The Story of Griselda by Giovanni Boccaccio

Context

Literature

Author

Synopsis

Characters

AnalysisMaurice F. Bautista

IV-BSPT

Renaissance

- means

“rebirth”. It was a

cultural movement that

spanned the period

roughly from the 14th

to the 17th Century,

beginning in Italy in the

Late Middle Ages and

later spreading to the

rest of Europe.A Renaissance sculpture Michelangelo's Pieta

Characteristics:

1. Adaptation of

humanist philosophy.

2. Recovery of the

classical literature of

antiquity.

3. Spread of printing.

Dante Alighieri

was the first writer

who defined the

written version of his

native language,

Italian, when he

wrote, in the early

fourteen century, his

"Divine Comedy" in

Italian.

Renaissance Literature Writers

Photograph of Dante Alighieri and

a quote from him

Baldassare Castiglione

count of Novellata, was

a diplomat and a

prominent author. He is

remembered for his

book "Libro del

cortegiano” success at

that time.


Photograph of Baldassare Castiglione

Baldassare Castiglione

The book, written in the form

of philosophical dialogues,

influenced greatly the

behavior of the courtier of the

Renaissance and became a

guide to what is expected of

the noble man or woman to

be like.


Photograph of Baldassare Castiglione

Benvenuto Cellini was an Italian goldsmith,

painter, sculptor, soldier,

musician, and author. His

only famous literary work,

his autobiography, one of

the most important

documents of the 16th

century, made him as

well- work remembered

as much as his fine art.


Benvenuto Cellini’s Coin

Ludovico Ariosto

was an Italian poet who

wrote Petrarchan

sonnetti and canzoni,

satires, and comedies.

However, he is best

known for "Orlando

Furioso” his epic poem

which greatly Byron.


Photograph of Ludovico Ariosto

Giovanni

Boccaccio

wrote about variety of

topics, from biographies

of famous men and

women, mythological

treatise, and the

geographical dictionary

to love poetry, to

adventurous tales.


Photograph of Giovanni Boccaccio

Giovanni

Boccaccio

He was recognized and

well known for his Latin

works. Many people also

considered him to be the

early person who had the

interest in humanism. He

also had revived

Hellenistic learning.


Photograph of Giovanni Boccaccio

Education for women

limited because there

was a fear that educated

women would transform

the society.

Unmarried women

cannot live

independently because

this was against the

social norms.

Collage of Renaissance Women

Women were just for

men and were denied in

politics participation.

Women of any class are

just housewives.

Collage of Renaissance Women

Born: June 16, 1313 Certaldo, Italy

Died: Dec 21, 1375, Certaldo, Italy

Parents: Boccaccino di Chellino

Children: Mario Boccaccio,

Violante Boccaccio,

Giulio Boccaccio,

Francesco Boccaccio

Giovanni Boccaccio facts will be so

much advantageous to read id you were

reading his works. More and more people

have gained interest to learn about him.

So, what I provide below will be your basic

info to get further trivia related to this

person

1. Who Is He?

He was Italian author. He was

recognized and well known for his Latin

works. Many people also considered him

to be the early person who had the interest

in humanism. He also had revived

Hellenistic learning.

2. The Culture

The important

fact is that his

culture was rooted in

the middle Ages. Yet,

the conception of his

life points had

moved forward to

the Renaissance. Renaissance Culture

3. Family

The most recognizable one about his

family was his father. The name is

Boccaccio di Chellino. He was a merchant

who come from certain town named

Certaldo. He was successful banker in

certain company such as Peruzzi and

Bardi.

4. Birth

People still didn’t

know about exact

birth date of him. It

remained unknown up

to now. Yet, some

people said that he

was born in Paris of a

Parisian noble

woman.Noble Woman Costume

5. Latin Study

Giovanni had the

interest to study Latin in

1321. Yet, his father

didn’t provide him with

encouragement. Later,

Giovanni went to

Naples in order to study

commerce.

6. Canon Law

He had spent 6 years as fruitless

apprenticeship. Later he abandoned the

commerce and gained interest to study

about canon law. It was for next 6 years.

The fact is that he regretted such lost time

of 6 years before.

7. Fiammetta

He had his

earliest composition. It

preceded his love for

Fiammetta. The name

of the composition

was Caccia di Diana.

It can be considered

to be the most unique

fact about him.Illustration of Fiammetta

8. Father’s Bankruptcy

His father suffered from bankruptcy in

1340. This affected the life of the entire

family’s life actually. This also became the

reason why Giovanni returned to Florence.

