There have been some references to the The Decameron lately which prompted me to look it up. I have read it (probably partially and many years ago) so I thought I'd check it it this morning to make sure I remember it properly.
And here is what Wikipedia says -
"In Italy during the time of the Black Death, a group of seven young women and three young men flee from plague-ridden Florence to a deserted villa in the countryside of Fiesole for two weeks. To pass the evenings, each member of the party tells a story each night, except for one day per week for chores, and the holy days during which they do no work at all, resulting in ten nights of storytelling over the course of two weeks. Thus, by the end of the fortnight they have told 100 stories.
"Each of the ten characters is charged as King or Queen of the company for one of the ten days in turn. This charge extends to choosing the theme of the stories for that day, and all but two days have topics assigned: examples of the power of fortune; examples of the power of human will; love tales that end tragically; love tales that end happily; clever replies that save the speaker; tricks that women play on men; tricks that people play on each other in general; examples of virtue. Only Dioneo, who usually tells the tenth tale each day, has the right to tell a tale on any topic he wishes, due to his wit. Many commentators have argued that Dioneo expresses the views of Boccaccio himself. Each day also includes a short introduction and conclusion to continue the frame of the tales by describing other daily activities besides story-telling. These framing interludes frequently include transcriptions of Italian folk songs. The interactions among tales in a day, or across days, as Boccaccio spins variations and reversals of previous material, forms a whole and not just a collection of stories. The basic plots of the stories include mocking the lust and greed of the clergy; tensions in Italian society between the new wealthy commercial class and noble families; and the perils and adventures of traveling merchants."
I may have to reread this!
There are lots of folks on the Facebook Caremongering in Annapolis County page now. It really is quite terrific. It also reminds me what that app is capable of doing - bringing people together to share in what matters most.
I have been listening to music which some kind friends have been posting. It helps. I am really a tad sad for all those who are really upset with all the upheaval in their lives and the lives of our fellow human beings. There will be novels and theses written about 2020 and how it shook up the planet. There will be examinations of our leaders and how they reacted. And we will look at ourselves to see how we dealt with all the ramifications on our lives this year.
The sun is shining this morning. It shone on my keyboard. OMG, I had to take the batteries out and clean that keyboard mightily!
Onwards.
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