Summary
The Decameron, Volume I introduces readers to the famous frame story that sets the stage for Giovanni Boccaccio’s masterful collection of tales.
Written during the 14th century as the Black Death ravaged Europe, the book opens with ten young nobles—seven women and three men—fleeing Florence to escape the plague.
They settle in a countryside villa and agree to tell stories over ten days to pass the time, each person contributing one tale per day, for a total of ten stories per day.
Volume I typically includes the first few days of storytelling (depending on the edition), and each day is often themed—for example, tales of fortune, cleverness, or love.
These stories range from comic to tragic, romantic to ribald, and offer a vivid picture of medieval life and thought.
Volume I lays the foundation for the entire Decameron and introduces Boccaccio's brilliant use of humor, irony, realism, and social critique, making it both entertaining and intellectually rich.