Primary Source Giovanni Boccaccio - The Decameron
Primary Source Giovanni Boccaccio - The Decameron
Primary source: Giovanni Boccaccio - The Decameron _________________________________________________1. What is the main idea Boccaccio is trying to communicate in this excerpt from The Decameron ? How does he describe the reactions of the citizens of Florence? _________________________________________________ 2. What is the author’s bias? What might have motivated Boccaccio to describe the Black Death’s impact in Florence? _________________________________________________ 3. What was the context in which Boccaccio was writing? Where and when was this document written, and what was going on at that time (beside the plague epidemic)? _________________________________________________ 4. Who was the intended audience for The Decameron ? _________________________________________________ 5. Can you connect The Decameron to other things you’ve learned about, either in class or elsewhere? How might this source add to our understanding of history? Using the excerpt The Decameron as a primary source, complete the Primary Source Analysis Worksheet (both linked below) and submit it through the Assignment Inbox button at the bottom of this page. Answer each question completely, taking into account material covered both in class and in the text. Answers should be in complete sentences, organized in paragraph form. Sometimes the primary source won’t provide a clear or straightforward answer to a question on the worksheet. If that happens, it’s okay to take a guess based on the information you have. This is not intended to be an assignment that requires outside research; your answer should be based on the material covered in class and in the text. The grading scale for this assignment is as follows: points: All questions were answered completely and thoughtfully, in paragraph form, using appropriate grammar and punctuation. Material covered in class and the text was accurately referenced. points: All questions were answered completely, but analysis was lacking or unclear in some instances. Material covered in class and the text was accurately referenced. 70 -79 points: All questions were answered completely, but analysis was lacking or unclear. Material covered in class and text was not accurately referenced, or was missing. points: Some questions were answered completely, but analysis was missing or unclear. Material covered in the class and text was not accurately referenced, or was missing. 0 - 59 points: Some questions were not answered completely or were not answered at all. Analysis was lacking or unclear. Material covered in the class and text was not referenced. Case study Trouble in the Truss Construction Shop Two weeks ago, during a QA truss load test, the truss being tested fragmented along a horizontal axis, causing a large piece of the truss to break part and fall on a hoist operator supporting the test. The hoist operator sustained head injuries and remains in an induced coma in a local hospital. This accident sent shock waves through the Truss Construction Department because the company has heavily invested in a new engineering and manufacturing process to produce a cost-effective truss that has been touted to be on the “cutting edge†of construction technology, especially for low cost housing in overseas markets. A report by the Safety Officer, QA manager, and engineer verified that the test being conducted pushed the load testing slightly beyond the high threshold of acceptable load-bearing, though the extra load was not expected to cause the truss to fail. In fact, the trusses were advertised to meet “commercial-high†load requirements. Employees in the engineering shop have been asking if the manufacturing or engineering process is flawed and if the trusses being produced could fail under load. Company memos have focused on production and more testing at lower thresholds, and members of management are encouraging employees to continue the current production schedule to meet orders for the trusses. The Sales department is highly concerned that if there is any delay in shipping, customers will pull their orders, which would have a disastrous result on revenues. Faruch Habib, a production line worker, leaked the details of the accident and test thresholds to the press. Two weeks later, he was terminated for documented poor performance, according to managers. The company Public Relations department has issued a general statement that the company has taken all action to ensure that this type of workplace accident would not be repeated The paper must reflect Once you have completed your analysis of the incident, the next step is to analyze alternative viewpoints, conclusions, and solutions. To do this you will need to apply Ethical Decision- Making and Reasoning . Also highly recommended, Randolph Pherson's "The Five Habits of the Master Thinker ," a paper written for intelligence analysts, but applicable to all analytical thinking and reasoning 14th-century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375) probably started writing his collection of stories, The Decameron after the plague epidemic of 1348. The book contains 100 tales told by a fictional group of seven young women and three young men sheltering in a secluded villa just outside Florence, Italy, to escape the Black Death. Written in vernacular Florentine Italian, Boccaccio had probably completed The