Bibliographical Study of Giovanni Boccaccio - Essay Example

Outline Part I: Bibliographical Study of Giovanni Boccaccio A. Birth and Family B. Childhood and Youth C. Major Influences 1. Maria d'Acquino: the Inspiration of the Early Works 2. Petrarch: Lifelong Friend and Teacher D. The Most Significant Dates in the Life of Giovanni Boccaccio Part II: Works of Giovanni Boccaccio A. "Decameron" - the Thirteenth Century "Divine Comedy" B. "Concerning Famous Women" - an Insight into the Concept of Womanhood Part III: Giovanni Boccaccio: Global Perspective Works Cited Part I: Bibliographical Study of Giovanni Boccaccio A. Birth and Family The facts concerning the life of Giovanni Boccaccio are for the most part doubtful. However, when it comes to speaking about chronological questions, they are seldom argued by scholars. Giovanni Boccaccio was born in 1313, but there is some uncertainty surrounding the place of his birth. Many scholars believe that he was born in Paris from a French mother. (Hutton, E. 3) The family of Boccaccio originally comes from Certaldo in Valdelsa, his father was a Florentine banker and a money changer. An ordinary opinion is that his father and mother, Jeannette or Jeanne, were never married. Boccaccio was brought being a tiny baby to Florence, however there is uncertainty concerning this fact, as his father married in Margherita di Gian Donato de' Martoli in 1314 and scholars are not sure whether Giovanni accompanied him. (Hutton, E. 10) B. Childhood and Youth Giovanni Boccaccio spent his boyhood in the hills about Settignago in the woods above the Mensola and the valley of the Affrico. There is little information available regarding his early years. According to the writings of Giovanni1, he was able to read and write at the age of seven, further with Giovanni di Domenico Mazzuoli da Strada he began the study of grammar. (Hutton, E. 12) After that Giovanni was set to study Mathematics and the more he knew about accounting and bookkeeping, the more he hated it. Still hoping to see the son prosperous in a classical way, Giovanni's father sent him Naples to become a merchant. Giovanni writes later, that "If my father had dealt wisely with me I might have been among the great poets." (Hutton, E. 19) Either this way or the other, Giovanni ended up studying law, which, as it seems, he enjoyed no more then banking. The studying of the law allowed him to establish good contact with students. Humanists Barbato da Sulmona and Giovanni Barrili, and the theologian Dionigi da San Sepolcro should be emphasized when it comes to speaking about the early influences of Boccaccio. Giovanni managed to put up with his stepmother until the moment, when she gave birth to his stepbrother - Francesco. The reflections of Giovanni back on his childhood seem to be filled with grief and sorrow. (Hutton, E. 15-20) C. Major Influences 1. Maria d'Acquino: the Inspiration of the Early Works Boccaccio saw Maria d'Acquino, a married woman and natural daughter of King Robert, in 1334 for the first time. The woman was the inspiration of his early works, once coming into his life, she never left him. The golden hair, shining eyes, and the milk-white skin, her love was the greatest prize of his youth. (Hutton, E. 30) Even though the fact that Boccaccio found his inspiration in a woman can hardly be doubted, still there is no documental proof that Maria ever existed and was not a product of wild imagination of one of the greatest writers that had ever existed. The reason why particular consideration should be given to the early years of Boccaccio and his first romantic love is that these events pre-determined his further life. Maria introduced Boccaccio to court and merged him to write. 2. Petrarch: Lifelong Friend and Teacher After being called by father back to Florence in 1341, Boccaccio met his lifelong friend and master Petrarch. Undoubtedly, ever since the moment in 1350, when Boccaccio met Petrarch, he was under his influence. This resulted in a transformational change of the writer: "From a creative writer of splendid genius he gradually became a scholar of vast reading but of mediocre achievement." (Hutton, E. 223) The two men were exchanging books, ideas, and news thus formed a foundation of a classical antiquity. There is a viewpoint, that later, in 1361, Boccaccio regarded his early works written before he met Petrarch as being unskillful and profane. Petrarch died in 1374; it was a shocking event in the life of Boccaccio. Giovanni wrote a commemorate poem to honor his friend, which is included in his collection of lyrics poems - the Rime. D. The Most Significant Dates in the Life of Giovanni Boccaccio Starting 1347 Boccaccio was spending much time in Ravenna. His stepmother died in 1348 during the epidemic of Black Death, father - in 1349 making Giovanni the head of the family. Being actively interested in Florentine government and closely involved in Italian humanism, the first mission of Boccaccio to Romagno was in 1350. In 1359 following a meeting with Pope Innocent VI, Boccaccio's worldview was modified by religious beliefs. In 1361 the majority of closest friends of Giovanni were either executed or exiled, even though there is no direct linkage found, it is believed that this is the major reason why Boccaccio left Florence and gave up governmental affairs. (Hutton, E. 189-200) Boccaccio undertook missions to Venice, Naples and went back to the work for Florentine government in 1365. The final years of Giovanni Boccaccio were troubled by illness much related to his obesity: "First of all I was beset by a continuous and burning itching, and a dry