The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio

by Giovanni Boccaccio

  THE SEVENTH STORY

  [Day the Fifth]

  TEODORO, BEING ENAMOURED OF VIOLANTE, DAUGHTER OF MESSER AMERIGO HIS LORD, GETTETH HER WITH CHILD AND IS CONDEMNED TO BE HANGED; BUT, BEING RECOGNIZED AND DELIVERED BY HIS FATHER, AS THEY ARE LEADING HIM TO THE GALLOWS, SCOURGING HIM THE WHILE, HE TAKETH VIOLANTE TO WIFE

  The ladies, who abode all fearful in suspense to know if the loversshould be burnt, hearing of their escape, praised God and were glad;whereupon the queen, seeing that Pampinea had made an end of herstory, imposed on Lauretta the charge of following on, who blithelyproceeded to say: "Fairest ladies, in the days when good KingWilliam[282] ruled over Sicily, there was in that island a gentlemanhight Messer Amerigo Abate of Trapani, who, among other worldly goods,was very well furnished with children; wherefore, having occasion forservants and there coming thither from the Levant certain galleys ofGenoese corsairs, who had, in their cruises off the coast of Armenia,taken many boys, he bought some of these latter, deeming them Turks,and amongst them one, Teodoro by name, of nobler mien and betterbearing than the rest, who seemed all mere shepherds. Teodoro,although entreated as a slave, was brought up in the house with MesserAmerigo's children and conforming more to his own nature than to theaccidents of fortune, approved himself so accomplished and well-bredand so commended himself to Messer Amerigo that he set him free andstill believing him to be a Turk, caused baptize him and call himPietro and made him chief over all his affairs, trusting greatly inhim.

  [Footnote 282: William II. (A.D. 1166-1189), the last (legitimate)king of the Norman dynasty in Sicily, called the Good, to distinguishhim from his father, William the Bad.]

  As Messer Amerigo's children grew up, there grew up with them adaughter of his, called Violante, a fair and dainty damsel, who, herfather tarrying overmuch to marry her, became by chance enamoured ofPietro and loving him and holding his manners and fashions in greatesteem, was yet ashamed to discover this to him. But Love spared herthat pains, for that Pietro, having once and again looked upon her bystealth, had become so passionately enamoured of her that he neverknew ease save whenas he saw her; but he was sore afraid lest anyshould become aware thereof, himseeming that in this he did other thanwell. The young lady, who took pleasure in looking upon him, soonperceived this and to give him more assurance, showed herselfexceeding well pleased therewith, as indeed she was. On this wise theyabode a great while, daring not to say aught to one another, much aseach desired it; but, whilst both, alike enamoured, languishedenkindled in the flames of love, fortune, as if it had determined ofwill aforethought that this should be, furnished them with an occasionof doing away the timorousness that baulked them.

  Messer Amerigo had, about a mile from Trapani, a very goodlyplace,[283] to which his lady was wont ofttimes to resort by way ofpastime with her daughter and other women and ladies. Thitheraccordingly they betook themselves one day of great heat, carryingPietro with them, and there abiding, it befell, as whiles we see ithappen in summer time, that the sky became of a sudden overcast withdark clouds, wherefore the lady set out with her company to return toTrapani, so they might not be there overtaken of the foul weather, andfared on as fast as they might. But Pietro and Violante, being young,outwent her mother and the rest by a great way, urged belike, no lessby love than by fear of the weather, and they being already so far inadvance that they were hardly to be seen, it chanced that, of asudden, after many thunderclaps, a very heavy and thick shower of hailbegan to fall, wherefrom the lady and her company fled into the houseof a husbandman.

  [Footnote 283: Apparently a pleasure-garden, without a house attachedin which they might have taken shelter from the rain.]

  Pietro and the young lady, having no readier shelter, took refuge in alittle old hut, well nigh all in ruins, wherein none dwelt, and therehuddled together under a small piece of roof, that yet remained whole.The scantness of the cover constrained them to press close one toother, and this touching was the means of somewhat emboldening theirminds to discover the amorous desires that consumed them both; andPietro first began to say, 'Would God this hail might never give over,so but I might abide as I am!' 'Indeed,' answered the girl, 'that weredear to me also.' From these words they came to taking each other bythe hands and pressing them and from that to clipping and after tokissing, it hailing still the while; and in short, not to recountevery particular, the weather mended not before they had known theutmost delights of love and had taken order to have their pleasuresecretly one of the other. The storm ended, they fared on to the gateof the city, which was near at hand, and there awaiting the lady,returned home with her.