Decameron by 1353. Excerpt from The Decameron: The symptoms were not the same as in the East, where a gush of blood from the nose was the plain sign of inevitable death; but it began both in men and women with certain swellings in the groin or under the armpit. They grew to the size of a small apple or an egg, more or less, and were vulgarly called tumors. In a short space of time these tumors spread from the two parts named all over the body. Soon after this the symptoms changed and black or purple spots appeared on the arms or thighs or any other part of the body, sometimes a few large ones, sometimes many little ones. These spots were a certain sign of death, just as the original tumor had been and still remained. One citizen avoided another, hardly any neighbor troubled about others, relatives never or hardly ever visited each other. Moreover, such terror was struck into the hearts of men and women by this calamity, that brother abandoned brother, and the uncle his nephew, and the sister her brother, and very often the wife her husband. What is even worse and nearly incredible is that fathers and mothers refused to see and tend their children, as if they had not been theirs. The plight of the lower and most of the middle classes was even more pitiful to behold. Most of them remained in their houses, either through poverty or in hopes of safety, and fell sick by thousands. Since they received no care and attention, almost all of them died. Many ended their lives in the streets both at night and during the day; and many others who died in their houses were only known to be dead because the neighbors smelled their decaying bodies. Dead bodies filled every corner. Most of them were treated in the same manner by the survivors, who were more concerned to get rid of their rotting bodies than moved by charity towards the dead. With the aid of porters, if they could get them, they carried the bodies out of the houses and laid them at the door; where every morning quantities of the dead might be seen. They then were laid on biers or, as these were often lacking, on tables.
Paper For Above instruction
The excerpt from Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron vividly captures the harrowing impact of the Black Death on Florence in the 14th century. The main idea Boccaccio conveys is the profound fear, suffering, and social disintegration caused by the plague. He describes the reactions of the citizens as marked by avoidance, despair, and the breakdown of social bonds. People abandon their neighbors, relatives stop visiting each other, and families often refuse to care for their chronically ill or dying members. The image of corpses filling the streets, with neighbors removing them out of necessity, underscores the overwhelming scale of death and societal breakdown during this period. Boccaccio’s account underscores both the physical symptoms of the disease and the psychological terror that accompanied it, emphasizing the societal chaos that ensued.
The author’s bias appears to be aimed at highlighting the tragic and catastrophic effects of the Black Death, possibly to evoke a sense of empathy and awareness about the suffering inflicted by the pandemic. Boccaccio’s motivation may have been to document the severity of the plague’s impact, perhaps to serve as a historical record or as a moral reflection on human mortality. His detailed descriptions of death and social collapse may also reflect a tendency to focus on the tragedy rather than any potential divine or moral explanations, emphasizing human suffering over theological interpretations.
Boccaccio was writing in Florence, Italy, during the aftermath of the 1348 Black Death epidemic, likely around 1350-1353. This period was marked not only by the devastation of the pandemic but also by social upheaval, economic disruption, and political instability across Europe. The narrative was shaped by the immediate experiences of loss and chaos, providing insight into the societal conditions of post-plague Florence. Outside of the pandemic, this era was characterized by ongoing conflicts, such as the Hundred Years’ War, and significant cultural shifts that would eventually influence Renaissance thought.
The intended audience of The Decameron was likely the educated class, including those interested in moral, religious, and philosophical reflections on societal and human behavior during crises. The work’s vivid recounting of death, suffering, and social disorder would resonate with contemporaries reflecting on mortality, divine punishment, or human resilience. Additionally, its vernacular language made it accessible to a wider audience beyond the clergy and aristocrats, suggesting a broader societal readership.
Connecting The Decameron to other historical knowledge, the text provides valuable insight into the social fabric of medieval Europe during times of crisis. It complements other accounts of pandemics, such as the Justinian Plague or later influenza outbreaks, by illustrating how societies respond psychologically and socially to widespread mortality. Furthermore, Boccaccio’s work enriches our understanding of the cultural and moral responses to disaster, contributing to discussions about human resilience, societal decline, and the role of storytelling in coping mechanisms. The emphasis on individual and collective reactions to calamity echoes themes in contemporary discussions of public health and societal responsibility.