9. The ProphecyThere was a monk who

brought prophecy of

imminent death to

Giovanni. This made

him to abandon his

studies and becoming

religious person.

Monk in Renaissance Period

10. The DeathHe died in later

1374. He died in

Certaldo and buried in

certain church named

SS. Michele e Jacopo.

SS. Michele e Jacopo

1337: Boccaccio wrote the Filocolo, a courtly

romance which was written in prose.

• Labor of Love

• lt is a prose romance in five books

that begins with the male narrator

recounting his initial meeting with

Fiammetta.

• lt is based on a very popular story of

the time, Florio and Biancifiore

“Il Tesaida” (1341) It is also known as The Book of Theseus (Teseida delle

Nozze d’Emilia)

Boccaccio intended it to be the first epic poem in the

vernacular

lt is divided into twelve book of verse, by analogy with

Virgil’s Aeneid

lt is the main source of "The Knight's Tale" in Geoffrey

Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, and therefore is the

original source of "Two Noble Kinsmen" a collaboration

by William Shakespeare, John Fletcher and Richard

Brighton.

“Comedy of Horentine Nymphs” Written in 1342.

It is one of the most important medieval eschatology.

salt is composed of both terza rima and prose.

It is an allegorical romance in a pastoral setting.

It was inspired by Dante's model of the Divine

Comedy

It evolves from a sad beginning towards a happy

ending.

“La Fammietta” Written in 1344.

Elegy of Madonna Fiammetta

It is a feminist literature

It was written in the form of a first person

confessional monologue

It alludes to the Arthurian tale of Tristan and

Isolde

“La Fammietta” It is a nine chapter prose narrative told from the

perspective of Fiammetta, tracing the downward

spiral of her despair after her lover Panfilo

abandons her

It is the first psychological novel in a modern

language and a precursor of stream-of-

consciousness fiction

La Fiammetta stands out among medieval

women as an ardent and outspoken feminist

“Decameron” Completed compiling in 1353.

Dedicated on women and offers advice on love

It begins with the flight of 10 young people (7

women and 3 men) from plague-stricken

Florence in 1348.

lt includes storytelling which occupies 10 days of

the fortnight hence the title of the book itself,

Decameron, or “Ten Days’ Work”

“Decameron” Each of the days, moreover, ends with a

canzone (song) for dancing sung by one of the

storytellers, and these canzoni include some of

Boccaccio’s flnest lyric poetry

Boccaccio has a master theme, namely, the way

of life of the refined bourgeoisie, who combined

respect for conventions with an open-minded

attitude to personal behavior

“Life of Dante”

Written in 1355.

It is the introduction to the Divine Comedy

It is one of the earliest examples of biography

It is divided into chapters

“Life of Dante” Written in 1355.

It is the introduction to the Divine Comedy

It is one of the earliest examples of biography

It is divided into chapters

It provides into the lives and thoughts of two

great Italian men

Boccaccio was, a fervent admirer of Dante, and

as such, he embarked upon writing this short

piece as a vindication of the merits of his

illustrious fellow- citizen

“Concerning Famous Women” Written in 1361.

It is the first collection of biographies in Western

literature devoted exclusively to women

It contains the lives of one hundred and six

women in myth and history, ranging from Eve to

Boccaccio’s contemporary, Queen Giovanna l of

Naples

“Concerning Famous Women” These brief biographies afford a fascinating

glimpse of a moment in history when medieval

attitudes toward women were beginning to give

way to more modern views of their potential

He dedicated it to Andrea Acciaiuoli, countess of

Altavilla in the kingdom of Naples and sister of

Niccolo Acciaiuoli, the grand seneschal of Queen

Giovanna I.

The storyline is in

Renaissance Period

and took place in

Saluzzo, Italy.

Map of Saluzzo, Italy

Marquis Gualtieri

He is the eldest son of the Saluzzo

Family.

Gualtieri spent so much time at hunting

and other sports that he gave no thought

about marrying and establishing a family.

Griselda

A beautiful, but poor young woman from

a neighboring village who became

GuaItieri’s wife.

Despite her social standing, she showed

a worthy character which earned other’s

respect for her.

The Marquis of Saluzzo was one day

admonished by his highest nobles to take a wife,

for he was too often in solitude and the people

wanted to see him happy and to produce an heir.

The Marquis consented to marry, but on the

condition that his people accept whomever he

chose, be she a princess or a serf. And his

people were happy that he would marry to

please them and they set about preparing for his

wedding.

In a nearby village there was a poor man,

old and in failing health, by the name of Janicula.

And with him was his only daughter, Griselda.