scab, to scratch the dry scales and the flakes of which I had scarce nails enough day or night; then I was afflicted by a heaviness, a sluggishness of the bowels." (Hutton, E. 280) He died in Certaldo, on the 21st of November, 1375. Part II: Works of Giovanni Boccaccio Throughout his life, Boccaccio wrote a number of important works both in terms of humanistic and Renaissance movements. His major works are: "Decameron", collection of prose written in Italian from 1350 till 1353; "On the Genealogy of the Gods of the Gentiles" was finished in 1374 and for many years was a major source of reference of mythological studies; "The Corbaccio", a satirical work finished in 1355 and dedicated to the problem of unreciprocated love; "Biography of Dante" was written in 1364 and dedicated to the famous author; "On the Fates of Famous Men", the stories of life of the outstanding men were written on the period from 1355 till 1374; finally, "Concerning Famous Women", a work similar to the one dedicated to famous men that also was finished in 1374. (Hutton, E. 63, 224, 292) A. "Decameron" - the Thirteenth Century "Divine Comedy" "Decameron" is an important historic document of the Black Death in Europe. "Decameron" consists of one hundred stories told over ten days by ten people: seven women and three men. In "Decameron" Boccaccio "indeed set out, with a magnanimous disposition, to paint from truth the whole world, and all customs, and the innermost and hidden characteristics of humans. He did so being true to their social status, age, interests, occupations, attachments, ruses and passions." (Forni, M. 115) The most interesting part in this book is the description of the human behavior during the epidemic. The author vividly portrays the influence of the Black Death on people: abandonment of family and friends, isolation and dissolution of individuals, cruelty to the disproportionately affected underclass. Boccaccio emphasizes the impact of social institutions such as religion, public health, law, traditions and customs, culture, all of which even though normally guide humans in normal life, failed to either control or improve the situation. The aim of the writing is both to delight and to instruct. (Thompson, N.S. 88-95) The greatest work of the fourteenth century, similar to the "Divine Comedy" in the thirteenth, the "Decameron" sums up the experiences of the medieval time impersonally. Boccaccio prefers to stay off own judgment of the world, hatred, love. The scheme of the writing is immutable and immutable, an absolute miracle of design. The depiction of streets deserted or horrible with the dead surrounded by the foam of a dreadful silence broken only by the more dreadful laughter of those infected with the disease can hardly leave anybody motionless. (Hutton, E. 295) B. "Concerning Famous Women" - an Insight into the Concept of Womanhood It is interesting to note, that Boccaccio's work "Concerning Famous Women" is one of the few books accepted by the feministic movement. Boccaccio portrays the dignity of women, women had no place next to the pagans and female saints "have been described in special books, as their merits required, by pious men outstanding for their knowledge of sacred literature and for their venerable greatness." (Blumenfeld-Kosinski, R. 1996) One of the striking themes in "Concerning Famous Women" is violence against the female body. Boccaccio was one of the first contributors to the process of formation of the modern concept of the role of women in society. Part III: Giovanni Boccaccio: Global Perspective Giovanni Boccaccio was a poet, scholar and diplomat whose work contributed to the respectability of the classical texts. Boccaccio helped to raise literature in the vernacular to the respectability of classical texts. He was a man of Renaissance in every way, he advanced further the Petrarch. In his works, based on his own experience and analysis of the surroundings, he managed to depict the tragedy and comics alike. The centrality of Boccaccio's narratives of antiquity and modernity can hardly be doubted. Boccaccio used literally tradition to describe, analyze, and challenge the structures and arrangements within which human agency, understanding, will, and desire play out. (Taylor, K. 2003) Boccaccio is often referred to as The Father of Italian Prose, of the great writers who opened the literature of the modern world: Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio, the last one is who contributed the most to the world culture and civilization. While Dante was known for the profound mysticism, Petrarch for outstanding sweetness and perfection, Boccaccio combined all major qualities at once: humility, laughter, love. Boccaccio found the centre of things not in the posteriori life experience, but in the beauty of the feelings. He started writing before he was twenty and was stopped only by death. (Hutton, E. ix) Works Cited Blumenfeld-Kosinski, Renate. ""Femme De Corps et Femme Par Sens": Christine De Pizan's Saintly Women." The Romanic Review 87.2 (1996): 157+. Questia. 28 Nov. 2005 . Forni, Pier Massimo. Adventures in Speech: Rhetoric and Narration in Boccaccio's Decameron. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996. Hutton, Edward. Giovanni Boccaccio: A Biographical Study. New York: J. Lane, 1910. Taylor, Karla. "Robert R. Edwards, Chaucer and Boccaccio: Antiquity and Modernity." Medium Aevum 72.2 (2003): 326+. Questia. 28 Nov. 2005 . Thompson, N. S. Chaucer, Boccaccio, and the Debate of Love: A Comparative Study of the Decameron and the Canterbury Tales. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. Read More