strategic brevity as a “povero pellegrino d’amore” (“poor pilgrim o f love,” 4.16.9) on a journey in search of his beloved. Interestingly, the author-narrator refers to Florio’s brief autobiographical narrative as a “ coperto parlare” (“ deceptive speech,” 4 .16 .10 ). A similar use o f “deceptive speech” recurs in Florio’s encounter with Sisife on the island o f Sicily later in book 4. When Sisife inquires after Florio’s identity, he again declares only that he is a “pellegrino” and an exile who left his father’s house in search o f his sister Biancifiore (4 .76 .54 .7 7 .1). Whereas in the past Fiorio used such opportunities to bewail his mis­

29. “Prudentia enim non considerat solum universalia, in quibus non est actio; sed oportet quod cognoscat singularia, eo quod est activa, idest principium agendi” (“Prudence not only considers universals, in which action does not occur, but must know singulars because it is active, i.e., a principle o f doing,” In Eth. 6.6.119 4 ).

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fortune and seek pity from his listeners, now his use o f language is governed by strategic planning aimed at advancing his goal. T he fam ous scene o f the Questioni d'amore, the prolonged conversation about love that occupies much o f book 4, m aybe considered as part o f Florio’s education in practical wisdom . Recent criticism has highlighted the strong links between the Questioni d'amore and the overall narrative o f the Filocolo-, scholars have also stressed the scene’s educative function, seeing it as a crucial step in the perfection o f F lo rio ’s love.30 W hile not denying the value o f these readings, I would like to suggest that the scene o f storytelling also strongly contributes to the development o f Florio’s prudence - his powers o f discernment and deliberation. The scene takes place in a garden in Naples and consists o f thirteen questions addressed b y a group o f thirteen men and women to the figure o f Fiam m etta, who presides as queen over the pleasant gathering (a structure which o f course anticipates the future Decameron). Each participant introduces in turn a ques­ tion pertaining to love, often after narrating a short tale. In a scholastic fashion, Fiam m etta offers her answer to each question, the participant then states his objection, and Fiammetta reiterates her position and concludes the discussion.31 Her prerogative as queen gives her the final word, yet it is often far from certain that the debate has been resolved in a conclusive manner.32 Thus, for example, in the seventh and middle question, the figure o f Caleone asks whether it is indeed best for a young man to fall in love: “Io disidero di sapere se a ciascuno uomo, a bene essere di se medesimo, si dee innamorare o n o” (“I desire to know if every man, for his own well-being, ought to fall in love or not,” 4 .4 3.16 ). Fiam m etta distinguishes at this point between three types o f love - a division based on the discussion of types of friendships in book 8 o f A ristotle’s Ethics: “amore onesto,” the perfect virtuous love o f God for his creatures and vice versa; “amore per diletto,” love for pleasure, which is the kind o f carnal hum an love they are all subjected to; and “amore per utilità,” which is based on the pur­ suit o f material gain. Specifying that it is about the second type o f love that Cale-

30. On the Questioni d'amore, see Paolo Cherchi, Andrea Cappellano, i trovatori, e altri temi romanzi (Rom e, 19 7 9 ), 2 1 0 - 2 1 7 ; Margherita Heyer-Caput, “Le questioni d’amore del Filocolo : Tirocinio letterario di Giovanni Boccaccio,” in Studies in Honor q f Dante Della Terza, ed. M arilina Cirillo-Falzarano and M ei-M ei Akwai Ellerman (Cambridge, M A, 1996), 6 5 88; Kirkham, Fabulous Vernacular, 18 6 -19 9 ; Morosini, Per difetto rintegrare, 6 1-8 9 ; and Seba­ stiana N obili, L a consolazione della letteratura: Un itinerario fra Dante e Boccaccio (Ravenna, 2 0 17 ), 1 6 9 - 1 8 1 . 3 1 . O n the Questioni’s scholastic nature, see Nobili, La consolazione, 17 6 - 17 9 . 3 2. On the open-ended nature o f the Questioni, see also Grossvogel, Ambiguity and Allu­ sion, 28 -3 0 .

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one is inquiring, Fiammetta declares that it should be utterly avoided b y all those who wish to live virtuously and happily. Amore per diletto, love for pleasure, Fiammetta asserts, is inevitably a source o f disgrace, vice, endless worry, and com­ plete loss o f freedom (4.44.8). U nwilling to accept Fiam m etta’s harsh verdict, Caleone objects to her judgment and goes on to defend the good effects o f amore, stating that love is a source o f virtue, civility, and goodness.33 Fiam m etta then offers an elaborate refutation o f his arguments and concludes the discussion by reasserting her initial position (4.46.19). T he debate, however, appears far from determined and remains largely open ended, as Caleone shows no sign o f agree­ ment with her verdict; m oreover, the following participant virtually ignores Fiammetta’s conclusion when asking her own question.34 Thus, reaching defi­ nite and universal conclusions in matters o f love, the debate suggests, is nearly impossible. Fiorio m ay not be receiving a clear education in love as much as he is engaging in the complications o f determining such questions. A similar indeterminateness governs the ninth question, posed b y the duke ofM ontoro: who is the ideal beloved - a maiden, a married woman, or a w idow (4.51 ) ? The queen strongly forbids loving a married woman ( thus deviating from the codes o f courtly love), and answers that between a maiden and a w idow it would be better to choose the latter, as she is already acquainted with the flames of love. The duke agrees with the queen’s judgment regarding married wom en yet objects to her favoring o f a widow. He argues instead that it is better to love a maiden, among other reasons because she is more likely to remain faithful to one man alone (4.53.4). The queen then reiterates her previous judgment and con­ cludes the discussion, yet her assertion, once again, appears rather arbitrary and leaves room for further reflection and deliberation. As a result, rather than providing Fiorio and the other participants with cer­ tain knowledge in matters o f love, the discussion o f love appears to show the dif­ ficulties o f reaching definite universal conclusions in such matters. Instead o f a means for understanding, the discussion emerges as an exercise in interpretation, a practice whose function is to sharpen the listeners’ interpretive capacities and their ability to reflect on a given problem from various angles. Furthermore, by 33. In support ofhis arguments Caleone raises various examples that are often double edged. See the discussion in Smarr, Boccaccio and Fiammetta, 40-42. 34. The participant, named Pola, declares that as young people they cannot avoid amore per diletto: “M a impossibile mi pare che la giovane età degli uomini e delle donne, sanza questo amore sentire, trapassare possa” (“But it seems impossible to me that men and women should pass through their youthful years without experiencing this love,” 4.47.2). On the reestab­ lishment o f amore per diletto following Fiam m etta’s speech, see also Smarr, Boccaccio and Fiammetta, 42.

T H E PO LYPH O N Y OF CO N SO LATIO N • 4 3

showing the limits o f the pursuit o f universal rules in matters o f love, the discus­ sion instructs on the need to weigh carefully the particular circumstances of each amorous situation. By attending to the discussion o f love, Fiorio and the other participants are therefore given the opportunity to cultivate their powers o f inter­ pretation and deliberation, which then contribute to their practical wisdom. The results o f this education will becom e apparent in the following stages o fF lo rio ’s journey. The growth o fF lo rio ’s practical wisdom becomes especially evident when he finally arrives in Alexandria and discovers that his beloved is imprisoned in the local harem, w hich is controlled b y the admiral o f the city. Consulting with his local host, D ario, on the best w ay to save Biancifiore from the tower, the latter introduces three options: “ O per prieghi riaverla daU’amiraglio, o per forza rapirla della torre, o con ingegno acquistare l’amicizia del castellano” (“Either to get her back from the Adm iral b y means o f prayers, or to snatch her b y force from the tower, o rto gain b y wit the friendship o f the castellan,” 4.87. i) .35 In a manner that resem bles Fiam m etta’s deliberation throughout the Qeustioni d'amore, D ario enumerates the perils o f each mode o f action and finally recommends the use o f ingegno as the m ost reasonable path. Carefully reflecting on his counsel, Fiorio ultimately resolves to pursue his beloved “con ogni ingegno” (“with all [his] wit,” 4 .8 9 .11). H aving determ ined his course o f action, Fiorio wisely orders his com pan­ ions not to reveal their true identity to anyone in the city (4.90.2), and then he rides to the castle. H e strikes a friendship with the castellan b y telling him a false story about his identity, and then gains his trust by cleverly letting him win in chess. Before the final stage o f his mission, which involves the danger­ ous task o f revealing to the castellan his true identity and intentions so that he will let him enter the castle, Fiorio carefully deliberates on the best course o f action: “M a gli altri dorm ono e Filocolo ferma nella mente con molti ragiona­ menti ciò che al castellano dee dire, e quello che con lui vuol fare, e che m ovi­ mento deggia il suo essere a dovergli narrare il suo segreto. M olte vie truova, e ciascuna pruova in se m edesim o, e le migliori riserba nella m em oria.” ( “But while the others slept, Filocolo considered at length and straightened out in his m ind w hat he should say to the Castellan, and what he wanted him to do, and what his clue should be to decide to tell him his secret. He thought o f m any possibilities, and experimented on him self with each, and reserved the better ones in his m em ory,” 4 .9 8.4-5.) The results o f his training in prudence can­ not be m ore apparent. 35. Translation slightly modified.

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While highlighting the development o f Fiorio’s practical wisdom - both his power o f deliberation and his use o f ingegno - the scene in Alexandria also demon­ strates the perfection o f his fortitude. In his Commentary on the Ethics, Aquinas defines fortitude as "animi firmitatem” ( “firmness o f soul/’ In Eth. 3.14 .5 29), and he associates it with both daring and endurance: Dicit ergo primo, quod ille qui sustinet quae oportet sustinere et fugit per timorem ea quae oportet vitare, et facit hoc eius gratia cuius oportet et eo m odo quo oportet et quando oportet, vocatur fortis. Qui etiam similiter audet quae oportet, et cuius gratia et cetera. H e says first that one who endures the things he ought to endure and flees through fear the things he ought to avoid with the right motivation, in the right manner, and at the right time is called brave. Likewise, he who dares in the things he ought for the right motive and so forth is also brave, (in Eth. 3 - 15-548 )

In the final stages o f his rescue mission in Alexandria, we witness Fiorio exercis­ ing both o f these aspects of fortitude. W hen Fiorio meets again with the castellan following his nocturnal deliber­ ation, he is once again overwhelmed b y self-doubt and fear: “Filocolo, più volte volle il suo disio palesare, e infìno al proferire recò le parole, e poi dubitando le tirava indietro” (“Filocolo several times tried to reveal his desire, and he would com e to the point o f putting it into words and then draw back hesitating,” 4 .10 1.7 ). After much hesitation, Fiorio finally assumes the courage to continue with his plan, being goaded to action b y a line he “once read in Ovid” : “‘L a for­ tuna aiuta gli audaci, e i timidi caccia via’” (‘“ Fortune aids the bold, and refuses the timid,” ’ 4 .10 1.8 ). This line is taken from O vid’s Ars amatoria 1.60 8 ,36 the same work which first ignited Florio and Biancifiore’s desire as young children, as described in b ook 1.45.6. It is O vid’s erotic literature, therefore, that con­ tributes in the scene to the growth o f the hero’s daring, allowing him to embark upon the final stage o f his rescue mission.37 36. T he line in Ovid reads: “Audentem Forsque Venusque iuvat” (“Fate and Venus help the brave” ). See Ovid, “T he A rt o f Love,” in The A rt of Love, and Other Poems, ed. and trans. J.H . M ozley, rev. G.P. Goold (Cambridge, M A , 1979), 1 2 - 1 7 6 . 37. A short while later, the author-narrator breaks into a speech in praise o f amore, in which he highlights specifically the w ay it perfected Florio’s daring: “T u [amore] porgi più forza e più ardire che la natura medesima. Quello che Filocolo non avea avuto ardire di diman­ dare al padre, solamente ora in pericolo da non potere pensare, davanti al nimico la cerca.”

T H E POLYPHONY OF CO NSOLATIO N • 4 5

The advance o f Florio’s fortitude reaches its peak in the final trial of fortune to which he is subjected, and this time he shows the perfection ofhis endurance. Having entered the castle and finally reunited with Biancifiore, the two con­ summate their love for the first time - yet not before performing a makeshift wedding cerem ony, which underscores the temperate nature o f their love.38 Their happy reunion, however, soon turns to agony, as the admiral discovers the two in bed and sentences them to death b y fire. Tied together and surrounded by flames, the two lovers’ reactions to this final blow are significant: “Piangendo Biancifiore così col suo amante sospesa, Filocolo con forte animo serrò nel cuore il dolore, e col viso non mutato né bagnato d’alcuna sua lagrima sostenne il diso­ nesto assalto della fortuna” (“While Biancifiore was weeping at being suspended in this w ay with her lover, Filocolo determinedly locked up his grief in his heart; and with his face unchanged and unbathed with any tears ofhis own, he bore this unjust blow from [Fortune],” 4 .12 8 .1). In the beginning o f book 3, as we have seen above, the duke chastised Fiorio for his excessive weeping, claiming that such tears are not worthy o f a manly soul. His markedly steadfast reaction to this last blow o f fortune - which stands in stark relief against Biancifiore’s weeping underscores the perfection o f Florio’s fortitude, in this case his ability to endure with a “firm soul” the things he ought to for the sake ofhis love. W hile Florio’s remarkable self-control at this point may recall that o f a Stoic sage, upon close attention it becomes clear that Boccaccio’s account is again much closer to the Aristotelian ideal than the Stoic one. If we return to Aquinas’s discussion o f fortitude mentioned above, in the continuation ofhis analysis he explicitly rejects the Stoic claim that the virtuous man does not feel sadness at all. As he argues, the virtue of fortitude does not uproot all experience o f sorrow but rather enables a person to control this sorrow, not letting it overwhelm rea­ son: “ [Aristoteles] excludit errorem Stoicorum qui ponebant quod virtuosus nul­ lam tristitiam habet. Circa hoc autem duo facit: primo ostendit quod forti imminet maxima tristitia. Secundo, quod per hoc non minuitur eius fortitudo, sed augetur.” (“ [Aristotle] rejects the error of the Stoics who held that virtuous men feel no sorrow. H e considers this point in a twofold manner. First, he proves that very intense sorrow befalls the brave man; and next, that, because o f this, his fortitude is notlessened but increased,” InEth. 3.18.588.) It is precisely this Aris­

("You [love] inspire more force and daring than nature itself. What Filocolo had not dared ask ofhis father, only now (in a danger that cannot be imagined) he was seeking in front ofh is enemy,” 4 .108.3.) 3 8. On the significance o f this scene, see also Robert Hollander, Boccaccio's Two Venuses (N ew York, 19 77), 37 -3 8 .

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totelian quality that Fiorio exhibits in his final trial. H e clearly feels sorrow yet does not let it overwhelm him; rather, he manages to lock it deep within his heart. Florio’s bold determination - as w ell as the miraculous assistance o f Bianci­ fiore’s ring, which shields them from the fire - allows the couple to survive the bonfire’s flames Until they are saved b y his devoted companions. Following the rescue, the admiral repents for his cruelty and discovers that he is none other than Florio’s uncle, his m other’s brother. T o compensate for his behavior, he prepares a lavish wedding cerem ony on the couple’s behalf, w hich marks the happy conclusion both o f book 4 and of Fiorio and Biancifiore’s misfortunes. The perfection o f Florio’s prudence and fortitude thus brings his heroic quest to its blissful end. This triumph over fortune entails for the couple not only earthly rewards but also heavenly ones, as on their way back to Florio’s realm, the happy couple will pass through Rom e, the city o f Biancifiore’s forefathers. There, Fiorio will enter a church, see for the first time an effigy o f the crucifix, and be instructed on the elements o f the Christian faith by a certain priest named Ilario (the actual author o f the couple’s tale, according to the w ork’s fiction). Deciding to convert to Christianity, Fiorio will be baptized b y the pope himself, securing thereby his eternal salvation. Moreover, not only is Fiorio saved due to his love, but his entire kingdom is as well: upon his return he will be anointed as the new king and will order the entire realm to convert to Christianity.39 The fact that Florio’s journey ends in a conversion m ediated through his beloved underscores the parallels between Florio and Dante the pilgrim, a point which is made explicit in the allu­ sions to the final cantos o f D ante’s Purgatorio in Florio’s vision following the dis­ cussion o f love in b ook 4.40 With the figure o f Florio, Boccaccio thus brings together ancient epic, medieval romance, and Dante’s Commedia, fashioning a model o f heroism that fulfills at once w orldly and heavenly goals. Despite Florio’s ultimate conversion and the parallels between his journey and Dante’s in the Commedia, it is important to note that Florio’s attainment o f perfect amore onesto at the end o f his quest does not entail a complete rejection o f amore per diletto, as some critics have suggested.41 Within the Filocolo, there is a direct and 39. In this respect, the relentless pursuit o f individual desire, characteristic o f romance, facilitates in the Filocolo the attainment o f collective and national goals typical o f epic. 40. Florio’s vision, as Kirkham argued, presents the future unfolding o f his quest and his ultimate attainment o f perfect love and is steeped in allusions to the final cantos o f the Purga­ torio. See Kirkham, Fabulous Vernacular, 195, and Smarr, Boccaccio and Fiammetta, 47-48- On the allusions to Dante, see also Quaglio’s note in Boccaccio, “Filocolo,” ed. Quaglio, 887 n34 1. See, for example, Grossvogel, Ambiguity and Allusion, 7 2 -7 3 , and Kirkham, Fabulous Vernacular, 19 4 -19 9 .

T H E POLYPHONY OF CO NSOLATIO N • 4 7

essential continuum between the amore per diletto o f Fiorio and Biancifiore and their ultimate spiritual bliss.41 Without their earlier innamoramento, which was ignited by reading Ovid’s Ars amatoria, Fiorio would not have reached Rome and would not have been converted to Christianity. It was also the erotic literature o f Ovid, as we have seen, that provided Fiorio with the courage needed to reveal his trae intentions to the castellan and save Biancifiore. Moreover, at no stage in the narrative is it sug­ gested that Fiorio and Biancifiore gave up on their carnal union after his conversion, a fact which is highlighted by the mentioning of their son (5.63.7). Rather than entail­ ing a complete conversion from earthly to divine love and the utter rejection o f the former, the couple’s perfect union brings together the two types o f love and in fact appears to em body the ideal o f conjugal friendship presented by Aristotle in book 8 o f the Ethics. This ideal relationship entails the three types o f love described by Fiammetta in book 4 - virtuous, pleasurable, and utilitarian - all at once: Et dicit, quod ex praedictis apparet quod amicitia coniugalis habet utilitatem, inquantum scilicet per earn fit sufficientia vitae domesticae. H abet etiam delectationem in actu generationis, sicut et in ceteris animalibus. Et si vir et uxor sint epiiches, idest virtuosi, poterit eorum amicitia esse propter vir­ tutem. Est enim aliqua virtus propria utriusque, scilicet viri et uxoris, propter quam amicitia redditur iucunda utrique. Et sic patet quod huiusmodi amici­ tia potest esse et propter virtutem et propter utile et propter delectabile. H e observes that from previous statements conjugal friendship obviously has utility inasmuch as it furnishes a sufficiency for family life. Likewise it provides pleasure in the generative act, as is the case with other animals. But when the husband and wife are virtuous, their friendship can be based on virtue. In fact there is a virtue proper to both husband and wife that renders their friendship delightful to each other. Clearly then friendship o f this kind can be based on virtue, utility, and pleasure. (In E th . 8 .12 .17 2 3 ) B y the end o f his quest, Florio thus obtains precisely this perfect type o f conju­ gal love,4 243 attaining thereby full triumph over all his misfortunes and a complete 42. Other scholars find in the work a continuity between pleasurable and virtuous love, including Bruni, Boccaccio, 1 7 4 -18 8 ; Morosini, Per difetto rintegrare, 1 2 - 1 6 , 82; and Smarr, Boccaccio and Fiammetta, 47-49. 43. M innis discusses the elaborate use o f Aristotle as an authority on the nobility o f marriage in the fourteenth century. See Minnis, “I speke o f folk,” 38-44. On the assertion o f the value o f marriage within the Filocolo, see also Luigi Surdich, Boccaccio (Bologna, 2008), 18 -2 1.

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consolation. As the figure of Idalagos tells Fiorio and Biancifiore in the closing book 5 of the work, their journey ended with a complete “partito de’ ... affanni” (“departure from ... sorrows,” 5.9.8), a state Fiorio himself then refers to as a “per­ fetta consolazione” (“perfect consolation,” 5 .1 1 .1 ) . Such true and lasting conso­ lation, book 4 of the Filocolo therefore suggests, cannot be attained just b y rely­ ing on the comforting words of others; at times heroic and determined action is essential - action that depends above all on the improvement of one’s prudence and fortitude in the face of misfortune. The consolation offered to readers by the Filocolo, from this perspective, is not the offer of companionship in sorrow and passive hope described by the author-narrator in the introductory section o f the work. Rather, the story’s consolation comes to inhere in its capacity to motivate bold and wise action in unfortunate situations.

Idalagos, Caleone, and the Polyphony of Consolation While Florio’s heroic quest ends in the perfect fulfillment of both earthly and divine love, his double triumph is by no means the final word on consolation in the work. Over the course o f the fifth, final book, Fiorio encounters Idalagos and Caleone - two figures who serve as doubles o f the author in the text, as critics have long observed.44 As opposed to Fiorio, who by this stage in the tale has found a way out o f his misery, these two figures suffer from amorous troubles and are in need o f consolation - consolation which, significantly, is provided by Fiorio himself, who on his way back to his realm becomes a consoler to others in need. In their pursuit o f consolation, both figures take solace from Florio’s own story o f misfortune, becoming thereby not only doubles o f the author but also doubles o f the work’s intended readers - those who suffer from love and seek solace in Florio’s tale. In both instances, however, Idalagos and Caleone ulti­ mately pursue a type o f consolation that differs markedly from the one sought by Fiorio. Thus, the final book challenges the model o f heroism so carefully con­ structed over the course of book 4 and provides the reader with alternative paths of consolation to consider. Florio’s encounter with Idalagos takes place at the beginning of book 5. While hunting in a forest on the outskirts of Naples, Fiorio accidently hits a tree trunk with a dart. To Florio’s amazement, the tree begins to speak, bewailing its wound. The stupefied Fiorio becomes filled with pity and asks the tree to tell the 44. See Bruni, Boccaccio, 1 8 1 ; Morosini, Per difetto rintegrare, 1 1 3 , 1 2 1 ; Smarr, Boccac­ cio and Fiammetta, 54 - 59 -

T H E PO LYPH O N Y OF CO N SO LATIO N • 4 9

story o f its metamorphosis. In response, Idalagos describes how he was caught in Cupid’s net, suffered from love, and was unable to free himself. Finally taking pity on him, the gods turned him into a tree, “per fuggire peggio” (“so as to escape a w orse fate,” 5.6.9). T he im agery o f the talking tree trunk o f course recalls Dante’s description o f the souls o f the suicides in canto 13 o f the Inferno.4S Yet, in contrast to D ante’s vivid description o f punishment, Idalagos maintains that the transformation into a tree in effect saved him from a far worse fate - possibly that o f suicide.46 Later in his account, Idalagos will describe how his perpetually green leaves demonstrate outwardly the abundant moisture that nourishes his roots - a m etaphor for his tears and hope, which are still very much alive and will never dry up (5.8.44). His metamorphosis thus becomes a metaphor for Idalagos’s unending laments and hope in love. Critics tend to read the Idalagos episode in moralistic terms as a warning against amore p er diletto.47 Y et we should note that in his efforts to console Idala­ gos, Fiorio, like the duke in book 3, empathizes with Idalagos’s plight. A t first, Fiorio urges Idalagos to share his story o f misfortunes, telling him that such shar­ ing might raise the pity o f his hearers and lead them to pray to the gods on his behalf, thus providing him with some relief (5.7 .1). Then he adds that such telling m ay also increase Idalagos’s fame (5 .7 .1). A t the end o f their exchange, Fiorio even promises to fulfill Idalagos’s wish to go beseech his unresponsive beloved who was turned to stone in the meantime - to show him pity ( 5 .12 .1) . A s in the case o f the empathetic consolatory words o f the duke in book 3, at no stage in his exchange with Idalagos does Fiorio assume the critical moralistic disposition o f Lady Philosophy; rather, he is continually sympathetic toward Idalagos’s plight and seeks to lighten his sorrow b y any means possible. T he w ork’s empathetic attitude toward Idalagos is also apparent from the way he is portrayed as a reader o f Fiorio and Biancifiore’s story - a reader who responds to the tale in the exact same w ay envisioned by the author-narrator at the beginning o f the work. W hen Idalagos discovers the identity o f his listeners, he describes how he used to be consoled when hearing about their misfortunes: “T ra’ quali ragionamenti molti, non so che gente un giorno qui si venne, a’ quali quasi interi i vostri casi udii narrare ... i quali non m inori che i m iei riputai; e funami caro ascoltargli, sentendo che solo negli amorosi affanni non dimorava.” 45. See also Boccaccio, “Filocolo,” ed. Quaglio, 9 15 n$. 46. T his difference between Boccaccio’s Idalagos and Dante’s suicides is also pointed out in A lessia Ronchetti, “Speaking Pines: A Topological Reading o f Filocolo V .6 -8 ,” The M odem Language Review 1 0 6 ( 2 0 1 1 ) : 1 1 5 - 1 2 9 , at 1 2 3 - 12 4 . 47. Se e, fo r exam ple, K irkham , Fabolous Vernacular, 198; M o rosini, Per difetto rintegrare, 1 1 8 ; Sm arr, Boccaccio and Fiammetta, 56 -5 7 .

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• C H APTER ONE

(“And among these many kinds of conversations, one day there came here some sort o f people from whom I heard almost the entire story of your adventures... I considered these no less remarkable than my own; and it was precious to me to hear them, and to realize that I was not the only one travailing in the labors of love,” 5.10.4.) At the beginning of the work, the author-narrator invited readers who suffer from love to find “consolazione” in reading about the couple’s simi­ lar troubles, declaring that “misery loves to find companions in its sufferings” (“a’ miseri sia sollazo d’avere compagni nelle pene,” 1.2.2). It is exactly this response that Idalagos now embodies. Idalagos had found companions for his sorrow when hearing o f Fiorio and Biancifiore’s misfortune, but, he says, now that he has learned how the couple’s tale came to a happy ending, it will also be a source o f hope for him: “O felicis­ sima la vita tu a !... e assai me ne contento, che voi, che già tanto foste infortunati, ora contenti stiate, pensando ch’io possa prendere speranza di pervenire a simi­ le partito de’ miei affanni.” (“Oh, how happy is your life !... And I am most happy for it, that you who were formerly so unfortunate should now be happy, when I think that I might take hope of coming to a similar departure from my sorrows,” 5.9.8.) In his attainment of speranza from the happy ending of Florio’s tale, Idala­ gos again recalls the author-narrator’s opening assertion that the ultimate happy ending of the lovers’ story will fill readers with hope - “similemente ve ne seguirà speranza di guiderdone” (“similarly there will follow for you hope o f recom­ pense,” 1.2.2). Idalagos’s response to the tale thus follows verbatim the way the author-narrator invited his readers to react to the story: to attain both hope and companionship from it. At the beginning of the final book of the work - and right after the portrayal of Florio’s heroic triumph - we thus return to the very same notion o f literary consolation presented at the opening of the work, indicating that the type of consolation offered by the author-narrator in the beginning can­ not be dismissed lightly. Florio’s ensuing encounter with the second double of the author - Caleone - ends in a different manner, however. The figure o f Caleone was first introduced in book 4, when he encountered Fiorio in Naples. At their first meeting, Fiorio, at this point a melancholic “pellegrino d’amore,” congratulated Caleone for his apparent good fortune and peaceful condition. Caleone attributed this condi­ tion to the impact o f the lovely lady Fiammetta, whose good graces had also impressed Fiorio. When Fiorio meets Caleone again on his way back from Alexandria in book 5, their situations have flipped: while Florio’s fortune has turned out well, Caleone is bitterly grieving. He explains that duplicitous fortune has turned

T H E POLYPHONY OF CONSOLATION • 5 1

against him; now all he wishes for is to die (5.30).48 Hearing Caleone’s com ­ plaint, Florio becom es filled with compassion toward him (“ di Caleon divenne pietoso,” 5 .3 1 .1) and offers consolation. In Florio’s first speech, he urges Caleone to reflect on how Florio him self was lost at sea not so long ago, stranded among the tempestuous waves and furious winds, until he finally found himself at a safe harbor (“ quando subitamente in porto di salute mi vidi con tranquillo mare,” 5.31.2). Through such reflection, according to Florio, Caleone should realize the vicissitudes o f fortune and maintain hope for his future arrival at a similarly calm port: “E spero con quella arte che io a salutevole porte pervenni, te delle pestilenziose onde trarrò quando ti piaccia” (“And I hope, by that art which enabled me to come to safe harbor, that I shall draw you out of the pestilential waves, if it may please y o u ,” 5 .3 1.3 ) . Ju st like Florio’s consolation o f Idalagos, his initial attempt to console Caleone consists of inviting him to find hope in his own story of misfortune and triumph. Again his words closely mirror the consolation that the author-narrator offered his readers in the introductory section o f the work. Yet not long after Florio offers Caleone this first consolation, he provides him with another, very different route to consolation. On the way back to the Spanish realm, Caleone joins Florio’s entourage. When they arrive in Tuscany, Florio entrusts Caleone with the task o f presiding over the formation o f the future city of Certaldo; his task includes bringing together the two warring, savage tribes that live in the region. This arduous mission, according to Florio, will serve C a­ leone as a means o f curing his soul from the malaise o f love, which evidently con­ tinues to plague him. The hard work will bring reason and order not only to the tribes, but also to Caleone’s warring passions: “Se tu il vuoi prendere, la solleci­ tudine tua converrà essere molta, e in molte cose e diverse, la quale avendo, la vaga anima per forza abandonerà gli amorosi pensieri, e quelli abandonando, metterà in dimenticanza, e, dimenticati, potrai dire te essere dalla infermità che sostieni liberato, e fuori delle mani dell’amore della crudele donna” (“If you are willing to take it, your diligence will have to be great, and in many different mat­ ters, and having it your vagrant spirit will necessarily abandon amorous thoughts, 48. In his lament, Caleone compares himself to a shipwreck tossed about at sea, employ­ ing the exact same metaphor used by the author-narrator in the beginning to describe the tur­ bulent state o f lovers: “Io misero nocchiero rimaso in mezzo mare sono d'ogni parte dalle tempestose onde percosso, e i furiosi venti, a ’ quali niuna marinesca arte mi dà rimedio, m’hanno le vele, che già furono liete, levate, e i timoni, e niuno argomento m’è a mia salute rimaso” ("I the poor helmsman am left in mid-ocean, buffeted by stormy waves from every side, and the furious winds, which no maritime skill can help me escape, have taken my for­ merly happy sails, and m y rudders, and there is no strategy left for my rescue,” 5.30.3).

52 • CH APTER ONE

and having so will forget them; and once they are forgotten you can say that you are liberated from the infirmity that you suffer, and out of the hands o f the love for the cruel lady,” 5.47.4). Rather than urging Caleone to remain hopeful and steadfast in pursuing his love, following his own example, Florio’s second con­ solation offers Caleone practical advice on how to curb his desire altogether and thus overcome grief. This type o f remedy for love gone wrong recalls the cure for love offered by Ovid in the Remedia amoris, where he advises the miserable lover to engage in laborious activities that will distract the person and erase his love (Remedia amoris 16 9 -2 12 ) .49 Whereas in the beginning of the work Florio fell in love while reading Ovid’s Ars amatoria - which was described as a “holy book” - now it is Ovid of the Remedia amoris who guides Florio as a consoler. Caleone, for his part, happily takes up this advice, and it is successful. Boccaccio’s character doubles, who act out his autobiographical theatre at the beginning of book 5, thus serve an important rhetorical role: they function as allegories o f readers within the narrative and, significantly, present alternative modes of consolation to that of his hero Florio. While Florio heroically confronted his misfortune and ultimately obtained the object of his desire through bold action, Idalagos seeks a modicum of solace through identification with Florio’s troubles and ultimate happiness, and Caleone finds a way to give up entirely on his love. The heroic model of Florio is thus problematized in book 5, leading the work to ultimately speak to the reader in at least three distinct consolatory voices. The split between the fortunes of Idalagos and Caleone is closely echoed in another encounter between two unfortunate lovers, which again involves a scene o f consolation. Recorded earlier in book 3, a young stranger consoles the exiled knight Fileno, who was in love with Biancifiore and ultimately fled Marmorina, Florio’s city, out o f fear of Florio’s ire. The encounter between these two men takes place on a hill in Tuscany - the exact same spot on which Fiorio will later found the future city of Certaldo, the task entrusted to the grieving Caleone. Arriving at this desolate spot, Fileno begins to lament his hopeless love and unwarranted exile in loud sobs and cries. A young man who passes there by chance hears his lament, becomes filled with compassion, and, as expected, offers him consolation. In his consolation, the giovane - who presents himself as a follower o f Ovid50 - declares that he once found himself in an even worse situation after his beloved abandoned him for another man; yet he managed to cure him self through the 49. Ovid, “The Remedies for Love,” in A rt of Love, and Other Poems, ed. and trans. Mozley, rev. Goold, 17 7-2 34 . 50. Boccaccio, “Filocolo,” ed. Quaglio, 829 n9.

T H E POLYPHONY OF CONSOLATION • S 3

counsel o f reason - Tutile consiglio della ragione” (3.36.10). It is a similar rational consolation that he now offers Fileno, providing arguments through which he might learn to cure both his grief and his love. One of these arguments involves the fickle nature o f women. As the giovane declares, given that women are by nature unstable, there is no point in lamenting the vicissitudes of their love; one cannot alter nature (a point raised later in book 5 by Idalagos as well, though it is refuted by Biancifiore herself). Continuing with his reasoning, the young man then tells Fileno that he should also not cry about his exile, mentioning the Cynic and Stoic argument that for the virtuous man all the world is one city: “A ’ virtuosi ogni paese è il loro” (“Forvirtuous people every land is home,” 3.36.15). Hearing these consolatory admonitions, Fileno commends the young man for the “pazienza” with which he bore his torments, yet he declares that over­ coming his tears is beyond his power. He asks the giovane to leave him to his laments, alluding to Dante’s lament for Beatrice’s death in the third canzone of the Vita nuova: "Lasciarmi con continue lagrime sfogare il mio dolore” (“ [Leave] me to give vent to m y grief with continual tears,” 3.36.17).s 1 Not long afterwards, Fileno is transform ed into a fountain, literally embodying his tears. The encounter between the mournful elegiac lover and the wise consoler thus ends with the futility o f philosophical consolation, showing in this case the inability o f rational arguments to eradicate the passions of love and grief. Similar to the pair of authorial doubles Idalagos and Caleone, Fileno and the giovane represent two diametrically opposed reactions to the vicissitudes o f love: whereas Fileno and Idalagos lose their humanity as they give themselves over to tears and laments - seeking a modicum o f solace through elegiac lamentation the giovane and Caleone find ways to overcome their love altogether. In both pairs, the consolation o f heroic action embodied in the story o f Fiorio is not an option; there is no prospect for future happiness in love for these four young lovers. Am ong all the unfortunate lovers depicted in the Filocolo, Fiorio is the only one whose love story ends in bono. Instead of the norm, his amorous tri­ umph is quite exceptional. From this perspective as well, the Filocolo speaks to the reader o f three diverse consolatory paths - heroic action, companionship in sor­ row, disavowal of love - a polyphony of consolatory voices that is reflected also in the mixture o f genres in the work, combining heroic narrative (which brings together epic and romance), repeated elegies, and Ovidian remedia amoris.

5 1. Seethe following lines from Dante’s L i occhi dolenti: “Ora, s’i’ voglio sfogarlo dolore, / che a poco a poco a la morte mi mena / convenemi parlar traendo guai” (“And now, if I should want to vent that grief, / which gradually leads me to my death, / 1 must express myself in anguished words,” Vita nuova 31.8 .4 -6).

54 * CH APTER ONE

What is the significance o f this polyphony o f consolation in the Filocoloi What does it say about the ultimate vision o f consolation advanced by B oc­ caccio in the work? The split between these three distinct ways o f coping with misfortunes, I would argue, shows that for Boccaccio - unlike Boethius - there is no one overarching and universal solution to hardships, no single normative type o f consolation that should be applied in all cases. W hen dealing with earthly love and fortune - the realm in which the lovers o f the Filocolo inter­ act - lovers inevitably find themselves in various situations, and each calls for a different remedy. Whereas Fiorio benefitted from the loyalty and the love of Biancifiore and was able to reach heroic perfection, the other lovers were apparently not as fortunate or as able; for them, the choices are the pursuit of a measure o f solace through hope, lamentations, and companionship in sor­ row or the disavowal o f bad love. And even though disavowal appears as the more reasonable solution for such heartache, it is highly significant that the w ork repeatedly acknowledges that at times this disavowal is sim ply im possi­ ble and that the pursuit o f some relief through lamentation and identification with others is the only means o f consolation available. In the final analysis, the Filocolo offers a vision o f consolation that is not only this-w orldly and receptive to sorrow, but also strongly attuned to the sufferer’s particular needs and abilities. Such recognition of particularity, as already noted, is another central fea­ ture o f Aristotelian ethics. Aristotle viewed existence as located in individu­ als (rather than in universal forms) and emphasized the importance o f being sensitive to the particular and concrete details o f a situation during moral deliberation; attention to the particular, as we have seen, is one o f the cor­ nerstones o f prudence. As Aquinas states in his com m entary on b ook 2 of the Ethics, quoted also in the introduction to this study: “ Oportet ipsos ope­ rantes per suam prudentiam intendere ad considerandum ea quae convenit agere secundum praesens tempus, consideratis omnibus particularibus cir­ cumstantiis; sicut oportet medicum facere in medicando, et gubernatorem in regimine navis.” ( “He who acts prudently must attentively consider the things to be done at the present time after all the particular circumstances have been taken into consideration. In this way a doctor must act in bringing about a cure and a captain in steering a ship,” In Eth. 2.2.259.) It is in accor­ dance with this outlook that Aquinas commends the consolatory value o f friends due to their ability to address the sufferer’s particular needs, em ploy­ ing the same m edical m etaphor: “ C ognoscit enim unus amicus morem alterius et in quibus amicus suus delectatur et tristatur; et sic potest ei con-

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veniens rem edium adhibere contra tristitiam ” (“ F or one friend knows the feeling o f another, and w hat com forts and distresses his friend; thus he can apply a fitting rem edy fo r sorrow ,” In Eth. 9 .13 .19 3 3 ) .51 Florio him self w ill introduce precisely this notion in b o o k 5 when he tells Caleone, “A diverse infermità, diversi im piastri adopera il savio m edico” (“F or different maladies wise d o cto r em ploys different rem edies,” 5.47.6) - a statem ent that encap­ sulates the A ristotelian underpinnings o f B occaccio’s polyphonic con sola­ tory vision in the Filocolo.5253 In the beginning o f this chapter, I referred to the way recent scholarship has elucidated the impact o f Aristotle on literary engagements with consolation in the fourteenth century; the new Aristotelianism o f the period inspired poets and commentators to validate the pursuit of fortune’s goods as well as to accept sor­ row over their loss as inevitable, as seen in the works o f authors such as Chaucer and M achaut. T hese Aristotelian tendencies, as this chapter has demonstrated, are strongly present in Boccaccio’s elaborate engagement with consolation in the early Filocolo, defining the alternative he establishes to Boethius’s Consolatio. At the same tim e, B occaccio’s lengthy and intricate narrative also introduces the notion - itself likely inspired b y Aristotle’s discussion o f practical wisdom in the Ethics - o f context-specific consolation, in which the remedy for misfortune fits the particular circumstances o f the sufferer. In line with this attention to the par­ ticular, the Filocolo also refrains from addressing the reader in one universal con­ solatory voice, presenting various consolatory paths and leaving to the reader the final choice as to w hich o f these paths to follow. Engaging in this manner in an elaborate and subversive dialogue with the authoritarian, universalist, and oth­ erworldly attitude o f Boethius’s Lady Philosophy and offering instead a conso­ lation that is empathetic, this-worldly, and open ended, Boccaccio’s Filocolo pro­ vides readers w ith a consolation that is not only highly Aristotelian but also profoundly literary.

52. Translation slightly modified. 53. In the conclusion o th er study o f the Filocolo, Morosini refers to the work as “un romanzo polifon ico” (Per difetto rintegrare, 16 5 ), alluding by that to the various narrating voices that fill the work. She adds, however, that in the Filocolo there is an overarching voice that ultim ately brings together the various narrators: that o f the poeta Boccaccio, who offers a unified and coherent narrative o f ascent to perfect love and knowledge. M y contention is that the “polyphony o f consolation” within the Filocolo is a veritable multiplicity, insofar as the central narrative o f Fiorio is countered b y the alternative ones o f Caleone, Idalagos, the gio­ vane, and Fileno, who represent different fortunes in love and different paths o f consolation for its sorrows.

S 6 • C H A PTER ONE

Boccaccio’s polyphonic attitude to consolation, which is introduced in the Filocolo, will continue to dominate his works throughout his career. In the fol­ lowing chapter, we will turn to explore the open-ended interplay between forms o f consolation in two o f Boccaccio’s other early works - the Filostrato and the Elegia di madonna Fiammetta - focusing on the debate which emerges in these works over how tragic narratives may serve as sources o f solace.

CHAPTER TWO

T h e Filo strato, the Elegia, and the C o n so la tio n o f T ra g e d y

Follow ing the com position o f the Filocolo, Boccaccio wrote two m ore works that directly tackle the question o f the consolatory value o f literature: the Filostrato and the Elegia di madonna Fiammetta.1 H owever, if the Filocolo explored the ques­ tion o f co n so latio n m ain ly through the narration o f a com ic narrative w ith a h appy ending, in the Filostrato and the Elegia Boccaccio turns to reflect prim arily on the con so lato ry value o f tragic narratives. Both the Filostrato and the Elegia are cast as elegies, in w h ich the narrators - Filostrato and Fiam m etta respectively - speak in the first person, lam ent their am orous lot, and appeal to an unrespon­ sive belo ved th rough writing.12 A lth o u gh their gender is different, the tw o narra­ tors e m b o d y m arkedly similar responses to heartache; they seek in w riting - as 1. T h e date o f the Filostrato’s composition is uncertain: it was traditionally assumed that the Filostrato was written after the Filocolo, probably in 1338 , because the Filostrato opens with a reference to a question from the discussion on love found in book 4 o f the Filo­ colo. Vittore Branca has challenged this view, arguing that Fiammetta - a character central to Boccaccio’s later writings - is present in the Filocolo but not in the Filostrato; he deduces, therefore, that the Filostrato was written first, probably in 1335. See Branca’s introduction to his edition o f the Filostrato in Boccaccio, “Filostrato,” ed. Vittore Branca, in Tutte le opere di Giovanni Boccaccio, ed. Branca (Milan, 19 6 4 -19 9 8 ), 2: 1-2 2 8 , at 3 -5 . See also Pier Giorgio Ricci, “P er la dedica e la datazione del Filostrato,” Studi sul Boccaccio 1 (19 6 3 ): 3 3 3 - 3 4 7 . M ore recent scholarship, however, has tended to return to the later dating, situating the work in the late 133 0 s. See Francesco Bruni, Boccaccio: L'invenzione della letteratura mez­ zana (Bologna, 19 9 0 ), 1 6 9 - 1 7 3 and Luigi Surdich, Boccaccio (Bologna, 2008), 24. The Ele­ gia di madonna Fiammetta (Elegy o f Lady Fiammetta) was written following B occaccio’ s return to Florence from Naples, probably in 134 3 or 1344. See Carlo D elcom o’s introduc­ tion in Boccaccio, “Elegia di madonna Fiammetta,” ed. Carlo Delcorno, in Tutte le opere, ed. Branca, 5.2: 1 - 1 8 9 , at 3. 2. On medieval elegy, see note 2 in the previous chapter. Scholars have often noted the major im pact o f O vid’s Heroides on Boccaccio’s adoption o f the first-person elegiac voice in the Elegia. See Boccaccio, “Elegia,” ed. Delcorno, 8-9; Bruni, Boccaccio, 2 19; Suzanne C. Hagedorn, Abandoned Women: Rewriting the Classics in Dante, Boccaccio, and Chaucer (Ann Arbor, 2004), 12 4 - 1 2 9 ; Cesare Segre, “Strutture e registri nella Fiammetta,” in Le strutture e il tempo (Turin, 19 74 ), 88-94; and Surdich, Boccaccio, 44.

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is common in the elegiac tradition - an outlet for grief, while simultaneously con­ tinuing to woo the beloved. In both works, D ante’s assertion in the third can­ zone o f the Vita nuova that he wishes to “sfogar lo dolore” ( “vent that grief,” 31.8 .4 ) through writing poetry looms large,3 in a manner which also recalls Fileno in book 3 and Idalagos in book 5 o f the Filocolo. W hile pursuing solace through elegiac writing, the narrators o f both the

Filostrato and the Elegia also seek consolation through the reading o f literature and particularly of the tragic kind. The entire Filostrato is a reading (and rewrit­ ing) o f the ancient story of Troiolo and Criseida, a story which begins with the protagonists’ amorous bliss and ends with the death o f the heartbroken T roiolo.4 In this m ovem ent from initial happiness to ultimate destruction, the story o f Troiolo follows closely the medieval understanding o f tragedy.5 Through the reading and rewriting o f the “ amoroso dolore” o f Troiolo, as Filostrato indicates in the proem, he was able to “ dare luogo” (“give issue,” Proemio.25) to his sorrow and thus gain a stay o f death.6 In the Elegia, in a similar manner, Fiammetta often describes her own experience o f reading tragic tales o f ancient heroines who suf­ fered from love; these stories helped her realize that she had companions in sor­ row and thus made her situation more bearable: “In libri diversi ricercando le altrui miserie, e quelle alle mie conformando, quasi accompagnata sentendomi, con meno noia il tempo passava” ( “I looked in various books for other people’s 3. Branca alludes to the impact o f this statement on Filostrato’s opening remarks in Boc­ caccio, “Filostrato,” ed. Branca, 848 n24. On the impact o f the Vita nuova on the elegiac style o f the Elegia, see Surdich, Boccaccio, 45. For the text, see Dante, Vita nuova, ed. Domenico de Robertis, in Opere minori, ed. Domenico de Robertis and Gianfranco Contini (Milan, 1964), 1 .1 : 3-24 7; Dante's Vita Nuova, trans. Mark L. Musa (Bloomington, IN, 1973). 4. The Filostrato is based on two late medieval works - the Roman de Troie o f Benoit de Sainte-Maure and the Historia troiana of Guido delle Colonne. See Branca’s comments in Boccaccio, “Filostrato,” ed. Branca, 6-9. On the fortunes of Troilus in the middle ages and beyond, see TheEuropean Tragedy o f Troilus, ed. Piero Boitani (Oxford, 1989). 5. Jacopo della Lana, one ofthe early commentators on the Commedia, defined tragedy thus: “La tragedia ... tratta novelle di quelle di quelli che nel principio sono stati grandi ed eccellenti, nel fine piccioli e di nessuno valore” ( “T ragedy... tells the stories o f those who were grand and fortunate in the beginning, yet small and of little value in the end” ). Jacopo della Lana, Comedia di Dante degli Allagherà col commento di Jacopo della Lana bolognese, ed. Luciano Scarabelli (Bologna, 1866), 1: 3 5 1; my translation. On the medieval conception of tragedy, see Henry Ansgar Kelly, Ideas and Forms of Tragedy from Aristotle to the Middle Ages (Cam­ bridge, 19 9 1). On Boccaccio and tragedy, see Michael Papio, "On Seneca, Mussato, Trevet, and the Boethian ‘Tragedies’ ofthe De casibus,” Heliotropia 10 (2 0 13): 47-63. 6. All quotations are from Boccaccio, “Filostrato,” ed. Branca, and from Filostrato, trans. Nathaniel Griffin and Arthur Myrick (Cambridge, ON, 1999), http://www.yorku.ca/inpar /filostrato griffin.pdf.

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miseries, and b y com paring them to mine, I felt as if I had company, and so the time passed less tediously,” 3 . 1 1 . 2 ) . 7 Thus, the same consolatory notion thatwas presented in the opening o f the Filocolo - nam ely that reading about the heartaches o f others is itself com forting to one who suffers - emerges again in both the Filostrato and the Elegia. Filo strato and Fiam m etta’s pursuit o f consolation through identification with tragic protagonists, however, is not without its tensions. In the m edieval tra­ dition, the ethical value o f tragedy was often located in its ability to provide neg­ ative m odels, show ing the reader that w hich should be avoided. A n influential encapsulation o f this notion was provided b y Boethius’s Lady Philosophy when she tries in b o o k 2 o f the Consolatio to warn the Boethius figure o f the danger o f attaching o n eself to fortune’s goods. M entioning the genre o f tragedy, L ad y Phi­ losophy asks, “ Q uid tragoediarum clam or aliud deflet nisi indiscreto ictu fortu­ nam felicia regna uertentem ?” (“W hat else do the groans o f tragedy lam ent but the overth row o f p rosperous kingdom s b y the random blows o f F ortu n e?” 2 .p 2.12 ) .78 T h is view o f tragedy - a story that warned one not to becom e attached to fortune - w as prevalent throughout the middle ages. In the Documentum de arte versificandi, G eo ffrey o fV in sau f defines tragedy as a poem “in quo agitur de contem ptu Fortune, ostendens infortunia gravium personarum” (“w hich deals w ith contempt o f fortune, showing the misfortunes of grave persons” ).9 T h is notion also em erges often in the tradition o f commentary on D ante’s Inferno 5. C om m enting on the tragic tales o f lust recounted in the canto, Pietro Alighieri, for example, states that such tragedies serve “our moral edification [and] show us what w e ought to avoid” (“ ostendat ad nostram moralitatem a quo nobis cavere debem us” ) .10 T his m edieval understanding o f tragedy shares several features w ith w hat M artha N u ssb au m has described as the ancient Stoic approach to the ethical value o f tragedy. In her analysis o f ancient tragedy, N ussbaum distinguishes

7. See Boccaccio, “Elegia," ed. D elcorno, 1 - 1 8 9 ; The Elegy o f L ady Fiammetta, trans. M ariangela C ausa-Steindler and Thom as M auch (Chicago, 1990). 8. Boethius, Consolatio philosophiae, ed. Jam es J . O ’Donnell, 2 vols. (Bryn M awr, PA, 19 8 4 ); The Theological Tractates, The Consolation o f Philosophy, ed. and trans. S.J. T ester (Cam bridge, M A , 1973); 1 3 0 - 4 3 5 9. Q uoted in Kelly, Ideas and Forms o f Tragedy, 99. 10. Pietro A lighieri, Comentum super poem a Comedie Dantis: A Critical Edition o f the Third and Fin al D raft o f Pietro Alighieri's “Commentary on Dante's 'Divine Comedy/" ed. M as­ similiano G u arn en ti (T em pe, 2002), ad Inferno 5 .9 7 -10 7 . Translation is from M edieval L it­ erary Theory and Criticism , c. 1 1 0 0 - 1 3 7 5 , ed. A .J. Minnis and A B . Scott, with the assistance o f David W allace (O xford, 19 88 ), 488.