  Thereafter, with very discreet and secret ordinance, they foregatheredagain and again in the same place, to the great contentment of themboth, and the work went on so briskly that the young lady became withchild, which was sore unwelcome both to the one and the other;wherefore she used many arts to rid herself, contrary to the course ofnature, of her burden, but could nowise avail to accomplish it.Therewithal, Pietro, fearing for his life, bethought himself to fleeand told her, to which she answered, 'An thou depart, I will withoutfail kill myself.' Whereupon quoth Pietro, who loved her exceedingly,'Lady mine, how wilt thou have me abide here? Thy pregnancy willdiscover our default and it will lightly be pardoned unto thee; but I,poor wretch, it will be must needs bear the penalty of thy sin andmine own.' 'Pietro,' replied she, 'my sin must indeed be discovered;but be assured that thine will never be known, an thou tell notthyself.' Then said he, 'Since thou promisest me this, I will remain;but look thou keep thy promise to me.'

  After awhile, the young lady, who had as most she might, concealed herbeing with child, seeing that, for the waxing of her body, she mightno longer dissemble it, one day discovered her case to her mother,beseeching her with many tears to save her; whereupon the lady, beyondmeasure woeful, gave her hard words galore and would know of her howthe thing had come about. Violante, in order that no harm might cometo Pietro, told her a story of her own devising, disguising the truthin other forms. The lady believed it and to conceal her daughter'sdefault, sent her away to a country house of theirs. There, the timeof her delivery coming and the girl crying out, as women use to do,what while her mother never dreamed that Messer Amerigo, who was wellnigh never wont to do so, should come thither, it chanced that hepassed, on his return from hawking, by the chamber where his daughterlay and marvelling at the outcry she made, suddenly entered thechamber and demanded what was to do. The lady, seeing her husband comeunawares, started up all woebegone and told him that which hadbefallen the girl. But he, less easy of belief than his wife had been,declared that it could not be true that she knew not by whom she waswith child and would altogether know who he was, adding that, byconfessing it, she might regain his favour; else must she make readyto die without mercy.

  The lady did her utmost to persuade her husband to abide content withthat which she had said; but to no purpose. He flew out into a passionand running, with his naked sword in his hand, at his daughter, who,what while her mother held her father in parley, had given birth to amale child, said, 'Either do thou discover by whom the child wasbegotten, or thou shalt die without delay.' The girl, fearing death,broke her promise to Pietro and discovered all that had passed betweenhim and her; which when the gentleman heard, he fell into a fury ofanger and hardly withheld himself from slaying her.

  However, after he had said to her that which his rage dictated to him,he took horse again and returning to Trapani, recounted the affrontthat Pietro had done him to a certain Messer Currado, who was captainthere for the king. The latter caused forthright seize Pietro, who wasoff his guard, and put him to the torture, whereupon he confessed alland being a few days after sentenced by the captain to be floggedthrough the city and after strung up by the neck, Messer Amerigo(whose wrath had not been done away by the having brought Pietro todeath,) in order that one and the same hour should rid the earth ofthe two lovers and their child, put poison in a hanap with wine anddelivering it, together with a naked poniard, to a servi
ng-man of his,said to him, 'Carry these two things to Violante and bid her, on mypart, forthright take which she will of these two deaths, poison orsteel; else will I have her burned alive, even as she hath deserved,in the presence of as many townsfolk as be here. This done, thou shalttake the child, a few days agone born of her, and dash its headagainst the wall and after cast it to the dogs to eat.' This barbaroussentence passed by the cruel father upon his daughter and hisgrandchild, the servant, who was more disposed to ill than to good,went off upon his errand.

