This is a large prose work, and it is a collection of short stories or Nouvelles. The Black Death was directly the inspiration for his most celebrated work the Decameron, which was written between 1348-1353. The plague killed up to one-third of the population of Italy and the devastation it caused, deeply impacted Boccaccio’s writings. The young writer traveled throughout Italy at this time, and he appears to escape the Black Death unscathed (1347-1350). It was at this time that he grew as a writer and wrote a traditional medieval style Romance in verse, In the Elegy of Lady Fiammetta, which has some of his most beautiful poetry. In 1340 the Bardi Bank collapsed, and this creates a European financial crisis, which forced Boccaccio to return to Florence, leaving his beloved in Naples. He wrote a long poem, Il Filostrato, and Teseida, which represented his emotional turmoil caused by his unrequited love for the King’s daughter. Boccaccio’s first efforts were in poetry, and he was much influenced by the Sicilian School. The young man would regularly attend the Royal Court, and he fell in love with the young daughter of the king, who inspired some of his later works, but his passion was unrequited.

It was about this time that he became interested in the mythology of the Greeks and the Romans.

The young man was obliged to become an apprentice banker, which he hated, but he was able to meet many writers and scholars. His father moved to Naples and worked as a financial advisor to the king and Boccaccio was familiar with the Neapolitan Court. From an early age, the young Giovanni was determined to be a poet. The young boy received an excellent education and was tutored in Latin, and his father also gave him some business training. It appears that Boccaccio was born outside of marriage and he was raised by his father and legitimized. The future writer was born in a village outside of the city of Florence, and he was the son of Boccaccio de Chellino, a wealthy merchant and banker, who was employed by the famous Bardi Bank.

Boccaccio the decameron