6o

• C H A P T E R TWO

between the Aristotelian and Stoic approaches to tragedy.11 W hereas the A ris­ totelian view, as she shows, considered the suffering o f tragic protagonists to be a m anifestation o f hum anity’s inescapable dependency on the vicissitudes o f chance - a fact which makes them w orthy o f pity (eleos) 11 - the ancient Stoics refused to see suffering as inevitable. F o r the Stoics, suffering is an outcom e o f misguided attachment to objects beyond one’s control, and it is precisely against such attachments that tragedy warns readers. Epictetus fam ously encapsulated this view thus: “ L o o k h ow tragedy com es about: w hen chance events befall fools.” 1*13 In accordance w ith this notion, the Stoics sought to establish a “ criti­ cal spectator” who w ould reflect on the actions o f the protagonists rather than identify em otionally with their plight and would learn thereby what should be followed and w hat should be avoided: "T h e Stoics hope to construct a specta­ tor who is vigilant rather than im pressionable, actively judging rather than immersed, critical rather than trustful.” 14 W ith their perspective o f tragedy as warning, both Boethius and the Dante o f Inferno 5 closely follow this Stoic view. A nd from this Stoic, Boethian, and Dantean perspective, the use o f tragedy b y Filostrato and Fiam m etta in the Filostrato and the Elegia is deeply problem atic. F o r rather than m aintaining a critical distance from the tragic exem pla they recount and learning from their mistakes, the narrators o f both w orks strongly identify w ith these exempla and seek solace in the realization that they have com panions in suffering. A n d indeed, m uch o f the recen t scholarship has tended to read the Filostrato and the Elegia in a “ Stoic” manner, arguing that Boccaccio offers in b oth w orks a scathing, ironic critique o f his elegiac narrators.1S T h ro ugh this critique, it is argued, B occaccio aims to lead readers to recognize the narrators’ m istaken attachm ent to tragic protagonists and the dangers o f un controlled passions, particularly love. From this perspective, the w orks’ readers are not expected to show p ity fo r Filostrato and Fiam m etta and perhaps gain consola11. M artha Nussbaum , “Poetry and the Passions: T w o Stoics View s,” in Passions and Perceptions: Studies in Ftellenistic Philosophy ofMind, ed. Jacques Brunschwig and M artha N uss­ baum (Cam bridge, 19 9 3), 9 7 -14 9 i z . See Aristotle’s famous discussion o f tragic emotions in Poetics 6, i4 4 9 b i4 - 2 8 ; The Poetics, ed. and trans. Stephen H alliwell (C am bridge, M A , 19 9 5 ). O n A ristotle’s v iew o f tragedy, see especially M artha Nussbaum , The Fragility of Goodness: Luck and Ethics in Greek Tragedy and Philosophy (Cam bridge, 19 86 ), 3 7 8 - 3 9 1 . 13 . Q uoted in Nussbaum , “Poetry and the Passions,” 129. 14. Nussbaum, “P oetry and the Passions,” 13 7 . 15 . See especially Hagedorn, Abandoned Women, 1 2 2 - 1 2 9 ; R obert Hollander, Boccac­ cio's Two Venuses (N ew York, 19 7 7 ), 4 0 - 5 3 ; and Jan et Smarr, Boccaccio and Fiammetta: The Narrator as Lover (Urbana, IL, 1986), 1 4 - 3 3 , 1 1 9 - 1 4 8 .

TH E CONSOLATION OF TRA GED Y • 6 l

tion from identifying with their plight, but rather to reflect critically on their actions and reach the proper conclusions regarding the need to leave love behind before it is too late. In the Elegia, as we will see, this position becomes particularly explicit, as the work often alludes to the Stoic tragedies o f Seneca and even introduces a figure - the nurse - who directly criticizes the narrator for her naive w ay o f reading and identifying fully with the suffering o f literary characters. While these readings o f the two works are undoubtedly powerful, Boccac­ cio’s approach is mistakenly flattened into a one-dimensional moral. Beginning with an analysis o f the Filostrato and continuing with the Elegia, this chapter will show how the conflict over the consolatory value o f literary tragedy constitutes a central feature o f both works and is left largely open ended. While both the Filostrato and the Elegia offer ample warnings about the perils of love, both works also suggest that love is an insurmountable force that cannot be renounced at will. In the face o f a love gone wrong, both works therefore claim, one can only find a modicum o f solace through elegiac supplication and identification with the sorrows o f others. Rather than a tragedy in the Stoic manner, the Filostrato and Elegia in effect render a critique of the Stoic, Boethian, and Dàntean ideol­ ogy o f tragedy, as they challenge the ability of tragic narratives to alter passion. Those who can renounce a love gone wrong - like Caleone in the Filocolo - are clearly invited to do so, but the Filostrato and Elegia also acknowledge that there are instances in which such disavowal is simply not possible. As in the Filocolo, in both the Filostrato and the Elegia Boccaccio is not dismissive o f people’s suffer­ ing but empathetic to their amorous sorrows. So too does his vision o f literary consolation remain polyphonic, as he offers readers individual paths to cope with suffering, leaving it to his audience to make the final choice as to how to use the work as a source o f consolation.

The "Filostrato” between Disavowal and Companionship in Sorrow Following the elaborate proem, in which Filostrato recounts his reasons for writ­ ing - to ease his sorrow and to appeal to his beloved Filomena - the narrator finally turns to his story. The first three b ooks of the Filostrato tell about the affair between the Trojan warrior Troiolo, one of King Priam’s sons, and Criseida, the widowed daughter of the prophet Calchas. Assisted by his friend Pandaro, Criseida’s cousin, the lovestruck Troiolo manages to win over his beloved, and the couple enjoys a short period of bliss. In book 3.74-89, Troiolo celebrates this fulfillment o f earthly love in an elaborate hymn in praise of amor, which draws

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upon both Dante's Paradiso 33 and Boethius's hymn to cosmic love in b ook 2 m eter 8 o f the Consolatio - a point to which we shall return.16 Troiolo's amorous bliss, however, does not last long, as a prisoners' swap sends Criseida to the Greek camp. The devastated Troiolo is left behind in T roy, and although Criseida promises to rem ain loyal to him and return swiftly, she soon falls in love with the G reek D iom edes. O ver the course o f books 4 through 9, Troiolo repeatedly finds reasons to cling to his love and to the hope that C ri­ seida w ill return to him as prom ised, until he receives absolute p ro o f o f her betrayal. Eventually, his despair leads him to seek death in battle, which he finally finds at the hands o f Achilles. T he narrative o f Troiolo's tragic downfall offers ample p ro o f o f the perilous potential o f earthly love or amore per diletto. F o r critics such as R obert H ollan ­ der and especially Ja n e t Sm arr, the w o rk is filled w ith ironic com m ents on Filostrato's and T ro io lo 's blind adherence to love. T he protagonists' failings, they argue, are m eant to provide a negative exemplum, leading readers to dis­ sociate them selves from the characters'' actions and realize the dangers o f such love. T h e Filostrato, from their perspective, should be seen as a suitable coun­ terpart to D ante's Inferno 5 .17 From the start, the scene o f T roiolo's innamoramento, as Sm arr argues, con­ tains this ironic subtext. The scene takes place outside the shrine o f Pallas, the goddess o f wisdom , so even the setting is “an ironic background for T ro io lo 's subjection to the irrational forces o f lo v e."18 T o this observation w e m ay add that im m ediately after he has fallen for Criseida, Troiolo praises her beauty b y com ­ paring her charms to those o f his sister Polyxena and H elen ( 1.4 2 .7 - 8 ) . H is ref16 .

T ro io lo 's hym n begins as follow s: “ O luce etterna, il cui lieto splendore / fa bejlo

il terzo ciel dal qual ne piove / piacer, vaghezza, pietate ed am ore, / ... / certa cagion del valor che m i m ove / a' sospir dolci della m ia salute, / sem pre lodata sia la tua virtute" (“ O ligh t eternal, w ho se cheerful radiance m aketh fair the third heaven, w hence descendeth upon m e pleasure, delight, pity, and lo v e ... certain source o f the strength w hich prom pteth m e to m y h ealth’s sw eet sighs, forever praised be thy pow er," 3 .7 4 .1- 8 ) . T h e line “ O luce etterna" is taken directly from D ante's address to G od in Paradiso 3 3 .12 4 . A little later in his hym n, T ro io lo goes on to praise love fo r the w ay it binds all things togeth er: “T u 'n unità le case e le cittadi, / li regni e le p rovin ce e '1 m ondo tutto / tien', bella dea" ( “ T h ou , fair goddess, holdest houses and cities, kingdom s, provinces, and the entire w orld at on e,” 3 .7 8 .1 - 3 ) . T h is praise evokes B oeth iu s's p raise o f cosm ic love in the Consolatio: “ H an c rerum seriem ligat / terras ac pelagus regens / et caelo im peritans am or" ( “W hat binds all things to order, / G overning earth and see and sky, / Is love," 2 .1T 18 .13 -15 ). T ro io lo ’s hym n thus clearly replaces D antean and B oethian cosm ic love w ith an earthly one. 17 . H ollander, Boccaccio's Two Venuses, 4 9 - 5 3 , and Sm arr, Boccaccio and Fiammetta, 14 - 3 3 -

18. Smarr, Boccaccio and Fiammetta, 16.

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63

erence to these tw o w o m e n is significant, as both are fam ous not only for their b eau ty b u t also fo r b ein g respon sible fo r the death o f the heroes w ho fell in love w ith th em - P o ly x e n a fo r A c h ille s 's death, H elen ultim ately fo r that o f P aris. T h o u g h the ch aracter o f T ro io lo is n ot y e t aware o f the destructive outcom es o f these tw o lo v e stories, the read er m ay w ell be expected to notice the iron y in h er­ ent in his co m p a riso n and is alerted to the dangers intrinsic to T ro io lo 's love. S im ila rly iro n ic - even com ic - com m entaries on T ro io lo 's blind adh eren ce to love p e p p e r the n arrative . 1 9 U p o n C riseid a's departure to the G ree k cam p, fo r exam ple, she p ro m ises T ro io lo that she w ill find a w ay to return to him after ten days. O n th e ten th day, T ro io lo e agerly awaits her prom ised return at the city gates. W h e n she fails to sh o w up, T ro io lo invents various excuses fo r h er delay, fin ally d e clarin g that the p ro b lem is surely that he m iscalculated the days. C riseida, he m u ses, p ro b a b ly m eant that she w ould return on the eleventh day, after sp en d in g ten days w ith h er father in the G reek cam p ( 7 .1 3 ) . C o n v in c ed o f this explanation, T ro io lo com es b ack to w ait for her in vain the follow ing d ay as w e ll - and then fo r several m ore days, d esperately clinging to an em pty hop e fo r h e r return. T h e n arrative's pain staking focus on the deliberations o f his self-d elu sion m ay su rely serve as an in vitation to the reader to consider the blind fo lly to w h ich love leads its su b jects. T h e p a tte rn o f self-d elu sion con tinu es later in part 7 w h en T ro io lo sen d s C riseid a a le tte r at the p ro m p tin g o f Pan daro to find out about h er situ ation an d "test" h e r lo y a lty th ro u g h w ritin g.20 T ro io lo 's letter closely recalls a sim ilar le tte r 19 . T h e c o m ic aspects o f the Filostrato have been discussed b y Fab ian A lfie in “ L o v e and P o etry: R e a d in g B o c c a c c io ’s Filostrato as a M edieval Parod y,” Forum Italicum 3 2 ( 1 9 9 8 ) : 3 4 7 - 3 7 4 . F o r A lfie, th ese com ic features are p art o f the w o r k s p arod y o f the solem n stilnovistic tradition, aim ed to advan ce “ a reform ulated ideology o f the b o d y and the m aterial w o rld ” (3 6 5 ). A lfie, h o w e v e r, recog n izes that the w o rk preserves a tension betw een the su b versive “id e o lo g y o f the b o d y ” an d the m oralistic w arn in gs against the perils o f carnal lo ve exp ressed in it. H e attribu tes this m o ralistic elem en t to th e rem nants o f “ traditional o rth o d o xy” that still had in flu e n ce on th e y o u n g B o c c ac c io - an influ ence that w ill be eroded, accord in g to him , b y the tim e o f th e Decameron. R ecen tly, A lb erto G elm i further illustrated the com ic - even ludic - fe atu res o f the Filostrato an d p oin ted to the tension betw een its ludic and elegiac fe a ­ tures. G e lm i attribu tes this oscillation to the y o u n g au th o rs inability “to find a d efinite p itch for his w o rk .” S e e A lb e rto G elm i, “ Filo strato : A n U nintentional C o m ed y?” in Boccaccio and

His World: Proceedings of the Third Triennial Meeting of the American Boccaccio Association, Duke University, September-October 2016 , ed. V alerio C appozzo, M artin Eisner, and T im o th y K irch er, Heliotropia 1 5 ( 2 0 1 8 ) : 9 3 - 1 0 9 , at 10 6 . 20. “A l m io parere, / con iscrittura è da tentar costei, / però che s'ella non t’avrà ’n calere, / n on c re d o c h e risp o sta ab b iam da le i” ( “ In m y op inion she is to be tested b y w ritin g, since i f she c areth n o lo n g e r fo r thee, I do n ot believe that w e shall have a respo nse from h e r,”

-

- - 4 )-

7 4 9 1

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sent by Fiorio to Biancofiore in b o o k 3 o f the Filocolo ( 3 .2 0 .17 - 3 2 ) .21 Similar to Fiorio, Troiolo writes o f his sorrowful condition and his fears about his beloved's loyalty (Filostrato 7.58); in closing, he beseeches Criseida to return to him (7.75.8). Criseida does not respond to his letter "per più giorni" ("for many days,” 7.76.3), yet even this bitter fact does not disabuse Troiolo o f his love (7 .7 6 .7 8). Criseida will finally answer his letter, offering many excuses for her delay and falsely promising again to come back to him - a promise which further fuels Troiolo's hopes (7 .10 5 .7 -8 ). In response to Biancifiore's reassuring letter in the Filocolo, Fiorio raises the concern that written confessions may lie and deceive22 - a suspicion that mate­ rializes in the case o f Criseida. Troiolo, however, is once again blind to the decep­ tion and continues to love and hope in vain. The fact that the narrator, Filostrato, repeats the exact same attempt o f beseeching his absent beloved to return to him b y sending her the w ork he has written, without even considering the omens o f doom embedded in the story he narrates, is undoubtedly telling.23 According to Smarr, the Filostrato's critique o f Troiolo's blind adherence to love - and its critique o f Filostrato's - are also manifest in the work's frequent allusions to Dante's Vita nuova and the Commedia.24 Relying on Branca's iden­ tification o f Boccaccio's references to Dante in the Filostrato, Smarr has percep­ tively shown how the proem and conclusion o f the Filostrato refer primarily to the Vita nuova, while the narrative o f Troiolo is steeped with allusions to the Com­ media. In both instances, she explains, Boccaccio consistently employs Dante's language o f divine love to describe amore per diletto - a transposition that ulti­ mately underscores Filostrato's mistaken understanding o f the different kinds o f love. In the proem , for example, Filostrato refers to his beloved's name as "di grazia pieno" (Proemio. 16 ), a clear allusion to Dante's naming o f Beatrice as 2 1. Boccaccio, “Filocolo,” ed. Antonio Enzo Quaglio, in Tutte le opere, ed. Branca, 1: 6 0 -675; Il Filocolo, trans. D onald Cheney, with the collaboration o f Thom as G. Bergin (New York, 19 85). 22. “Fermamente ella m 'inganna, e quello ch’ella mi scrive non per amore, ma per paura lo scrive” (“Surely she is deceiving me, and what she writes me she writes not from love but from fear,” Filocolo 3 .2 5 .1). 23. In the congedo o f the work, after com pleting his narration o f T roiolo’s misfortunes, Filostrato sends his book to his lady, ordering it to beseech her to return to him: “Se tu la vedi ad ascoltarti pia / nell’angelico aspetto punto farsi / o sospirar della fatica mia / priegaia quanto puoi che ritornarsi” ( “I f thou dost see her make ready in her angelic face to listen respectfully to thee, or sigh for the hardships I have endured, pray her as earnestly as thou canst, that it m ay please her presendy to return,” 9 .7 .1-4 ). 24. Smarr, Boccaccio and Fiammetta, 2 1 - 3 3 .

TH E CONSOLATION OF T RA G ED Y • 6 5

“piena di grazia” in the third canzone o f the Vita nuova ( 3 1.11.3 0 ) . However, whereas the context o f D ante's statem ent is Beatrice's death and ascent to heaven, the context o f Filostrato's is his beloved Filomena's departure from Naples. T he religious and salvific context o f Dante's poem is replaced with Filostrato's religion o f earthly love, and the fact that the story he is about to tell ends tragically serves to alert the reader to the perils inherent in this worldly choice. This m echanism repeats itself within the story o f Troiolo. In book 3, as noted above, Troiolo begins his hymn to love with the address “O luce etterna” (Filostrato 3 .7 4 .1) , w ords which are taken verbatim from D ante's Paradiso 33.12 4 . Yet whereas Dante addresses God, Troiolo's subject is Venus, and his ultimate downfall, as Sm arr argues, “says something about the consequences o f addressing the w rong deity.''25 Later in the work, following the prisoners' swap that sends C riseida to the Greek camp, allusions to the Inferno begin to dom i­ nate. In book 4.27, for example, Troiolo is compared to a raging bull, echoing the “ira” o f the m inotaur in Inferno 12 .2 2 -2 5 . Amore per diletto thereby turns into a type o f hell. A ll o f these subtle ironic com m entaries on Troiolo's - and Filostrato's blindness and perilous adherence to love indicate that the call to disavow love as a rem edy for its sorrows m ay w ell be present in the Filostrato, just as it was in the case o f C aleon e in the Filocolo. From this perspective, the Filostrato m ay be seen as sharing features with Stoic tragedy, as it invites the reader to reflect critically on the actions o f the protagonists and realize the need to disengage from a love gone wrong while there is still time. Y et w hile this reading o f the Filostrato is clearly an option for the reader to consider, we must ask w h eth er it is the m ain one: is the presentation o f T ro io lo 's and Filostrato's unw avering dedication to their beloveds intended solely as a cri­ tique o f their blindness? Or might their steadfastness also be a statem ent on love's insurm ountable pow er and, by extension, on the limits o f tragic litera­ ture to cure passion? It is this latter option, I would argue, that is the central thrust o f the Filostrato. The lover's ultimate impotence against amor is apparent from the very begin­ ning o f T ro iolo's story. Pointedly highlighted in the depiction o f T ro iolo's innamoramento, Troiolo falls under Criseida's sway immediately after he finishes a lofty speech on the foolishness o f lovers. In this speech, he states that while in the past he had let him self submit to this “maladetto foco” (“accursed fire,” 1.23.2) due to his “gran follia” (“great folly,” 1.2 3.1), now, having been freed from 25. Smarr, Boccaccio and Fiammetta, 26.

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this madness, he has learned his lesson.16 However, as soon as Troiolo completes his scornful speech, his eyes fall by chance upon the sight of Criseida and he falls immediately and completely in love. The irony, in this case, is not Troiolo’s inability to learn from his experience about the dangers o f love, but rather his haughty assumption that he has the power to control it. The insurmountable nature o f love is also a central pronouncement o f the major intradiegetic scene of consolation in the Filostrato, which takes place in book 4. The scene commences when Pandaro, who serves throughout the nar­ rative as the devout friend, comes to visit Troiolo after he receives the dire news of Criseida’s imminent departure. Seeing Troiolo in dire straits, Pandaro - just like the duke in book 3 of the Filocolo - weeps together with his friend and then offers a lengthy consolation. First, Pandaro tells Troiolo that he should rejoice in the fact that he enjoyed bliss with Criseida for a short while. He then advises him to find a new beloved to replace the old, thus recalling Ovid’s Remedia amoris: “Il nuovo amor sempre caccia l’antico” (4.49.2).26 27 Troiolo, however, fiercely objects to this advice, declaring that Criseida is the source of everything that is good in him (4.51.8). He then insists that love, once implanted, can in no way be removed from the heart: “Credimi, Pandar, credimi ch’amore / quando s’apprende per sommo piacere / nell’anima d’alcun, cacciamel fore / non si può mai” (“Believe me, Pandaro, believe me that love when it takes root in the mind of anyone to their utmost pleasure, can never be driven forth,” 4.5 9.1 -4 ) .28 Anticipating the author-narrator’s similar statement in the Decameron (Proemio. 5), Troiolo states that only the passage of time may have some impact on the course o f love (4.59.4-5). Troiolo also reminds Pandaro that he too (Pandaro) was not able to alter his own love, even though he suffered great pains on account o f it (4.58). Love, Troiolo insists, cannot be willed away. The theme o f the insurmountable power o f love receives its final pro­ nouncement in the fact that Troiolo remains dedicated to Criseida even after he attains what is for him the absolute proof of her betrayal. This proof comes about

26. “Che è a porre in donna alcuno amore? / Ché come al vento si volge la foglia, / così ’n un di ben mille volte il core / di lor si volge, né curan di doglia / che per lor senta alcun loro amadore, / né sa alcuna quel ch’ella si voglia. / O felice colui che del piacere / lor non è preso, e sassene astenere!” (“W hy bestow love upon any woman? As the leaf turneth to the wind, so change their hearts a thousand times a day, nor care they for the anguish that a lover feeleth for them, nor doth any lady know what she wanteth. O happy that man who is not captured by their charm, and who know ethhowto abstain therefrom!” 1.2 2 .1-8 ) . 27. Cf. Ovid, Remedia amoris 462: “Successore novo vincitur omnis amor.” See Ovid, “The Remedies for Love,” in The Art of Love, and Other Poems, ed. and trans. J.H . Mozley, rev. G.P. Goold (Cambridge, MA, 1979), 17 7 -2 3 4 . 28. Translation slightly modified.

TH E CO NSOLATIO N OF T R A G E D Y • 6 7

when T ro iolo discovers that the Greek warrior Diomedes carried with him into battle a gold brooch belonging to C risei da, confirming thereby Troiolo's worst fears: “Io veggio pur ch'è vero / il sogno ed il sospetto e '1 mio pensiero” (“N o w do I see indeed that m y dream, m y suspicion, and my thought are true,” 8 .10 .7 8). T he attainm ent o f certainty and the shuttering o f his hopes, however, do not in any w ay alter his love; rather they lead Troiolo to recklessly seek revenge and his own death in battle. In the face o f love, the Filostrato suggests, knowledge may in effect be irrelevant. T he story o f T roiolo, as a result, presents a man who falls in love against his will with a duplicitous and unreliable lover, and who has no ability to break free from love's chains, regardless o f the doom it entails. The story's tragic nature thus stems not only from its depiction o f a protagonist who falls from the height o f bliss to the pits o f misery, but also from its portrayal o f a protagonist who falls prey to pow ers that are beyond his control. B y concentrating on Troiolo's insur­ mountable subjugation to love, the Filostrato illustrates the Aristotelian approach to tragedy, as discussed b y Nussbaum, rather than the Stoic one. It is a tragedy that underscores people's inescapable subjugation to powers beyond their con­ trol - an attitude to love that was central to Francesca's speech in Dante's Inferno 5, as well as to the lyric poetry o f Guido Cavalcanti and Petrarch.29 And, as in Aristotelian tragedy, this enslavement to powers beyond one's control makes the protagonist an object w orthy o f pity and compassion, not ridicule or scorn. A sim ilar view m ay be applied to the narrator Filostrato's situation; he too has been tragically ensnared b y an insurmountable power. Rather than blam e 29.

A s F r a n c e s c a d eclares: “A m o r , ch ’a nullo am ato am ar perdon a” ( “ L o v e , that releases

no b e lo v e d fr o m lo v in g ,” Inferno 5 .10 3 ). C o n s id e r also the closing lines o f C a v a lc a n ti's fifth sonnet, in w h ic h h e im agin es the reaction o f the grou p o f nobles to his falling in love: “ Q u a n d o m i vider, tu tti c o n p ie ta n z a / disserrai: 'F a tto se ' di tal servente, / che m ai n o n dèi sperare altro che m o r t e '” ( “W h e n th e y s a w m e, all w ith p ity / said to m e - y o u ’ve been m ade a servan t - / and m u st n e v e r h o p e fo r a n y th in g b u t d e a th ,” 5 .1 2 - 1 4 ) . G u id o C avalcan ti, The Complete

Poems, trans. M a r c A . C irig lia n o ( N e w Y o rk , 19 9 2). P etrarch echoes the sam e n o tio n in the o p en in g so n n e t o f the Canzoniere : “ O v e sia chi p e r pro va intenda am ore / spero tro var pietà, n on che p e r d o n o ” ( “W h e r e there is a n yo n e w h o understands love through experience, I h o p e to find p ity, n o t o n ly p a r d o n ,” 1 .7 - 8 ) . P e tra rch ’s v e ry plea for p ity u n derscores his sen se tha t lo ve is a trag ic c o m p u lsio n . P e tra rch , Petrarch's Lyric Poems, trans. R o b ert M . D u rlin g ( C a m ­ bridge, M A , 19 7 6 ). O n G u id o C a v a lca n ti's tragic v iew o f love, see T eo d o lin d a Barolini, “ D a n te and C a v a lc a n ti ( O n M a k in g D istin ctio n s in M a tte rs o f L o v e ) : Inferno 5 in Its L y r ic and A u t o ­ b io gra p h ica l C o n t e x t ,” (19 9 8 ) in Dante and the Origins of Italian Literary Culture ( N e w Y o rk ,

2006), 7 0 - 1 0 1 , esp. 7 8 - 8 1 , an d G iu se p p e M a zzo tta , Dante's Vision and the Circle o f Knowledge (P rin ce to n , 19 9 3 ) ; 6 0 - 6 1. F o r a th o ro u g h analysis o f the scientific and m ed ical co n te x t o f C a v a lc a n ti’ s tra g ic v ie w o f lo v e as exp re sse d in the can zo n e Donna mi prega, see N a t a s c ia T o n e lli, Fisiologia della passione: Poesia d'amore e medicina da Cavalcanti a Boccaccio ( F l o ­ rence, 2 0 15 ) , 36 -6 9 .

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the narrator for his hermeneutic blindness and enduring foolish hope, the story suggests that the narrator cannot learn from Troiolo because he is likewise moved by compulsion, a further example o f the indomitable power o f love. It m ay be significant, then, that the narrator directs his explicit didactic message at the end o f the work to readers who are about to enter the perilous game o f love - telling them to be cautious in choosing their beloved30 - not to those who already suf­ fer from it; this too indicates that those who are caught in the net o f amor are beyond cure. Rather than urging the reader to disengage from love before it is too late, the Filostrato asserts that such disengagement is simply not feasible and that there are instances in which the pursuit of solace through identification with the similar sorrows o f others is the only viable means of consolation available. This reading o f Troiolo's tragedy allows us to examine the many allusions to Dante's works from a different perspective than the one offered by Smarr. While Smarr, as we have seen, considered the Filostrato's allusions to Dante as a subtle warning on the dangers of amore per diletto, in fact the frequent employment of Dante's language m aybe seen as part o f Boccaccio's conscious shift away from Dantean (and Boethian) divine love and toward earthly love. Considering amore per diletto an inescapable aspect of human existence, Boccaccio probes this power in its various manifestations - the blissful as well as the tragic - and utilizes Dan­ tean references to evoke these different situations. Whereas in book 3 it is Dante's Paradiso which is used to celebrate the bliss of earthly love, later in the w ork it is the language o f the Inferno that appropriately illustrates Troiolo's amorous mis­ ery. The ultimate aim, in any case, is not the complete eradication o f earthly love - this is not truly feasible for Boccaccio - but rather the pursuit o f possible reme­ dies for suffering within its confines. Although the perceptive readers o f the Filostrato, as already noted, may well reach the decision that renouncing a love gone wrong would be the right choice for them, the Filostrato is also deeply skeptical about the ability of the spumed lover to foreswear love. Beginning and ending with Filostrato's elegiac supplica­ tions to his beloved - which bookend the tragedy o f Troiolo - the very form of 30. “O giovinetti, ne’ quai con l’etate / surgendo vien l’amoroso disio, / per Dio vi priego che voi raffreniate / i pronti passi all’appetito rio, / e nell’amor di Troiol vi specchiate, / il qual dimostra suso il verso mio; / per che, se ben col cuor gli leggerete / non di leggieri a tutte crederete” (“ O youths, in whom amorous desire gradually riseth with age, I pray you for the love o f the gods that ye check the ready steps to that evil passion and that ye mirror your­ selves in the love o f Troiolo, which my verses set forth above, for if ye will read them aright and will take them to heart, not lightly will ye have trust in all women,” 8 .2 9 .1-8 ). This advice in itself entails ironic aspects, for the mirror o f Troiolo also shows, as we have seen, that one does not have much say in the choice of with whom to fall in love.

TH E CONSOLATION OF TRAGED Y • 6 9

the Filostrato underscores the futility o f literary tragedy to change the course of love or extinguish the narrator s undying hope. The predominance o f allusions to the elegiac and future-oriented Vita nuova in the proem and conclusion o f the Filostrato m ay well serve to underscore the open-ended nature o f the Filostrato itself: in contrast to T roiolo’s sealed tragedy, the narrator’s hope is still alive, and he has no intention or ability to give it up, regardless o f how hopeless his love may seem. Instead o f a critique o f the narrator Filostrato, the entire work becomes an ironic commentary on the Stoic, Boethian, and Dantean ideology of tragic literature; his undying love challenges this tradition’s confidence in the ability o f tragic exempla to cure passion. While continuing in the same thisworldly and polyphonic vein o f the Filocolo, the Filostrato focuses on the Filenos and Idalagoses o f the world, giving a prime place to their assertion that in the face o f a love gone wrong, all one can do is find a measure of solace, a stay o f death, through identification with the similar suffering o f others. This focus on the insurmountable nature of love will be also central to the later, and closely related, Elegia di madonna Fiammetta, a work which is strongly in dialogue with Seneca’s Stoic tragedies. In the Elegia di madonna Fiammetta, as we will now see, the debate over the proper way of reading tragic narratives and using them as a means o f consolation will become much more explicit - as will the demonstration o f tragedy’s inability to cure passion.

The “Elegia di M adonna Fiammetta" and the Limits of Tragic Exem plarity The Elegia di madonna Fiammetta (Elegy of Lady Fiammetta) was written, as noted, probably in 13 4 3 -13 4 4 , a few years after the Filostrato and following Boc­ caccio’s return to Florence from Naples. Boccaccio scholarship has often por­ trayed the Elegia as a major turning point in the author’s writing, seeing it as a significant milestone in the maturation o f his prose style, which would eventually lead to the Decameron.31 It is also often hailed as the “first psychological novel” in European literature.32 Yet the Elegia is at the same time also a deeply, self-con­ sciously rhetorical work, which continues to engage with themes very similar to

3 1 . See D elcom o’s remarks in Boccaccio, “Elegia,” ed. Delcomo, 6 - 7; Henri Hauvette, Boccace: Étude biographique et littéraire (Paris, 19 14 ), 1 5 1- 1 5 8 ; and Natalino Sapegno, Storia letteraria del trecento (Milan, 1963), 305-307. 32. Salvatore Battaglia, L a coscienza letteraria del Medioevo (Naples, 1965), 6 59; Lucia Battaglia Ricci, Boccaccio (Rome, 2000), 1 1 2 - 1 1 6 ; and Surdich, Boccaccio, 44.

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those o f the Filostrato - especially in its metaliterary exploration o f the consola­ tory value of tragic literature. Despite the evident similarities noted above between the Filostrato and the Elegia ,33it is important to note that while in the Filostrato there is a distinction between the narrator (Filostrato) and the central protagonist (Troiolo), in the Elegia Fiammetta is at once the narrator and the main protagonist. Similar to Augustine in the Confessions or Dante in the Vita nuova, Fiammetta recounts the story of her love from its felicitous inception up to its present uncertain condition. One o f the outcomes o f this autobiographical style is that whereas in the Filostrato the explicit discussion o f the pursuit of consolation through literature is confined to the narrator’s statements in the proem and conclusion in parts 8 and 9, in the Elegia the pursuit o f literary consolation occupies a central role throughout the work, as the narrator-heroine repeatedly describes her search for solace through reading. Engagement with the consolation of literature thus becomes one o f the central themes o f the Elegia as a whole - perhaps more explicitly than in any other of Boccaccio’s works. M uch as in the earlier Filostrato, tbe Elegia unfurls a conflict over the proper use o f tragic exempla as a source o f consolation. However, whereas in the Filostrato this conflict is implicit in the work’s subtle ironic commentary on the amorous blindness o f Filostrato and Troiolo, in the Elegia this tension emerges explicitly within the debates between Fiammetta and the figure o f her nurse. Fiammetta’s therapeutic use o f storytelling first comes to the fore in chapter 3. A t this point in the story, Fiammetta describes how she eagerly awaited the return o f her secret lover Panfilo, who left Naples for Florence at the request o f his father but promised to return within four months. Ju st like Troiolo in the Filostrato, Fiammetta looked for ways to pass the time until the beloved returned; yet while Troiolo engaged (in vain) in distracting activities such as travelling, Fiammetta listened to stories. T 0 chase away her melancholy, she listened to the fantastic stories told by her maids - stories which were mainly a source o f diver­ sion: “Alcuna volta, se altro a fare non mi occorreva, ragunate le mie fanti con meco nella mia camera, e raccontava e faceva raccontare storie diverse, le quali quanto più erano di lungi dal vero, come il più così fatte genti le dicono, cotanto parea ch’avessono maggiore forza a cacciare i sospiri e a recare festa a me ascoltante” (“ Sometimes, if I had no other obligations, I gathered m y maids together in m y chamber and recounted, or had them recount, all sorts o f stories, and the further from the truth they were - as most o f these people’s tales are - the 33. On the parallels between the two works, see also Bruni, Boccaccio, 2 2 1, and Segre, “ Strutture e registri nella Fiammetta,” 95.

T H E CO N SO LA TIO N OF T R A G E D Y • 7 1

greater pow er they seem ed to have in chasing m y sorrows away and making me a cheerful listener/’ 3 . 1 1 . 1 ).3435W hen this form o f distraction was not available to her, Fiammetta adds, she pursued solace in reading about the misfortunes o f oth­ ers. In these stories, as already quoted above, she explains that she can see herself in others’ troubles and thus gain solace b y realizing that she is not alone in suf­ fering: “In libri diversi ricercando le altrui miserie, e quelle alle mie conformando, quasi accompagnata sentendomi, con meno noia il tempo passava” (“I looked in various books for other people’s miseries, and by comparing them to mine, I felt as if I had com pany, and so the time passed less tediously,” 3 .11.2 ) . The same consolatory pathw ay that was presented in the opening sections o f the Filocolo and the Filostrato is thus central to Fiammetta’s pursuit o f literary consolation in the Elegia. In chapter 8, Fiam m etta returns to this consolatory strategy, describing at length her attem pt to console herself b y reading about ancient exempla o f m is­ ery. In this penultim ate chapter, Fiammetta completes the account o f her past misfortunes in love and arrives at the present moment o f writing. Despite all the hardships she has endured on account o f Panfilo’s failure to return as promised, she continues to cling to the hope o f being reunited with him. She describes her plan to undertake a journey, dressed as a pilgrim, in order to see her beloved one more time (aw ish that will be fulfilled by Giletta in story3.9 of the Decameron).55 Until this future journey, Fiam m etta declares that she will bear her grief b y read­ ing about the am orous torments o f other women, specifying that her aim in such reading is to allow her to sustain her grief, not eradicate it: “M a avendo io ferma speranza posta di dovere, come già dissi, nel futuro viaggio rivedere colui che di ciò m’è cagione, non di mitigarle m'ingegno, ma più tosto di sostenerle. Alla qual cosa fare solo uno m odo possibile ho trovato intra gli altri, il quale è le mie pene con quelle di coloro che sono dolorosi passati commensurare.” (“But because, as

34. T h e idea o f diversion offered by fantastic stories told b y maids will return in B oc­ caccio’s later defense o f poetry in book 1 4 o f the Genealogia deorum. See Jam es C . Kriesel, “The Genealogy o f Boccaccio’s T h eo ry o f A llegory,” Studi sul Boccaccio 37 (2009): 19 7 -2 2 6 , at 2 2 2 -2 2 3 . 35. Scholars have tended to consider this wish o f Fiam m etta as unrealistic and even comic. See Bruni, Boccaccio, 2 2 s, and Carlo D elcorno, “N ote sui dantismi nell’Elegia di madonna Fiammetta,” Studi sul Boccaccio 15 ( 19 7 9 ): 2 5 1-2 9 4 , at 289 n 9 i. Nonetheless, this wish m ay b e regarded as the female counterpart o f the consolation o f heroic action that was central to the Filocolo. T he fact that in Decameron 3.9 the figure o f Giletta will undertake pre­ cisely such a journey to obtain her unresponsive beloved and that it will turn out successful is no doubt significant and suggests that Fiam m etta’s plan was not intended in the Elegia m erely as a joke.

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I have already said, I have firm ly placed m y hope in seeing, during m y future jour­ ney, the one who causes me all o f this, I do not try to mitigate my sorrows but to bear them. T o do this, I have found that am ong other m eans on ly one is possible, namely, to com pare m y own m isfortunes with those o f other people w ho have lived in pain ,” 8 .1.2 , em phases added.) R eading about the sorrow s o f other wom en, Fiam m etta shows over the course o f the chapter, establishes an empathic b ond betw een her and the suffering protagonists, providing her w ith com fort in the process. She shows this, for example, w hen she describes her reaction to the tragic story o f H ero o f Sestos, who lost her beloved Lean der w hen he drowned at sea while on his w ay to see her: “Ahi, con quanta com passione mi strigne costei nel pensiero ! In verità con molta più che nessuna delle donne ancora dette, tanto che tale volta fu che, obliati li m iei dolori, delli suoi lagrim ai.” (“ Oh, w hat deep com passion binds m e m entally to this lady! T o be truthful, I felt for her so much m ore deeply than for any o f the ladies already m entioned that som etim es I for­ got m y ow n g rie f and w ept for her,” 8.6.2.) W hile Fiam m etta’s narration explicitly demonstrates how identifying with a character’s sorrow m ight soothe the reader, over the course o f the w ork the fig­ ure o f her nurse offers a com pletely different view o f h ow reading tragic narratives should facilitate consolation. Fiam m etta’s nurse is clearly m odeled on the vari­ ous nurses in Seneca’s tragedies, especially the nurse in M edea and Phaedra,J 2.S -19 ; Picon e, Boccaccio e la codificazione, 5 1 - 5 2 ; andjonathan Usher, “Boccaccio on Readers and Reading,” Heliotropia 1 (2003): 6 3 -8 5 , at 64-65. 17 . See Branca's comment in Boccaccio, Decameron, ed. Branca, 13 m o.

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Boccaccio, delight and consolation inhere in the w orldly plain, not in the ascent to heaven and the contemplation o f truth it entails.18 In line with this challenge to D antean and Boethian notions o f ascent, over the course o f the Decameron Boccaccio will introduce alternative types o f con­ solation, which are all decidedly w orldly and practical. These different kinds o f consolation m ay be detected in the various uses o f the term consolazione that are spread throughout the work, and which point to different sources for the em o­ tional experience o f consolation - a relief from sorrow and pain. In the proem , as w e have seen, “ consolazion” (Proemio. 12 ) is an outcom e o f engagem ent in plea­ surable activities such as hunting or gambling (or reading). O ver the course o f the tales, consolazione is also often associated with sexual pleasure, as in the example o f the “grandissim o diletto e consolazion” (3.3.21) enjoyed b y the enam ored lady in 3.3.19 A nother repeated source o f consolazione in the Decameron is the com forting presence o f another - a spouse, a child, a pet - as in the case o f the “ consolazione” (s-9 -3 i) that Federigo degli Alberighi experiences through his precious falcon.20 Finally, consolazione stands for the relief that com es from suc18. O n B occaccio’s subversive dialogue with Dante in the Decameron, especially with respect to his authorization o f the pursuit o f erotic desire and challenges to D an te’s truth claims regarding his heavenly journey, see A lbert Ascoli, “Boccaccio’s Auerbach: H olding the M irror U p to Mimesis," in A Local Habitation and a Nam e: Imagining Histories in the Italian Renaissance (N e w Y ork , 2 0 1 1 ) , 5 9 -7 9 ; M artin Eisner, “T h e T ale o f F eron d o’ s Purgatory (III.8 ),” in The Decameron Third D ay in Perspective, ed. Francesco Ciabattoni and P ier M as­ simo Forn i (T oron to, 2 0 14 ) , 1 5 0 - 1 6 0 ; H ollander, Boccaccio's Dante, 9 -6 8 ; an dM azzotta, World at Play, 5 6 -5 7 . B occaccio’s challenge to the D antean notion o f ascent also amounts to a departure from the assertion o f A ristotle and A quinas that hum an beatitude ultim ately inheres in the attainm ent o f perfect contem plation o f truth. Although scholars - m ost force­ fully Victoria Kirkham - have argued that the Decameron does present a gradual ascent toward perfect understanding and order in the Thom istic fashion, the fact is that the closing stories o f day 10 - considered b y Kirkham as the epitom e o f the ascent to perfect understanding in the work - are filled with ambiguities and uncertainties that challenge any clear sense o f ascent. W e will discuss this am biguity as reflected in the closing tale o f Griselda later in this chapter. A s noted in the introduction, while he drew heavily on the Nicomachean Ethics, it was to the practical aspects o f A ristotle’s discussion that Boccaccio was drawn, not to the praise o f the contem plative life and overconfidence in hum anity’s capacity to attain perfect knowledge. F o r Kirkham ’s argument, see especially The Sign o f Reason in Boccaccio's Fiction (Florence, 19 9 3 ), 14 4 - 1 4 5 . 19. N o t coincidentally, this type o f consolation is especially central to the highly erotic day 3. See, in addition to 3.3, the “grandissima consolazione” ( 3 .10 .18 ) that Rustico hopes to obtain from A libech in 3 .1 o. 20. T his aspect o f consolation is significantly central especially to day s, the day o f sto­ ries o f love that end happily in marriage. C on sid er also the case o f the m utual “consolazione” enjoyed b y Ricciardo and Caterina in 5.4.49. Story 10.6 refers to the “consolazione” (10.6.30) that M esser N eri obtains from the presence o f his two daughters.

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95

cessfully overco m ing grave danger or m isfortune. T h u s, at the beginning o f her first story in the w ork, the narrator F ilo m en a declares that “ il senno di consolazion sia cagione” ( “w isdo m is a source o f consolation,” 1 .3 .5 ; m y translation) - a claim she then dem onstrates th ro u g h the sto ry o f M a lch ize d ech the Je w , w hose senno allows him to o vercom e “ grandissim i pericoli” ( “ dreadful perils” ) and attain “ sicuro rip oso” ( “ safe repose,” 1 .3 .4 ; m y translation).21 Literature, this chapter w ill argue, functions in the Decameron as a source o f con so lation fo r hardship in all these different senses: serving as a b en ign and pleasant com p an ion in tim es o f need (as the Aristotelian subtext o f the p ro em indicates); offering pleasure through its cheerful or otherwise risqué tales;22 and providing a m oral discourse that aims to guide readers in confronting and, ide­ ally, o verco m in g hardship. In the vast w o rk w h ich is the Decameron, all these dif­ ferent m odes o f consolation coexist and ultim ately leave to the reader the final choice as to h o w to use the w o rk as a source o f solace. T h e polyphonic nature that characterized B o ccaccio ’s consolation in his “m inor” works, thus, continues in the

Decameron .23 2 1. In his discussion o f intelligence in the Decameron, R A .B . Hastings associates senno and the closely related trait ingegno - with practical wisdom: “Ingegno and senno usually refer to active, operative intelligence, resourcefulness and ingenuity.” R A .B . Hastings, Nature and Reason in the Decameron (Manchester, 19 75), 7 4 n n 6 . On the importance o f practical wis­ dom to Boccaccio’s ethical vision in the Decameron, see also the analysis in Filippo Andrei, Boc­ caccio the Philosopher: An Epistemology of the Decameron (Cham, 20 16 ), 19 4 - 2 15 , and Lino Pertile, “Dante, Boccaccio, e l’intelligenza,” Italian Studies 43 (19 8 8): 60-74. 22. T w o recent explorations o f consolation in the Decameron focus precisely on com ­ panionship and sexual satisfaction. In “A Philosophy o f Consolation,” Barolini stresses the crucial role that companionship - particularly that between husband and wife - plays in the Decameron’s vision o f consolation. See Teodolinda Barolini, “A Philosophy o f Consolation: T h e Place o f the Other in Life’s Transactions,” in Boccaccio 1 3 13 - 2 0 13 , ed. Francesco C ia­ battoni, Elsa Filosa, and Kristina Olson (Ravenna, 2 0 15 ), 8 9 - 10 5 . 1 will return to her analy­ sis later in this chapter. Stephen Milner, for his part, has emphasized the erotic dimensions o f consolation in the work, arguing that Boccaccio parodies both Boethius’s and Dante’s med­ itative ascents by presenting a consolatory journey that climaxes in an “erotic rendezvous.” See Stephen J. Milner, “ Com ing Together: Consolation and the Rhetoric o f Insinuation in Boc­ caccio’s Decameron,” in The Erotics of Consolation: Desire and Distance in the Late M iddle Ages, ed. Catherine E. Léghi and Stephen J. M ilner (N ew York, 2008), 9 5 - 1 1 3 . 23. M y argument regarding the polyphonic nature o f consolation in the Decameron has affinities w ith David Lum m us’s illuminating account o f the polysem ous nature o f the Decameron. Bringing together Boccaccio’s defense o f poetry in Genealogia 14 and his defenses o f the Decameron in the introduction to day 4 and the author’s conclusion, Lummus argues that Boccaccio envisions the tales as containing various levels o f meaning in a manner that allows different readers to gain different types o f benefits from their reading. While the unlearned will gain “pleasure” from the w ork’s verisimilar aesthetic charms, the learned m ay "make or find a higher form o f understanding.” See David Lummus, The City o f Poetry:

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While recognizing the polyphonic and open-ended nature of consolation in the Decameron, the following analysis will concentrate on the last kind o f consolation mentioned above: literature’s ethico-consolatory role of guiding readers to confront fortune directly and wisely pursue their worldly goals. I will argue that this active and hopeful mode of facing hardship assumes a particularly central role within the cento novelle, enabling the Decameron to counter and respond to the devastating effects o f the Plague. While Boccaccio began to explore this heroic mode in his ear­ lier works, the need to counter the trauma of the Plague may have encouraged him to foreground this ethico-consolatory perspective all the more in the Decameron. The following analysis of this active and optimistic mode will underscore its strong Aristotelian and Thomistic underpinnings; it will also elucidate the nar­ rative strategies that facilitate its implementation. As we will see, the advance­ ment o f this consolatory mode depends not only on the Aristotelian-inflected content o f many o f the tales but also on the Decameron’s unique formal features. Narrative strategies such as the dramatic contrasts between characters within the stories, the intratextual dialogues between tales within the work, and the intertextual dialogues with previous works all contribute to the Decameron’s sustained focus on the need to moderate (though not eradicate) sorrow in the face o f calamity and to remain patient and hopeful while wisely and sensitively pursuing one’s worldly desires and goals. It is this specific reliance on literary form in its administration o f consolation that turns the Decameron’s consolation into a true consolation o f literature. T o analyze the Decameron’s ethico-consolatory discourse and the literary strategies that advance it, the following discussion will be organized around three stories whose characters must deal with misfortune and heartache: z.6, 4 .1, and 10 .10 . Each o f these stories dramatizes a conflict between “soft” and “resolute” reactions to misfortune and engages the reader in active reflection on the proper w ay to cope with hardship. Furthermore, each o f these tales stands in dialogue w ith other tales that are spread throughout the “m acrotext” w hich is the

Imagining the Civic Role o f the Poet in Fourteenth-Century Italy (Cam bridge, 2020), 202. Lummus, however, appears to associate the consolatory dimensions o f the tales primarily with their pleasurable aspects. As he writes: “T he question begged b y Boccaccio’s authorial stance as a man writing for women in a place o f aesthetic pleasure is whether or not there is a poet­ ics o f the Decameron that allows for anything other than the jo y o f its readers. O r in other words, is there a vernacular poetics that can provide anything but solace ?” See David Lummus, “T he Decameron and Boccaccio’s Poetics,” in The Cambridge Companion to Boccaccio, ed. Guyda Armstrong, Rhiannon Daniels, and Stephen M ilner (Cambridge, 2005), 6 5-8 2, at 75. M y analysis, in contrast, suggests that consolation m ay be an outcome o f the “deeper” and “meaningful” levels o f the work just as o f its aesthetic charms.

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Decameron .242 5The relationships am ong the stories further develop the w ork’s consolatory message and solicit the readers’ active engagement with consolation. In line with recent discussions o f the exemplary dimension o f the Decameron’s novelle, which stress their multilayered and open-ended nature,1S the following analysis will demonstrate how the tales often call for their readers’ careful par­ ticipation in deciphering the stories’ m oral lessons. This invitation for active par­ ticipation, I will argue, actually directs the reader to the realization o f the merits o f the Aristotelian misura, the “golden mean,” when confronting hardship, and allows the stories to function as an exercise that ideally cultivates the readers’ practical w isdom and emotional intelligence. W hile the scope o f this chapter only enables us to analyze three tales in depth, it is important to note that these stories are situated at pivotal moments in the Decameron and therefore reflect a significant theme woven throughout the w ork: story 2.6 opens the second h alf o f the early day 2, w hich is dedicated throughout to the theme o f confrontation with misfortune; story 4 .1 opens the tragic day 4; and story 10 .10 is, o f course, the closing tale o f the exemplary day 1 o as well as the conclusion o f the entire scene o f storytelling. Given their position­ ing, I subm it that these stories’ depiction o f confrontation w ith hardship is emblematic o f the work as a whole. Furthermore, as noted, each o f these stories engages in dialogue with other tales that are spread throughout the Decameron-, this weave o f literary connections, therefore, extends the significance o f our analy­ sis o f three choice stories and highlights the implications for understanding the entire “macro text” o f the Decameron. Once again, while concentrating on the ethico-consolatory lesson advanced in the Decameron, I do not mean to suggest that this is the only path o f consola­ 24. On the Decameron as “macrotext,” see Michelangelo Picone, “II Decameron come m acrotesto: Il problem a della cornice,” in Introduzione al Decameron: Lectura Boccaccii Turicensis, ed. M ichelangelo Picone and M argherita Mesirca (Florence, 2004), 9 -3 3 . 25. O n the Decameron an d the m edieval trad ition o f the exemplum, see esp ecia lly C a rlo D e lc o m o , Exemplum e letteratura: Tra medioevo e rinascimento (B o lo gn a, 1989) and D e lco m o , “M o d e lli agiografici e m o d elli narrativi: T r a C a v a lc a e B o c c a c c io ,” in L a novella italiana: Atti del convegno di Caprarola, 1 9 - 2 4 settembre 1988, ed. Stefan o B ia n ch i (R o m e , 1989), 3 3 7 -3 6 3 . O n th e o p e n -e n d e d n atu re o f th e Decameron’s exem p la rity, co n tra ste d w ith o th e r late m e d ie val uses o f exempla, see esp ecia lly T im o t h y K irch er, “ T h e M o d a lity o f M o r a l C o m m u ­ n icatio n in the Decameron’s F irst D a y , in C o n tr a s t to the M irro r o f the E x e m p lu m ,” Renais­

sance Quarterly 54 ( 2 0 0 1): 1 0 3 5 - 10 7 3 , an d K irch e r, The Poet’s Wisdom: The Humanists, the Church, and theFormation o f Philosophy in the Early Renaissance (L e id e n , 2006), 9 9 -14 4 . Se e also A n d re i, Boccaccio the Philosopher, 8 - 1 4 ; O liv ia H o lm es, “B e y o n d Exe m p la rity: W o m e n ’s W ile s fr o m the Disciplina Clericalis to the Decameron,” in Boccaccio 1 3 1 3 - 2 0 1 3 , ed. C ia b a t­ to n i et al., 1 4 5 - 1 5 6 ; an d Sim o n e M arch e si, Stratigrafie decameroniane (F lo re n ce, 2004), 6 - 16 .

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tion advocated by the work, and in the following discussion I will refer at times to other modes as well. However, whereas Boccaccio’s earlier works frequently invited readers to seek comfort by identifying with tragic protagonists or b y try­ ing to disavow love altogether, in the Decameron these specific modes o f conso­ lation are marginalized, even if they are not entirely absent.20 Instead, the work gives center stage to “comic” modes o f consolation, stories which offer cheerful diversion and erotic pleasure, or otherwise encourage the active and wise pursuit o f one’s worldly goals. This final, encouraging sort o f “com ic” consolation was central to the heroic figure o f Fiorio in the Filocolo and reverberates in many aspects o f the Decameron as Boccaccio further extends and refines the literary strategies through which he advances his ethico-consolatory message. In the Decameron, moreover, this consolatory message comes to be associated not only with the hardships o f love but also with other types o f tribulations, such as exile, inexplicable violence, and the death and loss o f loved ones (a shift that m ay well be attributable to the impact o f the Plague). N or will this heroic mode be reserved only for a male prince like Fiorio; rather, it will be embodied by a variety o f fig­ ures, not least o f them a simple nurse. It is therefore to the Decameron’s engage­ ment with this heroic mode, its strong Aristotelian dimensions, and the chal­ lenges it poses to the Boethian tradition o f consolation that we will now turn, beginning with the misfortunes of Beritola and her family on day 2.