She was fair of face, but was even more fair in

virtue, for she dwelt in poverty with her father

without complaint, and tended him tenderly, and

was pious and was never seen to do a bad deed,

nor speak ill. And the people in her village and in

the surrounding areas spoke very highly of the

sweet girl.

The Marquis knew of Griselda because he

sometimes passed through her village on his

way to the hunt. And he oftentimes looked upon

her fair face and saw her sweet character, and

he was determined, when he would be wed, that

he should wed none other than this virtuous

young woman. And so he instructed his nobles to

prepare for his wedding, for he had chosen his

bride. But he did not tell them who he had

chosen and there was great astonishment and

wonder at who the maid might be.

And when the wedding day arrived, the

Marquis set out as a bridegroom would do to

retrieve his bride, with all his retinue and noble

folk following behind him in wonderment. He

went to Janicula's house, and there found

Griselda carrying a water pot to the house. The

Marquis asked to speak to her father and with

great humbleness, she obeyed. When Janicula

came from the house, the marquis took him

aside and asked if he might marry Griselda. And

Janicula was without words for a moment,

before humbling saying that anything of his

belonged to his lord. And the Marquis went into

the house with Janicula and asked Griselda, if he

would take her as his wife, would she obey him

in everything, without argument or contradiction,

not in word, sign, deed or thought? And she

humbly replied that she was not so worthy to be

his wife, but it that was his will, then she would

obey him in all things.

And so the Marquis introduced her to his

people as his intended wife and their new lady.

And he had women of his court remove her

clothing and other signs of poverty and bathe

and dress her as a wealthy woman on her

wedding day. And then they went to the church

and were wed, then Griselda was mounted on a

white palfrey and taken to the Marquis's palace

and there feasted. And everyone marveled how

such a regal and noble figure could have been

the girl they knew from the shepherd's cottage?

And everyone was happy with the Marquis's

choice.

In the time that followed, Griselda's fame

only grew. She kept herself busy with women's

chores, but she also appeared in public for the

sake of her husband. And when their nobles or

those of another province quarreled over

something, she would appear like and angel and

speak gently and with such good sense that the

argument was quickly forgotten and everyone

was satisfied by her suggestion,

to the point that many said she had been

heaven-sent to lead them all to salvation.

After a time Griselda got with a child and

further on, it was born a girl. And the people

were happy and so was the Marquis (although

he would have been a bit more happy if it had

been a boy). And then, when the child was about

two years old, the Marquis got into mind to test

his wife to see if she was as good and loyal as

everyone thought. And so he went to Griselda

with a long face and when she asked him why he

sighed so, he told her that he had

heard that his people and the other noble lords in

that area were speaking darkly against him for

having a child with such a lowly woman. That

they said that Janicula, the peasant shepherd

would surely rule over them if the Marquis were

to die without a male heir. And with that he went

away from her.

Later, he sent a trusted male guard to her with

the instruction to bring the baby to him. And Griselda

knew then that the child would be killed. And she

kissed it and hugged it and made a sign over it and

then gave it to the guard, asking him, if it did not go

against his orders, to please bury the child and not

let its body be eaten by the wild beasts. And the

Marquis was surprised that Griselda had obeyed him

without a contrary word, but still he was not satisfied.

And he had his guard take the child to his sister to

be fostered by her in secret.

For several years the Marquis watched his wife, but

Griselda never spoke of their child again, and never

showed, by word or deed, any contempt or accusation of

her husband. She remained cheerful and was a good

woman. After a time she got with child again and this

time had a son. And again the Marquis came to her after

the child was weaned and told her that the people were

not happy that a child of a low-born woman would be

their new lord. And again he sent the guard after the

child, and again Griselda kissed and hugged the child,

made the sign of the cross over it, and gave it to the

guard with the plea to not leave his body to be eaten by

wild animals.

After some more years, the Marquis wrote his sister

and told her to bring his children to him. And he let it be

put out that a young girl was being sent to him as a bride

and that the Pope had given him dispensation to be

divorced from Griselda. And he told Griselda that his

people had grown too angry and that they did not support

her and that he was going to have to wed another and

produce a proper heir. And Griselda meekly said that she

would go home to her father's house if that is what her

lord wished. And he said yes, that it what he wished.

Only that she must not take with her anything that she

did not bring with her. And she reminded him that she

had been stripped of her clothing in her father's house

and brought from there in clothing provided by the

Marquis. And if he said so, she would return naked to her

father's house, but if he had pity, at least allow her a

chemise as she had brought her virginity into that house

and was returning without it, and to allow her to cover her

womb that had born his children. And the Marquis

allowed it and went away to weep that he had such a

wife.