  Meanwhile, Pietro, as he was carried to the gallows by the officers,being scourged of them the while, passed, according as it pleasedthose who led the company, before a hostelry wherein were threenoblemen of Armenia, who had been sent by the king of that countryambassadors to Rome, to treat with the Pope of certain matters ofgreat moment, concerning a crusade that was about to be undertaken,and who had lighted down there to take some days' rest andrefreshment. They had been much honoured by the noblemen of Trapaniand especially by Messer Amerigo, and hearing those pass who ledPietro, they came to a window to see. Now Pietro was all naked to thewaist, with his hands bounden behind his back, and one of the threeambassadors, a man of great age and authority, named Fineo, espied onhis breast a great vermeil spot, not painted, but naturally imprintedon his skin, after the fashion of what women here call _roses_. Seeingthis, there suddenly recurred to his memory a son of his who had beencarried off by corsairs fifteen years agone upon the coast of Lazistanand of whom he had never since been able to learn any news; andconsidering the age of the poor wretch who was scourged, he bethoughthimself that, if his son were alive, he must be of such an age asPietro appeared to him. Wherefore he began to suspect by that tokenthat it must be he and bethought himself that, were he indeed his son,he should still remember him of his name and that of his father and ofthe Armenian tongue. Accordingly, as he drew near, he called out,saying, 'Ho, Teodoro!' Pietro, hearing this, straightway lifted up hishead and Fineo, speaking in Armenian, said to him, 'What countrymanart thou and whose son?' The sergeants who had him in charge haltedwith him, of respect for the nobleman, so that Pietro answered,saying, 'I was of Armenia and son to one Fineo and was brought hither,as a little child, by I know not what folk.'

  Fineo, hearing this, knew him for certain to be the son whom he hadlost, wherefore he came down, weeping, with his companions, and ran toembrace him among all the sergeants; then, casting over his shouldersa mantle of the richest silk, which he had on his own back, hebesought the officer who was escorting him to execution to be pleasedto wait there till such time as commandment should come to him tocarry the prisoner back; to which he answered that he would well. NowFineo had already learned the reason for which Pietro was being led todeath, report having noised it abroad everywhere; wherefore hestraightway betook himself, with his companions and their retinue, toMesser Currado and bespoke him thus: 'Sir, he whom you have doomed todie, as a slave, is a free man and my son and is ready to take towife her whom it is said he hath bereft of her maidenhead; whereforemay it please you to defer the execution till such time as it may belearned if she will have him to husband, so, in case she be willing,you may not be found to have done contrary to the law.' MesserCurrado, hearing that the condemned man was Fineo's son, marvelled andconfessing that which the latter said to be true, was somewhat ashamedof the unright of fortune and straightway caused carry Pietro home;then, sending for Messer Amerigo, he acquainted him with these things.

  Messer Amerigo, who by this believed his daughter and grandson to bedead, was the woefullest man in the world for that which he had done,seeing that all might very well have been set right, so but Violantewere yet alive. Nevertheless, he despatched a runner whereas hisdaughter was, to the intent that, in case his commandment had not beendone, it should not be carried into effect. The messenger found theservant sent by Messer Amerigo rating the lady, before whom he hadlaid the poniard and the poison, for that she made not her election asspeedily [as he desired], and would have constrained her to take theone or the other. But, hearing his lord's commandment, he let her beand returning to Messer Amerigo, told him how the case stood, to thegreat satisfaction of the latter, who, betaking himself whereas Fineowas, excused himself, well nigh with tears, as best he knew, of thatwhich had passed, craving pardon therefor and evouching that, anTeodoro would have his daughter to wife, he was exceeding well pleasedto give her to him. Fineo gladly received his excuses and answered,'It is my intent that my son shall take your daughter to wife; and ifhe will not, let the sentence passed upon him take its course.'

  Accordingly, being thus agreed, they both repaired whereas Teodoroabode yet all fearful of death, albeit he was rejoiced to have foundhis father again, and questioned him of his mind concerning thisthing. When he heard that, an he would, he might have Violante towife, such was his joy that himseemed he had won from hell to heavenat one bound, and he answered that this would be to him the utmost offavours, so but it pleased both of them. Thereupon they sent to knowthe mind of the young lady, who, whereas she abode in expectation ofdeath, the woefullest woman alive, hearing that which had betided andwas like to betide Teodoro, after much parley, began to lend somefaith to their words and taking a little comfort, answered that, wereshe to ensue her own wishes in the matter, no greater happiness couldbetide her than to be the wife of Teodoro; algates, she would do thatwhich her father should command her.

  Accordingly, all parties being of accord, the two lovers were marriedwith the utmost magnificence, to the exceeding satisfaction of all thetownsfolk; and the young lady, heartening herself and letting rear herlittle son, became ere long fairer than ever. Then, being risen fromchildbed, she went out to meet Fineo, whose return was expected fromRome, and paid him reverence as to a father; whereupon he, exceedingwell pleased to have so fair a daughter-in-law, caused celebrate theirnuptials with the utmost pomp and rejoicing and receiving her as adaughter, ever after held her such. And after some days, taking shipwith his son and her and his little grandson, he carried them with himinto Lazistan, where the two lovers abode in peace and happiness, solong as life endured unto them."