Sorrow, Patience, and Prudence in “Decameron” 2.6 From the very start o f day 2, we are alerted that Boccaccio is engaged in a direct dialogue with Boethius - specifically book 2 o f the Consolatio, in which Lady Phi­ losophy lingers on the duplicity o f fortune and the need to seek consolation through emotional detachment from its vicissitudes. The theme o f consolazione is evoked already at the conclusion o f day 1, as Pampinea, the queen o f the day, passes the governance o f the brigata to Filomena, saying that she is now respon-2 2 6. The marginalization o f the call to disavow love as a cure for its sorrows within the Decameron is already apparent in the author-narrator’s opening statements, in which he asserts that love simply cannot be willed away: “Il mio am ore... il quale niuna forza di proponimento o di consiglio o di vergogna evidente, 0 pericolo che seguir ne potesse, aveva potuto né rompere né piegare” ("This love ... which had stood firm and unyielding against all the pres­ sures o f good intention, helpful advice, and the risk o f danger and open shame,” Proemio.5; translation modified). In accordance with this assertion, stories that call for the complete dis­ avowal o f love as a cure for sorrow, in the manner o f Caleone o f the Filocolo, hardly appear in the Decameron (a notable exception is story 10.7, in which the young Lisa manages to over­ come her debilitating love for King Peter).

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sible for “ consolazione di v o i” ( “ [our] consolation/’ 1 . Cerne.3 ) .27 M oreover, whereas on day 1 no theme was assigned to the storytellers, Filom ena instructs the storytellers to narrate stories on the second day o f those w ho reach a happy ending after suffering m any tribulations at the hands o f fortune (“ chi, da diverse cose infestato, sia oltre alla speranza riuscito a lieto fine,” ì.Conc.i 1 ) . Given the concentration on consolazione under her reign, it is not surprising that on day 1 it was Filom ena w h o told about M alchizedech’s overcom ing o f grave danger and attainm ent o f “ consolazion” ( 1 . 3 . 5 ) through the use o f w isdo m .28 Filom ena’s story on day i already anticipates Boccaccio’s major departure from the Boethian consolation o f philosophy, w hich becom es more and more evident throughout day 2. In contrast to L a d y Philosophy’s ascetic insistence that consolation inheres in detachm ent from fortune, the tales o f day 2 repeatedly show that consolazione involves finding ways to obtain fortune’s goods.2930 In a c c o rd a n c e w ith F ilo m e n a ’s ch o ice o f th em e, th e sto ries on d a y 2 p o rtra y an a rra y o f p ro ta g o n is ts w h o o v e rco m e grave m isfo rtu n e - fro m R in a ld o d ’A sti, w h o w a s s a v e d fro m th e fre e zin g co ld b y the ge n e ro u s h o sp ita lity o f a w id o w in 2.2, to M a d o n n a Z in e v ra , w h o finds h e r w a y out o f tro uble th rou gh h e r o w n s p e c ­ ta c u la r h e r o ic s in 2.9. W h ile the o p e n in g tales o f the d a y co n ta in fig u re s w h o o v e rc o m e h a rd sh ip m a in ly b y sh eer lu ck an d the assistan ce o f oth ers (M a rte llin o in 2 .1, R in a ld o d ’A s t i in 2.2, A le ssa n d ro in 2.3, L a n d o lfo R u fo lo in 2 .4 ) ,30 th e 27. M y translation. 28. In her analysis o f the allegorical dimensions o f the brigata, Victoria Kirkham iden­ tifies the figure o f Filomena with the virtue o f fortitude - a virtue that will indeed be central to the confrontation o f misfortune on day 2, as we will see. See Kirkham, Sign o f Reason, 1 5 5 15829. In the concluding section o f her study An Allegory of Form: Literary Self-Conscious­ ness in the Decameron (Saratoga, CA, 1979), 1 1 6 - 1 2 5 , Millicent Marcus discusses the “con­ solation o f storytelling” in the Decameron and argues that this consolation is directly indebted to Boethius’s Consolatio, given that the Decameron’s tales repeatedly emphasize the power o f humans to shape their own fortune through the exercise o f free will. While I agree with Mar­ cus about Boccaccio’s fundamental dialogue with Boethius, I also believe that his view o f con­ solation is diametrically opposed to that o f Boethius. 30. In 2 .1, Martellino is saved from hanging due to the intervention on his behalf o f the influential Florentine Sandro Agolanti (2 .1.30 ). In 2.2, as noted, Rinaldo d’Asti is rescued from the cold b y the generous and surprising hospitality o f a widow. In 2.3, Alessandro and his uncles overcome their misfortunes b y means of Alessandro’s chance encounter with the daughter o f the king o f England, who falls in love with him and obtains permission to marry him from the pope himself, (in contrast to Alessandro, the king’s daughter is clearly an active heroine who orchestrates her own fate, thus anticipating the heroines o f the second half o f the day.) Finally, in 2.4, Landolfo Rufolo is saved from shipwreck by clinging to a chest that floats in his direction and b y a “povera feminetta” (2.4.22) from Corfu who drags him to shore and nurses him back to health.

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later tales concentrate on figures w ho ultim ately m anage to overcom e m isfor­ tune through their own resourceful actions (Andreuccio in 2.5, Alatiel in 2.7, the count o f Antw erp in 2.8, M adonna Zinevra in 2.9 ).31 T h is structural progression m ay also hint at Boccaccio’s favoring o f those heroes w ho actively take fate into their own hands. T h e story w e will examine here in depth, story 2.6, opens the second h a lf o f the day and is particularly crucial for a discussion o f consolation for m isfortune, as it em bodies the two types o f responses to hardship - contrasting a figure w ho is passive and m ournful and saved b y luck with one w ho actively contributes to her and her dependents’ ultimate survival and flourishing. In the introduction to her tale, the narrator, Em ilia, continues B occaccio’s dialogue w ith Boethius. She describes the vicissitudes o f fortune as “ g ra v i... e noiose” ( “grievous ... and w oe­ ful,” 2 .6 .3 ).32 E ch oin g L a d y P h ilosophy’s critique o f the w ay the prisoner had allow ed h im self to b e lulled b y fortune’s cajolery,33 Em ilia too declares that our m inds “leggierm ente s’adorm entano nelle sue lusinghe” ( “ are easily lu lled to sleep b y her blandishm ents,” 2.6.3). B ut unlike L a d y Philosophy, E m ilia in no 3 1 . In 2.5, after lo ng suffering due to his own gullibility, A nd reuccio finally becom es him self a deceiver (2 .5 .7 7 ) and thus m anages to overturn his fortune. Ech oin g Andreuccio, the Arab Princess Alatiel, the heroine o f 2.7, is initially the plaything o f fortune - and count­ less m en - after suffering shipwreck on the w a y to her betrothed. Eventually, how ever, she m anages to return to her country and to regain her lost status b y telling her father a cunning tale about her adventures ( 2 .7 .1 0 6 - 1 1 5 ) . In 2.8, the count o f A ntw erp is forced to go into exile together w ith his two children after bein g falsely accused o f trying to rape the princess o f France. H e cleverly hides the identity o f h im self and his children, and endures his calam ity w ith rem arkable patience fo r m an y years (2 .8 .2 6 -2 8 ), until the truth is revealed. T h e count’s actions and patien ce thus p rove crucial for his ultim ate return to his fo rm er status. In 2.9, Zin evra’s husband is tricked into believing that she has been unfaithful and orders h er put to death. She escapes, disguises h erself as a m an, becom es the right hand o f the sultan, and ulti­ m ately m anages to bring her husband and th e one w ho deceived him to justice. B y concen­ trating in this fashion on protagonists w h o ultim ately orchestrate their ow n salvation, stories 2 .5 -2 .9 anticipate day 3 ’s focus on the them e o f industria. O n the question o f fortune and hum an agency on day 2, see also the perceptive analysis o f Fran cesco C iabattoni, “Decameron 2: Filom ena’s Rule betw een Fortune and H u m an A g en cy,” Annali d'italianistica 3 1 ( 2 0 1 3 ) : 1 7 3 - 1 9 6 . C iabattoni convincingly shows that w hereas the first five stories o f day 2 represent figures w ho suffer b y and large due to their o w n fault, stories 6 -9 represent those w ho suffer due to forces outside their control. 32 . M y translation. 33. “T alis erat cum blandiebatur, cum tibi falsae illecebris felicitatis alluderet” ( “ She was just the sam e when she was smiling, w hen she deluded y o u with the allurem ents o f h er false happiness,” 2 .p i.io ) . See Boethius, Consolatio philosophiae, ed. Ja m e s J . O ’D onnell, 2 vols. (B ryn M aw r, P A , 19 8 4 ); The Theological Tractates, The Consolation of Philosophy, ed. and trans. S.J. T ester (C am bridge, M A , 19 7 3 ) , 1 3 0 - 4 3 5 .

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w ay argues for a detachment from fortune. Emilia concedes that stories o f bad luck m ay provide a warning to those who are still fortunate ( “a’ felici/’ 6.2.3), and m ay encourage them to avoid relying too much on fortune’s good will. For lis­ teners who are already unfortunate ( “agli sventurati,” 6.2.3 ), such stories will pro­ vide consolation ( “ consola,” 6.2.3) - yet, as we will see, clearly not b y advocat­ ing for Stoic-like indifference. Em ilia does not explicitly state h o w listening to such accounts m ay “ con­ sole,” yet the parallels between her speech and the opening o f the earlier Come­

dia delle ninfe fiorentine, in which the author-narrator reflects on the impact o f stories on readers o f diverse fortunes, suggest that she too refers to the notion that was introduced in all o f Boccaccio’s earlier works discussed thus far, namely that reading about others who suffer from similar hardships is in itself comfort­ ing: “ Per quelli non sentendosi primi né soli, le proprie angosce mitighino tra­ passando” ( “Realizing thus that they are neither the only ones nor the first to feel anguish, they assuage it and overcome [their sorrow],” Comedia delle ninfe 1 .2 ) .34 A t the same time, while alluding to this mode o f consolation, Emilia’s tale in fact offers extended and elaborate advice on the way to cope with and overcome mis­ fortune, not just passively withstand its blows. Emilia’s consolatory advice comes into focus through the dramatic juxtaposition o f the reactions to calamity o f the 34. The opening remarks of the Comedia delle ninfe read as follows: “Molti gli affannosi pericoli di Cirro, di Persio, di Creso e d’altri ascoltano, acciò che, per quelli non sentendosi primi né soli, le proprie angosce mitighino trapassando. Altri, con più superbo intendimento ne’ beni amplissimi fortunali, le inestimabili imprese di Serse, le ricchezze di Dario, le libera­ lità d’Alessandro e di Cesare i prosperi avvenimenti con continua lettura sentendo, acciò che di più alto luogo caggiano, 1’umili cose schifando, all’alte di salir s’argomentano. E alcuni sono che, dal biforme figliuolo feriti di Citerea, chi per conforto e qual per diletto cercando gli antichi amori, un’altra volta col concupiscevole cuore transfugano Elena, raccendono Didone, con Isifìle piangono e ingannano con sollicita cura Medea.” (“Many listen to the troubled affairs of Cyrus, of Perseus, of Croesus, and the like, and realizing thus that they are neither the only ones nor the first to feel anguish, they assuage it and overcome it. Others are more ambitious in their intentions and more fortunate in earthly goods; and as they learn how they might fall from a higher station through continual reading of the inestimable undertakings of Xerxes, of the riches of Darius, the generosity o f Alexander, and the prosperous adventures of Julius Caesar, they scorn humble matters and strive to climb to loftier undertakings. And there are those who are wounded by the biformed son of Cytherea, so in seeking the love stories of the ancients [some for comfort and others for pleasure], they kidnap Helen o f Troy a second time with lustful spirit, or inflame Dido once again, or weep with Hypsipyle, and with ready zeal dupe Medea,” Comedia delle ninfe 1.2-4 ; translation slightly modified.) See Boccaccio, “Comedia delle ninfe fiorentine,” ed. Antonio Enzo Quaglio, in Tutte le opere di Giovanni Boc­ caccio, ed. Vittore Branca (Milan, 1964-1998), 2: 665-835, at 667-668; L ’Ameto, trans. Judith Serafìni-Sauli (New York, 1985).

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central protagonists - Beritola and the figure o f her nurse. M irroring the struc­ ture o f Boethius’s Consolatio, which turns from the p rison ers opening elegiac lamentation to the resolute consolation o f L ad y Philosophy, story 2 .6 also juxta­ poses mournful and resolute reactions to hardship, in that same order. Yet, as we will see, the resolute heroine in story 2 .6 controls her sorrow not to detach from fate but in order to plant the seeds for good fortune to come. Decameron 2.6 is set in motion b y historical events outside the control o f the char­ acters. T he protagonists, Beritola Caracciola and her family, are forced into exile when K ing Charles I o f A njou seizes control over the island o f Sicily. H e impris­ ons Beritola’s husband, Arrighetto Capece, the governor o f the island. Fearing for her honor, pregnant Beritola escapes w ith her son to the island o f Lipari, where she gives birth to a second son. W ith her two sons and their nurse she sets sail to her parents in N aples, yet strong winds carry their ship to the island o f Ponza, where they are shipwrecked.35 Once stranded on the island, Beritola gives in to her sorrow and seeks a soli­ tary place to vent her grief: “Sopra quella un luogo solitario e rim oto trovato, quivi a dolersi del suo Arrighetto si mise tutta sola” (“She sought out a deserted and rem ote spot on the island where, in complete solitude, she could give vent to her sorrow for the loss o f her husband,” 2 .6 .10 ). In the Summa theologiae, Thom as Aquinas presented the outpouring o f sorrow through tears and laments as a natural and beneficial source o f consolation, stating that sorrow becom es greater if we keep it shut up inside.36 A t the same time, Aquinas also warns o f “im m oderata tristitia” ( “ excessive sorrow ,” S T 1- 2 .3 9 .2 ad 1) unregulated b y reason.37 W hile Beritola’s response to her calamity m ay therefore be considered 3 5. Sergio Zatti has pointed to the centrality o f the image o f the sea as a m etaphor for fortune in the stories o f day 2, and to the particularly Boethian roots o f this image. See Zatti, “Il mercante sulla ruota: L a seconda giornata,” in Introduzione al Decameron, ed. P icone and M esirca, 79 -9 8, at 9 1. 3 6 . A s A g n in a s explains: “D icendum quod lacrimae et gemitus naturaliter mitigant tris­ titiam ... quia om ne nocivum interius clausum magis affligit, quia magis multiplicatur inten­ tio animae circa ipsum, sed quando ad exteriora diffunditur, tunc animae intentio ad exteri­ ora quodam m odo disgregatur, et sic interior dolor m inuitur” (“T ears and groans naturally assuage sorrow ... because a hurtful thing hurts y et m ore if w e keep it shut up, because the soul is more intent on it: whereas if it be allowed to escape, the soul’s intention is dispersed as it were on outward things, so that the inward sorrow is lessened,” ST 1 - 2 .3 8.2 resp.). 37. “A d primum ergo dicendum quod omnes passiones animae regulari debent secun­ dum regulam rationis, quae est radixboni honesti. Quam transcendit imm oderata tristitia, de qua loquitur Augustinus. Et ideo recedit a ratione boni honesti.” (“A ll the passions o f the soul should be regulated according to the rule o f reason, which is the root o f the virtuous good; but

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natural and understandable, the story specifies that she takes her outpouring o f sorrow too far, turning it into a daily ritual that leads her to neglect her depend­ ents. O ne day, while she is engaged in m ourning - "essendo ella al suo dolersi occupata” ( “ as she was busy sorrowing,” z.6 . 1 o) - pirates com e to the island and kidnap both her sons and their nurse. Em ilia’s depiction o f Beritola’s mourning, as R oberta M o ro sin i points out, establishes a clear connection betw een her sub­ mission to sorrow and the ultimate loss o f her entire family and stresses, thereby, the perils o f giving in to excessive grief.*38 M o reo ver, due to the loss o f her sons, the overwhelm ed Beritola is gradu­ ally reduced to an animal-like natural state. She finds refuge in a cave, suckles two roebucks that she discovers there w ith her own breast milk, and begins to feed onherbs, becom ing "fiera” (“wild,” z .6 .1 7 ) . H ere again, Aquinas’s discussion o f the effects o f sorrow m ay offer a useful gloss. In his discussion o f brutishness in the Commentary on the Ethics, Aquinas explains that excessive sorrow after the loss o f loved ones m ay lead to a complete loss o f reason and thus to a return to an animal-like state: “ Secundo contingit aliquibus propter aegritudines et orbi­ tates, idest am issiones carorum, ex quibus in amentiam incidunt et quasi bestiales fiunt” ( “ T h e second w a y [o f becom ing brutish com es] from sickness and privations, i.e., loss o f loved ones, which makes [some people] lose their minds and b ecom e animals,” In Eth.

7. 1 . 1 3 03 ). It is precisely to such a brutish state that

excessive sorrow, o f which Augustine is speaking, oversteps this rule, and therefore it fails to be avirtuous good,” S T 1-2 .39 .2 ad 1.) On Aquinas’s distinction between virtuous and exces­ sive sorrow, see Craig Steven Titus, Resilience and the Virtue of Fortitude: Aquinas in Dialogue with the Psychosocial Sciences (Washington, D C , 2006), 260. 38. Roberta Morosini, ‘“ Fu in Lunigiana’: La Lunigiana e l’epistola di frate Ilario (Codice 8, Pluteo X XIX , Zibaldone Mediceo-Laurenziano) nella geografìa letteraria di Boccaccio,” The Italianist 29 (2009): 50-68, at 60. See also N obili,La consolazione, 14 0 -14 2 . A markedly similar attitude to sorrow over loss also emerges from Theseus’s consolatory speech in book 12 o f the earlier Teseida. Consoling the mournful Emilia following the death of Arcites, The­ seus states: “Vero è che il voler dentro serrare / in cota’ punti la tristizia e ’1 pianto, / appena par che si possa ben fare, / onde conceder pur si dee alquanto; / ma dopo quel, si dee poscia ristare, / ché il voler soprabondare in tanto / può nuocere a chi ’1 fa, e è follia, / né si rià quel ch’uom però disia.” (“It is true that to shut inside our hearts sadness and lamentation in such cases seems barely feasible; therefore, we must allow it to occur in some measure. But after that, we should indeed put an end to it for excessive grief may harm him who feels it and it is a folly for one does not receive back what he desires,” Teseida 12 .13 .) For Theseus, as for Aquinas, while giving an outlet to grief is essential, such an outlet should not overstep a rea­ sonable bound. See Boccaccio, “Teseida delle nozze di Emilia,” ed. Alberto Limentani, in Tutte le opere, ed. Branca, 2: 229 -677; Theseid of the Nuptials o f Emilia, trans. Vincenzo T ra­ versa (N ew York, 2002). On Theseus’s consolatory speech, see Giuseppe Velli, Petrarca e Boccaccio: Tradizione, Memoria, Scrittura (Padua, 1995), 160.

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poor Beritola is reduced due to her unbound sorrow over the loss o f her loved ones; she practically turns into a wild animal. Beritola will be saved from the island and returned to society only after being discovered by chance b y Currado de’ M archesi M alespini and his wife, w ho are also carried b y the winds to the same island. In her compelling analysis o f Decameron 2.6, M illicent M arcus has argued that Emilia’s story is an aesthetic and ethical failure - a static and repetitive depic­ tion o f humanity’s inescapable and passive dependence on the workings o f for­ tune: “A study o f [2.6] will reveal the human and literary consequences o f total surrender to fortune, which in the story stands for the forces o f historical change.” 39 While M arcus’s assessment is clearly right with respect to Beritola’s mournful and passive reaction to misfortune, her analysis ignores the character o f the nurse, whose response to hardship stands in stark contrast to Beritola’s and turns her into a noteworthy exemplum for how to actively cope with the blows o f fortune.40 The figure o f the nurse embodies several crucial traits that facilitate the overcoming o f misfortune - an examination o f which will also allow us to appreciate Boccaccio’s conscious departure from Stoic-Boethian as well as hagiographic views o f consolation in the tale. The first o f these traits exemplified by the nurse is the ability to moderate sor­ row. W hen the nurse and the two boys are kidnapped, she is at first engulfed, like Beritola, b y lamentations over their “misera fortuna” : “Dolente oltre m odo ... lungamente pianse” (“Being exceedingly distressed ... the nurse wept over and over again,” 2.6.28). Y et despite this initial reaction, the narrative then specifies how the nurse puts aside her tears “ once she realizes that her tears are not going to help” (“poi che vide le lacrime niente giovare,” 2.6.29).41 Instead o f languish­ ing in lamentation, the nurse “riconfortatasi” (“comfort [s] herself’) as much as she can with the idea o f a possible future reversal o f fortune (“ sperando che, quando che sia, si potrebbe mutar la fortuna,” 2.6.29). In contrast to Beritola, the nurse avoids giving herself over entirely to grief and instead chooses to be hope­ ful regarding the future.41 39. Marcus, Allegory of Form, 28. 40. On the contrast between Beritola and her nurse, see also Renzo Bragantini, “Invidie e favori della fortuna nel Decameron," in Fortuna, Atti del quinto colloquio internazionale di Let­ teratura Italiana, Naples, 2 - 3 M ay 2 0 13, ed. Silvia Zoppi Garampi (Rom e, 20 16 ), 8 7 -10 7 , at 99, and Morosini, “Fu in Lunigiana,” 62-63. 4 1. Translation modified. 42. Speranza (hope) is o f course one o f the three theological virtues, and Aquinas, fol­ lowed b y Dante in Paradiso i s , marks its importance for the attainment o f heavenly bliss: “Quaecumque alia spes adipisci expectat, sperat in ordine ad Deum sicut ad ultimum finem et sicut ad primam causam efficientem” ("W hatever else hope expects to obtain, it hopes for

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By controlling her sorrow and maintaining hope and trust in fortune’s vicis­ situdes, the nurse’s position closely echoes the consolation o f the duke in book 3 o f the Filocolo, in which he encourages Fiorio to take comfort in the thought that the vicissitudes o f fortune will bring Biancifiore back to him.*43 This posi­ tion, as noted in chapter 1, is markedly un-Boethian, as throughout book 2 o f the Consolatio Lady Philosophy repeats the Stoic message that one should detach oneself entirely from fickle fortune and look for happiness only within: “A n uero tu pretiosam aestimas abituram felicitatem et cara tibi est fortuna praesens nec manendi fida et cum discesserit allatura maerorem?” (“ Or do you think that hap­ piness precious, which you are bound to lose? Is fortune so dear to you, while she is with you, although she cannot be trusted to stay with you, and will bring you sorrow when she leaves you?” 2 .p i.i3 .) W hile he evokes Boethius at the beginning o f Decameron 2.6 (and throughout day 2), the nurse’s hope points to Boccaccio’s evident departure from the Boethian consolation o f philosophy, as hope and control o f sorrow do not signal turning one’s back on fortune, but rather clinging to its wheel. This hopeful trust in fortune’s alterations is also exemplified b y the form o f Decameron 2.6. In her analysis, Marcus has pointed to the story’s circular struc­ ture. As she shows, the initial incident in the story - the imprisonment o f Beritola’s husband - is the last to be resolved; the second - Beritola’s loss o f her chil­ dren - is the penultimate; the enslavement of the sons, which is the third incident, is the third to last to be resolved. For Marcus, the circular structure underscores the general stasis and passivity that govern the tale.44 Nevertheless, it is just as possible to see this circular structure as a representation of the constant motion o f the wheel o f fortune, thus stressing the story’s consolatory message that one should never lose hope nor stop preparing for fortune’s alterations. That which has gone down, Em ilia’s story exemplifies, might also come up. it in reference to God as the last end,” ST 2 -2 .17 .5 ad 1). In the Summa, at the same time, hope is also presented as part o f the irascible appetite, a passion shared by both humans and animals that involves the direction o f one's attention toward a future goal that is difficult yet possible to obtain (S T 1.2.40). It is this kind of worldly passion that is clearly embodied by the nurse in Decameron 2.6. 43. "Dunque sperando confortare ti d e i... Pensa che la fortuna non terrà sempre ferma la rota: così come ella volvendo dal cospetto di Biancifiore ti tolse, così in quello ancora lieto ti riporrà.” (“Therefore you should take comfort in hope ... Consider that Fortune will not hold her wheel always fixed; and just as her turning o f it removed you from Biancifiore’s sight, so it will yet bring you happily back,"Filoco/o 3.14 .5.) See Boccaccio, “Filocolo,” ed. Antonio Enzo Quaglio, in Tutte le opere, ed. Branca, 1: 6 0 -675; II Filocolo, trans. Donald Cheney, with the collaboration ofThom as G. Bergin (New York, 1985). 44. Marcus, Allegory o f Form, 30 -32 .

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The nurse’s hope, which allows her to control her sorrow, is accompanied in the story by another crucial trait that facilitates her confrontation with hardship: patience. After they are kidnapped by pirates, the nurse and the two small boys are sold to slavery in Genoa. Correcdy reading the historical circumstances, the nurse realizes that since the Genoese are Guelfs, loyal to King Charles, the children must hide their true family identity. She gives them alternate names and urges them not to reveal who they really are under any circumstances.45 The three o f them, as the narrative specifies, then bear the situation “pazientemente” (“patiently,” 2 .6 .31) for many years, until circumstances change and allow them to reveal their true iden­ tities and regain their previous status. The ability to withstand hardship patiently for many years without losing one’s determination to obtain his or her goal thereby emerges as another crucial feature of the tale’s consolatory discourse. The virtue o f patience was considered b y Aquinas as apart o f fortitude (S T 2 - 2 .13 6 .4 ) - the virtue associated w ith the queen o f the day, Filom ena, as Kirkham has suggested.46 Citing Augustine, Aquinas defines patientia as the abil­ ity to control sorrow in the face o f calamity as well as to endure hardship for the sake o f obtaining a future goal (S T 2 - 2 .13 6 .1 resp.) - precisely the traits exem­ plified by the nurse.47 A t the same time, whereas Aquinas’s discussion o f patience, like Augustine’s, focuses primarily on heavenly rewards, Decameron 2.6 is clearly bent on patience as a crucial means o f regaining the goods o f this world. The story’s engagement with the virtue o f patience, as well as its intentional departure from the otherworldly understanding o f this trait, is m ade apparent from its evident dialogue with the hagiography o f St Eustace.48 A ccording to the

45. T h e parallels - and contrasts - betw een Beritola and her nurse are thus further apparent in the w ay both turn their m otherly care to the children o f others - Beritola to the two fawns, the nurse to Beritola’s two small boys. M arcus has argued that Beritola’s care for the two young animals collapses the binary between human and animal - a m ove which m ay call into question humanity’s inherent nobility (Allegory of Form, 3 3 -3 4 ). Y et while Beritola’s attachment to the fawns m ay indeed portray a downward motion - from the human to the ani­ mal - the nurse’s care for Beritola’s sons depicts an upward motion, thereby showing a simi­ larity between wom en o f low and high birth and emphasizing, in the process, hum anity’s inherent nobility. 46. Kirkham, Sign o f Reason, 1 5 6 - 15 8 . 47. “ [P]atientia hominis est qua mala ae quo animo toleramus, idest sine perturbatione tristitiae, ne animo iniquo bona deseramus per quae ad m eliora perveniam us” ( ‘“A m an’s patience it is w hereby he bears evil with an equal m ind,’ i.e. without being disturbed by sor­ row, “lest he abandon with an unequal m ind the goods w hereby he m ay advance to better things,’” S T 2 - 2 .1 3 6 .1 resp.). 48. On the dialogue between the Decameron and the Legend o f St Eustace, see the brief remarks in Filippo Fonio, “Dalla legenda alla novella: Continuità di m oduli e variazioni di

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account in chapter 16 1 o f the Legenda aurea ( Golden Legend) ofjacobus de V o ­ ragine, Eustace was a Roman general, form erly named Placidus, who served under the emperor Trajan. He converts to Christianity after seeing the sign of the cross between the horns of a stag during a hunt. Following his conversion, he changes his name to Eustace - Eustathios in Greek, meaning “constant” - and not long afterwards he is informed by Christ of the calamities of fortune he must endure to test his faith, making him “ alterum Jo b ” (“another Jo b ”).49 In response, Eustace asks Christ solely for “virtutem patientiae” (“the virtue o f patience” ).50 Terrible calamities indeed follow: having lost all his wealth, Eustace embarks upon a sea journey with his wife and two children. After surviving a dreadful sea storm, the captain o f the ship kidnaps Eustace’s wife, and then, while trying to cross a river with his two children, wild animals snatch away the boys, leaving Eustace com pletely alone and destitute. Although he initially laments his lot, Eustace endures his calamities with remarkable patience and never loses his faith. After many years, he is reunited with his entire family, yet only to undergo mar­ tyrdom together in the name of their Christian faith. At the end o f the legend, the entire family is happily guided to heaven by Christ. The parallels between the legend and Decameron 2.6 are evident: just like Eustace, Beritola loses her spouse and two sons and is ultimately reunited with them. In both tales, the sea plays a central role, serving as a clear metaphor for the vicissi­ tudes of fortune undergone by the protagonists. And, in both tales, patience is cru­ cial for the ultimately happy ending. The differences, however, are stark. Whereas, in the legend, Eustace suffers and demonstrates patience, in Boccaccio’s story, it is the nurse who primarily exemplifies the virtue that facilitates the ultimate reunion o f Beritola’s family. Furthermore, while in the legend patience serves as a mark o f faith that ends in martyrdom and a blissful ascent to heaven, in Decameron 2.6 the focus is entirely this-worldly: patience is pivotal for the reunification o f the family and the ultimate celebration of its two sons’ weddings. While the intertextual dialogue with the hagiographic tradition in Decameron 2.6 is clearly not as subversive as it is else­ where in the Decameron - for example, in Decameron 2.2 Saint Julian’s famously warm hospitality is replaced with a widow’s sexual favors - still, story 2.6 establishes a strong this-worldly alternative to hagiographic notions o f patience. genere: Il caso di Boccaccio,” Cahiers d'études italiennes 6 (2007): 1 2 7 - 1 8 1 , at 13 9 - 14 0 , and Ilaria Tufano, "Boccaccio e la letteratura religiosa: La Prima e la Seconda Giornata del Decameron,” Critica del Testo 16.3 ( 2 0 13 ): 18 5 -2 0 7 , at 2 02n s8. Tufano focuses especially on Boccaccio’s dialogue in Decameron 2.6 with the legend o f Saint Giles (Egidius). 49. Jacob u s de Voragine, Legenda aurea vulgo historia lombardica dicta, ed. Georg Theodor Graesse (Leipzig, 1850), 7 13 . 50. Jacobus de Voragine, Legenda aurea, 7 14 .

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The nurse’s worldly and strategic patience depicted in Decameron ^.6 parts ways not only with hagiographic conceptions o f patience, but also with StoicBoethian ones. In book 2 of the Consolatio, Boethius’s Lady Philosophy intro­ duces a brief tale that describes patientia as a defining trait o f a true philosopher, one who is able to bear insults heaped upon him with complete equanimity: “Adiecissetque iam se sciturum an ille philosophus esset si quidem inlatas iniurias leniter patienterque tolerasset” (“ He would know he was really a philoso­ pher if he bore all the injuries heaped upon him calmly and patiently,” 2 .P 7 .2 0 ). For Boethius, patience represents complete resignation to external forces, a notion that will often be echoed by Petrarch in his Latin works; as he tells a cer­ tain exiled man in Familiares 2.4, “The only shield against adversity is patience” (“Unicum adversus aspera clipeum esse patientie,” Familiares 2.4.3 2).51 For Boc­ caccio, as Decameron 2.6 makes clear, patientia is not an end unto itself nor an emblem o f one’s detachment from external forces; rather, it is a strategic choice, a means to regain one’s lost worldly goods.5152. The nurse’s traits o f patience, hope, and control o f sorrow ultimately all serve one last crucial trait: wise and sensitive action. This combination enables her suc­ cessful confrontation with misfortune. W hen describing how the nurse and Beritola’s two sons are sold into slavery in Genoa, the narrative elaborates at length on the nurse’s inner deliberation. First, as mentioned, she correctly reads the political situation, and then, driven by the hope o f someday regaining the chil­ dren’s lost status, she takes certain actions in order to prepare the ground for a future reversal o f fortune: [E] oltre a questo sperando che, quando che sia, si potrebbe mutar la for­ tuna e essi potrebbono, se vivi fossero, nel perduto stato tornare, pensò di non palesare a alcuna persona chi fossero, se tempo di ciò non vedesse; e a 5 1. See Petrarch, Le fam iliari, ed. Vittorio Rossi and Umberto Bosco, 4 vols. (Florence, 19 3 3 -19 4 2 .); Rerum familiarium libri, trans. A ld o S. Bernardo, 3 vols. (Albany, N Y , 1 9 7 5 1985)52. T h e consolatory lesson o f patience will return, as noted, in the tale o f the count of Antwerp in story 2.8, which is again reminiscent o f the legend o f St Eustace. As in the tale o f Beritola, the count and his two children withstand injustice and suffering “pazientemente” (“patiently,” 2.8.26) for many years, until they are happily reunited. On the relationship o f this tale to the legend o f St Eustace, see also Fonio, “Dalla legenda alla novella,” 13 9 n6s. A similar message is also central to Decameron 5.2, narrated by Emilia, like 2.6. In this tale, the heroine, ironically named Gostanza, at first gives in prematurely to sorrow and despair when she thinks her beloved has died. M iraculously surviving a suicide attempt, Gostanza manages to regain her hope and then resigns herself patiently to her situation until she is ultimately reunited with her beloved.

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tutti diceva, che di ciò dom andata l’avessero, che suoi figliuoli erano. E il maggiore non Giuffredi ma Giannotto di Procida nominava, al minore non curò di mutar nom e; e con somma diligenzia mostrò a Giuffredi perché il nome cambiato gli avea e a qual pericolo egli potesse essere se conosciuto fosse, e questo non una volta ma m olte e molto spesso gli ricordava. A nd m oreover, she was hoping that sooner or later their luck would change, in w hich case, provided they were still alive, the children might regain the position o f honour they had lost. So she resolved not to tell anybody who they were until a suitable occasion presented itself, and meanwhile, whenever she was questioned on the matter, she would claim that the children were her own. Renam ing the older boy Giannotto di Procida instead o f Giusffedi and leaving the younger boy’s name unaltered, she explained very diligently to Giusffedi w h y she had changed his name and how dangerous it might be for him if he were recognized. A nd she drummed this into him often and with much persistence. (2 .6 .2 9 -3 0 )53 This portrayal is filled with active verbs that underscore the nurse’s careful delib­ eration on the best course o f action under the circumstances and her active exe­ cution o f her plan - “pensò ... diceva... nom inava... cu rò ... m ostrò... ricordava.” H er decision to conceal Giusfredi’s true identity and rename him Giannotto to save him from trouble, as Branca points out in his edition, recalls Florio’s alter­ ation o f his name in the Filocolo when he finally sets aside sadness and embarks on his mission to save Biancifiore.54 Thus the story hints at the linkbetween F lo ­ rio’s active and wise confrontation with fortune and the nurse’s own. Although the nurse’s battle with fortune is undoubtedly not as spectacular as Florio’s, the nurse’s example still shows that, within the limits o f one’s condition and capa­ bilities, one should always strive to be active and plant the seeds for a future change o f fate; her patience coupled with her planning prepares the fam ily to seize the opportunity when it presents itself.55 After setting the plan in place, the nurse and the two sons resign themselves patiently to a life o f slavery, waiting for the right moment to alter their situation. In chapter 1 , 1 discussed how the Aristotelian notion o f prudence, or practi­ cal wisdom, was central to Florio’s successful confrontation with misfortune. For 53. Translation slightly modified. 54. Boccaccio, Decameron, ed. Branca, 208 n8. 55. M orosini notes the parallel between the nurse’s resolute and wise actions in 2.6 and those o f Alatiel in the following tale, Decameron 2.7. She aptly describes the nurse as “Alatiel’s spiritual sister” (“ sorella spirituale di Alatiel” ). See Morosini, “Fu in Lunigiana,” 62.

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Aquinas, as we have seen, prudence is a principle o f action based on the ability to deliberate on the best course o f action and plan in advance: “Illi dicuntur pru­ dentes ... qui possunt bene ratiocinari de his quae sunt bona et utilia ad aliquem finem determinatum” (“People are called p ru d en t... who can infer correctly w hat things are good or useful for some determ ined end,” In Eth. 6 .4 .11 6 3 ) . A s a prin­ ciple o f action, prudence is the capacity to reflect on the particular details o f con­ crete situations,56 and it often requires the ability to act w ith ingenuity so as to advance one’s goals.57 A s Aristotle states in the Ethics, being prudent involves the capacity to act “ at the right time, on the right occasion, tow ard the right p e o ­ ple, for the right purpose and in the right m anner.” 5859It is p recisely such prudent action that the nurse exemplifies in story 2.6, em bodying thereby Q ueen Filom ena’s assertion that “il senno di consolazion sia cagione” (“w isdom is a source o f consolation,” 1.3 .5 ) .59 Like Fiorio, w ho was able to overcom e m isfortune and obtain his beloved in the Filocolo through a mixture o f Aristotelian prudence and fortitude, the nurse in Decameron 2.6 facilitates a happy ending, and therefore consolation, for all involved through her patience and practical w isdom . T h e capacity to kn ow h ow and w hen to act given on e’s changing circum stances em erges as a crucial aspect o f successfully navigating the vicissitudes o f fortune and becom es another crucial part o f the Decameron’s consolatory discourse.60 T h e nurse em erges as B occaccio’s A ristotelian heroine, one w ho curbs h er sor56. “Pru d en tia enim non considerat solum universalia, in quibus n o n est actio; sed oportet quod cognoscat singularia, eo quod est activa, idest principium agendi” (“Prudence not on ly considers universals, in w hich action does n ot occur, but m ust k n o w singulars because it is active, i.e., a principle o f doing,” 1« Eth. 6 .6 .119 4 ). 57. “E st itaque quaedam potentia, idest operativum principium , quam vocan t dinoticam, quasi ingeniositatem quam dam sive industriam, quae tabs est ut p er eam h o m o possit operari ea quae ordinantur ad intentionem quam hom o praesupposuit” (“ T h ere is, therefore, a particular pow er, i.e., an operative principle called shrewdness, as it w ere a certain ingenuity or skillfulness. T his is o f such a nature that, b y m eans o f it, m an can do the things ordered to an end,” In Eth. 6.1 0 .12 7 2 ; em phases added). 58. See Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 2 .6 .1 1 ; ed. and trans. H . Rackham (C am bridge, M A , 19 2 6 ), n o 6 b 2 0 . 59. M y translation. 60. T oward the end o f the tale, the nurse is once again required to save the boys through her ingenuity. A fter G iusfredi learns o f the revolt in Sicily, w hich brings the Ghibellines back to power, he finally reveals his true identity. W ishin g to verify w hether he is telling the truth, the bo ys’ master, Guasparrino, w ho is described as “ astutissim o” (“very astute,” 2.6.74), crossexamines the nurse about the children’s identity. H aving learnt h erself about the change o f affairs in Sicily, the nurse overcom es her fears and, in an orderly m anner (“ ordinatam ente,” 2.6 .73), reveals to Guasparrino all that had happened and w h y she acted as she did. H er wellorganized explanation has its desired effect, rem oving G uasparrino’s doubts.

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row, maintains hope and patience for fate to turn in her favor, while actively and wisely acting to prepare the way for fortune to shine. While the story endorses such behavior, we should note that the fact that it is the low-class nurse who serves as a model o f heroism represents a challenge to Aristotle’s own hierarchi­ cal view o f human society and underscores the democratic and inclusive vision o f humanity that Boccaccio presents in his collection o f novelle.61 Heroism , Decameron 2.6 shows, is not the prerogative o f a specific gender or class. Boccaccio’s reliance on Aristotelian practical wisdom in the Decameron has strik­ ing affinities with M artha Nussbaum’s discussion o f the ethical value o f litera­ ture in her magisterial book Love's Knowledge. Drawing on Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, especially his notion of practical reason (phronesis), Nussbaum identifies three main elements that are, according to Aristotle, essential for lead­ ing a good and ethical life: attentiveness to the particular and the concrete, flex­ ibility and openness to unexpected events that are an inevitable part o f human life, and emotional sensitivity in dealing with the outside world.62 Literary nar­ ratives, according to Nussbaum, are particularly suited to developing these traits in readers: through formal features such as thick descriptions of individual char­ acters in complex particular situations, literary narratives, much more than the dry abstractions of philosophical discourse, have the capacity to cultivate the reader’s attentiveness to the “salient features o f one’s particular situation” and develop his or her “necessary resourcefulness in confronting [life’s] surprises.” 63 While Nussbaum discusses primarily the modern novel, Boccaccio’s novelle - similarly relying on Aristotle - advocate for the cultivation ofvery similar traits: we have seen how Decameron 2.6 creates a dramatic contrast between Beritola and the nurse and rewards the latter’s adaptability. Turning the philosophical abstractions o f Aristotle and Aquinas into lively novelle, Boccaccio demonstrates that the discourse o f literature is especially suited to the development o f such ethical precepts in the reader, as it ideally cultivates his or her capacity to confront misfortune in their own lives. In the following section, I would like to elaborate further on the thematic as well as the formal features through which Boccaccio seeks to develop Aristotelian 6 1. See also the discussion in note 45 above. On Aristotle’s hierarchical view o f human society and concept o f “natural slavery,” see, for example, Aristotle, Politics 1.5 .3 - 12 , ed. and trans. H. Rackham (Cambridge, M A, 19 32 ), 1 2S9a39-i26ob25. 62. Martha Nussbaum, Love's Knowledge: Essays on Philosophy and Literature (Oxford, 1990), esp. 3S -5 0 . See also Dorothy J. Hale, “Aesthetics and the N ew Ethics: Theorizing the Novel in the Twenty-First Century,” PM LA 12 4 (2009) : 896-905. 63. Nussbaum, Love's Knowledge, 37 -3 8.

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prudence and fortitude in his readers. T o that end, we will turn to the opening story of day 4 - the tragedy of Tancredi and Ghismonda - and discuss both the dramatic contrast between the two central protagonists as well as the dialogue this story holds with other tales, such as 4.6 and 2.6. Much as in the case o f Beri­ tola and her nurse, Tancredi and Ghismonda embody opposite reactions to the blows o f fortune - one mournful and one resolute - yet both o f them, as we will see, take their reactions to perilous extremes.

Between Softness and Daring: Confronting Misfortune in "Decameron” 4.1 Before turning to the tragedy o f Tancredi and Ghismonda, we must first discuss the two male figures that open day 4 - King Filostrato and Filippo Balducci and their own hazardous capitulations to excessive sorrow. A t the conclusion of day 3, Filostrato is crowned as king of the following, fourth day, the first male fig­ ure o f the brigata to serve in this position. Closely resembling his namesake in Boccaccio’s earlier Filostrato, the brigata’s Filostrato suffers from love, and much like his predecessor, he prefers to linger on literature that reflects his own suffer­ ing. Breaking the agreement between the members o f the brigata to focus only on cheerful themes, Filostrato chooses tragedies o f lovers for day 4 because he believes they best match his own miserable condition: “Credo che io andrò di qui alla morte. E per ciò non d’altra materia domane mi piace che si ragioni se non di quello che a’ m iei fatti è più conform e.” (“I do not suppose [things] will improve to m y dying day. I therefore decree that the subject o f our discussions for the m orrow should be none other than the one which applies most closely to myself,” i.C on c.s-6.) Trapped within his own sorrow and despair, Filostrato’s choice o f theme is likely related to the strategy o f consolation we encountered earlier in the Filocolo, Filostrato, and Elegia - and to which Emilia, as we have seen, hints at in thebeginning of Decameron 2.6 - namely, that b y listening to the hardships of others one may attenuate one’s own grief.64 W hen the first tragic story o f the day ends, Filostrato urges Pampinea, the next storyteller, to continue in the same tragic vein, 64. Consider, for example, Fiammetta’s following words in the Elegia: “N on di mitigarle m’ingegno, ma più tosto di sostenerle. Alla qual cosa fare solo uno modo possibile ho trovato intra gli altri, il quale è le mie pene con quelle di coloro che sono dolorosi passati commen­ surare.” (“I do not try to mitigate m y sorrows but to bear them. T o do this, I have found that among other means only one is possible, namely, to compare m y own misfortunes with those o f other people who have lived in pain,” Elegia 8.1.2.)

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stating that hearing m ore stories o f this kind will surely allow him to begin to feel the effects o f the stories, like “ alcuna rugiada cadere sopra il [suo] fuoco” (“ som e dew drops descending upon [his] fire,” 4 .2.3 ) 6s - likely pointing to the cooling o f his ow n am orous pains. Like the narrator o f the earlier Filostrato, the Filostrato o f the Decameron seeks respite in listening to the tragedies o f others. N onetheless, as in the earlier Filostrato and especially the Elegia, B occaccio w eaves into the narrative frame o f the Decameron an implicit critique o f the exces­ sive nature o f Filostrato’s m ournful consolatory strategy and his capitulation to sorrow in general.6 566 F o r example, in Fiam m etta’s opening o f her story on day 4, she calls F ilo strato ’s choice o f them e a “ fiera m ateria” ( “ cruel top ic,” 4 .1.2 ) ; F ilostrato’s choice o f them e both inflicts his ow n pain upon his com panions and exhibits his harsh attitude toward lovers in general. Indeed, in his reactions to the tales being narrated, Filostrato proves him self quite heartless and cruel tow ard the suffering o f the protagonists. In the previous chapter, w e saw that w hen Fiam m etta attem pted to gain solace b y listening to o r reading about the m isfortunes o f oth­ ers, she b ecam e increasingly com passionless and cruel; not only did she w ish that others w ould suffer so that she might obtain consolazione from having com panions in sorrow ,67 b ut she also repeatedly dow nplayed the suffering o f others so as to assert the superiority o f her own grief. Filostrato’s reactions over the course o f day 4 exhibit a sim ilarly cruel disposition: in addition to his w ish that others w ould suffer, he also continually suggests that their suffering is not painful enough.68 65. T ran slation slightly modified. 66. It should b e noted that whereas in the earlier works w e exam ined, the p ursuit o f consolation through the identification w ith the suffering o f others was the dom inant position o f the w orks’ author-narrator (Filocolo) or narrators (Filostrato, Elegia), in the Decameron this strategy is n ot m entioned b y the author-narrator him self and is em bodied on ly in the figure o f one o f the ten narrators. T h is fact further indicates the m arginalization o f this strategy in the Decameron. 67. “Io era divenuta de l’altrui letizie invidiosa; e con som m o disiderio appetiva che cias­ cuna don na cosi fosse da A m o re e dalla Fortu n a trattata, com e io era. O im è! con quanta con­ solazione più volte già m i ricorda d’avere udite le m iserie e le disaventure delli am anti n u o­ vam en te avven u te!” (“I had becom e envious o f other p eop le’s jo ys and m ost intensely craved that each w om an should b e treated b y L o v e and Fortune as I was. Oh, what great consolation

I often rem em ber feeling as I listened to the m iseries and m isadventures o f lovers happening an ew !” .Elegia 7 . 1 . 1 1 . ) 68. T eod olind a Barolini has m ade the interesting observation that the tragic stories told on day 4 intensify the ability o f the mem bers o f the brigata to feel com passion, a sensitivity that had been lost to Florentine society during the Plague, according to the author-narrator in the introduction to day 1. Y et while this return o f com passion m ay be true fo r m ost o f the m em ­ bers o f the brigata, Filostrato’s reactions on day 4 are m arkedly compassionless. See T eodolinda Barolini, “T h e W heel o f the Decameron,” Rom ance Philology 36 ( 19 8 3 ) : 5 2 1 - 5 3 8 , at 5 2 6 -5 2 7 .

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For example, Fiammetta’s first story on day 4 describes how the happy encounters between Ghismonda and Guiscardo end horrifically with the cruel revenge o f Ghismonda’s father, Tancredi, who kills his daughter’s lover and then sends her the beloved’s heart in a gold vessel, thus precipitating her suicide. The Decameron emphasizes how all the ladies o f the brigata are filled with compas­ sionate tears, but Filostrato responds “con rigido viso” (“with a stony face,” 4.2.2; my translation), stating that Guiscardo’s death was a small price to pay for the bliss he had had with Ghismonda.69 A similar cruel reaction follows the sixth tale: after hearing about Andreuola’s frightful dream o f her lover’s death, which then comes true when he dies in her arms, Filostrato does not show any compassion for Andreuola - “nulla compassion mostrando” (4.7.2) - but only hurries on to the next tragic tale, apparently not satisfied with the level o f suffering depicted. While inflicting his sorrow on others - on his companions as well as their protagonists - it is clear that Filostrato also does not attain much solace from his mournful consolatory strategy but only finds reasons to wallow further in his own grief and self-pity. The song he sings at the end o f day 4 is filled with references to his doglia and despair: “Nulla altra via, niuno altro conforto / mi resta più che morte alla mia doglia” ("N o other way nor other ease / Remains to sooth m y grief but death,” 4.Conc.x6). Much like Beritola in 2.6, Filostrato emerges as an exemplum of the futility and peril o f excessive sorrow in the face o f misfortune. Filostrato’s disconsolate and sorrowful disposition is echoed b y another male character who appears at the beginning of day 4: Filippo Balducci, the hero of the mezza novella narrated by the author-narrator in the introduction to the day. The novella of Balducci forms part of the author-narrator’s defense o f his work against the accusations o f detractors who claim that he should not waste his time on “pleasing” and “ consoling” women through frivolous tales o f love.70 Defending him self in the manner he knows best - b y telling a story - the author-narrator narrates a tale about the inescapable pow er o f amore. A t the 69. “Poco prezzo mi parrebbe la vita mia a dover dare per la metà diletto di quello che con Guiscardo ebbe Ghismonda, né se ne dee di voi maravigliare alcuna, con ciò sia cosa che io, vivendo, ogni ora mille morti sento, né per tutte quelle una sola particella di diletto m’ è data” (“I would think it a small price to pay if I were to give m y life in exchange for one half o f the bliss Ghismonda had with Guiscardo. N o r should any o f you consider this surprising, because I die a thousand deaths in the course o f every hour that I live, without being granted the tiniest portion o f bliss in return,” 4.2.2). 70. “Sono adunque, discrete donne, stati alcuni che, queste novellette leggendo, hanno detto che voi mi piacete troppo e che onesta cosa non è che io tanto diletto prenda di piacervi e di consolarvi” (“Judicious ladies, there are those who have said, after reading these tales, that I am altogether too fond o f you, that it is unseemly for me to take so much delight in entertaining and consoling you,” 4.Intro.s).

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beginning o f the story, he describes how Filippo Balducci decides to retreat from the w orld together with his small son following the death o f his wife. Balducci raises the son in complete seclusion in a cave on a mountain outside Florence, educating him only “ della gloria di vita eterna e di Dio e de’ santi” (“ about the glory o f the life eternal, o f God, and of the saints,” 4 .Intro. 15). When the son turns eighteen, he beseeches his father to let him come with him to the city so as to help him carry their supplies. After m uch begging the father acquiesces. W hen they arrive in the city, the young b oy is stupefied b y the marvelous palaces and churches he sees. A bove all, however, he is amazed to see, for the first time ever, a brigata o f young wom en leaving a wedding. Asking his father about these crea­ tures, Balducci orders his son to lower his eyes and not look at them as “ elle son mala cosa” (“they are evil,” 4 Jn tr o .11) . T he hermit-son insists on an explanation, and the father, trying to manipulate reality through language, retorts, “papere” (“goslings,” 4Jntr0.iT,). In response, the son asks to take one gosling back hom e with him. C ritics have justly noted that this self-defense argues for the natural and inescapable pow er o f earthly love and that Filippo Balducci functions as a standin for the author-narrator’s sour critics who are critical o f his ongoing fascination with love and w om en.71 Like Balducci, the author-narrator suggests, his critics engage in a vain attempt to censor the forces o f nature. What has not been suffi­ ciently addressed, however, is how the beginning o f the tale lingers on the father’s sorrow and despair and the role it plays in his decision to retreat from the world. Balducci’s relationship with his wife, as the tale painstakingly shows, is par­ ticularly blissful and a source o f comfort and repose for both husband and wife: “Aveva una sua donna moglie, la quale egli sommamente amava, e ella lui, e insieme in riposata vita si stavano, a niuna altra cosa tanto studio ponendo quanto in piacere interamente l’uno all’altro” (“H e was deeply in love with the lady who was his wife, and since she fully reciprocated his love, their marriage was peace­ ful, and they w ent out o f their w ay to make each other’s lives com pletely happy,” 4 Jn t r o .11) . After his wife dies, Balducci remains utterly “ sconsolato” (“ discon­ solate,” 4.Intro. 14 ), and it is for this reason that he decides to withdraw from the world and to impose solitude on his small son as well. The opening o f the tale shows both the value the Decameron places on companionship between husband and wife as a source o f bliss - preparing the way for the tales o f the following, fifth day - and highlights the perils o f giving in to excessive sorrow and despair. 7 1. SeeM azzotta, World at Play, 1 3 1 - 1 3 8 ; Picone, Boccaccio e la codificazione, 1 8 1 - 1 8 3 ; and M ichael Sherberg, The Governance o f Friendship: L aw and Gender in the “Decameron" (Colum bus, 2 0 1 1 ) , 2 6 -2 7 .