And the people of the court followed Griselda

home, who walked barefoot with nothing on but

her chemise. And they wept bitterly to see her in

such a state, for they all truly loved her. And she

told them not to say a word against their lord, her

husband, because he did what he had done for

the best purpose. And she went inside her

father's home (who was not at all surprised that

his son-in-law had done this thing).

And when the Marquis's sister drew near, he sent for

Griselda. When she had come to him, he asked her if

she would serve his new bride for a time because she

was young and would not know so well as Griselda how

he liked to have his house run, and to teach her. And she

said that she would do this. And a great wedding was

planned. Before the guests assembled for the wedding,

the Marquis asked Griselda if his new wife would suit him

and she said yes, she was a fine girl, of noble breeding.

But, she said, because the girl is young and of gentle

stock, it would be pitiful to try the girl with what she

herself had borne, because such a gentle soul could not

bear it.

And the Marquis could not bear it anymore

and he announced to all that he had been testing

Griselda, his wife, and that he had not had his

children killed as they all assumed. For this girl

was not his intended, but his daughter, and her

brother his son. And Griselda fell into a swoon on

the floor and wept and kissed her children until

everyone else was moved to weep with pity for

her. And the Marquis had her taken to her rooms

and dressed in the finest clothing and jewels and

brought to the feast.

And Janicula was sent for as well. And everyone

marveled at how obedient and patient Griselda

had been, and how there must be none other like

her. And Janicula lived in the palace all the rest

of his days, and Griselda and the Marquis lived

long lives and were well loved by their subjects.

The Story of Griselda is in Renaissance

Period. The fifteenth century marked the

beginning of the Renaissance or "rebirth," a

period when the oppression of the medieval

ages was lifted. As the terror of the plague slowly

passed, culture once again began to flourish.

1453 marked the fall of the Byzantine Empire,

leading to a great migration of the scholars to

Italy and the Netherlands. Thus Italy became

home to many thinkers and artisans.

The Story of Griselda was extremely popular

in the middle ages. Similar, just as modern

people know the story of Cinderella or Snow

White. It include it here because it not only

illustrates the virtues that were most highly

regarded in medieval women, but also because

many modern non-fiction books on the middle

ages reference the story as well, but never

bother to tell it, assuming that every student of

the middle ages already knows it.

Gualtieri is portrayed as a dynamic

character. A dynamic character has a well

rounded personality but still grows and develops

throughout the story. Gualtieri is depicted at first

as a person who enjoys being a bachelor and

plans on staying one.

His decision changed but his intention for

marrying is is not out of love but out of duty. As

the story progressed, he learned to love and

respect Griselda for who she is. He also learned

to fully embrace the idea of marriage and family

unlike in the beginning of the story.

Griselda on the other hand is portrayed

as a static r character in the story. Although

she is one of the main characters, she is

portrayed with a single personality and

didn't grow throughout the story. It is

noticeable that Griselda remained obedient

and patient in the course of the challenges

that she faced.

The point of view used in the story is

the objective third person. An objective

narrator is not a character in the story and

simply reports the dialogues and actions of

the characters. The Story of Griselda was

told from a perspective that is outside the

story and everything that was happening

was simply reported throughout the story.

The story contains two conflicts:

man vs society and man Vs man.

Gualtieri experienced conflict with the

society when he was pressed to marry

because of his position. As a Marquis, he

is expected to fullfill his duty which

includes securing an heir.

Another conflict arose when Gualtieri

didn't trust Griselda’s character when they

married. Due to Gualtieri’s mistrust and

curiousity to the extent of Griselda’s

personality, he device a long term trial for

Griselda. These tests were overcome by

Griselda which led Gualtieri to fully accept

and trust her.

The theme of the story is faithfulness or

wife's faithfulness to her husband. Griselda

illustrated the kind of wife who listens and

accepts her husband's every decision. She

was willing to do everything to please her

husband even i it means sacrificing

herself.

The story is a Feminist story. The story

is centered on Griselda. It is all about how

faithful Griselda will be for Gualteri. Even

there are so many trials for Griselda she

still remains faithful. This story depicts that

women are very strong and have presence

of dignity even though they are abused.

Thank You!!!

http://www.bartleby.com/195/1002.html

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/2464

02/Griselda

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/11/11/

renaissance-man-4

http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/344/giovan

ni-boccaccios-the-decameron-and-the-roles-of-

men-and-women

The Story of Griselda by Giovanni Boccaccio

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Transcript of The Story of Griselda by Giovanni Boccaccio