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Not unlike the king o f the day, Filostrato, who imposes tragedy on his peers to express his own sorrow, Balducci gives in to excessive grief and therefore inflicts his pain on his surroundings - in this case his young son. By that choice, he not only denies his son the right to the same worldly con­ tentment he had enjoyed with his wife, but he also risks bringing about further tragedy, as the author-narrator specifies toward the end o f this section: “Alle cui leggi, cioè della natura, voler contrastare troppo gran forze bisognano, e spesse volte non solamente in vano ma con grandissimo danno del faticante s’adope­ rano” (“And in order to oppose the laws o f nature, one has to possess exceptional powers, which often turn out to have been used, not only in vain, but to the seri­ ous harm o f those who employ them,” 4 .Intro.4 1 ). The looming conflict between father and son, caused by the father’s excessive mourning, is ultimately deferred in this story; however, in the opening tale of day 4, the inability to control one’s sorrow paired with the inability to recognize the power o f young love will bring about results that are particularly disastrous for all those involved. Novella 4.1, narrated by Fiammetta, begins by describing a doting father, Prince Tancredi, whose excessive love for his daughter leads him to delay giving her hand in marriage following the death o f her first husband. The resourceful Ghismonda decides to take matters into her own hands and chooses a lover from among her father’s entourage - the poor, though virtuous, Guiscardo. The two happily engage in a secret affair, until “fortuna” intervenes and turns their hap­ piness into “tristo pianto” (“sorrowful lament,” 4 .1.15 ) ,72,73 Critics have long emphasized the role o f Tancredi’s excessive and unnatural love for his daughter in the tragedy that ensues,73 yet the story also points to Tan­ credi’s emotional volatility and inability to control his sorrow as a major cause o f calamity. His inability to withstand hardship is made apparent from the moment he discovers his daughter’s secret affair. Having entered his daughter’s room 72. M y translation. 73. See Guido Almansi, The Writer as L ia r: Narrative Technique in the "Decameron" (London, 19 7 s), 1 3 3 - 1 5 7 ; M ario Baratto, Realtà e stile nel “Decameron" (Vicenza, 1970), 18 0 -19 5 ; Marcus, Allegory o f Form, 50-64; Mazzotta, World at Play, 1 3 1 - 1 5 8 ; Picone, Boc­ caccio e la codificazione, 18 8 -19 0 ; and Sherberg, Governance o f Friendship, 12 0 - 12 4 . In dis­ cussing the cause o f tragedy, critics also point to the fatal collision o f values inherent in the tale; while Ghismonda celebrates the stilnovistic ideal o f love, which locates nobility in one’s virtue and gentle heart, Tancredi embodies the traditional aristocratic emphasis on lineage. See Mazzotta, World at Play, 14 4 -14 7 , and Picone, Boccaccio e la codificazione, 18 9 -19 0 . Sher­ berg offers a slightly different reading o f the tension governing the tale, claiming that the prince’s problem lies in the blurring o f the roles o f father and ruler, as he cannot separate his emotions toward his daughter from his princely duties.

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uninvited - as was his custom - Tancredi discovers the two lovers in bed. He arrests Guiscardo im m ediately and addresses his daughter s lover “quasi pia­ gnendo” (“on the verge o f tears,” 4 .1.2 2 ) ,74 asking him w hy he betrayed his gen­ erosity. The next day, Tancredi enters his daughter’s room once again, and, now fully crying before her (“piagnendo,” 4 .1.2 5 ), he laments her illicit affair - and with a man o f low rank at that. A t the end o f his speech, as the narrator states, Tancredi is crying “ come farebbe un fanciul ben battuto” (“as though he were a child who had been soundly beaten,” 4 .1.2 9 ). Tancredi’s propensity for emotional excess is further accentuated in the nar­ rative through the dramatic contrast the tale establishes between his reaction to misfortune and that o f his daughter. W hen Tancredi reveals to Ghism onda that he knows o f her affair and asks her to explain her actions, Ghismonda, while greatly distressed, manages to heroically control her tears: “Dolore inestimabile senti e a mostrarlo con romore e con lagrime, come il più le femine fanno, fu assai volte vicina: m a pur questa viltà vincendo il suo animo altiero, il viso suo con maravigliosa forza fermò.” (“ Ghism onda was utterly overcome with sorrow and needed all the self-control she possessed to prevent herself from screaming and sobbing as most other women would have done. But her proudness o f heart more than m ade up for her shattered spirits, and with miraculous fortitude, she rem ained im passive,” 4 . i .3 o.)7S Ghism onda’s incredible ability to control her sorrow closely corresponds with Aquinas’s definition o f fortitude as “animi fir­ mitatem” (“firmness o f soul,” In Èth. 3.14.5 29), which he associates with the abil­ ity to sustain hardship steadfastly.76 In his discussion of facing misfortune in the Commentary on the Ethics, as noted also in chapter 1, Aquinas stresses that forti­ tude does not imply a complete lack of sorrow - as the Stoics believe - but rather the ability to manage it,77 and it is this ability that Ghismonda exhibits. Such firm­ 74. Translation modified. 75. Translation slightly modified. 76. “Dicit ergo primo, quod ille qui sustinet quae oportet sustinere et fugit per timorem ea quae oportet vitare, et facit hoc eius gratia cuius oportet et eo modo quo oportet et quando oportet, vocatur fortis” (“He says first that one who endures the things he ought to endure and flees through fear the things he ought to avoid with the right motivation, in the right manner, and at the right time is called brave,” In Eth. 3.15.54 8 ). 77. “E t sic refulget in eis bonum virtutis, inquantum scilicet aliquis faciliter sustinet multa et magna infortunia: non propter hoc quod non sentiat dolorem seu tristitiam, sicut Stoici posuerunt; sed quia tamquam virilis et magnanimus, huiusmodi tristitiis eius ratio non succumbit” (“In this way the good o f virtue shines forth insofar as a man gracefully endures frequent and great misfortunes, not because he may not feel the sorrow or sadness as the Sto­ ics held but, being courageous and magnanimous, his reason does not succumb to such afflic­ tions,” In £t/i. 1.16 .19 5 ) .

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ness o f soul is contrasted in the Commentary on the Ethics with “mollities animi” (“softness o f soul”), which exists, according to Aquinas, when a person “non pos­ sit sustinere laboriosa et tristia” (“is unable to undergo hardships and sorrows,” In Eth. 3.15.557). The contrasting responses o f Ghismonda and Tancredi thus closely reflect the discussion o f fortitude in Aristotle's Ethics and Aquinas’s Com­ mentary thereon, with Ghismonda clearly embodying “manly” fortitude and Tan­ credi an “effeminate” submission to sorrow. Ghismonda’s resolute qualities are further exemplified b y her ensuing response to her father’s request to explain her affair. Facing her father, she breaks into a lengthy and bold response, in which she uses logic to place responsibility for her actions squarely on Tancredi’s shoulders. She accuses Tancredi o f failing to recognize that she is “di carne” (“of flesh and blood,” 4.1.34) and hence bound for love - thus echoing the author-narrator’s defense o f his work in the intro­ duction to the day. She then blames Tancredi for neglecting his fatherly and princely duties by delaying her marriage, as well as for failing to compensate Gui­ scardo properly for his evident qualities. In the end, she tells Tancredi that if he intends to resort to cruelty, then he should direct his cruelty toward her rather than Guiscardo, as she was the mastermind behind the entire affair (4.1.44). After hearing his daughter’s words, the devastated Tancredi indeed resorts to a vengeful act of cruelty, telling his servants to kill Guiscardo, cut out his heart, and send it to his daughter in a chalice o f gold. Faced with the horrific “gift,” the defiant Ghismonda pours poison into the chalice and calmly takes her own life, thus bringing calamity also upon her father’s head. Alongside his excessive love for his daughter, it is therefore Tancredi’s capitulation to sorrow and vengeful rage that brings about disaster to all those involved, including himself. While Tancredi’s lack of self-control is undoubtedly central to the calamity, Ghismonda’s own actions and disposition, I would like to argue, also play a part in the tragic end. Although undeniably bold, Ghismonda’s interaction with Tan­ credi may also be considered rash, inflexible, and lacking in foresight, contribut­ ing thereby to the disaster.78 Ghismonda’s shortcomings become apparent when we look closely at the bold speech she delivers to her father. Despite her perilous 78. Previous discussions that have also detected a possible critique o f Ghismonda’s actions and disposition in the story include Mazzotta’s, which emphasizes the violent nature of Ghismonda’s suicide. See World at Play, 149. Jam es C. Kriesel notes a critique o f Ghis­ monda’s haughtiness, which is meant, according to him, to reflect Boccaccio’s general cri­ tique of the genre of tragedy expressed in the tale. See Jam es C. Kriesel, “Boccaccio and the Early M odern Reception of Tragedy,” Renaissance Quarterly 69 (2 0 16 ): 4 15 -4 4 8 , at 4 2 7 429. See also F. Regina Psaki, “The One and the Many: The Tale of the Brigata and Decameron D ay F o u r "Annali d'ltalianistica 3 1 (2 0 13 ): 2 17 -2 5 6 , at 229-230.

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situation, Ghismonda begins her speech b y scornfully addressing her father by his first name “Tancredi” (4 .1.3 1 ) rather than the more respectful “padre.” She then states point-blank that she has no intention o f asking for mercy: “N é a negare né a pregare son disposta” (“I am resolved neither to contradict you nor to implore your forgiveness,” 4 . 1 . 3 1 ). Such an appeal, she declares, would not conform to “la grandezza dell’animo [suo]” (“the greatness o f[h er] mind,” 4 . 1 . 3 1 ) . 79 Instead o f asking for mercy, she promises to defend her case through rational arguments and facts (“vere ragioni” e “fatti,” 4 .1.3 1 ) - a logical exercise that leads her, as we have seen, to heap all the blame upon her father. At the close o f her speech, she disdainfully sends Tancredi to go cry with the women (“va con le femine a span­ der le lagrime,” 4 .1.4 5). Ghism onda’s speech not only ignores all the rhetorical strategies o f “miseri­ cordiam captans” (“capturing compassion”) mentioned in Cicero’s De inventione 1 . 5 5 . 1 0 6 - 1 0 9 , 80 but it swings to the opposite extreme with her contemptuous and harsh attitude. The dramatic opposition between Tancredi and Ghismonda within the tale is thus not simply one between “softness” and “fortitude,” but rather they em body the two opposite vices related to fortitude. In the discussion o f the vices related to the virtue o f fortitude in the Summa theologiae, Aquinas mentions “ audacia” (“daring,” S T 2 -2 .12 7 ) and describes it as a passion that leads

one to act quickly without taking appropriate counsel: “Si quis ante consilium vellet festine agere, non esset hoc laudabile, sed vitiosum, esset enim quaedam praecipitatio actionis, quod est vitium prudentiae oppositum” (“T o wish to act quickly before taking counsel is not praiseworthy but sinful; for this would be to act rashly, which is a vice contrary to prudence,” ST 2 - 2 .12 7 .1 ad 2). Fiammetta’s account in 4.1 appears to hint at the overly daring nature o f Ghismonda’s speech, as it stresses that Ghismonda embarks upon her bold speech assuming prema­ turely that Guiscardo is already dead: “Avanti che a dovere alcun priego per sé porgere, di più non stare in vita dispose, avvisando già esser morto il suo Guis­ cardo” (“Rather than make excuses for herself, she resolved to live no longer, being convinced that her Guiscardo was already dead,” 4 .1.30 ). A t that point, however, Guiscardo is still alive and Tancredi is still debating how to act. Ghis­ m onda’s defiant speech, as a result, turns out to be rash and based on a mistaken assumption. Furthermore, within the same discussion o f the vices associated with forti­ tude, Aquinas mentions also “pertinacia” (“pertinacity,” S T 2 -2 .13 8 .2 ), which he specifically contrasts with its opposite extreme, “mollitiem” (“softness,” S T 79. Translation modified. 80. See Cicero, “De inventione,” in On Invention; The Best Kind of Orator; Topics, ed. and trans. H.M . Hubbell (Cambridge, MA, 1949), 1-34 6 .

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2 - 2 . 1 3 8 . 1 ) - the vice that, as we have seen, clearly relates to Tancredi. One who is pertinacious, or strong headed, according to Aquinas, clings tenaciously to his own opinion as “per hoc vult suam excellentiam manifestare” (“he wishes by this means to make a show of his own excellence,” S T 2 - 2 . 1 3 8 . 2 ad 1 ) . Ghismonda, as we have seen, declares that she has no intention to beg, for she wishes to assert “la grandezza delTanimo [suo]” (“the greatness o f [her] mind,” 4 . 1 . 3 1 ) 81 - p ro v ­ ing herself thereby to be quite pertinacious. Although undoubtedly brave, Ghismonda's actions may therefore be regarded also as overly daring, lacking in coun­ sel and foresight, and ultimately unhelpful; they m ay have pushed the overly emotional Tancredi over the edge.82 The dramatic contrast between Tancredi and Ghismonda thus represents two extremes that lead to mutual disaster. The troubled pair causes the reader to ponder over the appropriate middle ground between them. The fact that Ghismonda's haughty disposition plays a part in her tragic end is made especially evident when we compare her actions to those o f Andreuola, the heroine of story 4.6. This novella opens the second half o f day 4 and is there­ fore clearly meant to be considered in parallel to 4 .1 , the opening o f the entire day. Like Ghismonda, Andreuola is a woman of noble birth who falls in love with a man o f humble origins. After her lover mysteriously dies in her arms, Andreuola falls into despair and contemplates suicide - only to be diverted from this plan by her nurse. Having regained her wits, Andreuola proves h erself steady and resourceful. Arrested by the podestà, Andreuola forcefully rejects his attempts to take advantage o f her situation and have sex with her, recalling thus Ghismonda’s own boldness and defiance. Yet, when Andreuola faces the other author­ ity figure in the story - her father - she acts in a com pletely different manner than Ghismonda. When explaining her actions to her father, she bursts into tears and throws herself at his feet. She then addresses him respectfully as “padre mio” ( 4 .6 .3 8 ) , acknowledges the difficult situation she has put him in b y engaging in a secret affair, and humbly asks for his forgiveness: “ Quanto piu posso, umil8 1. Translation modified. 82. That Ghismonda's speech has a part in influencing her fa th ers cruel decision is made apparent by the message he sends to her together with the dism em bered heart o f her beloved - a message that touches directly upon consolation: “Il tuo padre ti manda questo per consolarti di quella cosa che tu più ami, come tu hai lui consolato di ciò che egli più amava” (“Your father sends you this to console you in the loss o f your dearest possession, just as you have consoled him in the loss of his,” 4.1.47; translation slightly m odified). W hile Tancredi’s ironic and cruel statement likely refers to Ghismonda's overall betrayal, the reference to the “ consolation” he received from Ghismonda m ay refer to the scornful speech that Ghismonda offered him in his time o f need, after he learned o f her betrayal. The dismembered heart is thus presented as a token of revenge-consolation for her own harsh words.

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mente perdono vi domando del fallo m io” (“M y sole request - and it is one that I make in all humility - is that you should pardon my transgression/’ 4.6.38). Whereas Ghism onda’s speech is daring, proud, and scornful, Andreuola’s is humble and respectful. A nd while Tancredi reacts to Ghismonda’s words with his cruel decision to execute Guiscardo, Andreuola’s father gives his daughter full pardon and arranges a nobleman’s funeral for the deceased Gabriotto. The ending o f 4.6 is accordingly the least tragic o f all the novelle o f day 4. Whereas Ghismonda’s proud and scornful speech only worsens the situation, the hum ­ ble and respectful tone used b y Andreuola averts tragedy insofar as possible. While Ghism onda remains steadfast and asserts the “greatness o f her mind,” Andreuola cleverly adapts herself to the situation, knows when to be steadfast (opposing the podestà) and when humble (in front of her father), and knows how to show and elicit compassion. The comparison o f these two wom en and their ways o f dealing with misfortune - a comparison that the stories clearly invite - m ay thus be read as a contrast between daring and prudent confronta­ tions with the vicissitudes of fortune. Andreuola’s story demonstrates how flex­ ibility, awareness o f context, and emotional sensibility - features that closely conform, as we have seen, to Aristotelian practical wisdom - are all essential for a successful confrontation with calamity. Ghismonda’s remarkable fortitude, the comparison suggests, should have been accompanied by more careful delib­ eration and flexibility. The critique o f Ghismonda’s disposition is made further apparent when comparing it with another story with which it is in dialogue - story 2.6, discussed above. One o f the subplots o f the eventful tale o f Beritola’s fam ily involves a secret affair between her son, Giusfredi-Giannotto, and the daughter o f C u r­ rado de’ M archesi Malespini, at whose court in Lunigiana Beritola resides after being saved from the island. When Giannotto turns sixteen, he leaves his enforced servitude in Genoa and embarks on a journey in hope o f improving his fate, ultimately arriving b y chance at Currado’s court. (Due to the time that has elapsed Giannotto and his mother do not recognize each other at first.) W in­ ning the favor o f Currado, Giannotto becomes his right-hand man. M uch like in the story o f Ghism onda in 4 .1, Giannotto falls in love with the recently w id­ owed Spina, Currado’s young daughter, but they are soon discovered by Spina’s parents while making love in the woods. The furious father - who clearly recalls Tancredi - arrests the two and plans to execute them, yet his wife intervenes and begs him “ di non correr furiosamente a volere nella sua vecchiezza della figliuola divenir micidiale e a bruttarsi le mani del sangue d’un suo fante” (“not to ruin his old age by killing his own daughter in a sudden fit o f frenzy and soil­ ing his hands with the blood o f one of his servants,” 2.6.39). This last sentence

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is repeated almost verbatim in the beginning o f story 4 .1, describing there the atrocities Tancredi will indeed com m it.83 Beseeching her husband not to m ur­ der the two, the wife also repeatedly urges him to leave the two in prison, pro­ viding them with the opportunity to repent for their sins. The entreaties o f Currado’s wife indeed assuage Currado’s rage to a degree, and he decides to leave the two lovers in prison. The success that C urrado’s wife has in averting disas­ ter - the narrative refers to her at this point as a “santa donna” (2.6.40) - high­ lights again Ghism onda’s failure in relating to her father; her rigidity and unwill­ ingness to use speech in a wise and sensitive manner prevents her from changing her situation for the better.84 T h e dialogue betw een the two tales over how to speak to p o w e r also plays out in the characters’ defense o f their affairs. L e t us com pare Giannotto’s response to Currado in 2.6 and that o f G hism onda to T an credi in 4 .1. A fter C urrado discovers G iannotto’s true identity, he arranges a secret m eet­ ing w ith him. R eproaching G iannotto for his illicit affair, C urrado then asks him to m ake am ends b y m arrying his daughter. N otw ithstanding his p recar­ ious situation and apparent weakness due to his long im prisonm ent (2 .6 .5 2 5 3 ), G ian n otto responds w ith a b old speech, w hich closely recalls that o f G hism onda. L ike Ghism onda, he defends the nobility o f his love and attrib­ utes his transgression to the insurm ountable pow er o f love am ong the young (2 .6 .54 ). H ow ever, in contrast to Ghism onda, G iannotto is careful to p ro ­ tect C u rra d o ’s h o n o r and rem ains tactful and respectful. W hereas G h is­ m onda concludes her speech b y scornfully sending her father to “go cry with the w om en ,” G iannotto concludes that regardless o f w hat C urrado decides to do to him, he w ill continue to love and respect him : “ C hé tanto quanto io am erò la Spina, tanto sem pre per am or di lei amerò te, che che tu m i facci, e avrotti in reverenza” (“W hatever you do to me, I shall always love Spina, and for her sake I shall always love and respect her father,” 2.6 .56 ). T h is defiant yet respectful speech deeply m oves C urrado and strengthens his resolve to reunite G iannotto with his daughter.85 In contrast, G hism onda blam es her father, show s no regret about h id in g her love, and pays no respect to her 83. "Tancredi, prencipe di Salerno, fu signore assai umano e di benigno ingegno, se egli nell’amoroso sangue nella sua vecchiezza non s’avesse le mani bruttate” (4 .1.3). 84. A t the same time, there is no doubt that the juxtaposition o f the two stories also points to the significance o f the absence o f the mother in 4 .1. 8 5. “ Currado, avendo costui udito, si maravigliò e di grande animo il tenne e il suo amore fervente reputò e più ne l’ebbe caro” (“ Currado listened in amazement to Giannotto’s words, which convinced him o f both his courage and the warmth o f his love, increasing his esteem for the young man,” 2.6.57).

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father, all o f w hich highlight how her rash and unwise use o f language possi­ bly prevents her from averting tragedy.86 The elaborate dialogue between the tale of Ghismonda and stories 4.6 and 2.6 shows that the Decameron not only repeatedly thematizes the importance of flexibility, sensitivity to context, and the wise use of language to a successful nav­ igation o f misfortune, but at the same time strives to cultivate such traits in the reader through its dialogic form: by establishing evident thematic and linguistic parallels between the tales, the work invites readers to compare Ghismonda and Andreuola, Ghismonda and Currado’s wife, as well as Ghimsonda and Giannotto - their respective reactions to troubles, their attentiveness to the particularities of their situations, and their relative abilities to adapt their responses appropri­ ately. The dialogue between these novelle forces the reader to compare and con­ trast, to attend to changing contexts, and to exercise emotional sensitivity in order to interpret Boccaccio’s complex message. In this nexus o f stories, the ethics o f wise and sensitive action thereby finds a perfect synchronicity o f form and con­ tent - both w ork together to shape the readers’ capacity to read carefully and to respond to the challenges posed by fortune in their own lives. It is this element o f training that Nussbaum sees as central to the ethical value o f literature and which she closely associates with Aristotelian practical wisdom; it is this A ris­ totelian element that is also inherent to Boccaccio’s perspective on consolation in the Decameron. Ideally the stories do not just distract or comfort the reader, but they actually shape the reader’s capacity to confront the setbacks that inevitably accompany human life.

Between Softness and Patience: The Discourse o f Consolation in "Decameron” 10 .10 The last dramatic pair that we will discuss in our analysis of Boccaccio’s ethical discourse on consolation in the Decameron is Gualtieri and Griselda, the protag­ onists o f the last tale o f the work. As in the case of Decameron 2.6 and 4 .1, Decameron 10 .10 establishes a binary opposition between two responses to the vicissitudes o f fortune, one which m aybe dubbed “soft” and another “resolute.” 86. Interestingly, a “vertical reading” of the Decameron shows how similar examples of the wise and sensitive addressing o f power - contrasted with Ghismonda’s failed speech also dominate the sixth tale on other days of the work. Consider, in this regard, Ruggieri de Loria’s address to the king in 5.6, which saves Gianni di Procida and Restituta from being burned at the stake, or story 10.6, in which Count Guy’s wise words avert King Charles’s inap­ propriate amorous intentions.

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As in the previous stories we examined, the binary opposition also reflects Aris­ totelian and Thomistic precepts. M oreover, just as Decameron 4 .1 raises doubts regarding its heroine’s exemplary resolute behavior, Decameron 10 .10 will also question the limits o f its heroine’s steadfast disposition and thereby invite the reader to ponder the appropriate and m ost useful reaction to misfortune.87 The story o f Griselda is part o f a day dedicated to stories o f magnanimità, a term which bears clear Aristotelian undertones. For Aristotle, magnanimity is a trait which “ adorns all the other virtues,” bringing them to perfection.88 A t the conclusion o f day 9, Panfilo, the king o f day 10, describes the theme for that day as follows: “ [N ovelle] di chi liberalmente 0 vero magnificamente alcuna cosa operasse intorno a’ fatti d’amore o d’altra cosa” (“ [Stories] o f those who have perform ed Uberai or magnificent deeds, whether in the cause of love or other­ wise,” 9.Conc.4). Listening to such stories, Panfilo contends, will kindle in the audience the ambition to perform magnanimous acts worthy of everlasting glory. The stories o f day 10, then, are meant to relay strong positive exempla. In his introductory remarks to the last story o f day 10, however, the eversubversive D ioneo maintains that unlike the previous tales, his main protago­ nist w ill offer no example o f magnanim ity: “V o ’ ragionar d’un marchese, non cosa m agnifica ma una matta bestialità, come che ben ne gli seguisse alla fine” (“ I w ant to tell you o f a marquis whose actions, even though things turned out well for him in the end, w ere remarkable not so much for their m agnificence as for their senseless bestiality,” 1 0 .10 .3 ) .89 Associating G ualtieri’s actions with matta bestialità - a term taken from D an te’s Inferno 1 1 .8 2 - 8 3 , w hich itself draws from b ook 7 o f A ristotle’s Ethics - it is significant that D ioneo’s initial statem ents m ake no m ention o f G riselda or the exem plary value o f h er own behavior. From the start Boccaccio raises doubts about w hether the incredi-

87. It is worth pointing out that in all three stories Boccaccio’s pairs also entail an inver­ sion o f prejudices and expectations relating to gender and class. D e c a m e r o n 2 .6 , as noted, inverts class-related assumptions b y using the nurse, a “povera femina,” to exemplify the importance o f wisdom and fortitude. Similarly, 4 .1 reverses the expected gender roles, as the father is beset b y tearful emotionality and the daughter is resolute and steadfast. D e c a m e ro n 10 .1 o, as w e will see, does both at once - reversing both gender and class expectations through the figure o f Griselda. 88. A s Francesco Bausi demonstrates, “ m agnanim ity" is used on day 10 in an A ris­ totelian manner as a trait shared b y all virtues, indicating their state o f extreme perfection: “L a ‘magnanimità,’ che porta la virtù al limite estremo di perfezione” ( “‘magnanimity,’ which carries virtue to the extreme limit o f perfection”). Francesco Bausi, “ Gli spiriti magni: Fili­ grane Aristoteliche e Tom istiche nella decima giornata del ‘Decam eron,’” S t u d i s u l B o cca ccio 2 7 ( 1 9 9 9 ) : 2.0 5 -2 5 3 , at 208. See also Kirkham, S ig n o f R ea s o n , 144. 89. Translation slightly modified.

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b le patien ce w ith w hich G riselda w ill w ithstand G u altieri’s bestial trials deserves exem plary status. T h e vast critical tradition on the story has long been divided over Griselda's exemplarity: w hile m any critics tend to read the figure o f Griselda as a m odel o f hum ility and C hristian perfection for the w ay she withstands the cruel trials im posed on her b y her husband - considering her “ another Jo b ” or a M arian fig­ ure - others question this prem ise and point to the ambiguous aspects o f how she is depicted.90 In her recent reading o f the tale, Teodolinda Barolini has crit­ icized the tendency to read the story allegorically and to consider Griselda as its unquestionable heroine. Th e true hero o f the story, according to her, is Gualtieri, w ho stands at the center o f a very literal and particularly cruel dom estic dram a.919 2 A t the heart o f this drama, as Barolini contends, resides the question o f consola­ tion, as indicated b y the m any references to “ consolazione” over the course o f the tale - references that are paradoxically associated prim arily with the figure o f G ualtieri.91 Thus, after putting his w ife through repeated trials in order to test her ob ed ience and finally being convinced o f her loyalty and com pliance, Gualtieri declares, “Parendo a me aver di te quella consolazione che io disiderava” (“It seems to m e that I have o f you that consolation which I desired,” 10 .10 .6 2 ).93 “ C onsolazione,” for Gualtieri, thus im plies a life o f perfect pleasure and serenity, 90. F o r readings in the Christian-exem plary key, see Bausi, “ G li spiriti m agni,” 2 4 0 2 4 5 ; Vittore Branca, B o c c a cc io m e d ie v a le (Milan, 2 0 10 ), 4 0 - 4 1 ; M arga Cottino-Jones, “F ab ­ ula vs. Figura: A n other Interpretation o f the Griselda Story,” Ita lic a 50 ( 1 9 7 3 ) : 3 8 - 5 2 ; Jo a n Ferrante, “ T h e Fram e Characters o f the D e c a m e r o n : A Progression o f V irtues,” R o m a n c e P h ilo lo g y 19 ( 1 9 6 5 ) : 2 1 2 - 2 2 6 ; and Kirkham, S ig n o f R ea s o n , 2 5 0 - 2 5 5 . Michelangelo Picone

has presented G riselda as a “ sublime exem plum ” due to her courtly-chivalric, rather than Christian, traits. See Picone, B o cca ccio e la co d ifica z io n e, 3 3 5 -3 6 0 . Lucia Battaglia Ricci has also asserted G riselda’s exem plary status, even while shifting the focus o f attention to the bestial­ ity o f Gualtieri. See Lucia Battaglia Ricci, “ D e c a m e r o n X, 10: D ue ‘verità’ e due modelli etici a confronto,” I t a lia n is t ic a 4 2 .2 ( 2 0 1 3 ) : 7 9 -9 0 , at 8 8 -8 9 . Central works that question Griselda’s exemplarity include Beatrice Barbiellini Am idei, “L a novella di Gualtieri e Griselda (D e c JC. 10 ) e il libro di G ualtieri,” F ilo lo g ia e c ritic a 30 ( 2 0 0 5 ) : 3 - 3 3 , at 1 5 - 1 6 ; R obert Hollander and C o u rtn ey Cahill, “D a y 10 o f the D e c a m e r o n : T h e M yth o f O rder,” in Hollander, B o c c a cc io 's D a n t e , 1 0 9 - 1 6 8 ; Kircher, P o e t ’s W is d o m , 2 5 6 - 2 5 8 ; M arcus, A lle g o r y o f F o r m , 9 3 - 1 0 9 ; M az-

zotta, W o r ld a t P la y , 1 2 2 - 1 3 0 ; L u ca C arlo Rossi, “L a novella di Griselda fra Boccaccio e Petrarca,” in G iovan ni B o ccaccio and Fran cesco Petrarca, G r is e ld a , ed. L u ca Carlo R ossi (Palerm o, 1 9 9 1 ) , 9 - 2 1 ; Luciano Rossi, "Ironia e parodia nel ‘D ecam eron’ da Ciappelletto a Griselda,” in L a n o v e lla it a lia n a , ed. Bianchi, 1 : 3 6 5 - 4 0 5 , at 398. 9 1. See T eo do lin d a Barolini, "T h e M arquis o f Saluzzo, or the Griselda Story Before It W a s H ijacked: Calculating M atrim onial O dds in D e c a m e ro n 10 .10 ,” M e d ia e v a lia 3 4 ( 2 0 1 3 ) : 2 3 - 5 5 , and Barolini, “Philosophy o f Consolation,” 8 9 - 1 0 5 . 92. Barolini, “Philosophy o f Consolation,” 9 7 - 1 0 3 . 9 3. M y translation.

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undisturbed in any way by any discomfort. His perfect consolation, as Barolini notes, is attained through the complete annihilation o f the will o f the other - in this case his wife. While the domestic drama, with Gualtieri at its center, is no doubt central to the story’s engagement with consolation, I would like to argue that the tale also invites us to regard both Gualtieri and Griselda as opposing exemplary types; each represents a particular w ay o f confronting the vicissitudes o f fortune, and thus each serves as a model for a different type o f consolation. T he features o f these two exemplary types are strongly based on Aristotle’s Ethics and Aquinas’s Commentary on the Ethics. Giuseppe M azzotta and Lucia Battaglia R icci have both emphasized the contrast established within the tale between Gualtieri and Griselda and have pointed out that this opposition reflects Aristotle’s concep­ tion o f “bestial” and “ divine” dispositions, discussed in book 7 o f the Ethics.94 At the same time, the opposition between Gualtieri and Griselda also reflects the distinction that Aristotle and Aquinas make later on in book 7 between two ways o f withstanding hardship - a distinction which directly bears on the question o f consolation. Shortly after his discussion o f bestiality in the Commentary on b o o k 7, Aquinas distinguishes between “mollities” (“softness”) and “perseverantia” (“per­ severance”) - a division that closely recalls his discussion o f the virtue o f fortitude in b ook 3 o f the Ethics, mentioned above with respect to Decameron 4 .1. “ Soft” personalities, Aquinas asserts, are those who cannot endure the hardships that most people can bear, while the “persevering” are those who can withstand what m ost cannot.95 M oreover, due to the inability to endure difficulties, the “soft” person excessively seeks out diversion, relaxation, and pleasurable activities: Posset enim alicui videri quod lusivus, id est qui nimis amat ludere, sit intem­ peratus, quia in ludo est quaedam delectatio. Sed ipse dicit quod magis est

94. Ricci, “ D e c a m e ro n X , 10 ,” 8 8 -8 9 ; Mazzotta, W o r ld a t P la y , 1 2 5 . Aquinas describes this binary between divine and bestial disposition in his C o m m e n ta ry thus: "D icit ergo primo quod bestialitati congruenter dicitur opponi quaedam virtus, quae com m unem hominum modum excedit et potest vocari heroica vel divina” ("H e says first that a virtue, which exceeds the usual human mode and can be called heroic or divine, is appropriately said to be opposed to brutishness,” In E th . 7 .1 .1 2 9 8 ) . 95. “ Sed circa tristitias contrarias, hic scilicet superatus ab his quas multi superant, di­ citur mollis. H ic autem scilicet superans eas, a quibus multi superantur, dicitur perseverans” ( “In connection with the opposite pains, one overwhelm ed b y those w hich the m ajority endure is called effeminate, while another who triumphs over those to which m any men suc­ cumb is called persevering,” In E t h . 7 .7 .14 0 6 ).

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mollis. Ludus enim est quaedam quies et remissio animi quam superabun­ danter quaerit lusivus. Unde continetur sub molli; cuius est fugere difficul­ tates et labores. It seems possible that the playful type, i.e., one too much in love with amuse­ ment, is intemperate because there is a kind o f pleasure in amusement, but the Philosopher says that such a person more properly is effeminate. Am use­ ment is a quieting and relaxation of the mind, which the lover o f amusement seeks to an excessive degree. Hence he falls under the classification o f effeminateness, w hose characteristic is to shun difficulties and labors. (In Eth. 7 .7 .14 17 ) 96 Aquinas’s diagnosis perfectly complements the portrayal o f Gualtieri at the begin­ ning o f the tale; he is entirely engaged in pleasurable activities: “In niuna altra cosa il suo tempo spendeva che in uccellare e in cacciare” (“ [He] spent the whole of his time hunting and hawking” 10 .10 .4 ) - the very same activities, according to the author-narrator in the proem, which provide diversionary consolation for men (Proemio. 12 ). Gualtieri is therefore an exemplum of precisely such a “soft” person who cannot endure difficulty and is given over entirely to pleasurable activities. It is likely as a result o f his inability to bear hardships that he chooses a pliant peasant w om an like Griselda for a wife. Then, he subjects her to incon­ ceivable trials in order to further ensure that she will not impede his perfect seren­ ity with any disloyalty or any sense o f independence o f her own (10 .10 .6 1). While Gualtieri thus serves as a model of softness, Griselda clearly em bod­ ies the opposite pole o f perseverance. Throughout Decameron 10 .10 Griselda is repeatedly associated with the virtue of pazienza97 - a virtue closely related to perseverance, according to Aquinas, both being part of fortitude.98 Griselda is praised for the remarkable steadfastness with which she endures her harsh trials. When her husband Gualtieri orders to take her baby daughter away from her, Griselda acquiesces “ senza mutar viso” (“without changing countenance,” 10 .10 .28).99 Later, when Gualtieri orders her to leave the castle and return to the hut in which she grew up, she accepts the trial “ con fermo viso” (“with a firm 96. Translation modified. 97. “ [L ] a pazienzia di lei” (1 0 .10 .2 7 ); “ con paziente animo” (10 .10 .3 6 ); “pazienza della sua donna” (10 .10 .5 8 ); “tua lunga pazienzia” ( 10 .10 .6 1). The authorial rubric that introduces the story also refers to her patience - “ad ogni cosa trovandola paziente” (“finding that she endures it all with patience,” 10 .10 .1). 98. See S T 2 - 2 .1 2 8 .1 resp. 99. Translation modified.

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countenance,” 10 .10 .4 1) .100 The most elaborate description o f her ability to con­ trol her sorrow occurs when Gualtieri informs her o f his intention to take a new wife: “La donna, udendo queste parole, non senza grandissima fatica, oltre alla natura delle femine, ritenne le lagrime” (“The lady, hearing this, contained her tears, contrary to the nature o f w om en, though not without great unease,” 10 .10 .4 4 ). As in the tale o f Ghism onda, tears are associated specifically with wom en, and Griselda is portrayed as one who overcom es her “ fem inine” nature.10110 2This description o f Griselda’s fortitude also strongly echoes that o f Fiorio in the final trial he and Biancifiore endure in b ook 4 o f the Filocolo when they are about to be burned at the stake: “ Piangendo Biancifiore così col suo amante sospesa, Filocolo con forte animo serrò nel cuore il dolore, e col viso non mutato né bagnato d’alcuna sua lagrima sostenne il disonesto assalto della for­ tuna” (“While Biancifiore was weeping at being suspended in this w ay with her lover, Filocolo determinedly locked up his grief in his heart; and w ith his face unchanged and unbathed with any tears o f his own, he bore this unjust blow from [Fortune],” 4 .1 2 8 .1 ). Through her remarkable fortitude, Griselda thus becomes a model o f heroism comparable to Florio.102, M uch as in the case o f Tancredi and Ghism onda in 4 .1, Decameron 10 .10 contrasts “manly” and “ effeminate” reactions to misfortune, with a clear inversion o f gender (and in this case also class) expectations. W hereas the marquis Gualtieri is unable to bear any disturbance to his serenity whatsoever - and is hence led to perform bestial trials on his wife - the peasant Griselda endures these trials with remarkable perseverance and patience. In a sense, both manage to cancel the vicissitudes o f fortune - he through complete tyranny, she through incredible patience and submissiveness. And whereas he clearly serves as a neg­ ative, bestial model, she exemplifies heroic qualities and serves as a m odel o f for­ titude in the face o f misfortune.

100. Translation modified. 1 0 1 . Here again, as was noted also in the case o f Ghismonda, Griselda is not Stoic but rather a perfect embodiment o f Aristotelian fortitude, as she clearlyfeels sorrow yet manages to lock it deep within her heart. It is significant that in his translation o f the story in Seniles 17.3, Petrarch will consistently omit Dioneo’s references to Griselda’s inner sorrow and struggles, such as the one in 1 o. 10.44, thus clearly “ Stoicizing” the tale. See Gur Zak, “Petrarch’s Griselda and the Ends o f Humanism,” Le tre corone 2 ( 2 0 1 5 ) : 1 7 3 - 1 9 1 , at 1 7 8 - 1 8 0 . See also W arren Ginsberg, Chaucer's Italian Tradition (Ann Arbor, 200 2), 2 5 6 - 2 5 7 . 102. It is significant that throughout her trials Griselda, like Fiorio, is described as con­ fronting “la nemica fortuna” (10 .10 .4 8 ), even though we know that her trials are imposed by Gualtieri. See also the allusion to the “ingiurie della fortuna” ( 1 0 .1 0 .4 1 ) .

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And yet, while undoubtedly heroic, Griselda’s submissiveness also leads the reader to w onder whether she has taken it too far, just as in the case o f Ghismonda in 4 .1. In his analysis o f the tale, M azzotta has pointed to the significance of Dioneo’s address to the wom en at the beginning o f the tale as “mansuete mie donne” (“m y gentle ladies,” 10 .10 .3 ) .103 A s Mazzotta indicates, Aquinas consid­ ers “mansuetudo” (“meekness” ) to be part o f temperance, because it imparts the ability to moderate passions, particularly anger.104 For Mazzotta, the reference to “mansuetudo” obliquely refers to Griselda and establishes meekness as one o f her defining traits in the tale, contrasted with Gualtieri’s bestialità. 10S 601A t the same time, we should note that in the Commentary on the Ethics Aquinas attributes two distinct meanings to “mansuetudo,” one which is indeed the control o f anger, but another w hich is closer to the com m on use o f the term and indicates the defect that is the insufficiency o f anger: “N om en autem mansuetudinis assumitur ad significandum medium, cum tamen ex vi nominis magis declinet ad defectum irae. Dicitur enim aliquis mansuetus ex eo quod non irascitur quasi manu assue­ tus ad similitudinem bestiarum quae iracundiam deponunt manibus hominum assuetae.” (“T h e name meekness is taken to signify a mean, although the w ord implies a defect o f anger. People are called meekbecause they are not violent, as it were like domesticated animals who lose their irascibility,” In Eth. 4.13.80 0 .) There are, then, instances in which one should be angry, and the failure to be properly angry - as is the case with Florio in the earlier stages o f the Filocolo - is a defect also identified with mansuetudo.106 Griselda’s responses over the course o f the tale, in this respect, m ay be considered also through this lens o f excessive mansuetudo, a failure to be angry in the face o f her mistreatment and suffering at the hands o f her husband. In fact, she behaves like a domesticated pet. This possible critique o f Griselda becomes explicit in D ioneo’s concluding remarks, w here he declares that her self-control is essentially inimitable: “ Chi avrebbe, altri che Griselda, potuto col viso non solamente asciutto ma lieto sof­ ferir le rigide e m ai più non udite prove da Gualtier fatte?” (“W ho else but Griselda could have endured so cheerfully the cruel and unheard-of trials that 10 3 . M y translation. 10 4 . Mazzotta, W o r ld a t P la y , 1 2 6 - 1 2 7 . T h e discussion o f Aquinas is in S T 2 - 2 . 1 5 7 . 3 . 10 5 . Mazzotta, W o r ld a t P la y , 126 . 106. A s Aquinas further states: “Ille igitur qui irascitur in quibus rebus oportet et etiam quibus personis oportet et insuper medio m odo se habet in modo irascendi, quia irascitur sicut oportet et quando oportet et quanto tempore oportet, talis homo laudatur” (“The praise­ w orth y man is the one who is angry about the right things, at the right people, and in due moderation, since he is angry as he should be, when he should be, and as long as he should be,” I n E t h . 7 .1 3 .8 0 1 ) .

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Gualtieri imposed upon her without shedding a tear?” 10.10.68). Dioneo then adds a highly erotic statement that explicitly questions Griselda’s submissive­ ness: “Al quale non sarebbe forse stato male investito d’essersi abbattuto a una che quando, fuor di casa, l’avesse fuori in camiscia cacciata, s’avesse si a un altro fatto scuotere il pilliccione che riuscito ne fosse una bella roba” (“For perhaps it would have served him right if he had happened upon a wife who, being driven from the house in her shift, had found some other man to shake her skin coat for her, earning herself a fine new dress in the process,” 10.10.69). Rather than pas­ sive and submissive, Dioneo suggests that Griselda should have been more active and resourceful in her dealings with her husband and should have found a way to exact a proper revenge upon him. This problematizing of Griselda’s remarkable patience at the very end o f the last tale of the Decameron links back to a brief tale told on the very first day o f the work - Decameron 1.9 - which also deals with too much pazienza. In this tale, the king of Cyprus is criticized for the incredible tameness with which he endures offences and insults, until he finally reforms himself after an ironic retort from one o f his subjects. A Gascon woman seeking justice for a sexual assault is frus­ trated b y the king’s inaction; she ironically asks the king to teach her how to endure offences with patience similar to his own: “T i priego che tu m’insegni come tu sofferi quelle le quali io intendo che ti son fatte, acciò che, da te appa­ rando, io possa pazientemente la mia comportare” (“I beg you to instruct me how you manage to endure the wrongs which, as I am led to understand, are inflicted upon you, so that I might learn from you to bear m y own with patience,” 1.9.6). The retort awakens the king from his slumber, and he ensures the woman that she will receive justice - justice which is specifically described in the tale as a source o f “ consolazione” for her (1.9.6). Although there is no doubt a difference between a king’s passivity and the heroic patience o f a peasant woman like Griselda, still, the way story 1.9 criticizes extreme patience reflects on story 10 .10 as well. The fact that the Gascon woman’s “consolation” is achieved not in passive resignation but through justi­ fied anger, which incites the king to execute justice, suggests that Griselda’s pazienza is overly meek. It would not be amiss to recall at this point once again the passage from book 2 o f Boethius’s Consolatio, mentioned above, in which Lady Philosophy describes a true philosopher as one who is able to endure insults with complete patience, just like the king of Cyprus: “Adiecissetque iam se sci­ turum an ille philosophus esset si quidem inlatas iniurias leniter patienterque tolerasset” (“He would know he was really a philosopher if he bore all the injuries heaped upon him calmly and patiently,” 2.P7.20). Decameron 1 .9 - just like 2.6 parts from such Stoic-Boethian resignation and asserts that patience should not

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be an end unto itself nor an indication o f one’s detachment from outer circum­ stances, but that patience must be temporary and accompanied by wisely finding a way to advance one’s w orldly goals, in this case justice. In the concluding remarks to his tale, Dioneo similarly suggests that Griselda’s extreme patience comes close to such Stoic-Boethian resignation, and he clearly questions this pas­ sivity. For him, there can be no consolation in such passive endurance of calamity. While the extreme softness o f Gualtieri leads to a consolation that is no more than bestial abomination, the incredible patience o f Griselda ultimately emerges as also inhuman. The pair o f protagonists, in fact, urge the reader to realize the need to combine patience with prudent action, not to settle for resignation and detachment.107 In conclusion, while scholarship has long emphasized the importance o f con­ solation to the Decameron, this chapter has elucidated how this consolation goes well beyond an affirmation o f pleasure and recreation by offering a deeply philo­ sophical consolation to readers - a philosophy learned and practiced through lit­ erature. This philosophy of consolation consciously parts ways with Boethian and other m edieval otherworldly and ascetic consolatory traditions and offers a vision o f consolation that is strongly this-worldly and indebted to the practical side o f Aristotelian ethics. Through narrative techniques such as dramatic con­ trast between protagonists, intratextual dialogue between tales, and intertextual dialogue with previous works, the Decameron encourages its readers to moderate sorrow, em ploy calculated patience, maintain worldly hope, and pursue wise and sensitive action as a means o f coping with misfortune and hardship. At the same time, the Decameron also seeks to cultivate the reader’s practical wisdom - aware­ ness o f particularity, sensitivity to context, wise use o f language - so as to facili­ tate his or her ability to confront misfortune and attain consolation in their own everyday lives, fulfilling thereby Filom ena’s assertion that “senno di consolazion sia cagione.” T he focus in this chapter on the ethical discourse of consolation in the Decameron does not mean to exhaustively describe all the ways in which the vast work which is the Decameron may console readers. As noted also at the beginning 10 7 .

On the inhumanity o f both Gualtieri and Griselda, see also Rossi, “La novella di

Griselda,” 1 8 - 1 9 . Another story which is in dialogue with D eca m ero n 10 .10 and which estab­ lishes a clear alternative to it is D e c a m e ro n 3.9. In this tale, the heroine, Ghetta di Narbona, endures, like Griselda, harsh trials at the hands of her husband, yet manages through her remarkable “perseveranza” and “senno” (3.9.60) to overcome misfortune and assert her own will. On the relationship between the two tales, see also Anthony Cassell, “The Tale o f Giletta di N arbon a (III.9 ),” in T h e D e c a m e ro n T h ir d D a y in P erspective, ed. Ciabattoni and Forni, 1 7 0 - 2 1 7 , at 1 7 5 - 1 7 6 .

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o f the chapter, the Decameron, like an Aristotelian friend, consoles not only through its ethical lessons but also through its delectable presence, its pleasant companionship in times o f need, and the pleasure and diversion it offers through its amusing and bawdy dimensions. As in the case o f the Filocolo, discussed in chapter 1, Boccaccio’s attitude to consolation is essentially polyphonic; he con­ sistently offers various modes o f consolation within the w ork and ultimately leaves it up the reader how to use the w ork as a source o f solace. To those will­ ing to engage in the ethical dimensions o f the stories, the Decameron offers a pro­ found and novel consolatory message at a time o f immense trauma caused by the Plague: a vision o f consolation that is markedly this-worldly, hopeful, and strongly confident in the power o f everyday people to flourish and advance their goals amidst the most difficult situations.

CHAPTER FOUR

T h e Corbaccio, D ante, and the D isavo w al o f L o v e

Following the composition of the Decameron, Boccaccio wrote only one more work of fiction in the vernacular - the Corbaccio.l As in the case of the Decameron, the Corbaccio begins with the author-narrator, speaking in propria persona, describing the special support (“benefìci ricevuti,” §2)2 that had helped him cope with his amorous distress. In gratitude for this consolatory assistance and in order not to appear “ingrato” (2) and compassionless,3 the Corbaccio’ s author-narrator wants to return the favor by offering “consolazione” (5) to his readers. This too recalls the Decameron’s proem, and situates the interplay of compassion, grati­ tude, and consolation as central to the introductory frame of the Corbaccio, as it was to the Decameron s.4 However, while the Corbaccio’s initial lines echo the Decameron’s proem, there are also obvious differences between the opening statements of the two 1. The exact date o f composition o f the Corbaccio is a matter o f contention. The tradi­ tional view placed the w ork in the m id-i3sos; Robert Hollander concurs with this date in his Boccaccio's Last Fiction: II Corbaccio (Philadelphia, 1988), 2 6-33. Giorgio Padoan and other scholars after him have preferred a later date, sometime in the first half o f the 1 360s. Padoan based his claim primarily on what he thought was the strong religious tone o f the Corbaccio, which complements, in his view, the attitude o f an older Boccaccio: see the introduzione to his edition in Giovanni Boccaccio, “II Corbaccio,” ed. Giorgio Padoan, in Tutte le opere di Gio­ vanni Boccaccio, ed. Vittore Branca (Milan, 19 6 4 -19 9 8 ), 5.2: 4 15-44 0 , at4 is~ 4 2 2, as well as his earlier study, “ Sulla datazione del Corbaccio,” Lettere italiane 15 (19 63): 1-2 7 . See also the discussion in Francisco Rico, Ritratti allo specchio (Boccaccio, Petrarca) (Padua, 20 12 ), 1 0 1 106, and Marco Veglia, Il corvo eia sirena: Cultura e poesia del "Corbaccio" (Pisa, 1998), 38, who assigns an even later date, ca. 136 7. Given the Corbaccio’s thematic similarity to the Decameron’s proem, I find the earlier dating more likely. Subsequent references to the Cor­ baccio in the text use the internal section numbers in Padoan’s edition in Tutte le opere, ed. Branca, .5.2: 4 1 3 - 5 1 6 ; translations are from Giovanni Boccaccio, The Corbaccio, trans. Anthony K. Cassell (Binghamton, N Y, 1993). 2. Com pare with “benefici già ricevuti” (Decameron Proemio.6). Giovanni Boccaccio, Decameron, ed. Vittore Branca, 2 vols. (Turin, 1992). 3. Com pare with “per non parere ingrato” (Decameron Proemio.7). 4. On the parallels with the Decameron’s proem, see also Hollander, Boccaccio's Last Fic­ tion, 7 2 - 7 5 -

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works. While the Decameron’s author-narrator explains that he will offer conso­ lation to his readers (especially the female ones) through the narration o f fic­ tional novelle, the author-narrator o f the Corbaccio declares that he will dedicate the work to a portrayal o f his own personal process o f consolation and redemp­ tion from love gone wrong. Furthermore, even though the Decameron’s authornarrator lauds the consolation he received from an unnamed friend, he insists that this assistance was only able to provide him with temporary relief for his mis­ ery and did not cure him completely. Nothing, he adds, can cure love altogether. In accordance with this assertion, the Decameron’s author-narrator goes on to invite his readers to find some relief and diversion in reading - not a complete cure for their love. The option o f relinquishing love in order to escape its miseries is not even mentioned in the Decameron’s proem and is much marginalized over the course o f the work, as was noted in the previous chapter. The Corbaccio’s opening statement, in contrast, suggests that the help the author-narrator has received has facilitated a complete cure for his m isery and enabled him to renounce love altogether. The way to cope with love gone wrong, the Corbaccio therefore asserts, is through the disavowal o f such love. And it further implies that rhetoric may actually facilitate this process. The aim o f this chapter will be to offer a close analysis o f the Corbaccio’s author-narrator’s process of consolation and its significance to the trajectory o f Boccaccio’s career-long preoccupation with literary consolation. I will argue that in its explicit focus on the disavowal o f love, the Corbaccio represents a transition in Boccaccio’s attitude toward the administration of literary consolation to those suffering in love. Whereas Boccaccio’s earlier fictions oscillated between several different forms o f consolation - motivating the reader to boldly pursue the object o f desire, suggesting that the reader might find a modicum o f solace b y identify­ ing with the sorrows o f others, or offering distraction through the pleasures of reading - the Corbaccio focuses squarely on the disavowal o f love and suggests that at times such disengagement is indeed feasible. Unlike in Boccaccio’s previ­ ous works, love ceases to be a tragic necessity from which there is no escape. Boccaccio scholarship has long been divided over the meaning and nature of the notoriously elusive umile trattato. While scholars have traditionally consid­ ered the Corbaccio s virulent rhetoric to be a genuine attack on love and women as well as an indication o f the author’s conversion from an earlier dedication to amore per diletto to an utter repudiation o f such love,5 more recent scholarship has S. Consider the following statement from Padoan in the introduzione to his edition o f the C o rba ccio : "Immediatamente avvertibili nel C o rba ccio non sono solo accentuata religiosità ed

infittirsi di annotazioni moralistiche. Rispetto alle opere giovanili e al capolavoro è un intero

T H E D IS A V O W A L O F L O V E



13 5

argued for the parodie nature o f the work, considering it to be a literary joke. Noting especially the hysterical and “unchristian” tone of the two male inter­ locutors within the work, scholars such as Robert Hollander, Anthony Cassell, and F. Regina Psaki contend that the butt of Boccaccio’s joke is male misogyny and solemn medieval genres such as the dream vision.6 These recent interpreta­ tions, however, generally do not consider the C o rbaccio within the context of Boccaccio’s earlier writings such as the F ilo stra to and E le g ia and hence do not note the deep shift that occurs to the figure of the suffering narrator and his per­ spective on the pursuit of literary consolation for amorous woes.7 Shifting the mondo ideologico che viene prospettato in termini ben diversi, e, per vari aspetti, addirittura contrari. La concezione dell’Am ore aristocratizzante e cortese qui svanisce assolutamente.” Boccaccio, “ C orbaccio,” ed. Padoan, 4 16. See also Lucia Battaglia Ricci, Boccaccio (Rom e, 2000), 232; Thom as G. Bergin, Boccaccio (N ew York, 19 8 1), 19 0 -2 0 3 ; M arga Cottino-Jones, “The Corbaccio: Notes for a Mythical Perspective o f M oral Alternatives,” Forum Italicum 4 ( 19 70) : 490-509; Letizia Panizza, “Rhetoric and Invective in Love’s Labyrinth: II Corbaccio,” in Boccaccio: A Critical Guide to the Complete Works, ed. Victoria Kirkham, M ichael Sherberg, and Jan et Levarie Smarr (Chicago, 2 0 13 ), 18 3 - 1 9 3 ; and Veglia, Il corvo e la sirena, 30 and passim. 6 . On the Corbaccio as parody, see Gian Piero Barricelli, “ Satire o f Satire: Boccaccio’s Corbaccio," Italian Quarterly 18 (19 7 5 ): 9 5 - 1 1 1; Cassell’s comments in the introduction to his translation, Boccaccio, Corbaccio, xiii-xix; Hollander, Boccaccio’s Last Fiction, 1 - 4 3 ; R Regina Psaki, “The Play o f Genre and Voicing in Boccaccio’s Corbaccio,” Italiana 5 (19 9 3 ): 4 1- 5 4 ; and Psaki, "Boccaccio’s Corbaccio as a Secret Admirer,” Heliotropia 7 (2 0 10 ): 1 0 5 13 2 . The central arguments o f the “parody” camp are neatly summarized b y Psaki in "B o c­ caccio’s Corbaccio,” 1 0 7 - 1 1 1 . T hey include the emphasis on the interlocutors’ excessive and hysterical tone, the vengeful and impatient - and hence “unchristian” - characteristics o f the guide’s teachings, and the comic gap between Boccaccio’s guide - a cuckolded husband and the solemn models upon which he is based, primarily Dante’s Virgil. Although suggestive, these arguments are not altogether convincing: for Boccaccio, as we have seen in the previ­ ous chapters, excessive patience and a failure to be angry at the right people at the right time is not a “ Christian” virtue but rather an Aristotelian vice. The comic gap between the guide and D ante’s Virgil m ay be part o f an attempt to parody D ante’s claim regarding the salvific potential o f love for a wom an - as this chapter will show - rather than a mocking o f the guide. And while the guide’s excessive contentions about women may well limit the force o f his universalist assertions, they do not nullify the seriousness o f the author-narrator’s process o f con­ solation. I will refer to this aspect later in this chapter. 7. M arilyn M igiel has recently discussed the divergences between the elegiac narrators o f the Corbaccio and the Elegia, pointing to the w ay the former manages to overcome love while the latter desperately clings to it. For Migiel, this divergence relates to the gendered dif­ ferences between the narrators: “Boccaccio explores how ‘male reason’ and ‘male authority’ can use a com bination o f praisew orthy and blam ew orthy strategies to free the male lover from love w oes” (“Boccaccio and W om en,” in The Cambridge Companion to Boccaccio, ed. Guyda Armstrong, Rhiannon Daniels, and Steven J. M ilner [Cambridge, 2 0 15 ], 1 7 1 - 1 8 6 , at

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focus of attention to the Corbaccio’s engagement with consolation, this chapter will argue that the attack on love and women is not merely a parody or a joke, but part of an elaborate process of consolation that relies in part on a common medieval technique - the vilification cure. A t the same time, as opposed to traditional views such as Padoan’s, the chapter will also claim that the Corbaccio’s privileging o f the disavowal o f love does not necessarily attest to a wholesale rejection o f carnal love. As will be shown, the Corbaccio raises doubts about the reliability o f a generalized attack on wom en levied b y “the guide," a figure who strives to cure the lover o f his amorous infatuation; moreover, the author-narrator’s particular story m ay not be applicable to all readers. The tension between universal approaches to con­ solation and the particular conditions o f each lover - so central to Boccaccio’s earlier writings - m ay be key to understanding the Corbaccio as well. These doubts and tensions undermine the work’s seem ingly total repudiation o f amore per diletto. M uch as in O vid’s Remedia amoris, the Corbaccio’s cure is addressed to those who suffer in love or who have passed the appropriate age for such affairs, while those who are happy may well continue in their loving.8 As we have seen in previous works, Boccaccio tasks his audience w ith the responsibility o f being sensitive to context; the reader should determine which camp best fits his situation and whether he should follow in the author-narra­ tor’s footsteps or not. The Corbaccio, as this chapter will show, is engaged in an elaborate dialogue with Dante’s works. It is a literary dialogue that plays an important ethical and rhetorical role in the development o f Boccaccio’s perspective on consolation. In earlier chapters, we have seen that Boccaccio often utilizes Dante’s works to subversively describe the blissful potential o f earthly love, amore per diletto. In the Filocolo, as we have seen in chapter 1, the fulfilment o f earthly desire even serves

17 9 ). Migiel’s account, however, does not consider the strong parallels between the elegiac narrators o f the Filostrato and the Elegia - a parallel that undermines, as shown in chapter 2, the gender-based explanation and suggests that the difference between the earlier Filostrato and Elegia, on the one hand, and the later Corbaccio on the other pertains to Boccaccio’ s changing perspective on love and the possibility o f coping with its sorrows. 8. “Siquis amat quod amare iuvat, feliciter ardens / Gaudeat, et vento naviget ille suo. / A t siquis male fert indignae regna puellae, / N e pereat, nostrae sentiat artis opem.” ( “I f any lover has delight in his love, let him rejoice in his happy passion and sail on with faivoring wind. But if any endures the tyranny o f an unworthy mistress, lest he perish, let him learn the help m y art can give,” Remedia amoris 1 3 - 1 6 . ) See Ovid, “The Remedies for Love,” in The A rt o f Love, and Other Poems, ed. and trans. J.H . M ozley, rev. G.P. Goold (Cambridge, M A , 19 7 9 ), 1 7 7 - 2 3 4 . Latin text is from this Loeb edition.

T H E D IS A V O W A L OF LO V E •

13 7

as a precondition for the attainment o f a Dantean-like divine love.9 In the C orbaccio, Boccaccio continues this elaborate dialogue with Dante’s works, yet now he does not evoke Dante to describe the blissful potential of earthly desire, but rather to stress that true bliss inheres in complete disengagement from it. In an insightful analysis of Boccaccio’s dialogue with Dante in the C orbaccio, Guyda Armstrong highlights Boccaccio’ s strategic use of the V ita n u o va in the frame o f the w ork According to Armstrong, the allusions to Dante’s libello under­ score Boccaccio’s attempt to replace Dante’s project of praising the beloved with one o f blaming and scorning her.10 Building upon Armstrong’s insight, the fol­ lowing analysis will show how dialogue with Dante’s works permeates the entire C o rb a c c io and even defines its overall structure. While Robert Hollander has argued that Boccaccio’s numerous citations of Dante in the work do not have an overall pattern and purpose, my analysis will argue that these allusions do have a coherent organization and goal.11 Boccaccio, a£ we will see, consistently utilizes a Dantean subtext to accentuate the work’s consolatory message: the overcom­ ing o f sorrow inheres in the attainment o f complete freedom from love.12

9. A similar coalescence o f earthly and spiritual love is depicted in the later Comedia delle ninfe fiorentine ( 1 3 4 1 - 1 3 4 2 ) . On the depiction o f the work’s protagonist Am eto’s process o f amorous developm ent and its dialogue with Dante, see Jane Tylus, “ On the Threshold o f Paradise ( Comedia delle ninfe fiorentine),” in Boccaccio: A Critical Guide, ed. Kirkham et al., 133- 143-

10. G uyda Armstrong, “Dantean Framing Devices in Boccaccio’s Corbaccio,” Reading M edieval Studies 27 (2 0 0 1): 1 3 9 - 1 6 1 . On the parallels between the Corbaccio’s frame and the Vita nuova, see also Giorgio Bàrberi Squarotti, “Visione e ritrattazione: Il ‘Corbaccio,”’ Italianistica 2 1 (19 9 2 ): 54 9 -56 2, at 5 5 1, and Luca Marcozzi, “Strutture discorsive, ribaltamento, palinodia letteraria: Per una lettura del ‘Corbaccio,’” in Aimer ou nepas aimer: Boccace, Elegia di madonna Fiammetta et Corbaccio, ed. Anna Pia Filotico, Manuele Gragnolati, and Philippe Guérin (Paris, 2 0 18 ), 2 2 5 -2 4 5, at 228 -230 . Natascia Tonellihas identified allusions to the Vita nuova also in other sections o f the Corbaccio. See Natascia Tonelli, “Beatrice, Laura, la vedova: L a gentilezza, la Vita nuova, e il Canzoniere del Corbaccio,” Chroniques italiennes web 36 (2 0 18 ): 18 0 -2 0 4 , esp. 18 2 - 18 5 . On Boccaccio’s use o f Dante in the Corbaccio, see also Attilio Levi, II Corbaccio e la Divina Commedia (Turin, 1889); Roberto Mercuri, “Ritrattazione in limitare di vita e ripresa di motivi danteschi nel Corbaccio,” in Letteratura italiana: Storia e geografia, ed. A. Asor Rosa (Turin, 1987), 1: 4 36 -4 45; and Veglia, Il corvo e la sirena, passim. 1 1 . See Hollander, Boccaccio's Last Fiction, 4 1: “M any of Boccaccio’s citations o f Dante are m erely that, a tessera picked out o f one mosaic and inserted into another with little appar­ ent concern for what the other pattern might have suggested about the new work.” 12 . In arguing that Boccaccio locates bliss in freedom from love in the Corbaccio I do not mean to suggest that he is adopting an otherworldly perspective, as Padoan seems to argue. Rather, he now suggests that worldly contentment can be attained by turning one’s back on love.

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CH APTER FOUR

In Boccaccio's Last Fiction, Hollander has helpfully suggested that the structure o f the Corbaccio is based on a chiasmic arrangement divided into nine parts. His scheme is as follows (sectionnum bers referto Padoan’s edition):13 1)

Proem (Author in propria persona) (§ § 1- 5 ) 2)

Narrator’s Situation (6 -2 6 ) 3)

Dream Vision (“Inferno”) (2 7 -8 2 ) 4) 6)

Lover’s Autobiography ( 8 3 - 1 1 5 ) 5) Guide’s Oration ( 116 - 2 0 2 ) Guide’s Biography (2 0 3 -3 7 3 )

7) Dream Vision (“Purgatory” ) (374 -40 7) 8) Situational Frame (4 0 8 -4 11) 9) Explicit (Author in propria persona) ( 4 12 - 4 13 ) Hollander’s division is based mainly on the identity of the speaker and the generic characteristics o f the different sections (dream vision, biography, oration). Another possible division o f the structure o f the work, I would argue, is based on the stages o f the process of consolation undergone b y the author-narrator - a process which is at the heart o f the work. This process can be broken down into seven parts, which are also arranged in concentric rings. Before elaborating on this process, here it is schematically: 1)

Proem , in which the author-narrator offers “ consolazione” to readers

(S S i-s ) 2) Author-narrator’s opening lament and the “divina consolazione” of the “pensiero” (6 -2 2 ) 3) The consolatory conversation with friends (2 3 -2 6 ) 4) The dream vision and the consolation ofthe guide (27-408) 5) The consolatory conversation with friends (409) The final aid o f the “ divina grazia” and the promise ofblam e ( 4 10 -

7)

6) 4 11) Conclusion, in which the author-narrator offers aid to readers ( 4 12 - 4 13 )

Let us flesh out this structure, its elaborate dialogue with Dante, and its ulti­ mate significance for Boccaccio’s overall engagement with consolation, begin­ ning with the work’s b rief proem (§ 5 1 - 5 ) . As already noted, the opening both recalls and departs from the discussion o f gratitude and consolation in the 13 . Hollander uses the section numberings o f Nurmela’s edition.

T H E D ISAVO W AL OF LOVE •

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Decameron’s proem. W e should also note the solemn tone with which the Corbaccio begins - a tone which is much m ore strident than the Decameron’s. In his opening remarks, the author-narrator refers to the “speziale grazia” ( “special grace” ) that he has received “per sola benignità di C olei” (“solely by the benefi­ cence o f H er,” 3), clearly referring to the Virgin. This statement, as Arm strong has shown, recalls St Bernard’s prayer to the Virgin in the closing canto o f the Paradiso: Donna, se’ tanto grande e tanto vali, che qual vuol grazia e a te non ricorre, sua disianza vuol volar sanz’ali. La tua benignità non pur soccorre a chi domanda, ma molte fiate liberamente al dimandar precorre. (Paradiso 3 3 .1 3 - 1 8 ; emphasis added) [Lady,] you are so high, you can so intercede, / that he who w ould have grace but does not seek / your aid, m ay long to fly but has no wings. / Y ou r loving-kindness does not only answer / the one who asks, but it is often ready / to answer freely long before the asking.14 This allusion to the Paradiso - the last w ork in Dante’s poetic oeuvre - in the opening section o f the Corbaccio begins to direct our attention to Boccaccio’s strategic use o f Dante in his umile trattato. B y alluding to the Paradiso at the beginning o f the work, where he refers to his current state o f freedom from love, the author-narrator subtly departs from D ante’s assertion that love for a wom an (Beatrice) m ay serve as a vehicle for reaching heaven; he suggests instead that it is the release from amorous bondage that should be considered a type o f paradise. W e shall return to this point later. Follow ing the b rief proem, the narrative proper begins b y backtracking to a time when the author-narrator was caught in the throes o f sorrow and lamenta­ tion, believing that he was harshly treated and rejected b y a certain Florentine w idow. Evoking D ante’s Vita nuova, Boccaccio employs familiar elegiac sign­ posts to describe the narrator’s anguish; he encloses him self in his room and bit­ 14.

In F ilo c o lo 2.48.19, as w e have seen in chapter 1, Boccaccio also alludes to this prayer

to the Virgin from P a r a d is o 3 3 , yet there the reference was clearly associated with V en us; now, the allusion is to the Virgin herself. For Dante, see L a " C o m m e d ia " secon do l'a n tic a vu lg a ta , ed. Giorgio Petrocchi, 4 vols. (Florence, 19 9 4 ); T h e D iv in e C o m e d y , trans. Alien M andel­ baum, 3 vols. (N e w Y o rk , 19 8 2).

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terly bewails his hardships with "lagrim e,” “sospiri,” and “ramarrichii” (“tears,” “sighs,” and “lamentations,” § 6 ).15 H e even contemplates suicide. T h e authornarrator s process o f consolation com m ences when he suddenly hears a voice within him, a mysterious “pensiero” (“thought,” 8), which begins to reason with him about his situation. C losely recalling the arguments o f the nurse in chapter i o f the Elegia, the “pensiero” insists that the narrator in fact suffers justly since he is responsible for falling in love: “Tu, non ella, ti se’ della tua noia cagione” (“You, not she, are the cause o f your torment,” io ). Thus, the question o f whether love is a tragic necessity beyond the lover’s control, which was central to B oc­ caccio’s earlier fictions, surfaces also in the Corbaccio; the “pensiero” - like the nurse in the Elegia - insists that the narrator has the power to chase away his mad passion and relieve him self o f his amorous torments: “E t ètti possibile, volendo essere uomo, di cacciarli” (“Ifyou will only be a man, you can chase them away,” 1 8). Yet, unlike Fiam m etta in the earlier Elegia (or the narrator o f the Filostrato), the author-narrator o f the Corbaccio will indeed manage to fulfill this goal and chase aw ay love, dem onstrating that in his case love is not a tragic necessity against which the lover is powerless. W hen the “pensiero” completes its speech, the narrator refers to the great relief it brought him, describing it as a “ divina consolazione” sent to him b y the “Padre de’ lum i” (“Father o f Lights," § 2 1). Hollander has suggested that the Cor­ baccio’ s “pensiero” is based on the discussion o f Ta battaglia de li diversi pen­ sieri” ( “the battle o f the conflicting thoughts”) in Vita nuova 14 .1, an episode which involves the question o f the nature o f love.16 Yet an even more likely source is the canzone Voi che 'ntendendo il terzo del movete and Dante’s autocommentary on it in his unfinished Convivio 2 .9 -12 . In the canzone Voi che 'ntendendo, D ante dramatizes a conflict between two pensieri, this time debating consolation. W hile Boccaccio’s close familiarity with the canzone is indisputable, his level o f acquain­ tance with the Convivio is a matter o f debate.17 Still, I would like to suggest that 15 . Com pare with V ita n u o v a 1 2 .1 , in which the narrator bewails the denial o f Beatrice's greeting: “partito me da le genti, in solinga parte andai a bagnare la terra d’amarissime lagrime” ( “withdrawing from all company, I went to a solitary place to bathe the earth with bitterest tears” ). D ante, V ita n u o v a , ed. D om enico de Robertis, in O p e re m in o ri, ed. D om enico de Robertis and Gianfranco Contini (Milan, 1 9 6 4 ), 1 .1 : 3 - 2 4 7 ; D a n te 's V ita N u o v a , trans. Mark L. M usa (Bloomington, IN , 1 9 7 3 ) . On this parallel, see also Natali’s comment in Giovanni Boccaccio, II C o rb a c c io , ed. Giulia Natali (Milan, 19 9 2 ), 1 4 m 13 . 16. Hollander, B o c c a cc io 's L a s t F ic tio n , 4 6 n6. 17 . Boccaccio included the canzone in the anthology o f fifteen o f D ante’s canzoni he compiled and copied in three autograph manuscripts. See Beatrice Arduini, “Assigning the Pieces o f D ante’s ‘Convivio’ : T h e Com piler’ s N otes in the Earliest Extant C o p y ,” T e x t u a l C u ltu res 3, no. 2 (20 0 8): 1 7 - 2 9 , at 18 n2. Although Boccaccio clearly knew o f the C o n v ivio ,

T H E D ISA V O W A L OF LO V E .

14 1

the stark parallels between the Corbaccio’s discussion o f consolation and that which takes place in book 2 o f the Convivio m ay in fact prove Boccaccio’s famil­ iarity with D ante’s com m entary on his earlier canzone in his unfinished tractate. In his canzone and explication o f it, Dante describes a conflict between two thoughts - T u m il penserò” ( Voi che 'ntendendo 28) or “l’antico pensiero” ( Con­ vivio 2 .9 .1) and “lo nuovo” ( Convivio 2 .9 .1) .18 Each offers a specific type o f con­ solation. “L ’antico pensiero” refers to D ante’s recollection o f Beatrice in heaven and his hope o f joining her there, a thought which provides him with much con­ solation: “B en può dire ‘consolata,’ ché nella sua grande perdita questo pensiero che in cielo salia, l’avea data molta consolazione” ( “Well m ay it say consoled, for when m y soul suffered its great loss this thought which would m ount to heaven brought it deep consolation,” Convivio 2.9.2). Yet this consoling thought o f love is then replaced in the canzone b y the new one. According to Dante, this “new thought” refers to none other than the consolation o f philosophy, which he found in the “libro di Boezio” ( Convivio 2 .12 .2 ): “N on forse sanza divino imperio, io, che cercava di consolar me, trovai non solamente alle mie lagrime rimedio, ma vocabuli d’autori e di scienze e di libri: li quali considerando, giudicava bene che la filosofìa, che era donna di questi autori, di queste scienze e di questi libri, fosse som m a cosa.” (“ Perhaps not without G od’s willing it, so in m y search fo r conso­ lation I found not only a rem edy for m y tears, but a linguistic key to authors, dis­ ciplines and books. Reflecting on these, I became firmly convinced that philos­ ophy, w ho was the lady o f these authors, these disciplines and these books, was som ething o f suprem e importance,” Convivio 2 .12 .5.) T h e com passionate lady o f Dante’s canzone - and b y extension o f the clos­ ing chapters o f the earlier Vita nuova - is none other than Boethius’s L ad y Phi­ losophy ( Convivio 2 .12 .6 ), who is truly responsible for curing his sorrow follow ­ ing the death o f Beatrice. Boccaccio’s reference to his consoling “pensiero” in the Corbaccio m ay thus refer to Dante’s discussion o f consolation in the Convivio; in this m anner he associates the consolation provided him b y his own “pensiero” as he mentions it in all three redactions o f his T r a tta te llo in la u d e d i D a n te , he did not copy the work, a fact w hich generated speculations regarding his level o f familiarity with it. See Arduini, “ Il ruolo di Boccaccio e di Marsilio Ficino nella tradizione del C o n v iv io di D ante,” in B o c c a c ­ cio in A m e r ic a : P ro c e ed in g s o f the 2 0 1 0 In t e r n a t io n a l C o n feren ce a t the U n iv e rs ity o f M a s s a c h u ­ setts A m h e r s t , ed. M ichael Papio and Elsa Filosa (Ravenna, 2 0 1 2 ) , 9 5 - 1 0 3 , at 9 5 - 1 0 0 , and

Arduini, D a n t e 's C o n v iv io : T h e C r e a tio n o f a C u lt u r a l Ico n (Florence, 20 20 ), 5 3 - 5 8 . On the possibile im pact o f the C o n v iv io on the D e c a m e ro n , see Rosario Ferreri, “Appunti sulla pre­ senza del C o n v iv io nel D e c a m e ro n ,” S tu d i su l B o cca ccio 19 (19 9 0 ): 6 3 - 7 7 , and Pier Massimo Forni, “ Boccaccio tra Dante e Cin o,” Q u a d e r n i d 'ita lia n istic a 16 (1 9 9 5 ) : 1 7 9 - 1 9 5 18 .

See Dante, C o n v iv io , ed. Franca Brambilla Ageno, 2 vols. (Florence, 1 9 9 5 ); C o n ­

v iv io , trans. Richard H . Lansing (N e w York, 19 9 0 ).

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with the Boethian consolation o f philosophy. It is the Dante o f Voi che 'ntendendo il terzo del movete and the Convivio, the one who turned his attention from love to philosophy, that guides Boccaccio’s consolation at this stage o f the work. Following the intervention o f the “pensiero,” the author-narrator turns to describe the next stage in his process o f consolation (number 3 in m y scheme above). Feeling somewhat better, though not wholly cured, the author-narrator leaves his room to seek further consolation from conversation with his compan­ ions on philosophical matters.19 This m ay constitute another echo of the Con­ vivio, as Dante too describes how he would frequent the schools o f philosophers to discuss philosophical matters with his companions, a comment which Dante makes immediately after identifying the “nuovo pensiero” with Boethius’s Lady Philosophy: “E da questo imaginare cominciai ad andare là dov’ella si dimostrava veracemente, cioè nelle scuole delli religiosi e alle disputazioni delli filosofanti” (“Drawn b y this image, I began to go to where she truly revealed herself, that is, to the schools o f the religious and the disputations of the philosophers,” Con­ vivio 2 .12 .7 ). Spending the entire day with his friends, the Corbaccio’s author-narrator describes their discussion of noble topics, moving in an orderly manner from the “volubili operazioni della Fortuna” (“fickle operations of Fortune,” §23) to the “perpetue cose della natura” (“the everlasting things o f nature” ), and finally to “ divine [cose]” (“ divine things,” 24), which he and his friends find particularly hard to comprehend (a comment that might serve as a critique o f Dante’s theo­ logical certainties). The connection to the Convivio is further accentuated when Boccaccio uses the metaphor o f a banquet to describe these conversations. He says that, b y the end o f the day, he felt satisfied, “quasi da divino cibo pasciuto” ( “ [as if] having feasted upon food almost divine,” 25). This m etaphor recalls Dante’s frequent references to philosophical “cibo” in the Convivio (for exam­ ple, at Convivio 1.1.6 and Convivio 2 .1.1) . The first and second parts o f the authornarrator’s process o f consolation in the Corbaccio, therefore, have strong paral­ lels with the Convivio, Dante’s most Boethian work. A t the end o f his friendly feast, as the author-narrator states, he returns to his chamber “ consolato” (§25). Consolation, Boccaccio thus insists in the Cor­ baccio, is partly a communal experience, no less than it is an individual and inter­ nal process. Back in his room, he falls asleep, and at this point, the third - and by far longest - part in his process o f consolation begins. In his dream, he enters “uno dilettevole e bello sentiero” (“a delightful and beautiful path,” 27), a gar19.

“E, cercando, trovai compagnia assai utile alle mie passioni” ( “After a search, I dis­

covered companions who were helpful in m y sufferings,” § 23).

T H E D IS A V O W A L O F L O V E



14 3

den which fills him with sensual pleasure. Yet he soon discovers that appearances m ay be deceiving, as the garden turns into “una solitudine diserta” (“ a desolate wilderness,” 3 1 ) , filled with “m u ghi... (di) diversi e ferocissimi animali” (“ roars ... o f m any ferocious animals,” 32 ). T his setting clearly resembles the desolate regions o f D ante’s Inferno, thus lending the dreamscape an intertextual dimen­ sion.20 Furthermore, if the narrative o f the Corbaccio begins with allusions to the Vita nuova and then moves to the Convivio, we have now turned to the Inferno. W hile lost in this hellish place - which will soon be named “il laberinto d’amore” (“the labyrinth o f love,” §57) - a mysterious guide, “di statura grande” (“ o f great stature,” 35), suddenly appears before the narrator, in a manner that clearly evokes Dante’s Virgil. The guide turns out to be the husband o f the widow who had spurned the author-narrator. H e is now in Purgatory atoning for his own sins and explains that he was sent from the afterlife, like D ante’s Virgil, through the intervention o f the Virgin, to disabuse the author-narrator o f his mis­ placed affection (7 0 -7 2 ). The guide’s lengthy attempt to cure the author-narrator o f his attachment to love is particularly harsh and vindictive. It consists of two central parts: the first is a misogynistic diatribe against women in general, in which he accuses all wom en o f being lustful, fickle, deceitful, irrational, manipulative, dominating, and so on (§§ 116 - 2 0 2 ) . The second is an attack on the widow herself, in which the guide relies on his own personal experience with his wife in order to open the author-nar­ rator’s eyes to the “truth” about his beloved ( 2 0 3 - 3 7 3 ) . In the course ofhis cura­ tive efforts, the guide reveals the twisted meaning of the words the widow uses; for example, being “savia” (“wise” ) for her means having the ability to acquire m any lovers ( 2 5 6 - 2 6 2 ) . 21 H e also exposes her true ugly appearance, which she cleverly hides through tricks o f cosmetics. The guide’s cure, as is clear, has a strong hermeneutic component, as it is aimed at teaching the author-narrator to look beneath the deceiving surfaces - o f language and of bodily appearance. As the guide tells the author-narrator, his problem is that his gaze is directed more “alia apparenza che alla esistenza” (“to the appearance than to the substance,” 297). In order to open the author-narrator’s eyes to the truth, a particularly harsh and vilifying rhetoric is required, according to the guide. Thus, before he turns to the lewd description o f the widow’s private parts, the guide declares: 20. F o ra discussion of the many allusions to Dante’s In fern o in this section o f the work, see Arm strong, “Dantean Framing Devices,” 1 4 9 - 1 5 3 . 2 1 . “Tutte quelle donne, che hanno ardire e cuore e sanno modo trovare d’essere tante volte e con tanti uomini con quanti il loro appetito concupiscibile richiedea, erano da essere chiamate savie” (“All those women who have daring and courage, and can find the w ay to be with as m any men as often as their lecherous appetites require, are to be called ‘wise,’” 260).

144 • C H A P T E R F O U R

D èi dunque sapere né ogni infermità né ogni infermo potere essere sem pre dal discreto m edico con odoriferi unguenti m edicato; per ciò che assai sono e di quelli e di quelle che noi patiscono e che richeggiono cose fetide, se a salute si vorranno conducere; e [se] alcuna n’è che con cotali argom enti e vocaboli e con dim ostrazioni puzolenti purgare e guarire si vogliono, il mal concetto am ore dell’uom o è una di quelle. Y o u m ust know, therefore, that a shrewd doctor cannot always heal every illness or every patient with sweet-sm elling ointments, since there are m any illnesses and m any patients w ho do not respond to these and w ho require foul-smelling remedies if they wish to be led back to health; and if there is any sickness w hich one m ay wish to purge and cure w ith foul w ords, arguments, and dem onstrations, ill-conceived love in man is one o f them. (§ § 2 7 6 -2 7 7 ) T h e em ploym ent o f vilifying rhetoric as a cure for love relies on a long tradition that goes back to O vid’s Remedia amoris.12 In the later m iddle ages, it w as also com m on ly advised within m edical circles.2223 In fact, one o f B o ccacc io ’s m ain sources for the use o f this cure in the Corbaccio is m ost p ro bab ly canto 19 o f D ante’s Purgatorio, in which he also warns o f the dangers o f m isguided infatua­ tion. A s in the Corbaccio, the action in Purgatorio 19 takes place w ithin a dream. H aving fallen asleep, Dante encounters a certain hideous-looking “ fem m ina balba” (“stam m ering wom an,” 19.7)» w ho turns under his gaze into a beautiful siren. T h e misleading transformation takes place, as Dante states, due to the dic­ tates o f love - “ com ’ am or vuoi” ( 1 9 .1 5 ) . A s Dante becom es m ore and m ore infatuated with the siren, an unidentified “ d on n a... santa” appears and urges V ir­ gil to save D ante from his error.24 V irgil tears the siren’s dress and reveals her “ventre” (“belly,” but also “uterus” ), w hich releases a “puzzo” ( “stench,” 19 .3 2 3 3 ). A t this point in the dream, Dante wakes. T he guide in the Corbaccio refer­ ences this m om ent w hen he introduces his own “ dimostrazioni puzolenti” (“foul­ 22. See Olivia Holmes, “T h e Consolation o f Beatrice and D ante's D ream o f the Siren as Vilification Cure,” in T h e E r o tic s o f C o n s o la tio n : D e s ire a n d D ist a n c e in th e L a t e M i d d le A g es, ed. Catherine Légiu and Stephen J . M iln er ( N e w York, 20 0 8 ), 6 1 - 7 8 , at 6 8 - 7 4 ; Panizza, “R hetoric and Invective,” 1 8 3 - 1 9 3 ; and N atascia T on elli, F is io lo g ia d e lla p a s s io n e : P o e s ia d 'a m o r e e m e d ic in a d a C a v a lc a n t i a B o c c a cc io (Florence, 2 0 1 5 ) , 2 0 1 - 2 0 6 .

2 3 . Holmes, “ Consolation o f Beatrice,” 7 1 - 7 2 . 24 . O n the close parallels between this scene and the opening sections o f Boethius’s C o n s o la tio , see Holmes, “ Consolation o f Beatrice,” 6 8 -7 0 , and G iuseppe M azzotta, D a n t e ’s V isio n a n d th e C irc le o f K n o w le d g e (Princeton, 1 9 9 3 ) , 1 4 3 - 1 5 3 .

TH E DISAVO W AL OF LOVE •

14 5

smelling demonstrations” ) - which will also focus on the widow’s private parts - thus playfully echoing the Virgilian cure that saves Dante the dreamer. The entire vilifying speech in the Corbaccio m ay be regarded as an elaborate devel­ opment o f D ante’s b rief use o f the vilification cure in Purgatorio 19. The link between the Corbaccio and Purgatorio 19 is furthered by the strong hermeneutic warning in both texts. Just as Dante confuses appearance and real­ ity and transforms the “femmina balba” into a beautiful siren by means o f his lust­ ful gaze, so too does the Corbaccio’s narrator, according to the guide, mistake “apparenza” and “ esistenza” (§297) and need to be awakened to the truth o f things. In the Corbaccio, just as in Purgatorio 19, love and mistaken interpreta­ tion are intrinsically intertwined.15 Whereas in early works such as the Filocolo Boccaccio utilizes the final cantos of the Purgatorio to show how earthly love might serve as a vehicle for reaching divine b liss/6 the Corbaccio latches on to Dante’s b rief engagement with the siren in Purgatorio 19 in order to assert love’s dangers. A nd indeed, within the world o f the Corbaccio, the guide’s vilification o f wom en works to cure the author-narrator o f love. At the end o f the guide’s long consolatory speech, the author-narrator declares that his words have completely transform ed him (§376). A little later, right before the guide disappears, the author-narrator recounts his final words: “Avendomi detto me essere libero e potere di me fare a mio senno” (“He told me I was free and could act according to m y own judgment,” 407). These words parallel the final words spoken b y V ir­ gil in the Commedia, when Dante the pilgrim completes his ascent o f M ount Pur­ gatorio: “Libero, dritto e sano è tuo arbitrio” (“Your will is free, erect, and whole,” Purgatorio 2 7 .14 0 ).2526 27 The words spoken by Dante’s Virgil - pointing to his com ­ plete release from the bondage of sin - recall, in turn, the closing speech o f Lady Philosophy in book 5 o f Boethius’s Consolatio. Here, she explains how divine foreknowledge and human free will are not in contradiction, thereby fulfilling Boethius’s ascent to true knowledge and completing his process o f consolation. N ear the end o f her speech, Lady Philosophy assures Boethius that “manet inte­ merata mortalibus arbitrii libertas” (“the freedom o f the will remains to mortals, inviolate,” 5.P6.44). The guide’s closing words in the Corbaccio thus recall the 25. T h e impact o f P u rg a to rio 19 on the C o rba ccio is mentioned in Cassell’s introduction to his translation o f the C o rba ccio , xv-xi, and b y Per Nykrog in “Playing Games with Fiction: L e s q u in z e jo y e s de m a n ag e, II Corbaccio, E l arcipreste de T a la v era ," in T h e C ra ft o f F ictio n : E ssays in M e d ie v a l Poetics, ed. Leigh A. Arrathoon (Rochester, MI, 1984), 4 2 3 -4 5 L at 439.

26. See chapter 1 , n4o. 27. T his allusion is mentioned b y Padoan in Boccaccio, “Corbaccio,” ed. Padoan, 601 114 0 7 .

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CH APTER FOUR

final message o f both Dante’s Virgil and Boethius’s Lady Philosophy before they take leave o f their students. These resonances hint that the author-narrator has also attained perfect freedom. Yet, whereas for Dante this freedom consists of the completion o f his spiritual ascent and coming encounter with Beatrice and for Boethius it involves the attainment o f perfect knowledge, for the Corbaccio’s author-narrator it signifies a complete disengagement from love. The Dantean language o f spiritual ascent is thus utilized to underscore the value o f disavowal. The guide’s disappearance, however, is not the end o f the author-narrator’s process o f consolation. When he wakes up from his dream, the fourth stage o f his consolation takes place; he returns to the group o f friends, which we encoun­ tered before he fell asleep. The friends interpret “ogni particella” (“ every detail,” §409) o f the dream and further convince him “ al dipartire del nefario amore della scelerata femina” (“to abandon the evil love of that wicked woman,” 409). Given the association made between his conversation with this group o f friends and Dante’s Convivio earlier in the work, it might be argued that at this late point in the work, the narrative returns to the philosophical model of the Convivio. This allusion to the Convivio occurs immediately after the guide’s farewell and the end o f the dream vision, which echoed the Purgatorio. While we might have expected Boccaccio’s author-narrator to continue, at this point, to the Paradiso, the nar­ rative breaks this expectation b y circling back to the Convivio. This avoidance o f D ante’s linear progression toward heaven is yet another indication o f the Cor­ baccio’s departure from Dante’s heavenly ascent and notion that love can be a source o f reaching heaven. M uch as in the Decameron, the Dantean linear ascent is replaced with a horizontal and w orldly alternative. Yet if in the Decameron this alternative often involves the bliss o f the fulfillment o f earthly love, in the Cor­ baccio it consists o f the renunciation o f such love. Follow ing the second conversation with the group o f friends, the cycle o f consolation that opened with the “divina consolazione” o f the “pensiero” at the beginning o f the w ork now closes with the author-narrator’s announcement that “ divina grazia” (§ 4 10 ) has provided him with the last push. W ithin a few days he fully regains “la perduta libertà” (“his lost liberty,” 4 10 ). This section o f the work ( 4 1 0 - 4 1 1 ), as Arm strong has argued,28 also introduces a crucial reference to the ending o f the Vita nuova, in which D ante promises to praise his beloved in the future in an unparalleled manner: “Io spero di dicer di lei quello che mai non fue detto d’alcuna” (“I hope to write o f her that which has never been written o f any other wom an,” Vita nuova 42.2). N ear the end o f the Corbaccio, Boccaccio both recalls this statement and turns it on its head, replacing the project o f praise with 28. Armstrong, “Dantean Framing Devices,” 1 4 8 - 1 4 9 .

TH E D IS A V O W A L O F L O V E

.

14 7

one ofblam e: “Se tempo mi fìa conceduto; io spero sì con parole gastigar colei” (“I hope with m y words [thus] to chastise this woman/’ 4 1 1 ). After the return to the Convivio, the narrative o f the Corbaccio therefore continues to cycle back within D ante’s works, closing the text with this subversive allusion to the Vita nuova, which again concentrates on the need to disengage from love. The entire Corbaccio then ends with the congedo, in which the author-narrator reiterates his wish to offer aid to his readers, as introduced in the proem: he states that he hopes his “piccola operetta” (Tittle book,” § 4 12) will be “utile” (4 12 ) to them. The conclusion also repeats the reference to the Virgin - “la genitrice della salute nostra” (“the M other of Our Salvation,” 4 12 ) - thus Unking back to the proem and its allusions to Paradiso 33. This hint o f the Paradiso at the very end o f the work m ay be seen as a final example o f Boccaccio’s departure from Dante’s ideology o f amorous ascent in the work; in both the proem and the conclusion he suggests that it is actually freedom from love that resembles paradise. As this account has demonstrated, the entire structure o f the Corbaccio is determined b y the author-narrator’s process of consolation - a process which ultimately ends in a successful disengagement from love. This process is divided into seven sections, which are organized in a chiasmic arrangement and which are interspersed with strategic allusions to Dante’s works. We may now return to this structure and add to it the Dantean subtexts of each section:

1)

Proem , in which the author-narrator offers “ consolazione” to readers

( § 5 1- 5 ) (Paradiso) 2) Author-narrator’s opening lament and the “ divina consolazione” of the “pensiero” (6 -2 2 ) (Vita nuova, Voi che ‘ntendendo, Convivio) 3) The consolatory conversation with friends (2 3 -2 6 ) ( Convivio) 4) The dream vision and the consolation o f the guide (27-408) (Inferno, Purgatorio) 5) The consolatory conversation with friends (409) (Convivio) 6) T he final aid o f the “divina grazia” and the promise ofblam e ( 4 10 4 1 1 ) (Vita nuova) 7) Conclusion, in which the author-narrator offers aid to readers ( 4 12 - 4 13 ) (Paradiso)

W ithin the narrative itself, as this scheme shows, the “high” cures, divine grace and philosophical conversations, frame the guide’s “low” speech and his vilification cure, found in the middle. All these methods work together to bring about the author-narrator’s freedom from love. These intradiegetic rings o f con­

14 8



CH APTER FOUR

solation are in turn directed outward to the reader, who is invited in the opening and closing sections to find “ consolazione” in reading - a consolation gained, ostensibly, b y a similar disengagement from love gone wrong.19 Furthermore, the chiasmic structure organizes Boccaccio’s dialogue with Dante’s oeuvre: the outer ring (sections 1 and 7) contains allusions to the Paradiso} the next ring (sections 2 and 6) is based upon the Vita nuova (and partly on the canzone Voi che Stendendo and the commentary on it in the Convivio)} the following ring (sec­ tions 3 and 5) recalls the Convivio; and the middle section 4 contains allusions pri­ marily to the Inferno and Purgatorio. This complex intertextual dialogue, as we have seen, strategically undermines the Dantean notion that love for a woman m ay lead to a linear ascent to heaven and perfect consolation. Instead, Boccac­ cio utilizes D ante’s works to assert that a heaven-like bliss is attained through freedom from love. In its singular focus on curing love and its assertion that rhetoric m ay assist in this process, the Corhaccio represents a marked departure from Boccaccio’s earlier engagement with literary consolation for the hardships o f love. In con­ trast to the Filocolo and the Decameron, the Corhaccio does not introduce any prospects for a blissful resolution to love nor does it strive to instill hope in read­ ers for future happiness in love. M oreover, as opposed to works such as the Filostrato and Elegia, which both narrate stories o f unrequited love with little hope o f redemption, the Corhaccio rejects the notion that love is a tragic neces­ sity in the face o f w hich the spurned lover may only seek a measure o f solace by identifying with the similar misfortunes o f others or through enjoying the plea­ sures o f reading. F o r the first time in Boccaccio’s fictions, the elegiac narrator does not end where he began with another supplication to the absent lover but is rather cured through the assistance o f others. Love, the Corhaccio asserts, may actually be overcome. The consolatory path o f “remedia amoris” that was intro­ duced b y the figure o f Caleone in the early Filocolo now assumes center stage. T he shift in B occaccio’s approach to consolation for unrequited love in the Cor­ haccio certainly begs the question o f w hether the author embraces a universal repudiation o f love and women, as scholars have often argued.30 A s dramatic as the shift appears, it need not be total. In recent decades, as was mentioned above, critics have begun to question the seriousness o f the w ork’s vilifying rhetoric and 29. W hile Hollander's division consists o f nine parts - a number with particularly ele­ giac connotations in Boccaccio’s works (the number o f chapters o f both the F ilo s tr a to and E le g ia ) - this division I propose here is governed b y the redemptive number seven. See H ol­

lander, B o c c a cc io 's L a s t F ic tio n , 3. 30. See note 5 at the beginning o f this chapter.

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to argue that its excessive tone in fact amounts to an ironic critique o f male misog­ yny. W hile the preceding discussion has contended that the work’s slanderous rhetoric is not a mere parody but rather an integral part o f the process o f conso­ lation it portrays, still, its excessive and universalist tone m ay serve to undermine its sweeping assertions on wom en. A s critics such as M illicent Marcus, M arilyn Migiel, and F. Regina Psaki have argued, the guide’s generalized negative view o f w om en should not be taken at face value.3132For example, discussing his virulent attack on the boundless appetite that wives have for mastery over their husbands, Migiel writes: “Questions about his reliability bubble up, and not only on account o f the strident tone and the exaggerations in number. H ow does the Spirit-Guide know what the wom en are thinking?”31 According to both Migiel and Psaki, the very focus on questions o f reading and hermeneutics within the w ork - as we have seen w ith respect to the guide’s attempt to open the author-narrator’s eyes to the hidden truth - should encourage readers to take an active role in inter­ pretation and to take a skeptical stance on the guide’s hyperbolic claims. T hese arguments are important for our discussion as they show that the author-narrator’s disavowal o f love within the Corbaccio does not unavoidably amount to a total repudiation o f love and women. The challenges to the guide’s sweeping disparagement o f women recall the duke’s refutation o f Florio’s des­ perate attack on wom en in book 3 o f the Filocolo as well as Biancifiore’s ow n cri­ tique o f Idalagos’s similar contentions in book 5, as mentioned in chapter 1 .33 Similarly, in story 2.9 of the Decameron, Ambruogiuolo’s claim that all wom en are inferior and disloyal is refuted over the course o f the tale b y the story’s hero­ ine Zinevra. As in these earlier works, implicit challenges to the authority o f the guide reveal B occaccio’s ongoing doubt about universal assertions against wom en, and in general. This questioning o f the Corbaccio’s all-encompassing attack on wom en also problematizes the work’s seemingly total rejection o f amore per diletto. I f not all wom en are evil like the widow, then this theoretically leaves open the possibility o f happy love. Like Ovid’s Remedia amoris, the Corbaccio, thus, does not necessarily amount to a repudiation o f all wom en and all types of 3 1 . M illicent Marcus, “M isogyny as Misreading: A Gloss on Decameron V I I I 7,” S ta n ­ f o r d It a lia n R e v ie w 4 ( 1 9 8 4 ) : 2 3 -4 0 ; Migiel, “Boccaccio andW om en”; Psaki, “Play o f Genre”

and “B o ccaccio ’s C o rb a c c io .” 3 2 . M igiel, “Boccaccio an dW om en ,” 17 8 . 3 3 . T o justify his concern over Biancifiore’s loyalty, Florio alludes to the “natura delle femine,” claiming that it is known that wom en are b y nature fickle (F ilo c o lo 3 .1 3 .8 - 9 ) . T h e duke, in response, challenges his universalist position b y telling him that not all wom en are fickle, only those w ho are not wise; but it is clear that Biancifiore is wise ( 3 . 1 4 . 1 1 - 1 2 ) . Bian­ cifiore’s critique o f Idalagos’s universal attack on wom en is recorded in F ilo c o lo s .9 .1 - 3 .

IS O



CH APTER FOUR

love but only o f “ill-conceived” relationships such as that o f the author-narra­ tor.34 As in the earlier works we examined, the reader is subdy invited to reflect on his or her own specific situation and to determine whether to engage in a remediation o f love in the manner o f the author-narrator. M oreover, several moments in the Corbaccio suggest that its argument in favor o f the disavowal o f love depends on the author-narrators specific situation in life, and hence that it is not aimed at all readers in the same way. W hen the guide begins his curative speech, he mentions first the author-narrator’s advanced stage in life, specifically his “ età ... [e] studii” ( “age ... and studies,” § 1 1 8 ) . He says: “T u dovresti avere li costumi del mondo, fuor delle fascie già sono degli anni quaranta, e già venticinque com inciatili a conoscere. E, se la lunga espe­ rienza delle fatiche d’amore nella tua giovaneza tanto non t’avea gastigato che bastasse, la tiepideza degli anni, già alla vecchieza appressandoti, almeno ti dovea aprire gli occhi.” (“You, now some forty years out o f swaddling clothes, should know the ways o f the world - it is now twenty-five years since you began to learn them. I f your long experience in the toils o f love did not chastise you enough in your youth, at least the cooled blood o f your years, now near to old age, should have opened your eyes,” 119 - 12 0 .) While drawing positivistic deductions regard­ ing Boccaccio’s actual life from such statements is always risky, they offer, at the very least, a point o f information in Boccaccio’s sketching o f an ideal autobiog­ raphy. In the Corbaccio, this ideal autobiography consists o f the author-narra­ tor’s turning away from the adventures o f amore per diletto in his relatively advanced age; this further suggests that the rejection o f love in the w ork is not necessarily meant to be universal. Even in a w ork that is adamantly bent on the disavowal o f love, an open-ended dimension remains.35 Furthermore, the chronicle o f the author-narrator’s disavowal o f love within the Corbaccio also has clear metaliterary dimensions, as it sim ultaneously serves as an account o f his specific literary transformation, playfully ushering in a new phase in his literary career. N ot long after the reference to the author-narrator’s “ e tà ... [e] studii,” the guide turns specifically to a discussion o f literature, in which 34. Natascia Tonelli has also argued that the C o r b a c c io ’ s attack should not be seen as a universal condemnation o f love and women, but rather one which is focused on the w idow ’ s negative attributes, being an anti-Beatrice. See Tonelli, “Beatrice, Laura, la vedova,” 1 9 4 - 1 9 6 . 3 5 . See also Tonelli, “Beatrice, Laura, la vedova,” 19 5. A similar mechanism is apparent in Boccaccio’s T ra tta tello in la u d e d i D a n te , written probably around the same time as the C o r ­ baccio. W hen discussing Dante’s marriage, Boccaccio offers another virulent attack on wom en

(this time especially on wives) yet concludes b y saying that his attack does not mean that he recommends to a ll men not to marry, only “philosophers” : “N é creda alcuno che io per le su dette cose voglia conchiudere gli uomini non dover tórre moglie; anzi il lodo molto, m a non a ciascuno. Lascino i filosofanti lo sposarsi a’ ricchi stolti, a’ signori e a’ lavoratori, e essi con

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15 1

he looks down upon fictions of love. His arguments closely echo the admoni­ tions which Boccaccio had put in the mouths of his detractors in the introduction to day 4 of the Decam eron. Like those detractors, the guide invites the authornarrator to leave the company of women and dedicate himself to the service of the muses. By choosing solitude and the company of the muses, according to the guide, the author-narrator would be able to learn about heavenly things and join the ranks of the greatest poets: “Esse con angelica voce ti narrano le cose dal prin­ cipio del mondo state infìno a questo giorno ... ti mostreranno ... l’essere la di­ vina bontà etterna e infinita; e per quali scale ad essa si salga, e per quali balzi si traripi alle parti contrarie; e teco, poi ch’e’ versi di Omero, di Virgilio e degli altri antichi valorosi aranno cantati, i tuoi medesimi, se tu vorrai canteranno.” (“With angelic voices, they will narrate to you the things which have been from the begin­ ning of the world down to this day... They will show you that Divine goodness is eternal and infinite, by what stages one rises to it, and down what precipices one plunges to the opposite place. After they have sung with you the verses of Homer, Virgil, and other worthy ancients, they will sing your own, if you wish,” 199.) In stark opposition to the voice of the author-narrator of the Decameron, that of the C orbaccio does not object to these claims and, ultimately, ends up acqui­ escing to the guide.36 Significantly, the themes and concerns that the guide asso­ ciates with the muses are reflected in Boccaccio’s writings from now on, as he turns to write primarily about moral and historical themes. Furthermore, the guide’s mention of ancient poets, in these lines, is reflected in Boccaccio’s choice to write from now on mostly - though not exclusively - in Latin.37 Whereas Bocla filosofìa si dilettino, molto migliore sposa che alcuna altra.” (“But let no one suppose from the things said above that I would conclude men ought not to take wives. On the contrary, I much commend it, but not for everyone. Let philosophers leave marrying to wealthy fools, to noblemen and peasants, and let them take their delight with philosophy, who is a far better bride than any other,” §59.) See Boccaccio, “Trattatello in laude di Dante (prima redazione),” ed. Pier Giogrio Ricci, in Tutte le opere, ed. Branca, 3: 425-496; Life of Dante, trans. Philip Wicksteed (London, 2 0 11 [1904]). 36. On the differences in attitude between the Decameron and the Corbaccio, see also Veglia, Il corvo e la sirena, 54-56. 37. Boccaccio, as scholars have insisted, continued to copy and edit his vernacular com­ positions, primarily the Decameron, till the end of his life. See, for example, Marco Cursi, Il "D eca m ero n Scritture, scriventi, lettori: Storia di un testo (Rome, 2007), 3 9 -4 5 ,16 1-16 4 ; Rhiannon Daniels, Boccaccio and theBook: Production and Reading in Italy, 1340 -1520 (London, 2009), 16 -18 ,7 6 -8 0 ; and Martin Eisner, Boccaccio and the Invention ofItalian Literature (Cam­ bridge, 2 0 13), 8-9. Nonetheless, although Boccaccio clearly did not disengage from his ear­ lier works and continued to defend Dante’s choice to write his Commedia in the vernacular, the fact is that he did not write new fictions dealing with love after the Corbaccio and that he turned most of his attention to Latin composition.

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caccio’s vernacular writings thus far concentrated primarily on the hardships o f love and oscillated between various ways o f coping with them - often urging the reader to remain steadfast in love and inviting him or her to find emotional relief in reading - from now on Boccaccio w ill mainly direct his attention to other top­ ics. “Boccaccio’s last fiction/’ in this respect, is not only an account o f the dis­ avowal o f love o f an aging scholar but also a flamboyant farewell to his predom ­ inant engagement with literary consolation for hardship caused b y love. One o f the likely sources behind this shift in Boccaccio’s position tow ard love and consolation was his friend and sometimes teacher Francis Petrarch, whom Boccaccio first m et in person in 13 5 0 . Although B occaccio’s know ledge o f Petrarch’s works such as the Secretum - often regarded as a possible influence on the Corbaccio - is highly questionable, the spirit o f Petrarch hovers over the work, especially in the guide’s statements regarding literature.38 T he guide’s coaxing o f the author-narrator to leave behind the company o f wom en and literature ded­ icated to them, and to write about “nobler” themes in the manner o f the ancients, clearly recalls Petrarch’s disparaging view o f vernacular composition. T his view often comes to the fore in his letters to Boccaccio; for example, Familiares 2 1 .1 5 exhibits Petrarch’s lukewarm attitude toward D ante for reasons including his decision to write the Commedia in the vernacular.39 Boccaccio him self attributes his shift from vernacular literature about amorous themes to primarily Latin com ­ position to Petrarch. In Eclogue 12 o f his Buccolicum carmen, entitled Saphos, B o c­ caccio describes the w ay that Petrarch ignited his desire to leave behind his “ car­ m en vulgare” (“vulgar song,” Bucc. carm. 12 .5 1) and to dedicate him self to “ other

38. T h e possible im pact o f Petrarch on the genesis and development o f the C o r b a c c io has been discussed b y Francisco Rico, T 1S ecretu m di Boccaccio,” in Rico, R it ra tti, 9 7 - 1 3 1 , and M arco Veglia, L a s tra d a p i ù im p e rv ia : B o cca ccio f r a D a n te e P e tra rc a (Padua, 2 0 1 4 ) , 75 . See also Ricci, B o c c a cc io , 2 2 9 - 2 3 2 . O n the impact o f the S ecretu m on the C o r b a c c io , see Rico, R it r a tti, 1 0 0 - i G i . Psaki also explores the relationship between the two works, yet from a very differ­ ent perspective: Psaki argues that the C o r b a c c io is both a caricature o f the S e c r e t u m s solemn tone and a continuation o f its destabilization o f revered genres such as the dream vision. See Psaki, “Boccaccio ’s C o r b a c c io ,’’ 1 2 0 - 1 2 8 . See also Elsa Filosa, “Corbaccio e Secretum : Possi­ bili interferenze?” in P e t r a r c a e la L o m b a r d i a : A t t i d e l c o n ve g n o d i stu d i, M ila n , 2 2 - 2 3 M a y , 2 0 0 3 , ed. G iuseppe Frasso, G iuseppe Velli, and M aurizio Vitale (Padua, 2 0 0 5 ) , 2 1 1 - 2 1 9 .

Filosa explores in the manner o f R ico the m oral parallels between the two texts. O n the po s­ sible allusions to Petrarch’s C a n z o n ie r e in the C o r b a c c io , see Tonelli, “Beatrice, Laura, la vedova,” 1 9 6 - 2 0 4 , and Renzo Bragantini, "Elegia e invettiva nella F ia m m e t t a e nel C o r b a c cio ,” in A i m e r o u n e p a s a im e r, ed. Filotico et al., 1 7 3 - 1 8 9 , at 186.

39. T his letter will be discussed in more detail in the following chapter.

TH E D ISAVO W AL OF LO VE •

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loves” suited to “altior etas” (“ [a] higher age/’ 12.53-54).40 It is therefore likely that the literary admonitions of the guide reverberate with the voice of Petrarch and indicate the future course of Boccaccio’s works from the Corbaccio onward. Yet, while Petrarch may have altered the course of Boccaccio’s career fol­ lowing the early 1350s, this does not mean that Boccaccio was a slavish follower of Petrarch, as is still commonly assumed by critics.41 For even in the instances in which Boccaccio clearly adopts the humanistic predilections of his older friend and writes in Latin about moral and historical subjects, he still maintains his autonomy as a writer and thinker, often subtly challenging Petrarch’s views and positions. In the following chapter, I will discuss one of Boccaccio’s main chal­ lenges to Petrarch’s ethical-poetic vision in his later years - that which comes to the fore precisely in his later engagement with the theme of consolation. In his challenge to Petrarch’s consolatory outlook, Boccaccio transposes the empathetic and polyphonic vision of consolation that characterizes his vernacular fic­ tions into the high culture of early Renaissance humanism.

40. See Boccaccio, “Buccolicum carmen,” ed. Girogio Bernardi Perini, in Tutte le opere, ed. Branca, 5.2: 6 9 1-9 0 3; Eclogues, trans. Janet Levarie Smarr (New York, 1987). 4 1. On Boccaccio as Petrarch's “più grande discepolo” (“greatest disciple” ) see Giuseppe Billanovich, Petrarca letterato, voi. 1: Lo scrittoio del Petrarca (Rome, 1947), 57-289, and Billanovich, “Da Dante al Petrarca e dal Petrarca al Boccaccio,” in II Boccaccio nelle culture e letterature nazionali, ed. Francesco Mazzoni (Florence, 1978), 5 8 3 - 5 9 5 ; at 592-594. Billanovich’s version o f the harmonious relationship between the two and Boccaccio’s debt to Petrarch is still prevalent. See, for example, Carla Maria Monti, “Boccaccio e Petrarca,” in Boc­ caccio autore e copista, ed. Teresa De Robertis et al. (Florence, 2 0 13), 3 2 -4 1. Francisco Rico, by contrast, has stressed the tensions that characterized the relationship between the two and especially Petrarch’s scornful attitude toward Boccaccio. See Rico, Ritratti, 23-2 5. Rico con­ tinues, however, to consider Boccaccio to be Petrarch’s intellectual underling. Consider, for example, his unfortunate statement that Boccaccio "non era intelligente, ma era osservatore” (12 9 ). Marco Veglia has offered a perceptive reflection on the way that Boccaccio deviated from Petrarch’s humanism, fashioning a more inclusive type o f humanism which brings together Dante and Petrarch, Latin and vernacular, science and philology. See Veglia, La strada piu impervia.

C H A P T E R FIVE

B o ccaccio after P etrarch: T h e P o lyp h o n y o f C o n so la tio n in the L a te r W ritings

While he was still working on the Decameron, Boccaccio met Petrarch for the first time. It was 13 5 o, and Petrarch was passing through Florence on his way to Rome to celebrate the jubilee declared by Clement VI. Although Boccaccio had been acquainted with some o f Petrarch’s works as early as the 13 3 os/ it was their first meeting - and the close friendship that ensued - that truly influenced the course of Boccaccio’s writings, contributing to his major, if not absolute, shift toward the composition of scholarly, moral, and historical works in Latin. In recent years, scholars have begun to question the common perception that Boccaccio was Petrarch’s humble and devoted disciple, and they have started to highlight the intellectual, artistic, political, as well as personal conflicts that characterized their relationship .1 Building upon this recent turn in the scholar1. See Carla Maria Monti, “Boccaccio e Petrarca,” in Boccaccio autore e copista, ed. Teresa D e Robertis et al. (Florence, 2 0 13 ), 33-40 , at 33 -3 4 . 2. In addition to the works by Rico and Veglia mentioned in note 4 1 in the previous chapter, other recent studies that explore the relationship between the two authors and point to Boccaccio’s autonom ous positions vis-à-vis Petrarch are Susanna Barsella, “Boccaccio, Petrarch, and Peter Damian: Tw o M odels o f the Humanist Intellectual,” M L N 1 2 1 (2006): 16 -4 8 ; Renzo Bragantini, “Petrarch, Boccaccio, and the Space o f Vernacular Literature,” in Petrarch and Boccaccio: The Unity o f Knowledge in the Pre-Modern World, ed. Igor Candido (Berlin, 2 0 18 ), 3 1 3 - 3 3 9 ; Theodore J. C a c h e y jr, “ Between Petrarch and Dante: Prole­ gomenon to a Critical Discourse,” in Petrarch and Dante: Anti-Dantism, Metaphysics, Tradition, ed. Zygmunt G. Barariski and Theodore J. C a c h e y jr (Notre Dame, IN, 2009), 3-4 9 , at 1 6 35; Vincenzo Fera, “Storia e filologia tra Petrarca e Boccaccio,” in Petrarca, l'umanesimo e la civiltà europea: Atti del convegno internazionale, Firenze, s - 1 0 dicembre 2004, ed. Donatella Coppini and Michele Feo (Florence, 2 0 12 ), 36 9 -389 ; Tobias Foster Gittes, “Boccaccio and H um anism ,” in The Cambridge Companion to Boccaccio, ed. Guyda Arm strong, Rhiannon Daniels, and Stephen M ilner (Cambridge, 2 0 15 ), 1 5 5 - 17 0 ; Jason Houston, “Boccaccio at Play in Petrarch’s Pastoral W orld,” M L N 12 7 (2 0 12 ): S 4 7 -S 5 3 ; David Lummus, “Boccac­ cio’s Hellenism and the Foundations o f M odernity,” Mediaevalia 33 ( 2 0 12 ) : 1 0 1 - 6 7 and Lummus, The City o f Poetry: Imagining the Civic Role o f the Poet in Fourteenth Century Italy

B O C C A C C IO A F T E R PE T R A R C H



1$S

ship, this chapter will explore one o f B occaccio’s central challenges to Petrarch’s ethical-poetic outlook: Boccaccio’s unique perspective on consolation, as con­ veyed in his later writings. B occaccio’s interest in consolation, and the w ay literature m ay facilitate it, remained a strong theme in his later works. Even though following the Corbaccio his focus m oved away from the hardships o f love, he continued consoling readers, now addressing other kinds o f tribulations such as exile, illnesses, and death. Fur­ thermore, in his later works Boccaccio tended to engage more directly in the admin­ istration o f consolation in times o f need (as in the Epistola consolatoria a Pino de Rossi and the eclogue Olympia) or to offer explicit theoretical reflections on the consolatory value ofliterature (as in b ook 14 o f the Genealogia deorum gentilium). Still, Boccaccio’s later engagements with consolation share m any similarities with his earlier vernacular fictions; strikingly, they continue to display the same poly­ phonic, empathetic, and this-worldly tendencies that characterized his earlier work. That Boccaccio’s engagement with consolation in his later works was in close dialogue w ith Petrarch’s is beyond doubt. Petrarch’s own intense concentration on consolation in his writing is well known. F or Petrarch, the adm inistration o f consolation w as one o f the main ethical tasks o f the man o f letters, and, in his view, there w as no better means o f offering such care, to both his readers and him self, than through the philosophical precepts, literary genres, and m oral vocabulary o f ancient authors, particularly those associated with Latin Stoicism .*3 This preoccupation is evident in Petrarch’s numerous letters o f consolation, in poem s he w rote in both the vernacular and Latin (prim arily the eclogues o f his Bucolicum carmen), and in his later m anual o f consolation, the D e remediis utriusque fortune. B occaccio’s intim ate fam iliarity w ith at least som e o f these (C am bridge, 2020), 1 5 6 - 2 1 6 ; Giuseppe M azzotta, “B o ccaccio ’s Critique o f Petrarch,” in P e tr a r c h a n d B o c c a c c io , ed. Candido, 2 7 0 -2 8 5 and Mazzotta, “A Life in Progress (D e v it a et m o rib u s F r a n c is c i P e tr a c c h i d e F l o r e n t i a ) " in B o c c a c c io : A C r it ic a l G u id e to th e C o m p le te W o rk s,

ed. Victoria Kirkham, M ichael Sherberg, and Jan et Levarie Sm arr (Chicago, 2 0 13 ), 2 0 7 - 2 12 ; and D avid W allace, “ L e tt e r s o f O l d A g e : Lo ve betw een M en, Griselda, and Farewell to L e t­ ters,” in P e t r a r c h : A C r it ic a l G u id e to the C o m p le te W o rks, ed. V ictoria Kirkham and Arm ando M aggi (C h icago, 2009), 3 2 1 - 3 3 0 .

3. O n Petrarch as a consoler, see M arco Ballarm i, “Il D 'e excessu fr a t r i s s u i S a t y r i di A m brogio e la consolatio ad m ortem nelle lettere del Petrarca,” S t u d i P e tra rc h e s ch i 2 1 (2008) : 1 0 5 - 1 2 9 ; G iuseppe Chiecchi, L a p a r o l a d e l d o lo r e : P r im i stu d i su lla lettera tu ra c o n so la to ria tra m e d io e v o e u m a n e s im o (Padua, 2005), 17 6 - 2 6 4 ; George W . M cClure, S o r r o w a n d C o n s o la ­ tio n in R e n a is s a n c e H u m a n is m (Princeton, 19 9 0 ), 1 8 - 7 2 ; Sabrina Stroppa, “L a consolatoria

nelle ‘Fam iliari’ : P er la definizione di un ‘corpus,’” P e tra rc h e s c a 1 ( 2 0 1 3 ) : 1 2 1 - 1 3 4 and Stroppa, P e t r a r c a e la m o rte (Rom e, 2 0 14 ); and G ur Zak, "T h e Ethics and Poetics o f C on so­ lation in Petrarch’s B u c o lic u m c a r m e n ,” S p e c u lu m 9 1 ( 2 0 16 ) : 36 -6 2 .

1S shortly before Petrarch’s death. In the beginning o f Seniles 17 .2 , Petrarch reproaches Boccaccio once again for his complaints about his poverty, telling him that “the virtuous man cannot justly complain about the lack o f tem poral goods” (“non posse iuste virtuosum virum de inopia temporalium rerum queri,” Seniles 17 .2 .19 ). In his translation o f Boccaccio’s tale o f Griselda, which follows, Petrarch - unlike the original author - praises the heroine unequivocally for her steadfast “constantiam” (Seniles 17.3.14 3 ) in the face o f the blows o f fortune. T he 1 5

reworked portrayal o f Griselda’s constancy may thus be regarded as the final call to virtue and self-control that Petrarch addressed to Boccaccio over the course o f their lifelong exchange.9 Boccaccio’s later writings on consolation display, at times, Petrarchan influ­ ence. This fact is apparent in Boccaccio’ s explicit discussions o f Boethius’s Con­ solatio in his defenses o f poetry in b ook 14 o f the Genealogia and in the Espo­ sizioni sopra la "Comedia“ - both probably composed toward the end o f his life. In these works, Boccaccio responds to the critics o f poetry, who point to Lady Philosophy’s banishment o f the muses in the early sections o f the Consolatio as p ro o f o f poetry’s inferior status. H owever, in Genealogia 14.20, Boccaccio claims that Boethius’s L ad y Philosophy did not expel all muses and all types o f poetry 8. See Petrarch, Res seniles, ed. Silvia Rizzo, with the assistance o f M onica Berté, 4 vols. (Florence, 2 0 0 6 -2 0 17 ); Letters o f Old Age, trans. Aldo S. Bernardo, Saul Levin, and Reta A. Bernardo, 2 vols. (Baltimore, 1992). 9. On the place o f Seniles 17 in the dialogue between Petrarch and Boccaccio, see also Christopher Celenza, The Intellectual World o f the Italian Renaissance: Language, Philosophy, and the Search fo r Meaning (Cam bridge, 2 0 17 ), 3 6 - 4 1 ; Warren Ginsberg, Chaucer's Italian Tradition (Ann Arbor, 2002), 2 4 6 -2 6 1; Kenneth P. Clarke, “Griselda’s Curious Husband: Petrarch, Boccaccio, and Seniles 17 ,” Studi sul Boccaccio 44 (2 0 16 ): 3 0 1 - 3 1 2 ; Wallace, “Let­ ters o f Old Age,” 3 2 1 - 3 3 0 ; and Gur Zak, “ Petrarch’s Griseldà and the Ends o f Humanism,” Le tre corone 2 ( 2 0 1 5 ) : 1 7 3 - 1 9 1 .

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but only the false muses o f the "inhonestis comicis” (“disreputable comic poets/’ 14 .2 0 .5) . A t the same time, she herself continues to employ her own “honestas” ( “honorable,” 14.20.8) muses in her efforts to console Boethius.101 Boccaccio then outlines the strengths o f Lady Philosophy’s true consolation by contrasting her noble goals to the failings o f the com ic poets’ muse: “H ec non consolatione virtutum, non salubribus anthidotis, non sacris etiam remediis egritudines languentium mitigat aut sanat, sed querelis gemitibusque in mortem usque ampli­ ficat” (“It is not hers to relieve or heal the sufferings o f those who languish with the consolations o f virtue, with salutary medicines, and with sacred remedies; she only enhances their suffering even unto death amid groans and complaints,” 14 .20.6) . This discussion in Genealogia 14.20 appears to draw directly from Petrarch’s own defense o f poetry in his Invective contra medicum (Invective against a Physi­ cian) - a w ork w hich he sent to Boccaccio in 13 5 5 following frequent requests.1 1 In his discussion, Petrarch also alludes to Lady Philosophy’s em ploym ent o f the muses ofpoetry. Furthermore, Boccaccio’s statement that true consolation seeks to “relieve or heal the sufferings o f those who languish” echoes Petrarch’s asser­ tion that with the aid o f the “true m uses” poets have learned “egris animis suc­ currere” ( “to treat ailing souls,” § 3 4 ).12 Echoing Petrarch’ s Invective contra medicum, Boccaccio thus asserts that true consolation should consist o f “ conso­ lations o f virtue” and “scared rem edies” that remove pain com pletely b y per­ suading the subject to change his outlook on suffering. A possible Petrarchan influence can also be detected in a similar discussion o f Boethius in Boccaccio’s Esposizioni. H ere as well, Boccaccio explains that Lady Philosophy did not banish all muses and all types o f poetry but only “ quelle de’ comici disonesti e degli elegiaci passionati” (“those o f vile com ic poets and pas­ sionate elegiacs,” i.lit.i 1 1 ) . 13 The Esposizioni, thus, adds an explicit condem na­ tion o f elegiac poets. A little earlier in his account, Boccaccio specifies the dan­ gers o f the elegiac m use and the nature o f true consolation in the follow ing manner: 10. See Giovanni B o c c a c c io , “ G e n e a lo g ia d e o ru m gen tiliu m ,” ed. V itto rio Z a cca ria , in T u tte le o pere, ed. Branca, 7 - 8 : 1 - 1 8 1 3 ; B o c c a cc io on P o e t ry : B e in g the P re fa c e a n d the F o u r ­ teenth a n d F ifteen th B o o k s o f B o c c a cc io 's G e n e a lo g ia d e o ru m gen tiliu m , trans. C h arles G . O sg o o d

(N ew York, 19 56). All quo tatio n s are from th ese w o rk s unless o therw ise in dicated . 1 1 . See Branca, G io v a n n i B o cca ccio , 10 5 - 1 0 6 . 12. See Petrarch, In vectives, ed. and trans. D avid M arsh (Cam bridge, M A, 2003). 13 . Boccaccio, “Esposizioni sopra la ‘C om ed ia’ di Dante,” ed. Giorgio Padoan, in T u tte le opere, ed. Branca, 6: 1 - 1 0 7 6 ; B o c c a cc io 's " E x p o s itio n s on D a n te 's 'C o m e d y ,'" trans. M ichael Papio (Toronto, 2009). I have slightly m odified the translation here.

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[E] in quello luogo, dove Boezio giaceva della mente infermo; turbato e com­ mosso dello essilio a gran torto ricevuto, egli, sì come impaziente, avendo per quello cacciata da sè ogni conoscenza del vero, non attendeva colla con­ siderazione a trovare i rimedi oportuni a dover cacciar via le noie che danno gl’infortuni della presente vita; anzi cercava di comporre cose, le quali non liberasson lui, ma il mostrassero afflitto molto, e per conseguente mettessero compassion di lui in altrui. E questa gli pareva sì soave operazione che, senza guardare che egli in ciò faceva ingiuria alla filosofica verità, la cui opera è di sanare, non di lusingare, il passionato, che esso con la dolceza delle lusinghe del potersi dolere insino alla sua estrema confusione avrebbe in tale impresa proceduto. As Boethius lay there in his sickbed, troubled and afflicted by the exile that was wrongly imposed on him, he impatiently shooed away from him self all knowledge o f truth instead o f judiciously considering those remedies that are more suitable to eliminating the anxieties that accompany present life. Indeed, instead o f writing things that would liberate him, he sought to write things that demonstrated how very miserable he was and, consequently, inspired compassion in others. This task seemed so effortless to him (although he failed to see he was thus sullying philosophic truth, whose task is to cure - not soothe - one who suffers), that he could have kept up his sweet, self-indulgent flattery until finally leading him self into total bewil­ derment. (i.lit.10 7 -10 8 ) This striking passage, in which Boccaccio critiques Boethius’s reliance on the elegiac muse, closely parallels Petrarch’s own criticism o f Boccaccio’s im pa­ tience w hen he gives in to elegiac lamentations in their correspondence; B oc­ caccio’s description o f Boethius’s “m ente ... turbato” recalls Petrarch’s cri­ tique o f B occaccio’s own “turbato ... anim o” in Familiares 18 .15 . Boethius’s elegiac lament, Boccaccio explains in his critique, attempts to elicit his read­ ers’ com passion, a practice which is dangerous and misleading insofar as it does not seek to cure one’s grief but only allows the person suffering to fur­ ther indulge in it. Such unequivocal and monolithic condemnation o f elegiac writing because it does not seek to cure grief at its root departs from B o c­ caccio’s sym pathetic attitude toward elegiac narrators in the earlier works o f his that w e have examined, such as Idalagos in the Filocolo and Filostrato in the Filostrato, and exhibits a strong Petrarchan influence. Furtherm ore, although Boccaccio does not specify the particular features o f his preferred consolation, the critiquè o f Boethius’s “ impazientia” and the allusion to “le

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noie che danno gl’infortuni della p resen te v ita” suggest that B o ccaccio m ay have in m ind a discourse w hich com bines Stoic lessons o f patience w ith a C hristian eschew al o f w o rld ly attachm ents, a p osition that is stron gly Petrarchan.1415 While in his discussions o f Boethius’s Consolatio, Boccaccio appears to adopt an approach that shares significant features with Petrarch, in his other works from the same period a more complex, polyphonic, and empathetic picture o f conso­ lation emerges. In the following sections o f this chapter, I w ould like to analyze several m om ents in B occaccio’s later w orks that underscore his challenge to Petrarch’s consolatory vision. Boccaccio’s disputes w ith Petrarch establish an alternative to the entire Stoic-Boethian tradition o f consolation - developing fur­ ther the critique o f this tradition that took shape in Boccaccio’s earlier fictions.ls A nd as in those earlier fictions, the critique o f the Stoic-Boethian tradition in the later w orks often continues to draw upon the ethical thought o f Aristotle and Aquinas.

In the Shadow o f D ante: Pastoral and Consolation O ne crucial challenge to Petrarch’s consolatory vision relates to Boccaccio’s con­ tinuing adm iration for D ante’s Commedia in his later years. W hile the Corbaccio em bodies, as w e saw in the previous chapter, his departure from D ante’s ideal o f

1 4 . O n this m ixtu re o f S to ic an d C h ristia n co n so la to ry p o sitio n s in P e tra rch ’s w ritin g s, see fo r exam p le the discussio n o f the con solation o f the figure o f F u lg id a in the eclo gu e G a la te a b e lo w .

15 . Petrarch’s own engagements with consolation, to be sure, often entailed strong dia­ logic and open-ended elements, which questioned the Stoic-Boethian position. F o r example, in his im aginary dialogue w ith St Augustine, T h e S ecretu m , com posed in 1 3 4 7 - 1 3 5 3 , the fig­ ure o f Augustinus strives to convince Franciscus to detach from w orldly passions - prim arily love and glory - so as to cure his sorrows. A fter three days o f intense conversations, Francis­ cus finally rejects his guide’s adm onitions and the dialogue ends without a clear resolution. W hile such open-endedness no doubt shares crucial features with Boccaccio’s approach, it is clear that as opposed to Boccaccio Petrarch does hold the Stoic position as an ideal - one to which he h im self can never live up. Furtherm ore, in Petrarch’s later works such as the D e re m e d iis - and especially in his efforts to console others through his letters - the Stoic view is clearly dominant. On the dialogic dim ensions o f Petrarch’s S e c re tu m , see T im oth y Kircher, T h e P o e t 's W is d o m : T h e H u m a n ists, the C h u r c h , a n d the F o r m a t io n o f P h ilo s o p h y in th e E a r l y R e n a iss a n ce (Leiden, 2006), 1 4 5 - 18 4 , and Brian Stock, A ft e r A u g u stin e : T h e M e d it a t iv e R e a d e r a n d the T e x t (Philadelphia, 2 0 0 1), 7 1- 8 5 . On the open-ended aspects o fb o o k 17 ofth e Seniles,

see Zak, “Petrarch’s Griselda,” 1 7 3 - 1 9 1 .

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amorous and spiritual ascent to a perfect union with the divine, Boccaccio nonetheless continued to admire Dante’s poetic achievements and endeavored to convince Petrarch to take Dante seriously and to read the Commedia.16 This admiration for and adherence to D ante’s poetics was the source o f a long-stand­ ing debate between Boccaccio and Petrarch - a debate which involved, at its core, the very nature and aims o f poetry. Petrarch’s lukewarm attitude toward Dante is especially evident in Fam ili­ ares 2 1 . 1 s . Petrarch wrote this letter to Boccaccio in 135 9 after the latter had sent him a revised version o f his Latin poem in praise o f Dante, Ytalie iam certus honus.17 In the letter, Petrarch responds to the accusation that he is envious o f Dante and his poetic success. Without mentioning Dante’s name even once in the letter, Petrarch states that he cannot envy a poet who writes in the vernacular, a style to w hich he dedicated only “ adolescentie florem primitiasque” (“the flower and first fruits o f [his] youth,” Familiares 2 1 .1 5 .2 1 ) , before he had learned “ altius aspirare” (“to look higher,” 2 1 . 1 5 . 1 1 ) to Latin composition. The very fact that Dante excelled prim arily in the vernacular makes him unworthy o f envy, accord­ ing to Petrarch. In addition to criticizing Dante’s decision to write his capolavoro in the ver­ nacular, Petrarch also takes aim at D ante’s willingness to mix poetry and theol­ ogy. In his discussion o f poetry in Familiares 10.4, where Petrarch provides an explication o f his eclogue Parthenias, he explicitly distinguishes betw een “the­ ologia” and “poetica,” stating that while both employ allegory, the first deals “ de D eo deque divinis” ( “w ith G od and divine things” ) and the latter “ de diis hom inibusque” (“with gods and men,” Familiares 10.4.2). Establishing thus a clear distinction between the content o f the two discourses, Petrarch asserts that his own concern is with the discourse o f poetry, leaving theology aside. This dis­ tinction is also im plicitly present in Petrarch’s discussion o f poetry in the Colla­ tio laureationis ( The Coronation Oration) from 13 4 1, in which he specifies that “poets under the veil o f fictions have set forth truths physical, moral, and histor16. F o r a re a sse ssm e n t o f P e tr a r c h ’ s a ttitu d e to D a n te , see th e articles co lle c te d in Petrarch and Dante, ed. B a ra n s k i an d C a c h e y . O n the d e b a te b e tw e e n B o c c a c c io an d P e tra rc h o v e r D a n te , see C a c h e y ’ s article in th a t v o lu m e , “ B e tw e e n P e tra rch an d D a n t e ,”

16 -3 5 . 17 . Albanese, “La corrispondenza,” 90. O n Petrarch’s com plex interaction with Dante in Fam iliares 2 1 .1 5 , see also Bragantini, “Petrarch, Boccaccio, and the Space o f Vernacular Literatu re,” 3 2 3 - 3 2 4 ; C elenza, Intellectual W orld, 2 7 - 2 8 ; M artin Eisner, Boccaccio and the Invention o f Italian Literature (C am bridge, 2 0 1 3 ) , 8 2 -8 6 ; Sim on G ilson, D ante and Renaissance Florence (Cam bridge, 2005), 3 2 - 3 7 ; and Em ilio Pasquini, “Dantism o petrar­ chesco: A ncora su ‘Fam .’ X X I, 15 e dintorni,” in M otivi e form e delle Fam iliari, ed. Berra, 2 1-3 8 .

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ical” (“poetas, sub velamine figmentorum, nunc fysica, nunc moralia, nunc hystorias comprehendisse”) .18 What is especially significant about this list o f topics is the absence of theology, which amounts to a direct rebuke of Dante and his theological poem. Poets, according to Petrarch, should occupy themselves with useful yet earthly topics, leaving theology aside. Boccaccio’s departure from Petrarch’s position becomes particularly explicit in his defense o f poetry in the Genealogia. When he asserts the value and truth­ fulness o f poetic fictions, he specifically includes Dante’s Commedia among his examples, mentioning Dante alongside Virgil, Petrarch, and himself. When dis­ cussing Dante, Boccaccio specifically commends him for untying the “sacre theologie implicitos” (“hard knots of sacred theology,” Genealogia 14 .10 .3 ) within his poetry, directly parting ways with Petrarch. Furthermore, the very inclusion of Dante’s Commedia in his defense of poetry validates the merits of vernacular poetry. T he debate between Boccaccio and Petrarch over Dante is also reflected in their poetic practices. One o f the places where B occaccio’s adherence to D ante’s poetics is m ost explicitly expressed is in Boccaccio’s efforts at self­ consolation in his eclogue Olympia, the fourteenth eclogue o f his m ajor col­ lection o f Latin poem s - the Buccolicum carmen, com pleted in 13 6 8 .19 B o c­ caccio’s collection o f pastoral poems was clearly in dialogue w ith Petrarch’s Bucolicum carmen, which Boccaccio, as noted, copied b y hand during his visit to Petrarch’s house in M ilan in 1359 . T he eclogue Olympia should b e read in dialogue with Petrarch’s Galatea, Petrarch’s prim ary eclogue o f grief and con­ solation, w hich he w rote after the death o f Laura. In both eclogues, w e witness the w riters’ attempts to cope with the death o f a loved one in a pastoral poem (in the case o f Boccaccio, it is his young daughter). Both poem s are placed toward the end o f their respective collections (Petrarch’s Galatea is the penul­ timate poem , B occaccio’s Olympia is follow ed by two eclogues, the last being in effect an envoi). Furthermore, Boccaccio’s Olympia includes a figure named

18. See Petrarch, “Collatio laureationis,” in O p e re la tin e, ed. Antonietta Bufano et al. (Turin, 19 7 5), 2: 1 2 5 5 - 1 2 8 3 , at 12 70 (9.7); Ernest H. Wilkins, “Petrarch’s Coronation Ora­ tion,” P M L A 6 8 ( 19 5 3 ) : 1 2 4 1 - 1 2 5 0 , at 1246. For a similar view o f the themes dealt with by poets, see Petrarch, A fr ic a , ed. N icola Festa (Florence, 1998), 264 (9 .9 7 -10 0 ). 19. On the chronology o f the composition o f the eclogues, see Angelo Piacentini, “Buc­ colicum carmen,” in Bo ccaccio a u to re e copista, ed. De Robertis et al., 2 0 3 - 2 14 , at 203. See also Giorgio Bernardi Perini’s notes to his edition in Boccaccio, “Buccolicum carmen,” ed. G ior­ gio Bernardi Perini, in T u tte le o pere, ed. Branca, 5.2: 9 16 - 10 8 5 (this edition cited hereafter as B u c c . c a r n i.), and Sm arr’s introduction to her translation o f the eclogues in Boccaccio, E clo g u es, trans. Jan et Levarie Smarr (N ew York, 19 8 7 ), xxix-xh.

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“ F u s c a ” ( “ the dark o n e” ) - the nam e o f one o f the interlocutors in Petrarch ’s

Galatea .2° A n analysis o f these two parallel eclogues, however, primarily serves to high­ light the crucial differences betw een these two poem s o f m ourning and consola­ tion. T o appreciate these differences, w e will first introduce Petrarch’s eclogue o f consolation, and then turn to B o cca ccio ’ s highly Dantean poetic response. Petrarch ’s Galatea dram atizes a debate betw een three feminine interlocu­ tors - N io b e , Fusca, and Fulgida. E a ch represents a classical ethical-poetic posi­ tion tow ard m ourning and consolation.21 A t the beginning o f the eclogue, the figure o f N io b e - w h o, according to O vid ’s Metamorphoses, turned to stone due to g rief fo llo w in g the death o f her children - asks Fu sca (the “ dark o n e ” ) for directions to the tom b o f Galatea, w h o evidently represents the departed beloved Laura.12 Fu sca inquires w h at N io b e hopes to gain b y lamenting over the burial stone, and in response N io b e states that elegiac lamentations are the only feasi­ ble consolation for sorrow - a position w hich recalls that o f Boethius at the begin­ ning o f the Consolatio: “E st gem itus m agni solamen grande doloris” ( “ So rro w intense finds its solace in long lam entation” ) .23 20. It is worth noting that in both Petrarch’s Bucolicum carmen and Boccaccio’s Buccolicum carmen the theme o f consolation frames the entire collection. In Petrarch, the second eclogue - Argus - is a lament and consolation over the death o f King Robert, a consolation which is then reflected in the penultimate Galatea. In the case o f Boccaccio, the two opening eclogues, written in 13 4 1 following his return to Florence from Naples, engage with lament and consolation over amorous heartaches, while the fourteenth eclogue, Olympia, offers con­ solation for the death o f a loved one. In Boccaccio’s collection, the passage from the early eclogues o f amorous consolation to the Olympia’s concern with self-consolation for death thus reflects B occaccio’s general transition in his works from consolation for amorous heartaches to consolation for other kinds o f hardships. On the linear development o f Boc­ caccio’s Buccolicum carmen, which nonetheless stops short o f a complete conversion from worldly concerns, see David Lummus, “The Changing Landscape of the Self (Buccolicum car­ men),” in Boccaccio: A Critical Guide, ed. Kirkham et al, 15 5 - 16 9 . 2 1. The attempt to explore various approaches to consolation within a bucolic song has deep roots in V irgil’s Eclogues - a fact that further highlights the classicizing tendencies of Petrarch’s poem. On the centrality o f the conflicts over consolation in Virgil’s Eclogues, see Gregson Davis, Parthenope: The Interplay o f Ideas in Vergilian Bucolic (Leiden, 20 12 ). 22. Guido M artelletti has suggested that the name Galatea may have been derived from V irgil’s third Eclogue and especially Servius’s commentary on lines 7 2 - 7 3 . See Petrarch, "Egloghe,” in Rime, Trionfi e poesie latine, ed. F. N eri et al. (Milan, 19 5 1 ), 826. For Niobe, see Metamorphoses 6 .14 6 - 3 12 ; Ovid, Metamorphoses, ed. and trans. Frankjustus Miller, rev. G.P. Goold (Cam bridge, M A, 19 7 7 -19 8 4 ). 23. Petrarch, Bucolicum carmen (hereafter Bue. carm.) 11.3 , ed. and trans. Thomas G. Bergin (N ew Haven, 1974). Compare with Boethius’s assertion o f the solace he receives from his elegiac verses in the opening meter o f the Consolatio: “Solantur maesti nunc mea fata senis”

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After hearing N iobe’s sorrowful words, Fusca attempts to assuage N iobe’s grief b y urging her to focus on present pleasures and “forget” her m isfortune: “Placeant presentia; frustra / preteritum expectes; tuta est oblivio amanti” (“ C on­ tent yourself with the present. / V ainly w e look to the past. T o forget is a lover’s sole solace,” Bue. carni. 1 1.4 5-4 6 ). T he position expressed b y Fusca closely recalls C icero’s presentation o f the Epicurean attitude toward grief and consolation, described in book 3 o f the Tusculanae disputationes - a book with which Petrarch was closely engaged during this period o f loss.14 In this book, C icero refers to Epicurus’s adm onition to “forget” past misfortunes in order to rem edy one’s sor­ row: “E t tu oblivisci iubes” (“A nd do you, Epicurus, bid me ‘forget’ ... ?” ).*24 2526 7H e then adds that for Epicurus hum an happiness depends on the enjoym ent o f pres­ ent pleasures (“ eum esse beatum, qui praesentibus voluptatibus frueretur,” Tuse. 3 .17 .3 8 ) .16 T h e figure o f Fusca therefore serves in the eclogue as a stand-in for Epicurean consolation, a position which Petrarch clearly criticizes, as he names its cham pion “the dark one.” A s Fusca and N iobe continue their discussion, Fulgida - the “bright one” appears on the scene; her purpose, according to Fusca, is to chide N iobe for com ­ plaining (“ castigat... querelas,” Bue. carni. 11.5 5 ) . Similar to Fusca, Fulgida urges N iobe to give up her laments and offers her consolation; yet the solace she sug­ gests is different. R elying on Stoic precepts o f consolation recounted b y C icero in Tusc. 3.3 2 .7 7 ,17 Fulgida sermonizes on the inevitability o f death and the need

(“N o w in m y sad old age they com fort me,” i.m i.8 ). Boethius, C o n s o la tio p h ilo s o p h ia e , ed. Jam es J . O ’D onnell, 2 vols. (Bryn M awr, PA, 19 8 4 ); T h e T h e o lo g ic a l T r a c ta te s , T h e C o n s o la ­ tio n o f P h ilo s o p h y , ed. and trans. S.J. Tester (Cam bridge, M A, 19 7 3 ), 13 0 - 4 3 5 . 24. In S e c re tu m 2 .15 .9 , C icero’s T u s c u la n a e d is p u ta tio n e s is presented as an especially useful rem edy to the blow s o f fortune. See Petrarch, S e c re tu m , ed. U go D otti (R om e, 19 9 3 ); T h e S ecret, trans. C arol E. Quillen (Boston, 2003), 98. 25. C icero, T u s c u la n D is p u t a t io n s (hereafter T u s c .) 3 .16 .3 5 , ed. and trans. J.E . K ing (C am bridge, M A , 19 2 7 ). Latin text is from this Loeb edition. 26. Later in the eclogue Fusca will explicitly reject the concept o f the im m ortality o f the soul - referring to it as “fabula” ( 11.6 9 ) - thus following another cornerstone o f the Epicurean worldview. 27. “Erit igitur in consolationibus prim a m edicina docere aut nullum m alum esse aut adm odum parvum, altera et de com m uni condicione vitae et proprie, si quid sit de ipsius qui maereat disputandum, tertia summam esse stultitiam frustra confici m aerore, cum intelligas nihil posse profici” ( “T he first rem edial step therefore in giving com fort w ill be to show that either there is no evil or very little; the second w ill be to discuss the com m on lot o f life and any special feature that needs discussion in the lo t o f the individual m ourner; the third will be to show that it is utter folly to be uselessly overcom e b y sorrow when one realizes that there is no possible advantage,” T u sc. 3.32.77).

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to cultivate patience in the face o f fortune’s vicissitudes (Bue. carm. 1 1 .5 5 - 6 1 ) . Following this Stoic exhortation, Fulgida urges N iobe to direct her gaze toward the world to come, stating that instead o f lamenting Galatea, N iobe should in fact rejoice in Galatea’s release from the valley o f death (Bue. carm. 11.6 2 - 6 8 ). Petrarch, we should note, does not include a description o f heaven or Galatea’s bliss in paradise, but only refers briefly to her current condition and deduces a moral lesson from it. A little later, when N iobe asks Fulgida to carve an inscrip­ tion on G alatea’s tomb in accordance with the conventions o f the “M usas agrestes” (“rustic muses,” Bue. carm. 11.7 6 ) ,18 Fulgida uses the opportunity to provide a memento mori, a strong didactic message on the vanity o f w orldly pur­ suits and achievements: ... M ortalia quisquam Diligat, aut speret stabiles hic figere plantas? Quid genus, aut probitas? Quid opes? Quid forma? Quid etas? Quidve decens cultus? Quid gloria nominis ingens? Omnia contigerant; manus abstulit omnia mortis. (Bue. carm. 11.8 3 - 8 7 ) ... Say, w ho will now dare to cherish Anything m ortal nor hope in this world to leave anything lasting? Virtue or birth or riches or beauty or youth - naught avails us N ay, nor an honored career nor a name far renowned for its glory. All o f these things were hers, and none from death’s hand could save her. Fulgida’s poem thus offers a prime example o f Petrarch’s adoption o f the Stoic view o f consolation. A t the same time, Fulgida’s voice combines the Stoic empha­ sis on patience with the Christian belief that one should renounce earthly attach­ m ents and direct one’s attention to the world to come, dem onstrating that Petrarch clearly sees these two positions as compatible. W hen w e turn to B occaccio’s eclogue o f consolation, the concrete and deeply personal nature o f his poem immediately becomes apparent. As opposed to P etrarch’s m ore abstract and philosophical engagem ent w ith the death o f Laura in his Latin eclogue, Boccaccio stages a dramatic and highly emotional exchange betw een himself, dubbed Silvius, and his deceased young daughter, Violante, w ho is nam ed O lym pia in the eclogue. Appearing before her father in a vision, O lym pia states that she came from heaven to rem ove his tears (“H ue 28 28. Translation modified.

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veni lacrimas demptura dolentes/’ B u c c . c a r m . 14.48). She offers him consolation for her own premature death, as well as for the deaths of several o f his other chil­ dren. Such a concrete encounter between the poet and a deceased loved one who descends from heaven obviously brings to mind Dante’s encounter with Beatrice in the C o m m e d i a . It is not surprising, then, that over the course o f the poem Boccaccio employs lines from the P u r g a t o r i o in his depiction of his daugh­ ter. For example, when Olympia describes her encounter with Boccaccio’s father in heaven, she explains that he welcomed her with the hymn “D e Libano ... sponsa veni” (“ Come, bride of Lebanon,” B u c c . c a r m . 14 .235), the same line used by Dante in the depiction o f Beatrice’s arrival in P u r g a t o r i o 3 0 .11. This shift from a highly abstract engagement with the death of a loved one to a personal imaginary encounter with the deceased is only one aspect o f Boccac­ cio’s Dantean challenge to Petrarch in the eclogue. While Boccaccio, like Petrarch, writes the O l y m p i a in Latin, clearly imitating the Virgilian bucolic style, he also uses the eclogue to highlight the limitations of classical poetry - limitations that hinder its ability to offer consolation for the death of a dear one. Specifically, Boc­ caccio’s character, Silvius, finds the depictions of heaven to be lacking in classical consolation. When Olympia states that she is about to return to “Elysium” ( B u c c . c a r m . 14 .158 ), Silvius recalls that "Minciades” ( B u c c . c a r m . 14.160) - i.e., Virgil used to sing about that place. Olympia, in response, exclaims that Virgil was only partially able to capture its essence (“ Senserat ille quidem vi mentis grandia quedam, / ac in parte loci faciem,” 14 .16 2 -16 3 ). Silvius then urges his daughter to complete what was missing from Virgil’s depiction of Elysium, explicitly stating that he hopes that such a depiction will provide him solace: “Que non Minciades vidit seu sponte reliquit / da nobis. Audire fuit persepe laborum / utile solamen: veniet mens forte videndi.” (“Do tell me / the things the Mincian poet did not see / or left unsung on purpose. Listening / has often been a useful comforter / of troubles; maybe I will gain desire to see the place,” B u c c . c a r m . 14 .16 7 -16 9 .) It is no doubt significant that the figure o f Boccaccio is presented in the poem as a champion of the classical Virgil, as Petrarch is, but he also comes to gradually real­ ize the shortcomings of Virgil and is filled with a desire to learn more about the Christian heaven. The fact that Boccaccio chose to call himself “Silvius” - a name which Petrarch had earlier used in his own bucolic poetry - makes Boccaccio/Silvius’s recognition of the limitations o f classical poetry within the poem all the more revealing, underscoring his direct challenge to Petrarch’s classicism.29 29. The significance o f Boccaccio’s choice o f the name “Silvius” is also discussed by Chiecchi in La parola del dolore, 3 1 5 - 3 1 7 . Chiecchi, however, does not mention the gradual recognition reached by Boccaccio’s Silvius o f the limitations o f Virgil and, by extension, of classical poetry in general.

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In response to Silvius’s request, Olympia embarks upon a lengthy description o f heaven and her own blissful existence there (Bucc. carm. 1 4 .1 7 0 - 2 7 1 ) - an account which is strongly inspired by D ante’s depiction o f the earthly paradise in the closing cantos o f the Purgatorio.30 Given that the aim o f Olympia’s lines is to fill in what is missing from Virgil’s poetry, it is fitting that her speech alludes to the sections in the Purgatorio in which Virgil disappears and his limitations as a spiritual guide are most accentuated. Olym pia’s lengthy depiction o f the bliss o f heaven in these lines complements her earlier use o f highly Virgilian verses to describe the essential tenets o f Christian doctrine. In this earlier part o f the eclogue, she repeats the line “Vivimus eternum meritis et numine C odri” ( “We live eternal life b y C odrus’ merits,” Bucc. carm. 14 .9 1) at the beginning o f four consecutive stanzas and then again at the end o f the fourth. This refrain, as Janet Smarr has pointed out, draws upon Virgil’s Eclogue 8, and is used to describe the birth and death o f Codrus - i.e., of Christ - the salvation o f mankind, the entrance into hell, and the Last Judgm ent.31 W hat is m issing from Virgil’s poetry, Boccaccio therefore asserts in a highly Dantean manner, is Christian doctrine and depictions o f the blissful state o f the souls in heaven. These are all elements that Dante incorporated into his poema sacro and Petrarch considered unbecoming o f a truly classicized poetic practice. Whereas Petrarch’s Galatea remains loyal to classical style and content - even the otherworldly stance o f Fulgida is delivered without specific Christian terms - B occaccio’s Olympia employs the Virgilian bucolic style to assert the limits o f classical poetry and the need to incorporate into it a Christian vision o f the afterlife.32 This poetic departure carries deep implications for the kind o f consolation offered b y the two eclogues: whereas Petrarch strongly adheres to classical style and consolatory positions - turning from the elegiac N iobe to the Stoic and oth­ erworldly Fulgida - Boccaccio asserts that poetry must incorporate Christian doctrine and a comforting, Dante-like, description o f the blissful state o f the souls in heaven in order to furnish true consolation for the death o f a loved one. This preference for tangible descriptions o f heaven can be seen in Boccaccio’s replace­ m ent o f Petrarch’s abstract and philosophical tone with a deeply personal and lyrical description o f his encounter with his departed daughter. Furthermore, ' 30. See Chiecchi, L a parola del dolore, 3 2 3 - 3 3 1 , and Sm arr’s notes in Boccaccio, Eclogues, trans. Smarr, 2 5 3-2 5 4 . 3 1 . Boccaccio, Eclogues, trans. Smarr, 253. 32. On Boccaccio’s transformation o f pastoral conventions in Olympia and novel mix­ ture ofvarious poetic influences, see Jonathan Combs-Schilling, “Pastoral at the Boundaries: T he Hybridization o f Genre in the Fourteenth-Century Italian Eclogue Revival,” PhD diss. (University o f California, Berkeley, 2 0 12 ), 103 - 1 1 7 .

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while Petrarch ends his eclogue o f grief on a triumphant and resolute note,33 Boc­ caccio’s concludes with Silvius’s tearful farewell to his departed daughter, declar­ ing, not unlike Petrarch’s N iobe at the beginning o f the Galatea, “In mortem lacrimis ibo ducamque senectam” (“In tears I’ll die and live out my old age,” Buco, carni. 14 .2 8 3). While offering a D antean alternative to Petrarch’s classicized poetic consolatory practice, Boccaccio also shows - in contrast to both Petrarch’s Galatea and Dante’s Commedia - that sorrow and tears for one’s worldly losses can never be fully overcome.

The "De casibus” and the Consolation o f Heroism Alongside the Dantean challenge to Petrarch’s approach to consolation for the death o f a loved one in Olympia, Boccaccio’s later works also introduce a strong this-worldly and active alternative to Petrarch’s Stoic position on fortune and suffering. This challenge is based on Boccaccio’s continuing adherence to the heroic consolatory notion that was so central to his early works - especially the Filocolo and the Decameron - namely, that one ought to directly confront fortune and actively pursue one’s noble desires. This continuity comes with one impor­ tant distinction: in his later works this call is not associated anymore with love, but rather with the achievement o f other goals - primarily glory. T h e later w ork in which this ideal o f active heroism is m ost explicitly expressed is the De casibus virorum illustrium ( The Falls o f Illustrious M en), which Boccaccio composed in Latin sometime in the mid- to late 13 sos and then prob­ ably revised and completed toward the end o f his life.34 This massive historical compendium consists o f short biographies that recount the tragic fates o f famous men and wom en throughout history and is interspersed with direct moralistic speeches by the author, in which he warns the reader about the dangers o f riches, women, credulity, and so on. In his introductory statements, Boccaccio declares that through his depictions o f the downfalls o f illustrious figures, he intends to offer “counsel” to princes, teaching them to realize the limits o f their pow er and thus to avoid calamity: “Dum segnes fluxosque principes et D ei iudicio quassatos in solum reges viderint, D ei potentiam, fragilitatem suam, et Fortune lubricum 33. A t the end o f the G a la te a , the poem returns to Niobe, who, rather than lamenting her loss as at the beginning, now declares her unwavering dedication to the m em ory o f Galatea. She states that Galatea would serve for her - and all readers - as a perfect and eter­ nal model of virtue (B u e. carni. 1 1 . 96 ). 34. Vittorio Zaccaria, “Le due redazioni del D e casibus,” S tu d i su l B o cca ccio 10 ( 1 9 7 7 1978): 1-2 6 .

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noscant, et letis m odum ponere discant, et aliorum periculo sue possint utilitati consulere.” (“W hen our princes see these rulers, old and spent, prostrated b y the judgment o f God, they will recognize G o d ’s power, the shiftiness o f Fortune, and their own insecurity. T h ey will learn the bounds o f their merry-making, and by the m isfortunes o f others, they can take counsel for their own profit,” 1. Proemio. 8. ) 3S Sim one M archesi has cogently described the tragedies o f the D e casibus as a reenactment o f the m edieval conception o f the “wheel o f fortune.” T h e stories depict over and over again the “irresistible ascent to pow er” o f a protagonist, followed b y his or her inevitable downfall.36 T heir undoing is caused b y a cer­ tain “tragic” flaw about which Boccaccio persistently warns his readers - m ost often it is either excessive ambition or “ sloth-induced excess o f carnal satisfac­ tion.” 37 W hile this description is no doubt true for most o f the narratives in the De casibus, at certain points in the w ork Boccaccio also breaks this m old; instead o f warnings and negative examples, he provides positive models o f how to cope w ith the blow s o f fortune - thereby connecting us to the theme o f consolation for hardship. T h e m ost significant example is the portrayal o f the fall o f Alcibiades the Athenian in b ook 3. Relying on the accounts o f M arcus Justinus and Valerius M aximus,38 Boccaccio narrates how Alcibiades rises to power in his native Athens through m ilitary valor and eloquence. Follow ing a period o f success, he suffers various losses, w hich change the Athenians’ attitude toward him. A ngry at his fellow-citizens, Alcibiades goes into voluntary exile and joins Athens’ foe, Sparta, using his m any strengths to becom e an admired general there instead. Y e t in Sparta, invidia intervenes and turns the leaders of the city against him, forcing A lcibiades to run aw ay and enter exile once again ( 3 .1 2 .9 - 1 2 ) . H e returns to Athens and manages to astutely win back his position in the city, yet then - “ve­ teri nimium fortune confidens” (“with too much confidence in Fortune,” 3.12 .2 3) - he leads the Athenian arm y into A sia and loses alm ost his entire fleet. T h e

3 5 . See G io v an n i B o cca ccio , “ D e casib u s viro ru m illustrium ,” ed. P ier G io rg io R ic ci and V itto rio Z a cca ria , in T u tte le o p ere, ed. B ra n ca, 9: 1 - 1 1 5 2 ; T h e F a te s o f Illu s trio u s M e n , trans. L o u is B re w e r H a ll ( N e w Y o rk , 19 65).

36. Sim one M archesi, “Boccaccio on Fortune (De casib us v iro ru m illu s tr iu m ) ,” in B o c ­ caccio : A C r it ic a i G u id e , ed. Kirkham et al., 2 4 5 -2 5 4 , at 247-249 .

37. M archesi, “ B o c c a c c io o n Fortune,” 249. 38. M arcus Junianus Justinus, E p it o m a H is t o r ia r u m P h ilip p ic a r u m P o m p e i T r o g i, ed. Otto Seel (Leipzig, 1 9 3 5 ) , esp. 4 .3 -5 and 5 .1 - 8 ; Valerius Maximus, M e m o r a b le D o in g s a n d S a y in g s , ed. and trans. D .R. Shackleton Bailey, 2 vols. (Cam bridge, M A , 2000), especially 3 .i.e x t.i.

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defeat changes the minds o f the Athenians toward him once more, and Alcibiades is exiled one last time and ultimately killed. Reflecting on the moral of the story, Boccaccio begins with the view o f those who say that Alcibiades brought his misfortunes upon himself, as he rose too high and trusted too much in the good will o f fortune (3 .13 .1) . This moral would indeed fit the general pattern o f the De casibus. However, immediately afterwards, Boccaccio breaks into a passionate defense o f Alcibiades. Clearly parting from his sources’ ambivalent view of Alcibiades,394 0Boccaccio declares: “Divino qui­ dem munere nobis animus insitus est, cui ignea vis et origo celestis et glorie inex­ plebilis est cupido. Hic, generosus ubi sit, non ignavia attritus corporea, parvo pectoris carcere claudi nec detineri potest: exilit, et magnitudine sua orbem ter­ rarum complectitur.” (“ Our soul is implanted with a divine gift comprising a fiery strength, a divine beginning, and an insatiable desire for glory. When the soul is a great one, not weakened b y bodily sloth, it cannot be restrained in the little prison o f the breast. It goes out, and its magnitude fills the entire world,” 3 .13 .2 3.) Lofty souls, Boccaccio declares, cannot confine themselves to the limits o f the body, but must assert their greatness and seek glory. Considering Alcibiades as a model o f such greatness, Boccaccio specifically praises his confrontation with fortune and unwillingness to submit to its blows: “ Que etsi non stimulis assiduis inpulissent hominem sub Fortune pedibus strenuo iuveni ocio marcendum non erat. Nem o quidem, nisi torpens hebesque, preeliget desidia in campestribus solvi, quam assidua etiam extuantis pelagi fluctuum inquietatione agitari.” (“Even if these things had not impelled the man with continuous incentives, this valor­ ous youth would not have languished in sloth under the feet o f fortune. N o one, unless he were torpid and dull, would prefer to live in idleness and calm in pref­ erence to fighting the continual tempest o f the ocean waves,” 3.13.7.)^ ° When crushed b y fortune, Boccaccio asserts, one should not give in to inaction and sloth (“o d o ”), but rather confront its turbulent waves directly. It is significant that immediately after this statement, Boccaccio backs up his support for heroic action with the example of Ulysses. Contrasting the figure of Ulysses with that o f “slothful Aegisthus” (“ ocioso Egysto,” 3.13.9 ), Boccaccio declares that while we condemn the latter’s “libidinosam desidiam” (“libidinous inactivity” ), we admire and praise U lysses’s “ errores” ( “wanderings,” 3 .13 .9 ). 39. Valerius M axim us, for example, writes, “Sed uiderint Athenae utrum Alcibiadem lamententur an glorientur, quoniam adhuc inter execrationem hominis et admirationem dubio mentis iudicio fluctuatur.” (“L et Athens decide whether to lament Alcibiades or to glory in him, since hitherto the mind fluctuates in doubtful judgement between execration o f the man and admiration,” 3.1 .ext. 1. ) 40. Translation modified.

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This reference to Ulysses, in the context o f a discussion o f active heroism, recalls Boccaccio’s allusion to Dante’s Ulysses in Florio’s seminal speech in the Filocolo (3-67 .12 ). As in this earlier epic, U lysses’s unwavering pursuit ofvirtue and glory - brought about through his “w anderings” - sheds the problematic and trans­ gressive coloring with which Dante painted it in the Inferno and emerges as an ideal to be admired and imitated. Rather than a negative exemplum o f excessive ambition or a case o f overly trusting in fortune, Alcibiades is presented as a positive model o f a hero who con­ fronts his fate head on. Sim ilar to Florio in the Filocolo and the nurse in Decameron 2.6, the example o f Alcibiades suggests that the ideal response to the blows o f fortune is to avoid lethargy and pursue the objects o f one’s desire, boldly and cleverly. In Alcibiades’s case, his goals consist primarily o f glory and renown. In the end, Boccaccio is not even sure whether the story is a tragedy at all, given that Alcibiades “usque in nostrum evum eximio fulgore nomen deduxit suum” (“brought an extraordinary brilliance to his name that has lasted until our time,” 3 .13 .10 ) .41 B occaccio’s praise o f active heroism in the De casibus is not only reserved for military prowess but is also heaped on those who undertake literary heroics. Im m ediately after his defense o f Alcibiades, Boccaccio turns to a discussion o f poetry. H ere he asserts that the type o f “ o d a” (“leisure” ) poets seek should not be confused with the “ ocium” (“sloth,” 3.14 .2) he had just condemned. Rather, he explains, people have varied dispositions, and whereas Alcibiades’s talent was fighting, Boccaccio’s is writing. Both goals are worthy o f praise and bring about worthy glory, as is evident from the ancient custom to give the crown o f laurel to both generals and poets (3 .14 .14 ). Furthermore, although the poet’s task requires leisure and solitude, it is in effect no less strenuous or difficult than war, as it demands great diligence and perseverance. Boccaccio describes his poetic task with the highly Petrarchan metaphor o f mountain climbing, when he expresses doubt over whether he has enough pow er to complete the climb: “Ego quidem vires tam longiquo cursui non satis futuras arbitror, cum prerupti saltus plurimi et vertices inaccessibiles fere intersint” ( “I think that I do not have sufficient strength for so long a climb when along the way m any passes and cliffs almost insurmountable intervene,” 3 .1 4 .1 1 ). The challenge that is involved in literary composition becomes apparent in book 8 o f the work, in which we encounter the figure o f Petrarch himself. A t the 4 1. F o r Boccaccio’s idealization o f A lcibiades’s striving and unequivocal praise o f Ulysses in this section of the D e casibus, see also Tobias Foster Gittes, B o cca ccio 's N a k e d M u se : E r o s , C u ltu re, a n d t h e M y th o p o e ic Im a g in a tio n (Toronto, 2008), 52-56 .

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beginning o f book 8, the author-narrator laments his weariness with the work he is writing and contemplates giving up his arduous task. As he lies down desper­ ate on his couch, he suddenly sees a vision o f a man wearing a crown o f laurel, clearly “summa reverentia dignum” (“w orthy o f the highest respect,” 8 .1.5) 41 Boccaccio soon realizes that the man is none other than his “ optimum venerandumque preceptorem” (“great and venerable teacher,” 8.1.6), Francis Petrarch, who begins to reproach him for his sloth. As in their letters, the character o f Petrarch takes the role o f the wise consoler who comes to aid and goads the belea­ guered Boccaccio. The words o f the specter o f Petrarch strongly recall Boccaccio’s earlier defense o f Alcibiades; the teacher reminds the author-narrator that the desire for glory is divine in origin and should be pursued with diligence and continuous work, regardless o f the difficulties: “Ergo agendum est, laborandum est et totis urgendum viribus ingenium, ut a vulgari segregemur grege; ut, tanquam prete­ riti labore suo profuere nobis, sic et nos nostro valeamus posteris, ut inter perem­ nia nostrum scribatur nomen ab eis, ut famam consequamur eternam.” (“There­ fore, he must act, he must work, and he must urge his skill on with all his strength, so that he will be separated from the common herd, and just as those who came before us were o f use to us, so will we be of advantage to those who come after. Then our name will be written among the immortals; then we will have eternal fame,” 8 .1.26.)4 243 The figure of Petrarch even tells Boccaccio that it might be God him self who ordains such great undertakings, and hence he should not give in to sloth and refuse his task: “ Quid ocio tuo consris subtrahere quod forsan Deus alteri labore tuo attribuere velit?” (“W hy do you attempt b y sloth to take away what perhaps God, b y your work, wishes to offer to others?” 8 .1.19 ). A t the end o f Petrarch’s speech, the author-narrator is ready to pick up his pen again, stat­ ing that what convinced him is not only his guide’s words but also his personal example, nam ely his unwavering and strenuous commitment to his literary undertakings: “Ego vero memor eo neminem magis tempus exercitio redemisse” (“Truly I remember no one who more redeemed his time on earth with contin­ ual exertion,” 8.1.28). Boccaccio’s phantasm o f Petrarch thereby emerges as a model o f heroic action and diligence, not unlike Alcibiades and Ulysses. Boccaccio’s praise o f self-assertion and active heroism in the examples o f Alcibiades, Ulysses, Petrarch, and even him self amounts to a significant departure from Petrarch’s actual writings on consolation and the ways to cope with the blows o f fortune. In Petrarch’s own engagement with the vicissitudes o f fortune, 42. Translation modified. 43. Translation modified.

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especially in the latter part o f his career from the late 134 0 s onwards, his main concern is training the reader to accept fortune’s trials and tribulations with equa­ nim ity and patience. T his is a task that requires, in Petrarch’s view, a certain dis­ engagem ent from w orldly attachments, as w e have already seen in his letters to Boccaccio, his translation o f Boccaccio’ s G riselda story, and the positions o f Fulgida in the eclogue Galatea and Augustinus in the Secretum.44 In line w ith his Stoic bent, Petrarch’s later works also broadcast his ambivalence about the pur­ suit o f glory, as he considers it a detrim ent to the attainment o f both Stoic virtue and eternal salvation.45 There is no doubt about Petrarch’s ongoing attachment to the pursuit o f w orld ly glory - as Franciscus’s rejection o f Augustinus’s adm o­ nitions at the end o f the Secretum and the very name o f his Letter to Posterity indi­ cate. Still, his w orks repeatedly and explicitly critique this longing, a stance w hich is entirely absent from Boccaccio’s parallel engagements with the issue. D epart­ ing from this ascetic element in Petrarch’s writings, Boccaccio emphasizes in the De casibus - just as in his earlier works, the Filocolo and the Decameron - the value o f confronting fortune head-on and doing everything in one’s pow er to obtain noble and even divinely sanctioned earthly desires, such as glory. 44. T h is task o f cultivating steadfast equanim ity in the face o f fortune is also the one dom inating the entire D e re m e d iis u triu sq u e fo r t u n e (R e m e d ie s f o r F o r tu n e F a i r a n d F o u l) - a w ork Petrarch wrote just around the same time as the De casib us (ca. 1 3 5 4 - 1 3 do). A s Petrarch describes the aim o f his bo ok in the preface he addresses to Azzo da Correggio: “ Q uin mali om nis et nocentis boni atque utriusque fortune remedium breve sed am ica confectum manu, quasi duplicis m orbi velut non inefficax antidotum, in exigua pixide om nibus locis atque tem ­ poribus ad m anum , ut aiunt, et in prom ptu habeas. N am , ut dixi, utraque fortune facies metuenda, veruntamen utraque toleranda est.” ( “N o w yo u h ave a d m a n u m - within easy reach - as they say, and before your eyes in all places and at all times, a quick rem edy for every trou­ ble or hurtful good, and for either Fortune, com pounded b y a helpful hand: a potent antidote against a double disease, as it were, packed in a little box. For, as I have said, the faces o f both Fortunes are to be feared, but nonetheless, both have to be endured,” 1 .1 1 . 1 2 5 .) See Petrarch, L e s re m è d e s a u x d e u x fo r t u n e s ( D e re m e d iis u triu s q u e fo r t u n a e ) , ed. Christophe Carraud, 2 vols.

(G renoble, 2 0 0 2 ); P e t r a r c h ’s R e m e d ie s f o r F o r t u n e F a i r a n d F o u l, trans. C onrad H. Rawski, 5 vols. (Bloom ington, IN , 19 9 1) . 45. W e have already seen an example o f this am bivalence toward glory in the words o f Fulgida in the eclogue G a la t e a (B u c c . c a rm . 1 1.8 3 - 8 7 ) , and similar attacks appear in the speech o f Scipio’s father in b o ok 2 o f the A fr ic a , in A ugustinus’s attack o f w orldly glory in the closing section o f b o ok 3 o f the S e c re tu m , and in parts o f the D e re m e d iis . In the dialogue “D e spe fame post obitum ” (“ O n H ope for Fam e after D eath” ) in the D e re m e d iis , the figure o f Reason tells H op e: “ Fere enim plus in spe sunt hum ana om nia quam in re. M ittite igitur spes inanes et vana desideria contem ptisque terrestribus iam tandem ” (“M ost human affairs consist o f hope rather than reality. D ism iss you r inane hopes and idle wishes, despise earthly th in gs!” D e re m e d iis 1 .1 1 7 .4 4 - 4 5 ) . O n Petrarch’s ambivalent attitude to glory, see also Enrico Fenzi, S a g g i P e tr a r c h e s c h i (Florence, 2003), 3 4 5 - 3 4 9 '

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In his analysis o f the De casibus, Vittorio Zaccaria has described Boccaccio’s view o f the relationship between virtue and fortune as “medieval/’ given that it is rooted in “un ordine della creazione e di un’armonia universale” and is lacking the individ­ ualistic and agonistic elements that will characterize later Renaissance humanists, such as Machiavelli.46 Yet we can see that it is precisely in these exceptions to die tragic stories - in his portrayal o f figures such as Alcibiades, Ulysses, Petrarch, and himself in the De casibus - that Boccaccio anticipates the type of agonistic humanism that will characterize later authors such as Alberti and Machiavelli.47 Zaccaria, more­ over, attributes Boccaccio’s depiction of Alcibiades, and the ideal o f action it repre­ sents, to “la lezione del Petrarca.”48 Yet this ideal, as we have seen, was on Boccaccio’s mind as early as the Filocolo. And while Boccaccio m ay have found in Petrarch’s titanic literary undertaking an example of heroism comparable to Ulysses or Alcibi­ ades, the De casibus deviates, in significant ways, horn the detached, Stoic view that governs much o f Petrarch’s own writings. Boccaccio, not Petrarch, offers future gen­ erations of humanists a heroic model for confronting the blows o f fortune.49

Compassion and Consolation Between Boccaccio and Petrarch Boccaccio’s departure from Petrarch’s Stoic vision o f consolation is also evident in the w ay he honors mutual expressions o f vulnerability and compassion between friends as a p a r t o f the consolatory process. In his earlier fictions, as w e saw in pre46. See Zaccaria’s in tro d u z io n e to the “D e casibus virorum illustrium,” in T u tte le o pere, ed. Branca, 9: xxxiv. 47. Zaccaria also mentions the significance o f Boccaccio’s defense o f Alcibiades, declar­ ing that it displays a “spirito um anistico.” See ibid., 9: xxx. Yet Zaccaria concludes that B oc­ caccio is divided over the figure o f Alcibiades and that his depiction ultim ately follows the general pattern o f the D e c a s ib u s (xxxi). Furtherm ore, Zaccaria does not m ention the rela­ tionship between the depiction o f Alcibiades and Boccaccio’s references to literary heroics later in the work, nor the w ay in which the discussion o f Alcibiades follows B occaccio’s ear­ lier F ilo c o lo and D e c a m e ro n . 48. Zaccaria, B o c c a cc io n a rra to re , sto rico, m o ra lis ta , e m ito g ra fo (Florence, 2 0 0 1), 162. 49. Francesco Bruni has argued that in his unproblematic embrace o f glory in his later writ­ ings, Boccaccio completely missed the lesson o f his master Petrarch: “In realtà... Boccaccio tra­ duce le indicazioni del suo grande amico in m odi che denotano una ricezione lontanissima da una reale comprensione del pensiero petrarchesco... L ’adesione aproblematica all’idea della glo­ ria diverge dalle indicazioni del suo maestro.” Bruni, “Historia Calamitatum, Secretum, Corbaccio: T re posizioni su luxuria (amor) e superbia (gloria),” in B occaccio in Europe: Proceedings o f the Boc­ caccio Conference, Louvain, December 19 7 s, ed. Gilbert T ou rn oy and J o s e f Ijsewijn (Louvain, 19 7 7), 2.3-52, at 50. Yet it appears much more likely that rather than misunderstanding his mas­ ter, Boccaccio was aware o f the difference and purposely deviated from Petrarch’s ascetic position.

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vious chapters, Boccaccio often introduces the Aristotelian and Thom istic notion that a friend’s expression o f sympathy and compassion is in itself comforting in times o f need. Aquinas expresses this notion most explicitly in the passage from the Summa theologiae quoted also in chapter 1 o f this study, where he explains: R espondeo dicendum quod naturaliter amicus condolens in tristitiis, est consolativus. C uius duplicem rationem tangit philosophus in IX Ethic. Q uarum prim a est quia, cum ad tristitiam pertineat aggravare, habet rationem cuiusdam oneris, a quo aliquis aggravatus alleviari conatur. Cum ergo aliquis videt de sua tristitia alios contristatos, fit ei quasi quaedam imagi­ natio quod illud onus alii cum ipso ferant, quasi conantes ad ipsum ab onere alleviandum et ideo levius fert tristitiae onus, sicut etiam in portandis oneri­ bus corporalibus contingit. Secunda ratio, et melior, est quia per hoc quod amici contristantur ei, percipit se ab eis amari; quod est delectabile, ut supra dictum est. Unde, cum omnis delectatio mitiget tristitiam, sicut supra dictum est, sequitur quod amicus condolens tristitiam mitiget. W hen one is in pain, it is natural that the sympathy o f a friend should afford consolation: w h ereo f the Philosopher indicates a twofold reason (N icomachean Ethics 9 .1 1 ) . T h e first is because, since sorrow has a depressing effect, it is like a w eight w hereof w e strive to unburden ourselves: so that w hen a m an sees others saddened b y his own sorrow, it seems as though oth­ ers were bearing the burden with him, striving, as it were, to lessen its weight; w herefore the load o f sorrow becom es lighter for him: something like what occurs in the carrying o f bodily burdens. The second and better reason is because w hen a m an’s friends condole with him, he sees that he is loved by them, and this affords him pleasure, as stated above ( 1 - 2 .3 2 .5 ) . C o n se­ quently, since every pleasure assuages sorrow, as stated above (article 1), it follows that sorrow is mitigated by a sympathizing friend.50 T h e sym pathy o f a friend, according to Aquinas, furnishes consolation b y shar­ ing in the burden o f the other’s pain and m aking him or her feel that they are loved. In his own letters o f consolation, Petrarch appears critical o f this notion, as he often criticizes his friends for “w eak” and mournful reactions to the blows o f fortune; their lam entations are likely meant, at least in part, to elicit com ­ 50.

T hom as Aquinas, S u m m a th e o lo g ia e 1-2 .3 8 .3 resp. See Thom as Aquinas, S u m m a

th e o lo g ia e , in O p e ra o m n ia , ed. Roberto Busa (Stuttgart, 1980), 2 :18 4 - 9 4 5 ; T h e “S u m m a th e­ o lo g ic a " o f S t T h o m a s A q u in a s , trans. Fathers o f the English Dominican Province, rev. ed. (Lon­

don; N e w Y o rk , 1 9 2 2 - 19 3 7 ) .

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passion and therefore bring about som e solace to the one suffering. In letter 6.3 o f the Familiares, for example, Petrarch chides his friend and patron G io ­ vanni Colonna for his complaints over his recent ailments in the following Stoic manner: “Una michi tecum lis est, cum ceterarum rerum om nium sit tanta con­ cordia: nimis es querulus, nimis indulges tibi sortem propriam deflere, m ise­ rari res tuas, excusare te ipsum , accusare fortunam ; denique nim is m olliter hum ana toleras, cum sis hom o” (“T h ou gh w e agree fully on alm ost everything, there is one basic disagreem ent betw een us, and that is that yo u are too queru­ lous, too self-indulgent in lam enting yo u r lot, too com plaining about yo u r affairs, excessively involved in excusing y o u rse lf and accusing fortun e, and finally too soft in tolerating the human condition while you are yo u rself a m an,” Familiares 6 .3 .1). Similar reproaches, as we have seen, often emerge in Petrarch’s correspon­ dence with Boccaccio. W hile criticizing Boccaccio for his complaints, Petrarch also makes clear that he him self is not interested in com passion and pity. In the very first letter he addressed to Boccaccio in the Familiares, written shortly after the two m en m et in Florence in 13 5 o, Petrarch describes a riding accident he had on his w ay to Rom e. After elaborating on his physical pain, Petrarch tells Boccac­ cio that the aim o f his account is not to move his reader to share in his anguish but to enable Boccaccio to appreciate - and probably learn from - his steadfast response to injury: “In grabatulo meo iacens scribo, non ut doleas hec nobis accidisse, sed ut gaudeas me et hec equo tulisse animo et multo graviora laturum esse si ingruerint” (“I am writing you from my couch, not to make you grieve that this has happened to me, but to make yo u rejoice that I have patiently borne all these misfortunes and w ould bear m uch more serious ones if they should befall m e,” Familiares 1 1 . 1 . 1 2 ) . 51 Rather than seeking Boccaccio’s compassion, Petrarch invites him to appreciate his steadfast response to pain, dism issing thereby the role o f mutual expressions o f vulnerability and com passion betw een friends.52 5 1. Translation slightly modified. 52. Such m istrust o f com passion has strong roots in the writings o f both C icero and Seneca. C icero defines m is e r ic o r d ia (com passion) in the T u s c u la n a e d is p u ta tio n e s as “ aegri­ tudo ex m iseria alterius iniuria laborantis” ( “ a distress arising from the w retchedness o f a neighbor in undeserved suffering,” T u sc. 4 .8 .18 ). H e considers it to be a dangerous “ animi com m otio” ( “ agitation o f the m ind,” T u s c . 4 .6 .1 1 ) . In the D e d e m e n t ia , Seneca refers to m i­ s e r ic o r d ia in a similar m anner as “v itiu m ... anim orum nimis m iseria paventium ” ( “the w eak­ ness ... o f a m ind that is over-m uch perturbed b y suffering,” 2.6.4; translation m od ified ); Seneca, M o r a l E ssa y s, ed. and trans. Jo h n W. Basore, 3 vols. (C am bridge, M A , 1 9 2 8 - 1 9 3 5 ) . On the genealogy o f the w ord com passion, see M ichael Papio, ‘“ N o n m eno di com passion piena che dilettevole’ : N otes on C om passion in B occaccio,” I t a lia n Q u a r t e r ly 37 (2 0 0 0 ): 1 0 7 - 1 2 5 , at 107.

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Instead, he asserts that the epistolary exchange should concentrate on offering incentives to virtue and self-control.53 B o c c a c c io e ch o e s this P e tra rch an p o sitio n in the Genealogia and E spo­

sizioni w h e n he critiques B o eth iu s fo r seekin g con so lation in elegiac w ritin g and castigates his attem pt to elicit co m p assion from his readers. Y e t in the su m ­ m er o f 1 3 7 2 , around the sam e tim e that B o c ca cc io com p osed his interpretation o f B o e th iu s in the Esposizioni, h e also e xch an g ed letters w ith a y o u n g e r F lo ­ rentine friend and p atro n n am ed M a in a rd o C avalcan ti, to w h o m he ded icated the De casibus .s4 In this exchange, B o c c a c c io offers a p o w erfu l critique o f the Petrarch an v ie w o f th e relationship b e tw e en co m p assion and co n so latio n and reaffirm s the A risto te lia n -T h o m istic p ositio n that w as central to his v e rn a cu ­ lar fictions. In his first letter to C avalcanti, B o cca ccio offers an elaborate and m o v in g portrayal o f his m a n y illnesses at the tim e. Steeping his letter in the co m m o n ele­ giac sign p osts “ H e u m ic h i!” (Epistole 2 1 . 2 ) and “ O m iserum m e !” (Epistole 2 1 . 1 0 ) , B o c ca cc io describes unbearable physical anguish, w h ich even prevents him , as he states, from enjoying the com p an y o f the muses. In his seco n d letter, w ritten a fe w w eeks later, B o ccaccio responds to the letter C avalcanti w ro te to

5 3. One o f Petrarch’s most explicit statements concerning the need to control sorrow and accept misfortune with complete equanimity is provided in Seniles 10.4, a letter o f con­ solation to D onato Albazani, which Petrarch claimed to have written in the very presence o f Boccaccio: “In me unum totus orbis ut corruat, non dicam letum neque immotum sed nec querulum opprim et nec iacentem. Didici querelas ad nil utiles, patientia nichil utilius in his que mutari nequeunt.” ( “W ere the whole world to collapse upon me alone, it will crush me, if not joyful and unmoved, at least uncomplaining and erect. I have learned that complaints are useless, and that there is nothing m ore useful than patience, in what cannot he changed,” Seniles 10 .4 .3 0 - 3 1.) 54. Cavalcanti was a Florentine who m oved to Naples at an early age and rose to dis­ tinction in the city. Boccaccio refers to him as “ regni Sicilie marescallo” (“the marshal o f the Kingdom o f Sicily,” Epistole 2 1) . On B occaccio’s friendship with Cavalcanti, see T od d Boli, “A m ong Boccaccio’s Friends: A Profile o f M ainardo Cavalcanti,” in Reconsidering Boccaccio: Medieval Contexts and Global Intertexts, ed. Olivia Holmes and Dana Stewart (Toronto, 2018 ), 9 8 -10 6 . The second letter to Cavalcanti (Epistole 22) has received much critical attention, yet mainly on account o f Boccaccio’s com plex discussion o f the Decameron within it, with little attention paid to the opening engagement with the themes o f friendship, compassion, and consolation (topics which are o f course pivotal to the Decameron as well). See Renzo Bragantini, “L ’amicizia, la fama, il libro: Sulla seconda epistola a Mainardo Cavalcanti,” in Boc­ caccio 1 3 1 3 - 2 0 1 3 , ed. Francesco Ciabattoni, Elsa Filosa, and Kristina Olson (Ravenna, 2 0 15 ), 1 0 7 - 1 1 5 , and Rhiannon Daniels, “Rethinking the Critical H istory o f the ‘Decam eron’ : B oc­ caccio’s Epistle X X II to M ainardo Cavalcanti,” Modern Language Review 10 6 ( 2 0 1 1 ) : 4 2 3 4 4 7

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him in the meantime and reviews some o f what Cavalcanti had said. Cavalcanti had described how he was “compassione commotus” (“moved by compassion/’ Epistole 22.3) upon reading about Boccaccio’s ailments; he was filled with tears and sighs and felt shame for having such a “femineum” (“ effeminate/’ Epistole 22.4), tearful reaction. In his response, Boccaccio assures Cavalcanti that his reaction was noble, declaring that while bursting into excessive tears and laments is indeed shame­ ful and unbecoming o f a man (“muliebre profecto est et in viro detestabile,” Epistole 22.9), to shed a few tears is a mark of a humane and compassionate heart ("pauculas lacrimulas emisisse humanitatis ac passionem passi cordis est signum,” Epistole 22.9). Boccaccio then criticizes the Stoic-Petrarchan ideal o f virtue, stating that those who are not moved at all b y fortune’s blows are acting “preter naturam” ( “beyond nature” ) and should be considered “ obstinati ferreique non minus quam fortes” (“ obstinate and stone-like no less than strong,” Epistole 2 2.10 ). Such tearful expressions o f compassion, Boccaccio also states, are not only noble and humane, but also remedial. H e writes that when he read about C a­ valcanti’s compassionate response his own eyes became filled with tears and he felt as if his sorrows were being washed away: “Has [tuas lacrimas] demum ego anxietatum m earum lotrices imo pultrices sensi sentioque, nam non tantum superfìcietenus ... verum, dum legerem, ad intrinseca penetrare visum est suave quoddam atque delectabile lenimentum meos titillans sensus, ut sumptus liquor frigidus sitientes” (“I felt, and still feel, that [your tears] have mitigated, or rather extinguished, m y anxieties, since they have touched not only the surface ... rather, as I was reading, it seemed to me that a certain sweet and salutary nour­ ishment penetrated into m y innermost parts, reviving m y senses like fresh water to the thirsty,” Epistole 22.8). Strongly recalling Aquinas’s assertion regarding the consolatory value o f a friend’s expression o f com passion, Boccaccio describes how Cavalcanti’s compassionate tears - even if only relayed in a let­ ter - had the power to alleviate his distress and furnish consolation. While stress­ ing the need to avoid excessive outbursts o f sorrow, Boccaccio also sees conso­ latory value in the expression o f com passion between friends and validates, in the process, the attempt to elicit com passion through elegiac writing. Whereas Petrarch holds that epistolary exchanges between friends should focus on cul­ tivating - and displaying - strong minds, B occaccio’s letters to Cavalcanti offer a striking Aristotelian alternative to Petrarch’s Stoic outlook and display belief in the consolatory value o f admitting vulnerability and showing compassion in epistolary exchanges between friends. This notion will influence later humanists

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such as Salutati, who presents a very similar view o f compassion and consolation in his own letters.55 T he attempt to provide consolation, Boccaccio implicitly asserts in the let­ ter, cannot consist only o f cognitive arguments and admonitions that aim to cul­ tivate patience and cure sorrow; it must also entail gestures and techniques that provide em otional relief and aid. This emphasis on the need to com bine exem ­ plary lessons and diversionary techniques is particularly apparent in Boccaccio's m ost elaborate attem pt to console a friend in need - his Epistola consolatoria a Pino de Rossi. In this letter, as w e shall now see, B occaccio’s departure from Petrarch’s consolatory practices is especially evident, as is the continuity between his early and later view s and techniques o f consolation.

The Polyphony o f Consolation in the “Epistola consolatoria a Pino de Rossi" B occaccio com posed the Epistola consolatoria a Pino de' Rossi in the latter part o f 1 3 6 1 and early 13 6 2 .56 D e ’ Rossi w as part o f a group o f B occaccio’s friends w ho w ere accu sed o f conspiring against the Florentine governm ent o f the time.57 W hile som e w ere executed, others, including de’ Rossi, w ere exiled. B o c ­ caccio h im self w as not arrested, yet his connections with the conspirators led him to go into vo lun tary exile.58 From his exiled residence in C ertaldo, B o c ­ caccio w rote an elaborate consolatory letter in the vernacular to his fellow exiled Florentine friend - a letter w hich w ould becom e popular am ong future hum an­ 55. In his exchange from the year 1400 w ith Francesco Zabarella, who consoled him upon the death o f his son Piero, Salutati stresses the consolatory merits o f expressions o f com ­ passion in a m anner quite similar to Boccaccio : “ [C ju iu s rei tanta vis est, ut sola compassio, licet com patiens nil loquatur nec orationis adhibeat lenimentum, levet et minuat passionem ” (“So great is the pow er o f such a thing, that com passion alone, although the co-sufferer nei­ ther speaks nor administers the liniment o f discourse, m ay lighten and lessen the suffering”). C oluccio Salutati, E p is t o la r io d i C o lu c c io S a lu t a t i, ed. Francesco N ovati (Rom e, 1 8 9 1 - 1 9 1 1 ) , 4: 4 12 . Q uoted in M cClure, S o r r o w a n d C o n s o la tio n , 79 -80. It says m uch about the all-toocom m on exclusion o f Boccaccio from discussions o f humanism that M cC lure’s analysis does not m ention Boccaccio’s impact on Salutati’s statement and general views o f consolation and com passion. 56. O n the date o f com position o f the E p is t o la , see Chiecchi, L a p a r o la d e l d o lo re, 264. 57. O n the co n g iu ra , see Elsa Filosa, “L ’amicizia ai tempi della congiura (Firenze 1 3 6 0 6 1 ) : ‘A confortatore non duole capo,”’ S t u d i s u l B o c ca ccio 42 (2 0 14 ) : 1 9 5 - 2 2 1 . 58. Filosa, “L ’amicizia,” 206.

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ists.59 Although scholars have traditionally viewed Boccaccio’s Epistola conso­ latoria unfavorably and considered it a dull and derivative imitation o f Petrar­ chan Stoic erudition,60 the letter in fact departs in crucial ways from Petrarchan consolatory views and strategies and offers a significant alternative to them - a fact w hich is all the more significant given the Epistola consolatoria’s popularity am ong future humanists. T o assess Boccaccio’s consolatory practice in this letter, we should first con­ sider Petrarch’s own attempts to console those who find themselves in exile. In two relatively early letters, which were written to an exile named Severo Apenninicola (Fam iliares 2 .3 -4 ) - about w hom practically nothing is known Petrarch again returns to Stoic consolatory and therapeutic notions.61 Petrarch opens the first letter without any expression o f sym pathy or com passion for the calam ity o f his addressee; rather, he imm ediately delves into an exploration o f the true nature o f exile. Echoing Boethius’s Lady Philosophy, Petrarch tells his addressee that exile is first and forem ost an internal state. It is not the actual loss o f one’s fatherland that causes grief; instead, his feelings o f pain are an outgrowth o f a loss o f reason and his inability to detach from w orldly things: “ Quid exilium, queso? Ipsa ne rei natura aut intermissio dilectarum personarum, an indignatio potius et impatiens desiderium animi languentis exasperat?’’ (“W hat is exile? Is 59. O n the popularity o f the letter, see Chiecchi, L a p a r o la d e l d o lo re, 26 4 -2 6 5 . A ll quo­ tations o f the E p is t o la c o n so la to ria are from Boccaccio, "Consolatoria a Pino de’ Rossi,” ed. Giuseppe Chiecchi, in T u tte le opere, ed. Branca, 5 .2 :6 15 -6 8 7 (hereafter E p . con.)-, translations are mine. 60. See, for example, H enri Hauvette, B o c c a c e : É t u d e b io g r a p h iq u e et litté r a ir e (Paris, 19 14 ) , 382, and Bruscoli’s comments in Boccaccio, L ’A m eto , L e Lettere, I l C o rb a c c io , ed. Nicola B ruscoli (Bari, 19 4 0), 287. Giuseppe Chiecchi has opposed these unfavorable assessments o f the letter by stressing its autobiographical and concrete dimensions, which prevent it, in his view, from turning into a m ere assemblage o f exempla. Boccaccio, Chiecchi points out, often draws parallels between his own condition and de’ Rossi’s as part o f the consolatory process. See Chiecchi, L a p a r o l a d e l d o lo r e, 2 6 9 -274 . C hiecchi’s analysis, at the sam e time, continues to concentrate prim arily on deciphering the sources on w hich Boccaccio drew in writing the letter. A m ong these sources, he focuses not on ly on Petrarch’s consolatory letters but also on those three o f D ante’s epistles that were copied by Boccaccio in his Z ib a ld o n e la u re n z ia n o as w ell as the C o n v iv io . Chiecchi, L a p a r o l a d e l d o lo r e , 2 7 4 -2 8 4 . Teodolinda Barolini has also stressed the strong experiential and concrete dimensions o f Boccaccio’s consolatory efforts in the letter, pointing to the w ay these features establish a parallel between the E p is t o la co n so la ­ to ria and the earlier D e c a m e ro n . See T eodolinda Barolini, “A Philosophy o f Consolation: T he Place o fth e O ther in Life’ s Transactions,” in B o c c a c c io 1 3 1 3 - 2 0 1 3 , ed. Ciabattoni et al., 8 9 10 5 , esp. 9 2-9 4. 6 1. On the two letters, see also Roberta A ntognini, J/progetto a u to b io g ra fic o d e lle “F a m i ­ lia r e s " d i P e t r a r c a (M ilan, 2008), 129 .

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it the ve ry nature o f the situation, the absence o f a dear one, the indignation, or rather the im patient desire o f a languishing m ind that is irritating?” Familiares 2.-3 -S -)61

In these tw o letters, P etrarch ’s m ain goal as a con soler is to change his addressee’s perspective o f his situation and convince him that he possesses the pow er to avoid suffering. T o that end, Petrarch urges his addressee to judge his situation according to objective rational standards rather than b y the “ tenebras errorum popularium ” (“ shadow s o f popular error,” Familiares 2 .4 .13 ). Such stan­ dards w ill sh ow him that the entire w o rld is one city and that exile should in fact be seen as a m eans o f strengthening on e’s character and proving one’s virtue.6 263 B y internalizing such notions, Severo w ould ultim ately be able to con quer exile and accept calam ity w ith full equanim ity and patience: “T ib i cum exilio pugna est, cuius im petum non feres m odo, sed repelles et conteres, si cupias quodcunque necesse est, si anim o tuo persuaseris unicum adversus aspera clipeum esse patientie” (“Y o u r battle m ust be w ith exile, w hose attack yo u w ill not only b ear but repel and destroy if yo u w ish to achieve w hatever is necessary and i f yo u can p e r­ suade y o u rse lf that the only protection against adversity is patience,” Familiares 2 .4 .3 2 ).04

A s w e turn to B occaccio’s Epistola consolatoria a Pino de Rossi, it is evident that som e o f his attempts to console de’ R ossi share features w ith Petrarch’s Stoic approach. Several tim es in the letter, B occaccio strives to alter his addressee’ s perspective on the calam ity he has suffered and to convince him to b ear it w ith m ore equanim ity. T h u s, near the b eginn ing o f the letter, B o ccaccio urges de’ R ossi to consider his calam ity not as exile, as the “m oltitudine indiscreta” (“ ign o­ rant m ultitude” ) w ould have it,65 but rather as m erely a change o f abode. H e also 62. In b o o k 1 o f B oeth iu s’s Consolatio, L a d y Philosophy states: “ C u m te, inquit, m aes­ tum lacrim antem que uidissem ilico m iserum exsulem que cognoui; sed quam id longinquum esset exsilium , nisi tua prodidisset oratio, nesciebam . Sed tu quam procul a patria non qui­ dem pulsus es sed aberrasti” ( “W hen I saw y o u w eeping in you r g rief I knew at once that y o u w ere w retched ly banished; but h o w rem ote w as that banishm ent I should not have know n if you r speech had not told me. B ut how far from you r hom eland have you strayed! Strayed, not been driven, I say; or if you prefer to be thought o f as driven, then ho w far have you driven y o u rself!” i.p s .2 ) . 63. “ Im o vero non posse extra patriam vivere cui totus hic orbis est patria” (“ H e w ho considers the entire w orld his hom eland cannot live outside it,” Fam iliares 2 .4 .14 ). 64. T ran slation m odified. 65. “E di necessità d’avere gli occhi della m ente rivolti alle vere ragioni e agli esem pli, e non alle false oppinioni della m oltitudine indiscreta” ( “It is necessary to tum the eyes o f the m ind to trae lessons and examples, and not to the false opinions o f the ignorant m ultitude,” Ep. con. § 1 1 ) .

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repeats the ancient Stoic notion, m entioned b y Petrarch, that for the virtuous m an the w hole w orld is one city ( E p . con.

§§ 1 2 - 1 6 ).66 L a te r

in the letter, B o c ­

caccio discusses at length the question o f poverty, telling de’ R ossi that he should not consider the p overty that com es w ith exile evil, but rather see it as a means o f developing one’s virtue and strengthening one’s character ( 5 7 - 9 1 ). Y e t these Stoic-like notions o n ly fo rm a p art o f B o c c a c c io ’s co n so lato ry efforts. In the course o f the letter, B o cca ccio also departs from the Petrarchan position in crucial w ays.6 67 T o begin, w e should note that in contrast to Petrarch’s 6 authoritative and judgm ental outlook in Familiares 2 . 3 - 4 (as w ell as in his let­ ters to B o cca ccio in general), B o ccaccio begins the letter on an em pathetic note and expresses understanding for his friend’s deep anguish: “ O d o che fieram ente e turbato e doluto vi séte. In verità io non me ne maraviglio, p ensando prim iera­ m ente che convenuto vi sia lasciare la propia patria, nella quale nato, allevato e cresciuto vi séte, la quale amavate e amate sopra ogni altra cosa.” ( “ I hear that y o u are greatly disturbed and grieved. In truth I don’t m arvel at that, considering above all that y o u had to leave yo u r fatherland, in w h ich y o u w ere born, n o u r­ ished, and raised, and w hich yo u loved and still love above an y other thing,” Ep.

con. §§8 - 9.) 68 R ather than considering de’ R ossi’s sorrow a w eakness or an indication o f a

shameful attachment to fortune, Boccaccio empathizes with his plight.69 This em pathetic understanding o f his friend’ s anguish is in turn a consistent p art o f 66. A similar notion already appeared, as w e discussed in chapter 1, in the Filocolo, when the giovane consoled the poor knight Fileno: “A ’ virtuosi ogni paese è il loro” (“F or virtuous people every land is hom e,” Filocolo 3.36 .15). 67. Chiecchi points briefly to the discrepancy between Boccaccio’s Epistola consolatoria and Petrarch’s writings on consolation, stating that “Boccaccio non è Petrarca. L a sua penna non è prudente.” Yet he does not elaborate on the exact differences betw een the two authors. See Chiecchi, La parola del dolore, 2 7 2 -2 7 3 . 6 8 . Boccaccio’s words here echo Dante’s self-portrayal o f his exile in the Convivio: “Poi che fu piacere delli cittadini della bellissima e famosissima figlia di Rom a, Fiorenza, di gittarmi fuori del suo dolce seno - nel quale nato e nutrito fui in fino al colmo della vita mia” (“Since it was the pleasure o f the citizens o f the most beautiful and famous daughter o f Rome, Florence, to cast me out o f her sweet bosom - where I was born and bred up to the pinnacle o f m y life,” Convivio 1.3.4 ). See Dante, Convivio, ed. Franca Bram billa Ageno, 2 vols. (F lo­ rence, 19 9 5); Convivio, trans. Richard H. Lansing (N ew York, 1990). 69. Boccaccio’s empathetic attitude becom es further explicit near the letter’s end, when he alludes to the compassion he feels for two other fellow exiles: “A Luca e Andrea ... quella compassione porto che ad infortunio d’amico si dee portare, e se io avessi che offerire in miti­ gazione de’ loro mali, fare’ lo volentieri” (“T o Luca and A n d re a... I feel the compassion that one must have for a friend in distress and would gladly offer them assistance for the mitiga­ tion o f their ills,” Ep. con. § 176 ).

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B occaccio’s broader ideological conflict with Petrarch: as opposed to Petrarch’s Stoic-Boethian assertion that the cure fo r sorrow inheres in detachment from fortune’s vicissitudes, B occaccio refuses to consider such vicissitudes to be insignificant - a position w hich has, as we have seen, strong Aristotelian and Thom istic roots.70 In accordance w ith this Aristotelian outlook, Boccaccio also urges de’ Rossi near the end o f the letter not to lose hope, since no one can decipher the secret counsels o f fortune; its w heel m ay som eday turn around again: “N iuno è sì dis­ creto e perspicace che conoscere possa i segreti consigli della Fortuna; de’ quali quanto colui, che è nel colm o della sua ruota, puote e dee temere, tanto coloro, che nell’infim o sono, deono e possono meritamente sperare” (“There is no one w ho is so discerning and wise that he can know the secret counsels o f Fortune, o f w hich he w ho is on top o f its wheel ought and should be fearful as m uch as those w ho are presently at the bottom should and ought be rightly hopeful,” Ep. con. § 16 5 ). Instead o f calling upon his addressee to detach from fortune and the earthly attachments that depend on it, Boccaccio in fact encourages his addressee to rem ain hopeful and to trust in fortune’s alterations. It is precisely this antiBoethian consolatory notion that the duke, as we have seen, introduces in book 3 o f the Filocolo, and that provides com fort to Beritola’s nurse in Decameron 2.6, “ sperando che, quando che sia, si potrebbe mutar la fortuna” ( “hoping that sooner or later their fortune would change,” Decameron 2.6.29). This call for w orldly hope and trust in fortune’s alterations is accom panied b y B occaccio’s adm onition to de’ Rossi, near the end o f the letter, to lim it his sorrow and tears; this, again, is not because such emotions are an indication o f sham eful attachment to fortune - as Petrarch w ould have it - but rather because they prevent one from finding ways to alter his or her condition: “Ergete con vi­ rile forza l’an im o ... cacciate via il dolore e le lagrime, le quali più tosto tolgono agli afflitti consiglio ch’elle non danno aiuto” ( “Raise your soul with m anly strength ... and chase away sorrow and tears, w hich rather than provide aid remove sound counsel from the afflicted,” Ep. con. § 16 7 ). Ju st as in the portrayal o f Beritola’s nurse in Decameron 2.6, Boccaccio urges de’ Rossi to control grief, trust in the changes o f fortune, and perhaps also find a “ consiglio” that will help him seize 70. A s Aquinas states: “Illi autem qui dicunt, si hom o est virtuosus est felix, etiam si cir­ cumferatur et subdatur magnis infortuniis, nihil rationabile dicunt... et innuit Stoicos, quorum erat ista opinio” (“People who say that a virtuous man is happy even when tossed about and overcom e b y great misfortune talk nonsense ... T he reference o f course is to the Stoic opin­ ion” ). T hom as Aquinas, In decern libros ethicorum Aristotelis ad Nicomachum expositio (here­ after In Eth.) 7 .13 .15 0 7 , ed. Raim ondo M . Spiazzi ( 1949; repr.Turin, 1964); Commentary on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, trans. C.I. Litzinger (19 6 4 ; repr. N otre Dam e, IN , 19 9 3).

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upon this change when it arrives. This advice, and the general attitude toward coping with the blows of fortune it entails, is much closer to Boccaccio’s active and this-worldly model - introduced in the Filocolo and the Decameron and reflected in his portrayal o f Alcibiades in the De casibus - than it is to Petrarch’s emphasis on detachment and disavowal. In the letter to de’ Rossi, Boccaccio con­ tinues to adhere to the this-worldly message o f hope and wise action that char­ acterized his early vernacular fictions. This is not the only departure from Petrarch’s views that we find in the letter to de’ Rossi. Immediately after he endeavors to convince de’ Rossi to regard his exile as only a change of abode, Boccaccio adds: “E se pure vogliamo il vostro non permutazione, ma esilio chiamare, vi dovete ricordare non essere primo né solo; e l’avere nelle miserie compagni suole essere grande alleggieramento di quelle; e il vedere o il ricordarsi delle maggiori avversità in altrui, suole o dimenticanza o alleg­ gieramento recare alle sue.” (“If however we do wish to call your affliction exile rather than a transition, then you need to remember that you are not the first nor the only one to suffer from it. And to have companions in misery often provides great relief from these afflictions. The sight or recollection o f the major adversities o f others will surely allow you to forget or to bear more easily your own,” Ep. con. §29.) If changing his attitude toward his exile would prove too difficult, then, Boc­ caccio suggests, de’ Rossi could at least find some relief in reading about the simi­ lar misfortunes o f others. Just as in the earlier fictions we have discussed in this book (apart from the Corbaccio), Boccaccio continues to acknowledge that there are instances in which overcoming one’s misfortunes and conquering one’s sorrow is simply impossible. As a result, he asserts that the administration o f consolation should consist not only of arguments and admonitions that aim to uproot grief, but also o f techniques that provide some emotional relief. This invitation to find solace in reading about the misfortunes o f others, we should remember, was often criticized in Boccaccio’s earlier fictions for being unhelpful or even cruel. In the letter to de’ Rossi, however, Boccaccio employs this strategy with no reservations, returning to it no less than three times over the course o f the letter (see also Ep. con. § § 129 and 14 3). The persistent use o f this consolatory strategy constitutes one o f the central discrepancies between Boc­ caccio’s practice as a consoler and Petrarch’s, for Petrarch does not resort to this route in his consolatory letters. Loyal to Cicero’s admonition concerning the use o f exempla o f misfortunes, found in book 3 o f the Tusculanae disputationes,71

7 1. “N e illa quidem firmissima consolatio est, quamquam et usitata est et saepe prodest: ‘non tibi hoc soli.’ Prodest haec quidem, ut dixi, sed nec semper nec om nibus... U t enim tulerit quisque eorum qui sapienter tulerunt, non quo quisque incommodo adfectus sit, praedican-

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Petrarch employs ancient exempla in his letters only as models o f steadfast con­ frontation with the vicissitudes o f fortune.72 Boccaccio, b y contrast, uses such exempla both as didactic models and as companions in suffering with whom de’ Rossi m ay empathize and w eep (Ep. con. § § 3 1- 3 3 ) - Even Petrarch’s ultimate hero, Scipio, is mentioned b y Boccaccio in the latter sense; Boccaccio invites de’ Rossi to find com fort in the fact that the great Scipio also suffered from the envy and ingratitude o fhis fellow citizens (Ep. con. § § 12 5 - 12 9 ) . In the closing lines o f the letter, Boccaccio introduces yet another w ay in which his addressee m ay gain some solace from reading. Relying once again on strategies em ployed in his earlier works, Boccaccio says that if nothing else in his letter proves useful, he at least hopes that the act o f reading itself will provide de’ Rossi with diversion from his afflictions (“Se altro adoperare non potrà la mia scrittura, almeno questo farà: che, quanto tempo in leggerla metterete, tanto a’ vostri sospiri ne torrò,” Ep. con. § 17 5 ). Boccaccio, in this respect, offers de’ Rossi the same type o f consolatory diversion that he promised his female audience in the opening o f the Decameron. The simple pleasure o f reading, the flight into the text, thus em erges as another aspect o f Boccaccio’s consolatory efforts in the let­ ter, show ing yet again how Boccaccio’s administration o f consolation consists not only o f cognitive arguments and examples, but also o f sheer emotional relief. In sum, as opposed to Petrarch’s largely authoritarian and m onolithic con­ solatory m ode in his letters, Boccaccio’s strategies in the Epistola consolatoria a Pino d e 'Rossi are empathetic, polyphonic, and strongly this-worldly. Boccaccio, as the Epistola consolatoria makes clear, is unwilling to submit his consolatory efforts to one overarching pathw ay in the w ay that Petrarch does, and he acknowledges that at times fully uprooting pain is simply unfeasible. A s a result,

dum est.” ( “N o t even the comforting effect o f the phrase ‘Y o u are not the only one/ in spite o f its constant use and frequent benefit, is perfectly reliable. It is beneficial, as I have said, but not always and not in all case s... F or we have to point out how each o f those who bore his suf­ ferings wisely managed to bear them, and not point out the inconvenience under which he labored,” T u sc. 3-33-79-)

72. In book 3 o f the S ecretu m , Petrarch dramatizes a debate over the proper use ofexempla o f misfortune. In the course o f this debate, which closely echoes C icero’s T u s c u la n a e d is­ p u t a t io n e s 3.33.79, Franciscus does referto his use o f such exempla as a source o f comforting identification, yet he is then harshly criticized b y Augustinus. A ccording to Augustinus, accounts o f others’ misfortune should not bring solace from the realization that we have com ­ panions in grief but rather solely serve a moralistic function: “Tanta utinam eorum que co­ gitationem m ortis in g e reren t... Q uid enim aliud suadent quam lapsum etatis negligere et suprem i tem poris oblivisci?” (“I f only they w ere the kind that encouraged you to meditate on d e a th ... F o r such examples only persuade you to ignore the passage o f time and to forget your own inevitable death,” S e c re tu m 3 .11 .7 - 8 .)

1 8 6 • CH A PTER FIV E

he combines some Stoic arguments that are aimed at instilling patience with an invitation to trust in the fluctuation o f fortune, and he even suggests de’ Rossi begin to seek ways to transform his fate on his own. A t the same time, he also encourages his addressee to find emotional relief in reading about the misfor­ tunes o f others or to take enjoyment in the pleasures o f reading itself. The var­ ious strategies o f consolation employed in the letter strongly recall the tech­ niques described in Boccaccio’s earlier fictions, thus underscoring the striking continuity between Boccaccio’s vision o f consolation in the early and later stages o f his career. In chapter 1 o f this study, I delved into Boccaccio’s polyphonic vision o f con­ solation in the Filocolo and argued that this vision is closely tied to the Aristotelian notion o f practical wisdom and the need to adapt one’s ethical action to the par­ ticular situation at hand. This notion was embodied by Florio’s statement in book 5 o f the Filocolo that the wise doctor knows how to fit the remedy to the sufferer’s particular malaise: “A diverse infermità, diversi impiastri adopera il savio medico” (5.47.6). In Aquinas’s discussion of the consolatory value offriends in his com­ mentary on book 9 o f the Ethics, he specifies in a similar manner that the value of a friend inheres precisely in the fact that a friend knows the needs o f his com­ panion and hence can apply fitting words of consolation (“ Cognoscit enim unus amicus m orem alterius et in quibus amicus suus delectatur et tristatur; et sic potest ei conveniens remedium adhibere contra tristitiam”).73 Striving in the Epistola consolatoria to administer a written consolation to a distant friend in need, Boccaccio ostensibly cannot be fully aware of his friend’s present condi­ tion and state o f mind and hence he lays out before him - just as he did in his earlier fictions - various consolatory paths, allowing him to choose the ones that would be most suited and applicable to his particular situation. M uch m ore than a mere assemblage o f consolatory com m onplaces or a derivative imitation o f Petrarch’s letters o f consolation, Boccaccio’s Epistola con­ solatoria emerges as a significant alternative to the Stoic, Boethian, and Petrar­ chan authoritative consolatory mode. Closely following the consolatory views 73.

Thomas Aquinas, In E th . 9.13.1933- Boccaccio echoes this Thomistic discussion of

friendship near the middle o f the E p ist o la co n so la to ria when he tells de’ Rossi that though absent from his friends in person, he can still converse with them in spirit - or writing - and thus obtain assistance: “Chi adunque s’interporrà che voi coll’anima non possiate a’ vostri amici andare e stare con loro e ragionare e rallegrarsi o dolersi... e quivi dire e udire, doman­ dare e rispondere, consigliare e prendere consiglio?’’ (“W ho will claim that you are not able to go and stay with your friends in your soul and speak and rejoice or grieve with th em ... and there in your mind speak and listen to them, ask and respond, take and give counsel?” E p . con.

Sso).

BO CCA C CIO A F T E R PET R A R C H .

18 7

and techniques that governed his earlier fictions, Boccaccio’s Epistola consolatoria - together with those other later works o f his that we examined in this chap­ ter - continues to establish a new consolatory outlook in the late middle ages, one which is empathetic rather than judgm ental, polyphonic rather than one dimensional, open ended rather than authoritarian - or in a word, a consolation which remains truly literary.

Conclusion

As we journeyed through much of Boccaccio’s oeuvre - from his earlier vernac­ ular fictions to his later letters and historical and rhetorical writings - we saw that Boccaccio’s role as a consoler was central to his life’s work. This book has argued that a preoccupation with consolation constitutes one o f the defining features of Boccaccio’s writing. Moreover, our close analysis of Boccaccio’s literary efforts to alleviate his readers’ suffering, as well as his ongoing dialogue with the medieval consolatory tradition therein, has shown that Boccaccio’s vision o f consolation goes well beyond the validation of pleasurable diversion: his work establishes a significant alternative to the consolatory outlook o f Boethius, Dante, and Petrarch. Creatively drawing upon the ethical thought of Aristotle and Aquinas, Boccaccio replaced what he perceived to be the judgmental, ascetic, abstract, and universalist nature o f the Boethian consolation o f philosophy with a vision of consolation that is empathetic to sorrow, practical, and open to passion and to difference. B occaccio’s vernacular fictions, from the Filocolo to the Corbaccio, often begin with a heartfelt invitation to readers to take solace in reading the story or stories that follow; through the use o f framing devices, the author-narrator intro­ duces the readers to the type of consolation they can expect to attain from the work. Yet the actual nature o f the consolation that emerges from each text is far from straightforward. Boccaccio’s works blend a chorus o f various consolatory strategies and perspectives, intoning to the reader in diverse - and at times discordant - voices. These diverse consolatory voices - all decidedly worldly and practical - are divided between attempts to provide a complete cure for hardship - the “rhetor­ ical cure” - and efforts to provide momentary emotional relief. The former type o f solace utilizes examples and incentives aimed at facilitating the eradication of grief; the latter invites the reader to find temporary refuge in the act o f reading, whether through identification with the sorrow o f the characters or through the pleasure o f reading. Uniquely, Boccaccio’s administration o f a “rhetorical cure” consists o f two opposing notions: on the one hand, consolation may motivate the reader to disavow the cause o f sorrow, most often bad love; on the other

CO N CLU SIO N •

18 9

hand, Boccaccio’s works encourage the reader to do everything in his or her power to obtain the object o f desire. W hen advancing the former type o f rhetor­ ical cure, Boccaccio’s works rely on the Ovidian Remedia amoris or tragic narra­ tives; he advocates for the latter type through comic narratives, which often draw upon the genres o f epic and romance. Both modes o f the “rhetorical cure” pre­ scribe activity and the re-creation o f the self rather than a passive acceptance o f one’s situation or the pursuit o f diversion, though they each suggest activity toward quite opposing goals. Boccaccio’s earlier fictions, up to and including the Decameron, continuously oscillate between these different modes and often dramatize conflicts between them; by and large, the tensions remain unresolved and open ended. These oscil­ lations not only propel the reader to take an active role in determining how to use the w ork as a source of solace but also subtly alert him or her to the fact that there is no one universal solution to hardship, no one remedy for all. I f the Boethian consolation o f philosophy rests on universalist and ascetic solutions - com bin­ ing Stoic calls to give up worldly attachments with a dialectical ascent to knowl­ edge o f the perfect order that governs the universe - then Boccaccio’s writings consistently object to such totalized ascetic remedies and insist that different cir­ cumstances call for different solutions. Boccaccio’s advancement o f a w orldly and individualized form o f conso­ lation is strongly indebted to Aristotelian ethics, both its validation o f earthly desires and its high valuation o f phronesis, practical wisdom. Aristotelian and Thom istic ethics - with which Boccaccio was closely engaged from very early on in his career - reject outright the Platonic and Stoic disdain for w orld ly desires; furthermore, they suggest that ethical deliberation and action emerge from close attention to the particular and concrete situation at hand, not from predeterm ined universal ideals. Boccaccio’s absorption o f these Aristotelian notions is expressed both in the thematic dimensions o f his works as well as the form al literary ones. The literary features o f his writing, such as his con­ centration on the em bodied experience o f multiple characters, his dialogical inclusion o f various perspectives, and ironic reversals, prove especially suited to the advancement o f an ethical vision that is bent on the affirmation o f earthly pursuits and the need to be attuned to the particular and the contingent. Through the employment o f these literary techniques, Boccaccio’s works not only offer the reader multiple consolatory options from which to choose but also seek to develop the reader’s em otional intelligence and capacity to make discerning choices. In his use o f this specific literary form, Boccaccio’s fictional works offer not only a consolation through literature, but also a veritable con­ solation o/literature.

190 • CONCLUSION

In Boccaccio’s early narrative works, the polyphonic and dialogic qualities of his writing come to life in the diverse experiences of the characters and the vac­ illation between different genres. While epic heroes such as Fiorio o f the Filocolo actively and successfully pursue earthly desires and love, other characters find the disavowal of love gone wrong to be the only reasonable solution to suffer­ ing; still others insist that forsaken lovers are incapable of this sort o f disavowal. Love, they claim, is a tragic compulsion that cannot be cured through rhetorical admonitions and examples. For figures such as Idalagos in the Filocolo, the nar­ rator in the Filostrato, and Fiammetta in the Elegia, the cognitive realization of one’s sour predicament is not enough to enable emotional change or the extrac­ tion o f oneself from love’s grasp. Consequently, they all seek some respite in ele­ giac writing and the emotional identification with the similar pain o f others. The arguments for the disavowal of love in these early works are often based on Stoic, Boethian, and Dantean precepts and tropes; Boccaccio’s narratives, then, ironi­ cally question the applicability o f these consolatory traditions and undermine their confidence in the ability of rhetoric to eradicate passion. Boccaccio’s skepticism about the ability o f rhetoric to facilitate the dis­ avowal o f love is complemented by his praise for characters who boldly and cleverly fight for fortune’s goods. This active and heroic mode o f consolation is introduced in the Filocolo and then becomes especially central in the Decameron. While the Decameron’s vision o f consolation is still often identi­ fied with “light-hearted fun,” the tales also repeatedly offer elaborate examples o f active and heroic responses to misfortune for readers to emulate. Within the Decameron, these models consist of women and men, o f both high and low class, who exemplify Filomena’s statement near the beginning o f the work, “II senno di consolazion sia cagione” (“W isdom is a source o f consolation,” Decameron 1.3 .5 ) .1 Boccaccio’s presentation o f such an active and hopeful mode of consolation in the Decameron may well be seen as his striking response to the devastating effects of the Plague. The active confrontation of fortune, the Decameron shows, requires the mod­ eration (though not the eradication) of grief, the cultivation of calculated patience, as well as interpretive and emotional flexibility - traits that the work itself strives to develop in its readers. Boccaccio’s narrative techniques that encourage the reader to actively engage with the work include dramatic contrasts between protagonists within the stories, intratextual dialogues between tales, and intertextual dialogues with previous works. Through these techniques, the Decameron not only offers examples o f wise and sensitive action but also strives 1. M y translation.

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19 1

to cultivate Aristotelian phronesis in its attuned readers. The careful reading o f the Decameron becomes thereby a type o f ethical exercise, which ideally develops the reader s capacity to confront hardship in his or her own life. While Boccaccio’s consolatory outlook is indebted to his engagement with Aristotelian ethics, he also departs from Aristotle’s thought in crucial ways. Boc­ caccio’s recurrent critique o f the Boethian and Dantean notion o f consolation that true solace will follow when a person ascends to knowledge o f the perfect order that governs the universe - amounts to a critique o f Aristotle and Aquinas as well - their supreme confidence in human reason and their assertion that com­ plete beatitude inheres in the contemplation o f truth. While drawing on A ris­ totle, Boccaccio was influenced mainly b y the practical aspects o f his ethics, not b y his praise o f the contemplative life. In addition, the ideal o f active heroism that Boccaccio endorses in his works shapes a vision o f humanity that is much more inclusive and democratic than that o f Aristotle. Within the Decameron, as noted, the readers find lower-class women serving as the perfect embodiments o f Aristotelian virtues. B occaccio’s ideal o f heroic consolation - so central to the Decameron nonetheless remains aspirational, given the fact that B occaccio’s w ritings acknowledge that attaining one’s desire is not always feasible, regardless o f one’s actions. A ware o f this fact, Boccaccio’s works make sure to offer readers other forms o f consolation as well, such as the pure enjoyment o f reading. B o c­ caccio’s com m itm ent to an open-ended style, which alerts the reader to the importance o f context, means that even the disavowal o f love, which is m ostly portrayed as unattainable in his vernacular fictions, remains an option for the reader to consider; in fact, this consolatory route will later assume center stage in the Corbaccio. Written following the Decameron, the Corbaccio functions as a turning point in Boccaccio’s engagement with literary consolation for hardship caused b y love. In contrast to B occaccio’s earlier fictions - which embraced a polyphonic approach to consolation for love and often idealized the bold pursuit o f one’s desire - the Corbaccio focuses squarely on the disavowal o f love as the way to cure amorous hardship. Further, this w ork moves away from the assertion that love is a tragic compulsion in the face o f which the lover is powerless, a concept that dominated Boccaccio’s earlier elegiac works. Love, the Corbaccio shows, may actually be cured through the assistance o f others. The narrative o f the Corbac­ cio then elaborates at length on this notion through its subversive dialogue with Dante’s works, as it insists that true beatitude inheres in freedom from love. I f in his earlier works Boccaccio often evoked Dante to describe the blissful potential o f earthly desire, within the Corbaccio, allusions to Dante consistently under­

192 • CO NCLUSION

score the destructive potential o f love. The Corbaccio’s one-dimensional approach to consolation, however, does not necessarily mean that it argues for a wholesale rejection of earthly love. A close reading o f the work, as was demon­ strated in chapter 4, suggests that the message o f the disavowal o f love depends on context: those who suffer from love or are not in the proper age for it (like the author-narrator himself) should disavow it, but those who are happy in it may well continue loving. Once again, the reader is subtly urged to reflect on his or her own particular situation so as to determine how to read and learn from the Corbaccio. The writing o f the Corbaccio took place following Boccaccio’s celebrated encounter with Petrarch in 1350, and the attitudes toward love and consolation expressed in the work may well be attributed, at least in part, to the impact o f his older friend. In his later writings, composed after the Corbaccio, Boccaccio’s inter­ est in consolation, and the way literature may facilitate it, remained strong. While his interest in consolation for unrequited love clearly diminished in these years, he turned his attention to exploring consolation for other tribulations such as exile, sickness, and death (a tendency that had already begun in the Decameron). Recent Boccaccio scholarship has argued for “a singular Boccaccio,” chal­ lenging traditional views that posited a decisive break in his writings following his encounter with Petrarch. The current study presented a nuanced approach, one which takes into account aspects o f rupture as well as continuities between B oc­ caccio’s early and later works. Thus, while insisting on a shift in Boccaccio’s writ­ ing about love, this study has shown how Boccaccio’s later writings - both in Latin and in the vernacular - continued to adhere to many o f the same views and strategies o f consolation that characterized his earlier vernacular fictions - a con­ tinuity that highlights his significant challenges to Petrarch’s consolatory voice. As opposed to Petrarch’s valorization o f Stoic consolatory convictions and clas­ sical styles, Boccaccio remained suspicious o f totalized ascetic solutions to hard­ ship and continued to present a polyphonic vision o f consolation in his later works. When seeking consolation for the death o f a loved one, he weaves together classical poetic styles and tangible, Dante-like depictions o f the Christian heaven. When consoling a friend in need, he brings together exhortations to patience alongside distinctly Boccaccian calls for this-worldly self-assertion. Moreover, he asserts that the administration o f consolation should not consist only o f efforts to cure grief but must also include empathetic gestures and “diversionary” tech­ niques that offer simple emotional relief to the reader. I f his earlier fictional works present a markedly literary approach to conso­ lation - a polyphony o f characters in different situations, who model different ways o f coping with distress - his later writings continue this open-ended per­

CONCLUSION •

19 3

spective. In his nonfiction works, especially the Epistola consolatoria a Pino de Rossi, Boccaccio plays back all the consolatory techniques at his disposal in order to alleviate his reader s distress. Again, he leaves the final decision to his readers’ discretion, allowing them to choose the solution that would be most suitable to their particular situation and mood. In his continuous critical dialogue with the ascetic and universalist consola­ tory traditions that he inherited, as well as in his ongoing mixing o f diversionary and exemplary, as well as classical and Dantean, consolatory techniques and styles, Boccaccio’s works offer a new vision o f consolation in the later middle ages, one which is both strongly Aristotehan and profoundly literary. Taken together, his early and later works display a staunch belief in the ability o f litera­ ture to offer assistance to one struggling with the heartaches that accompany life - even if this assistance may be only temporary or limited in nature. H ow this distinctly Boccaccian consolatory outlook influenced the future development of European literature in general, and the consolatory tradition in particular, both in Italy and beyond, is worthy of much further examination.

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In d ex

Abelard, Peter: Historia calamitatum 7n

Augustine, St i03n, 106; Confessions 7o, 7 4 n

Adam 3 8 Aeneas 39, 74n

Baltussen, Flan 76n

aesthetic recreation 3 - 4 ,18 , 89, 95-960. See

Barariski, Zygmunt G. i4n Barolini, Teodolinda 4n, 6n, i3 n , 38, 67n,

also consolation: as diversion Albanese, Gabriella is6 n , 16 m

92n, 95n, 1 i3n , 1 2 5 - 12 6 , i8on

Alcibiades 1 6 9 - 1 7 2 ,1 7 4 ,1 8 4

Barsella, Susanna i6n, i54n Battaglia Ricci, Lucia 4n, 69n, 89n, i2 5n ,

Alfìe, Fabian 63 n Alighieri, D ante 6, 1 3 - 1 5 , 2511, 46, 64-65, 68-69,

9 3

-94,

1 3 3

-

153

, 16 0 - 16 2 ;

126, i3 5 n Bausi, Francesco i6n, 1240, i2 5 n

Commedia 1 - 3 , 15, 3 0 - 3 1, 37 -38 , 46, 49, 59-60, 62, 64-65, 67-68, 93, i04n,

Beatrice: see under Alighieri, Dante, works,

124, 139 , 14 3 - 14 7 , 16 0 - 16 1, 16 6 -16 8 ,

Benoit de Sainte-Maure s8n

characters in

1 7 1 ; Convivio 13 , 17, 14 0 - 14 2 , 146,

Billanovich, Giuseppe i5 3 n

1 8 on, i8 2 n ; Vita nuova 13, 32, 37, 53,

Black, Robert ion

58, 64-65, 69-70, 137 , 1 4 0 - 14 1, 14 6 14 7. See also Boccaccio: and Dante

Boccaccio, Giovanni: and Aristotelian ethics

— , works, characters in: Beatrice 1, 3 , 1 3 - 1 5 ,

16 - 19 , 2-3 , 26-28, 5 4 - 5 5 , 9 1 - 9 7 , 1 3 1 13 2 , 177 , 18 3, 186, 189, 1 9 1 ; and

32, 53, 6 4 - 6 5 , 1 3 9 ,1 4 1 ,1 4 6 ,1 5 on, 166;

Boethius 1 - 3 , sn, 6, 2 9 -30 , 68, 84, 90,

Francesca da Rimini 67, 74n; Virgil 135,

9 3

14 3 - 14 6 , 167

1 8 9 ,19 1; and Dante 1 - 3 , 6, 2 3 -2 4 , 3 0 -

Alighieri, Pietro 59

3 1, 38, 64-65, 68, 90, 93-94, 9sn, 1 3 3 -

,

9 5

n, 9 8 -10 0 , 10 5, 1 3 1 , 159 , 177 ,

Andrei, Filippo i6n, 9sn, 97n

15 3 , 16 0 - 16 8 , 1 9 1 - 1 9 2 ; democratic

Arduini, Beatrice 14 0 - 14 m

vision o f hum anity o f 17, io6n, 1 1 1 ,

Aristotle 6, 9 - 1 3 , 1 5 - 1 7 , 1 9 - 1 0 , 23, 26-27,

1 9 1; early vs. late works 2 0 - 2 1, 2 3-2 4 ,

3 1

- 3 3 , 3 6 ,4 0 - 4 1, 4 5 , 4 7 , 5 4 - 5 5 , 60, 67, 87, 9 1-9 4 , 1 0 9 - 1 1 1 , 118 , 124, 126, 13 1 ,

6311, 9 5 - 9 6 , 1 3 4 - 1 3 5 , 14 8, 15 3 , 15 7 , 160, i8on, 186, 1 8 8 - 1 9 3 ; and exem-

186, 1 9 1, 19 3; Nicomachean Ethics 12,

plarity 69-87, 97, 1 2 4 - 1 2 6 , 1 6 8 - 1 7 1 ,

1 4 - 1 7 ,3 2 , 34n, 9 4 , 1 1 0 - 1 1 1 , 1 7 5 ; Poet­

18 5 ,19 3 ; as a moralist 18, 63n, 7 9 ,15 4 ,

ics 6on; Politics 1 1 in . See also Boccac­

168 ; and Ovid 57n, 79, 9 1, 1 5 1 , i S3;

cio: and Aristotelian ethics

and Petrarch 17, 20, 24, 15 2 - 1 8 7 , 19 2;

Armstrong, Guyda 137 , 139, i43n, 146

and wom en 4, 24, 89-90, 92n, 114 ,

Ascoli, Albert Russell i8n, 94n

i24n, 1 3 5 - 1 3 6 , 1 4 9 - 1 5 1

Index • 2 1 1 — , works: Amorosa visione 1- 3 ,3 8 ,8 3 11; Buc-

fiorentine) 8, i3 7 n ; A ndreuccio da

colicum carmen 15 2 , 1 6 2 - 1 6 3 ; Buccol-

Perugia (Decameron) 10 0 ; Andreuola

icum carmen: Olympia 411, 15 5 , 1 6 2 -

(Decameron) 114 , 1 2 0 - 1 2 1 , 12 3 ; Beri­

1 6 3 ,1 6 5 - 1 6 8 ; 17 3 ; Bucco licum carmen:

tola C aracciola (Decameron) 98, 1 0 2 -

Saphos 1 5 2 - 1 5 3 ; Comedia delle ninfe

10 8, 1 1 1 - 1 1 2 , 1 1 4 , 1 2 1 , 18 3 ; Bianci-

fiorentine 8 , 1 0 1 ,1 3 7 1 1 ; [Epistola] conso­

fìore (Filocolo) 22, 2 5 -3 6 , 40, 4 3-5 4 )

latoria a Pino de'Rossi 411, 2 1, 1 5 4 ,1 7 9 -

64, 10 5, 109, 12 8 , 14 9 ; Caleone (Filo­

1 8 7 ,1 9 3 ; Corbaccio 8, 2 2 -2 4 , 1 3 3 - 1 5 3 )

colo) 8, 28, 4 0 -4 2 , 48, 5 0 -5 3 , 55n, 6 1,

160 , 184 , 1 9 1 - 1 9 2 ; De casibus virorum

65, 98n, 14 8; C riseida (Filostrato) 6 1 -

illustrium 1 6 8 - 17 4 ,1 7 7 ,1 8 4 ; Decameron

67; C urrado de’ M archesi M alespini

- 4 ) 5 ) 7, 9, 16 , 17 , 2 in , 23, 4 1, 8 8 - 13 2 ,

(Decameron) 104, 1 2 1 - 1 2 3 ; D ion eo

14 6 , 16 8 , 18 9 ; Decameron: Proem 411,

(Decameron) 8 9 ,12 4 , 1 2 9 - 1 3 1 ; Em ilia

3

2011, 9 1- 9 4 ) 98n, 1 3 3 - 1 3 4 , 1 3 8 - 1 3 9 , 18 5 ; Decameron: D ay 1 (1.9 ) 130 , (Con­ clusion) 9 8 -9 9 ; Decameron: D ay 1 9 8 10 0 , (2.2) 10 7, (2.6) 9 8 - 1 1 2 , 1 2 1 - 1 2 3 , 12 4 11, 13 0 , 1 7 1 , 18 3 , (2 .8) 100, 10811, (2.9) 14 9 ; Decameron: D ay 3 9411, 10 0 n, (3-9)

7 1

, 13 in ; Decameron: D ay 4

1 1 3 - 1 1 4 , 1 2 1 , (Introduction) 95n, 1 1 4 1 1 6 , 1 5 1 , (4 .1)

1 1 2 - 1 2 4 , 12 8 -12 9 ,

( 4 .6 ) 1 2 0 - 1 2 3 ; Decameron: D ay 5 94n, 1 1 5 , (5.2) io 8n , (5.4) 94n; Decameron: D ay 10 94n, 12 4 , (10 .7 ) 98n, ( 10 .10 ) 1 2 3 - 1 3 2 , 15 7 , 17 3 ; De mulieribus claris 2 in , 86n; Elegia di madonna Fiammetta 2 2 - 2 3 , 5 7 -8 7 ) m n , 1 1 3 , 140, 19 0; Epistole e lettere (2 ) 156 , ( 10 ) is 6 n ,

(Decameron) 1 0 0 - 1 0 1 , 1 0 3 - 1 0 5 , io8n, 1 1 2 ; Federigo degli A lberighi (D eca­ meron) 94; Fiam m etta (Decameron) 1 1 3 - 1 1 4 , 1 1 6 ; Fiam m etta (Elegia di madonna Fiammetta) 2 2 ,5 7 -6 0 ,7 0 - 8 8 , 1 1 3 , 1 4 0 ,1 9 0 ; Fiam m etta (Filocolo) 28, 4 1 - 4 3 ,4 7 , 50; Fileno (Filocolo) 55n,

58,

i8 2 n ;

Filippo

5

^ -5 3 )

B alducci

(Decameron) 1 1 2 , 1 1 4 - 1 1 6 ; Filom ena (Decameron) 95, 9 8 - 1 0 0 , 1 0 6 , 1 1 0 , 1 3 1 , 190; Filostrato (Decameron) 1 1 2 - 1 1 4 , 1 1 6 ; Filostrato (Filostrato) 22, 5 7 - 6 1 , 64-65, 6 7 -70 , 1 1 3 , 14 0, 159) 19 0 ; F io ­ rio (Filocolo) 22, 2 5 -5 6 , 64, 87, 9 1, 98, 10 5, 1 0 9 - 1 1 0 , 12 8 - 1 2 9 , 149, 1 7 1 , 186,

( 2 1 ) 17 7 , (2 2 ) 1 7 7 - 1 7 9 ; Esposizioni

19 0 ; G hism on da (Decam eron) 1 1 2 -

sopra la "Com edia" u n , 74n, 15 7 - 15 8 )

12 3 ,

17 7 ; Filocolo 5, 7, 8 -9 , 2 in , 22, 2 5 -5 6 ,

(Decameron) 7 1 , 1 3 in ; Giusfredi, a.k.a.

1 2 8 - 1 2 9 ; G iletta di N arbon a

) 9 1 ) 9 8 , 10 5 , 109 , 1 i 3 n,

Giannotto (Decameron) 1 0 9 , 1 2 1 - 1 2 3 ;

1 2 8 ,1 3 6 - 1 3 7 , i39 n , 1 4 5 , 1 4 9 ) 1 5 9 ) i 68,

G ostanza (Decameron) io8n; Griselda

1 7 1 , 1 7 3 - 1 7 4 , 18 2 - 1 8 4 , 18 6 , 188, 190;

(Decameron) 94n, 1 2 3 - 1 3 1 , 15 5 , 15 7 ,

5 7 n, 6 3 -6 4 ,

7 1

Questioni d ’amore 4 1 - 4 3 ;

i6 on , 17 3 ; Gualtieri (Decameron) 1 2 3 -

Filostrato 2 2 - 2 3 , 5 7 - 8 7 , 1 1 3 1 1 , 159)

1 3 1 ; Guiscardo (Decameron) 1 1 4 - 1 2 1 ;

19 0 ; Genealogia deorum gentilium 2 in ,

Idalagos (Filocolo) 28,

7 in , 9511, 1 5 5 - 1 5 8 , 16 2 , 1 7 7 ; Teseida

85,

Filocolo:

14 9 ,

15 9 ,

19 0 ;

4 8

-

5 3

) 55n, 58,

M alchizedech

io 3 n ; Trattatello in laude di Dante 14 m ,

(Decameron) 95, 99; N urse (D eca­

1 5 on; Ytalie iam certus bonus 1 6 1 ; Z ibal­

meron) 98, 1 0 7 - 1 1 2 , i2 4 n , 1 7 1 , 18 3 ;

done laurenziano i8 on

N urse (Elegia di madonna Fiammetta)

— , works, characters in: Alatiel (Decameron) 100, i09n ; A m eto ( Comedia delle ninfe

23, 6 1, 70, 7 2 -8 6 , 98, 14 0 ; Pam pinea (Decameron)

98-9 9 ,

112 ;

Pandaro

212

Index



— , w o rk s , c h ara cte rs in

(Filostrato)

6 1,

63,

(Decameron) 12 4 ;

66; 70,

meron) 1 1 6 - 1 2 2 ;

T an cred i

T r o io lo

desire 8, 4 7 -4 8 , 96, 13 4 , 188 (see also

S ilv iu s

consolation: o f heroism ); and the

(Deca­

Christian afterlife 14 ,4 6 ,9 3 , 1 6 0 ,16 6 -

(Filostrato)

167, 19 2 ; and cognitive arguments 53,

B o c c a c c io ,

72, 8 0 - 8 1, 1 1 1 , 158 , 17 9 , 1 8 1 - 1 8 2 ,

58, 6 1- 7 0 , 81 (see also

C h a u ce r, G e o ffre y );

18 4 - 18 5 ,19 0 ; and com edy 9 ,5 7 ,9 8 ; as

(Decameron) 9 9 -10 0 , 149. See

disavowal oflove 8 ,9 ,2 3 - 2 4 ,5 1- 5 4 ,6 1,

Filostrato;

Z in e v r a

6 5-6 6 , 7 3 - 7 5 , 7 8 -8 0 , 8 3 -8 4 , 87, 98,

also under P e t r a r c h Boethius: Consolatio philosophiae 1 3 , 1 0 - 1 3 , 15

;

17

companionship consolation: and attainment o f object o f

75;

73,

(Decameron) 99;

( Olympia) 16 5 - 16 8 ;

w o rk s:

P a n filo

(Elegia di

P a n filo

madonna Fiammetta) R in a ld o d ’A s t i

See also consolation: and friendship or

(continued)

; 2 5-32 ,

3 7

,

5 5

, 5 9 - 6 o, 62, 90,

1 3 3 - 1 5 3 ,1 8 8 - 1 9 2 ; as diversion 4 - 5 ,7 8,

34

, 70, 7 m , 89-90,

9 4

-

9 5

,

9 8

, 12 6 -

1 0 0 , 1 0 5 , 1 0 8 , 1 3 0 , 1 4 1 - 1 4 2 , 14 5 - 14 6 ,

12 7 , 1 3 1 - 1 3 2 , 1 3 4 , 179, 18 5, 18 8 -18 9 ,

1 5 7 , 1 5 9 , 1 6 3 , 18 m . See also Boccaccio: and Boethius

1 9 1 - 1 9 2 ; and elegy 9 ,1 3 ,2 2 - 2 3 ,2 6 ,5 3 , 5 7 -5 8 , 6 1, 68-69, 84, 1 3 5 n, 148, 15 8 -

Boitani, Piero 38n, s8n

159 , 16 3, 16 7 - 16 8 , 1 7 7 - 1 7 8 , 19 0 ; as

Bragantini, Renzo i0 4 n , i5 2 n , i54n , 16 m ,

emotional relief 7 - 8 ,3 0 ,5 8 ,7 1 - 7 2 , 9 4 -

i77n

95, 1 2 6 - 1 2 7 , 152., 179 , 1 8 4 - 1 8 5 ; and

Branca, Vittore 18, 57n, s8n, 64, 93n, 109 Brancata, D ario io n

epic 9, 28, 3 7 - 3 9 , 46, 5 3 , 98, 1 7 1 , 18 9 19 0 ; and eradication or m anaging o f

Brody, Annelise 79n

sorrow 13 , 3 0 , 4 5 - 4 6 , 7 1 - 7 2 , 1 0 4 ,1 1 6 -

Bruni, Francesco is n , 2 0 , 2 6 - 2 7 0 , 4 7 - 4 8 0 ,

1 1 8 , 1 2 7 - 1 2 8 ,1 5 8 - 1 6 0 ,1 6 4 - 1 6 5 , 1 6 8 , 1 7 6 - 17 8 ,1 8 4 ,1 8 8 ,1 9 0 - 1 9 1 ; and erotic

5 7 n, 7 0 - 7 m , i5 6 n , 1 7 4 0

brutishness, bestiality 1 0 3 - 1 0 4 , 1 2 6 , 1 2 9 ,

satisfaction 3 1, 94, 9sn; and friendship or companionship 1 6 - 1 7 , 3 2 - 3 4 , 47,

13 1

49 -50 ,

5 3

-

5 5

, 58, 60, 7 5 -7 8 , 84 -8 5,

Candido, Igor 9 m

9 1-9 2 , 9 4 , 14 2 ,14 6 , 1 7 5 - 1 7 9 ,1 8 6 ; as a genre ion; ofheroism 8-9, 16, 22, 3 6 -

Carrai, Stefano i3 n , 25n

48, S 3 , 7 m , 87, 9 1, 96, 9 8 - 1 1 2 , 134 ,

Cachey, Theodore J. J r i54n , 1 6 in

Cassell, Anthony 1 3 m , 13 5 , i4 5n

16 8 - 17 4 , 1 8 9 - 1 9 1 ; and hope 23, 2 9 -

Celenza, Christopher i5 7 n , 16 m

30, 3 4 -3 5 , 4 8 -50 , 10 4 - 10 6 , 10 8 - 10 9 ,

Chaucer, G eoffrey 12, 15, 27, 55

i n , 1 3 1 - 1 3 2 , 148, i 7 3 n, 1 8 3 - 18 4 ,

Chiecchi, Giuseppe 4n, 8n, ion, 13 , i 5 5 n,

190; and humanism 2 in, 15 3 ,1 7 8 - 1 8 0 ; as identification with suffering o f oth­

16 6 -16 7 0 , i7 9 - i8 o n , i8 2 n Ciabattoni, Francesco ìoon

ers 7 -9 , 2 2 -2 3 , 29 -30 , 4 8 - 5 1, 54, 5 8 -

Cicero 13 ; D e inventione 1 1 9 ; Tusculanae

5 9 ,6 1, 6 8 -7 2 ,7 5 -7 6 ,7 8 , 84-85, 87,98,

disputationes

7 5 -7 7 ,

164,

i76n ,

18 4 - 18 5 Clarke, Kenneth P. i5 7 n Combs-Schilling, Jonathan i6 7n

10 1, 1 1 2 - 1 1 3 , 18 4 - 18 5 , 188, 190; and justice 130 ; o f literature vs. o f philoso­ phy 4 -6, 17, 9 0 -9 1, 9 6 , 1 1 1 , 1 3 1 , 189; and medicine, medical theories 4n, 67n,

compassion 6 7 ,7 2 ,7 4 ,7 7 -7 8 , 8 5 -8 6 ,9 0 -9 3,

144; passive vs. active 3 4 -3 7 , 48, 92n,

ii3 n , 1 1 4 , 1 1 9 , 1 2 1 , 1 3 3 , 1 7 4 - 1 7 9 , 1 8 2 .

9 9 -10 0 , 10 4 - 10 5 , 1 2 9 - 1 3 1 , 1 6 8 - 1 7 1 ,

Index

1 8 3 - 1 8 4 , 18 9 - 1 9 0 ; and pleasure (see

Epicurus 16 4

consolation: as diversion); polyphony

Eustace, S t 10 6 - 10 8



2 13

o f 6 , 9 , 1 6 - 1 7 , 1 9 - 2 0 , 2 2 ,2 8 ,4 8 -5 6 , 6 1, 9 5-9 6 , 13 2 , 13 4 , 15 4 - 1 8 6 , 1 8 8 - 1 9 2 ;

Fenzi, Enrico i7 3 n

and reading 7, 2 2 - 2 3 , 26, 30, 48, 50,

Filippo C effi 25n

5 8 -5 9 , 7 0 -7 2 , 7 5 -8 5 , 89, 9 5 , 1 0 1 , 12 3 ,

Filosa, Elsa 2 in , i5 2n , i79 n

14 8, 18 4 - 18 6 , 188 , 1 9 1 ; as rhetorical

Fiorilla, M aurizio 5n, i6n, 88n, 9 m

cure 8, 13 4 , 14 8 - 14 9 , 1 8 8 - 1 9 0 ; and

Fonio, Filippo io6n, io 8n

romance 9 ,2 8 ,3 8 - 3 9 ,4 6 ,5 3 ,18 9 ; Stoic

fortitude 16 , 28, 36, 39, 4 4 -4 6 , 48, 9 1, 99n,

1 1 - 1 2 , 7 2 - 7 5 , 84, 104, 1 5 5 - 16 0 , 16 4 -

10 6, 1 1 0 , 1 1 2 , 1 1 7 - 1 1 9 , 1 2 1 , i2 4 n ,

16 5, 1 7 4 - 1 7 8 , 18 0 - 1 8 2 , 19 2 ; o f story­

1 2 6 - 12 8 . See also Boccaccio: and Aris­

telling 23, 4 1, 7 0 - 7 1 , 8 8 - 1 3 2 ; and

totelian ethics; consolation: o f heroism;

tragedy 9, 2 2 - 2 3 , 5 7 - 8 7 , 1 1 2 - 1 1 6 ,

Thom as Aquinas

16 6 - 1 6 9 ; as vilification cure 9, 13 4 ,

fortune 2, 26n, 29, 34, 76, 9 9 -10 2 , 10 4 - 10 5 ,

13 6 , 1 4 3 - 1 4 5 , 1 4 7 - 1 4 8 ; and w riting

10 7 ,111,116 ,12 3 ,12 6 ,16 9 - 17 0 ,17 2 -

5 7 - 5 8 , 85, 1 6 2 - 1 6 8 . See also elegy; O vid: Rem edia amoris context, awareness o f 9 - 1 0 , 2 2 , 5 5 , 1 1 1 , 1 2 1 , 12 3 , 1 3 1 , 13 6 , 1 9 1 . See also Boccaccio: and A ristotelian ethics; consolation:

174 , 18 3 . See also Boethius: Consolatio philosophiae fr ie n d s h ip

16,

c o n ju g a l

32 -34 , 4 1-4 2 , 9 1-9 3 ,

47, 1 1 5 .

See

also

18 6 ;

c o n s o la tio n :

a n d frie n d s h ip o r c o m p a n io n s h ip

polyphon y of; practical wisdom C opeland, R ita io n Courcelle, Pierre io n Cursi, M arco i5 n , 88n, 9on, 1 5 m Daniels, Rhiannon 15 m , i7 7 n Deianeira 83 D elcom o, Carlo 57n, 69n, 7 i- 7 2 n , 97n D e Sanctis, Francesco 4n, 89 desire 2 1, 72, 7 9 - 8 1. See also love dialogism 17 , 19, 12 3 , i6on, 18 9 - 19 0 D ido 74n, 79, 1 0 in dream-vision 1 ,1 3 5 , 1 3 8 , 1 4 2 - 1 4 3 , 1 4 6 - 1 4 7 , i5 2 n

Gelmi, Alberto 63n Geoffrey o f Vinsauf 59 Ginsberg, W arren n 8 n , i5 7 n Gittes, Tobias F oster i9n , 38n, 9 m , 93m iS 4 n, 1 7 m glory 37, 85, 124, i6on, 168, 1 7 0 - 1 7 3 grief 13 , 7 1, 77, 1 0 2 - 10 4 , 1 1 2 - 1 1 6 , 159 , 1 6 2 - 16 8 ,18 2 - 18 4 . See also brutishness, bestiality; consolation: and elegy; con­ solation: and eradication or managing o f sorrow; elegy; Plague; weeping Grossvogel, Steven 26n, 3 m , 4 m , 46n Guido Cavalcanti 23, 67

Eisner, M artin 2 0 - 2 in , 94m 1 5 in , 1 6 m

G uido delle Colonne s8n

elegy 9 ,1 3 , 25, 57~58n, 84, 1 3 5 - 1 3 6 ^ 1 5 8 -

Guillaum e de M achaut 12 , 15 , 27, 55

159 . See also consolation: and elegy Ellero, M aria Pia i6 n

Hagedorn, Suzanne C . 57n, 6on, 79

em otional intelligence 79, 9 7 , 1 1 1 , 189

hagiography 23, 104, 10 6 - 10 8

em pathy: see compassion

Hastings, R A .B . 9sn

epic 3 7 -3 9 ,4 6 . See also consolation: and epic

Hauvette, H enri 69n, 1 8on

Epictetus 60

Hecuba 7 6 -7 7 , 85-86

214



Index also consolation: as disavowal o f love;

H elen 6 3 ,7 5 - 7 6 , 8 2 , 8 5 , 10 1 n Hollander, Robert 18, i9n, 45n, 6on, 62, 79, 9 m , 93~94n, i2 5 n , 13 3 0 , 1 3 5 ,

0 7

-

desire Lummus, David 2 in, 95~96n, 154 0 , 16 3 0

138 , 140, i48n Holmes, Olivia 1 4 - o n , 97n, 144^

magnanimity (magnanimità) i8n, 12 4

hope: see consolation: and hope

M ainardo Cavalcanti 1 7 7 - 1 7 8

humanism 2 in , 15 3 , 174, 17 8 - 18 0 . See also

Marchesi, Sim one i4n, i6n, 19 ,9 7 11,16 9 M arcus,M illicent 99n, 10 4 - 10 5 , io6n, n 6 n ,

consolation: and humanism hunting 3 4 - 3 5 , 4 8 ,1 0 7 ,1 2 7 . See also conso­ lation: as diversion

12 5 0 ,14 9 M ars 3 5 - 3 6 Martinez, Ronald i4 n Mazzotta, Giuseppe 4 - s , i4 n , i6n, i 9 n, 38n,

industria 40, ioon, 1 1 0

67n, 90, 94n, i i s - i i 6 n , n 8 n , i2 5n , 126, 129, i44n, is s n

Jacobus de Voragine 10 7 Jacop o della Lana s8n

M cClure, George W. 2 in , i5 5n , i 7 9 n

Jocasta 8 5 -8 6

M edea : see under Seneca meekness (mansuetudo) 3 5 -3 6 , 1 2 9 - 1 3 0

Kay, Sarah 12 , i3 n , 15 , 26, 27n

Migiel, M arilyn 19, 93n, 1 3 5 - 1 3 6 ^ 149

Kircher, T im oth y 19, 97n, i2 5n , i6on

Milner, StephenJ. sn, i9n, 95n

Kirkham, V ictoria i6n, 18, 20, 2 6 -27 0 , 39n,

Minnis, Alastair 1 in, 12 , i3 n , 26, 27n, 47n

4 m , 46n, 49n, 94n, 99n, 106, 1 2 4 -

M onti, Carla M aria i5 3 - i 5 4 n , is 6 n

i2 s n

M orosini, R oberta 2 in , 26n, 39, 4 m , 4 7 -

Kriesel, Jam es C . 3n, 2 in , 7 m , 9 m , n 8 n

4 9

n,

5 5

n, 1 0 3 - 1 0 4 ^ i09n

muses I3n , 1 5 1 , 1 5 7 - 0 9 , 16 5, 17 7 L ad y P hilosophy: see B oethius: Consolatio narrative strategies (or techniques) 6 -7 , 23,

philosophiae Laura: see under Petrarch. See also Petrarch,

6 0 -6 1, 77n, 88, 96-9 8, 1 1 1 , 1 1 3 , 12 0 , 1 3 1 , 1 3 8 ,1 4 6 ,1 9 0

works: Bucolicum carmen: Galatea

narrator, narrators 6 -7 , 5sn , 6 0 - 6 1, 67-68,

Laurent de Prem ierfait 89

70, 8 8 , 1 1 2 - 1 1 5 , 1 3 3 - 1 3 6

Lerer, Seth 1 in Lom bardi, Elena 78n

Nauta, Lod i 1 1 , i5 n

Lom bardo, Lu ca ion, i3 n

Nicholas Trevet 1 1 , is n

love 8 -9 , 14 , 2 1 - 2 3 , 26n, 3 8 -4 3 , 4 6 -4 7 ,

5 3

,

6 1- 6 2 , 64-68, 7 3 -7 4 , 7 9 -8 2 , 87, 1 1 4 -

N iobe: see Petrarch, w orks: Bucolicum car­ men: Galatea

1 1 5 , 1 1 8 , 12 2 , 134 , 136 , 14 5 , 1 5 1 - 1 5 2 ,

N obili, Sebastiana 3 - s n , 4 m , 88-89n, io 3 n

15 4 ,16 8 ; amore onesto 4 1,4 6 ; amoreper

Nussbaum , M artha 9n, 2on, 59, 6on, 67, 77,

diletto (earthly or carnal love) 4 1 - 4 2 ,

111,12 3

4 6 -4 7 ,4 9 ,6 2 , 64-65, 6 8 , 1 1 5 , 1 3 4 , 1 3 6 ,

1

146, 1 4 9 - 15 0 ; am oreper utilità 4 1 , 4 7 -

Olson, G lending 4n, 89

48; courtly 18 , 42; as a tragic (insur­

Olson, Kristina 2 in

m ountable) com pulsion 2 3 ,6 1 ,6 5 - 6 7 ,

O vid 25n, 52; Ars amatoria 44, 4 7; Heroides

6 9 ,8 0 - 8 4 ,8 7 , 1 2 2 ,1 3 4 , 1 4 0 ,1 4 8 , 1 9 0 -

S7n; Metamorphoses

16 3 ; Remedia

1 9 1 ; unrequited 8, 2 2 ,4 9 ,1 4 8 ,1 9 2 . See

amoris 9, 5 2 - 5 3 , 66, 136 , 14 4 ,14 9

Index



215

Padoan, Giorgio 1 3 3 - 1 3 4 1 1 ,1 3 6 ,1 3 7 0 ,1 4 5 1 1

Pom aro, Gabriella io n

Panizza, Letìzia 135 11, 14411

practical wisdom (phronesis or prudentia) 9,

Papio, M ichael 2n, 1511, 5811, 17611

1 6 - 1 7 , 19 - 2 0 , 23,

particularity 6, 2011, 22, 5 4 -5 5 , 69, 1 1 0 - 1 1 1 ,

5 4

3 9

-

4 1

,

4 3

-44,

4

6,

12 3 , 1 3 1 , 136 , 1 4 9 - 15 0 , 186, 189, 192.

- 5 5 , 9 1, 95n, 97, 1 0 9 - 1 1 1 , 1 2 1 , 12 3, 1 3 1 , 186, 1 8 8 - 1 9 1 . See also Aristotle;

See also B o ccaccio : and Aristotelian

Boccaccio: and Aristotelian ethics; con­

ethics; consolation: polyphony of; prac­ tical w isdom

solation: o f heroism; Thom as Aquinas Psaki, F. Regina 1 9n, n 8 n , 13 5 , 149, i5 2 n

Parva libreria in , is n patience 16 , 23, 37, 75, 8 2 -8 3 , 1 0 6 - m ,

Quaglio, Antonio Enzo 25n, 46n

1 2 3 - 1 3 2 , i3 s n , 15 7 , 160 , 16 5 , 17 3 , 1 7 6 - 1 7 7 , 1 7 9 - 1 8 1 , 186 , 190, 19 2 . See also consolation: o f heroism Penelope 37, 38n, 83 Pertile, Lino 95n Petrarch, Francis 6, 2 1, 24, 6 7 ,1 5 2 - 1 8 7 ,1 9 2 ; as a character in B occaccio’s D e casibus 1 7 1 - 1 7 2 ; Laura, character in works o f

reading, reader: 8 ,1 7 ,1 9 - 2 0 , 2 2 - 2 3 , 2 8 ,4 9 50, 52, 55, 6 0 -6 1, 65, 68, 74, 7 8 - 8 1, 85, 8 9 -9 0 ,9 7, i n , 1 2 3 , 1 3 1 - 1 3 2 , 1 4 7 , 1 4 9 , 1 8 8 - 1 9 2 ; as catalyst o f desire 44. See also consolation: and reading reason 1 4 - 1 5 , 1 7 , 4 5 , 5 1 , 5 3 , 7 2 , 7 9 n, 8 3-8 4 , 1 0 2 - 1 0 3 , 1 1 8 - 1 1 9 , 1 3 5 1 1 , 1 8 0 , 19 1

1 6 2 - 1 6 3 , 16 5 (see also Petrarch, works:

revenge 67, 78, 8 2 ,1 1 4 , i2on , 13 0

Bucolicum carmen: G alatea). See also

Rico, Francisco 2on, i3 3 n , i5 2 n , i5 3 n , i5 4 n

Boccaccio: and Petrarch

Ronchetti, Alessia 49n, 78n

-—, works: Africa i6 2n , i7 3 n ; Bucolicum car­

Rosenfeld, Jessica 1 1 - 1 2 , 1 4 , 26, 27n

men 15 5 , i56n , 16 2 - 1 6 3 ; Bucolicum car­ men: Galatea i6on, 16 2 - 16 5 , 16 7 - 16 8 ,

Salutati, Coluccio 179

17 3 ; Canzoniere 6 jn , i5 2 n ; Collatio lau-

Schiesaro, Alessandro 7 7 -7 8 0

reationis 1 6 1 ; D e remediis utriusque fo r­

Schildgen, Brenda D een s-6 n , 9on

tune 15 5 , i6on, i7 3 n ; Familiares 15 2 ,

Seneca u n , 6 1, 69, 78; D e dementia i7 6 n ;

(2.3) 1 8 0 - 1 8 1 , (2.4) 10 8 ,1 8 0 - 1 8 1 , (6.3)

Medea 73; Oedipus 86n; Phaedra 7 2 -7 3 ,

176, (10 .4 ) 16 1 , ( 1 1 . 1 ) 176, (18 .15 ) 156, 159 , ( 2 1 .1 5 ) 15 2 , 1 6 1 ; Invective contra

8 1; Troades 7 6 -7 7 , 84-85 Sherberg, M ichael i6n, 9 2 -9 3 0 , i i 5 - n 6 n

medicum 15 8 ; Secretum 15 2 , i6on, i7 3n ,

Singleton, Charles 4n, 89n

i8 5n ; Seniles i6on, ( 1 . 5) 15 7 , (10 .4)

Smarr, Jan et 6n, 18, 26n, 39n, 42n, 46-490,

i7 7 n , (17 .2 ) 15 7 , (17 .3 ) i28n, 15 7 Petroni, Pietro 15 7 Phyllis 83 Picone, M ichelangelo 89n, 93n, 97n, 1 1 5 n 6 n , i2 5 n p ity 4 i, 48-49 , 60, 67, 74n, 78n, 84n, 8 6 ,9on, 17 6 . See also com passion

6on, 62, 64 -6 5, 68, 79, i6 2n , 16 7 sorrow: see consolation: and eradication or managing o f sorrow; grief Steinberg, Ju stin i8 n Stock, Brian i6 on Stoicism 1 1 - 1 2 , 1 7 , 2 3 ,4 5 , 5 3 ,5 9 -6 0 , 65, 69, 77, 8 0 - 8 1, 83, 87, i2 8 n , 1 5 5 ,1 6 0 ,1 6 4 -

Plague 3, 88, 89n, 93, 96, 98, i i 3 n , 13 2 , 19 0

16 5 , 17 8 , 1 8 1 - 1 8 2 , 18 6 , 189 . See also

Platonism 1 0 - 1 2 , 1 8 9

consolation: Stoic

pleasure: aesthetic 5; erotic 5, 2 1 , 4 1 - 4 2 , 47n. See also consolation: as diversion

Stone, G regory B. 1 8n storytelling: see consolation: o f storytelling

2, 16



Index

suicide 36, 49, 62, 67, 7 5 , 78, 8 2 -8 3 , 86n,

vernacular, vernacular literature 9, io n , 12 , 1 8 ,2 1- 2 2 ,2 7 ,9 6 11,13 3 ) 1 5 m , 1 5 1 - 1 5 3 ,

io8n, 1 1 4 , 1 1 8 , 120, 140 Surdich, Luigi 2611, 3911, 4711, 5711, 5811, 6911,

155

,16 1- 16 2 ,1 7 7 ,

179

,1 8 4 ,1 8 8 ,1 9 1 -

19 2 Virgil 39, 1 6 2 - 1 6 3 , 16 6 - 16 7 . See also under

7211 Thom as Aquinas 6, 9, 12 , 1 5 - 1 7, 3 2 -3 6 , 40, 4 4 -4 5; 54) 9 1- 9 1) 1 0 2 - 10 3 , io4n, 106,

Alighieri, D ante, w orks, characters in

1 0 9 - 1 1 0 , 1 1 7 - 1 2 0 , 1 2 6 - 1 2 7 , 1 2 9 ,17 5 ,

V on M oos, Peter io n

i8 3n , 186, 1 9 1 ; Commentary on Aristo­

vulnerability 174 , 176 , 178

tle's Nicomachean Ethics (in decem libros ethicorum) 9 - 1 0 , 1 2 , 1 5 , 3 2 - 3 3 , 3 5 -3 6 ,

W allace, D avid 15 5 11

40,

) 10 3 , 11 0 ,

w eeping 3 2 - 3 3 , 45, 49, 5 2—5 3 , 76, 10 2, 104,

12 9 , 18 3 , 186 ;

116 - 11 7 ,1 1 9 - 12 0 ,1 2 8 ,1 4 0 ,1 6 5 - 1 6 6 ,

4 4

-

4 5

)

117 -118 ,

4 7

)

5 4

-

12 6 -12 7 ,

5 5

)

9 1

Summa theologiae 16, 3 4 ,9 2 ,10 2 , io4n,

168, 17 8 ,18 3 - See also grief

106, 1 1 9 - 1 2 0 , i2 9 n , 17 5 . See also B o c­

W illiam o f A ragon 1 1 , 1 5

caccio: and A ristotelian ethics; forti­

W illiam o f C onches 1 1

tude; friendship; practical w isdom

wisdom (senno) 95n, 1 1 0 , 1 3 1 , 19 0. See also practical w isdom ; wit

Todorovic, Je le n a i4 n Tonelli, N atascia 67n, i3 7 n , i4 4 n , i5on ,

wit (ingegno) 3 9 - 4 0 ,4 3 - 4 4 ,9Sn, 9 9 ,10 9 - See

15 m tragedy 9, 5 7 -6 0 , 69, 87, n 8 n , i6 8 -i6 9 .S e e

w om en 18 , 53, 92n, 1 1 1 , 1 1 4 - 1 1 5 , i2 4 n ,

also practical wisdom 128, i3 5 n , 14 8 - 15 0 . See also B occaccio:

also consolation: and tragedy

and wom en

Tufano, Ilaria io 7 n

worldly goods, validation o f 3 , 1 1 - 1 2 , 1 5 - 1 6 ,

T y lu s,Ja n e i3 7 n

27, 29, 96, 99, 106, 108, 1 83, 1 88 Ulysses 3 7 -4 0 , 1 7 0 - 1 7 2 , 17 4 Zabarella, Francesco i7 9 n Veglia, M arco 89n, i3 3 n , i3 5 n , i 3 7 n, iS 2 n , i5 3 n , i5 4 n

*5

m,

Zaccaria, Vittorio 17 4 Zak, G ur i28 n , is s n , i5 7 n , i6 o n

Velh, G iuseppe 2n, i0 3 n

Zam ir, Tzachi 2 on

Venus 3 0 - 3 1 , 35, 65, 79~8o, 82

Zatti, Sergio 1 02n