Calandrino, An Outline

1st Slide * Emilia is queen of the brigata for the ninth day. Filostrato is the teller of the story. For the second time there is no prescribed theme for the stories of the day. * Theme of the story is discovering the simplicity of Calandrino, and how easy it is to trick him.
2nd
* “Not only does Boccaccio invent a host of original comic characters, but he presents them in a broad range of situations, frequently using his mastery of comical discourse to heighten his effects.” * Calandrino was the prototype for many of the simpleton Characters of Italian Renaissance comedy. * Calandrino is claimed that in the Decameron he figures in more of the stories than any of the other characters, but that distinction belongs to Calcndrino’s
two companions, Bruno and Buffalmacco followed by Master Simone.
3rd Slide * Calandrino was a historical person, an Italian Renaissance painter named Nozzo di Perino who lived in the fourteenth century. Whether he really was the character portrayed by Boccaccio in his work is unknown, but common belief is that he was a bit naïve just like Calandrino in this work. It is unclear whether this belief arose because of the popularity of the Decameron, or whether it was already popular belief when Boccaccio wrote the tales. * Buffalmacco and Bruno are historical figure as well. Buffalmacco was an Italian painter who worked in Florence, Bologna and Pisa. No recorded work of his survives.
4th Slide * Master Simone, at the instance of Bruno and Buffalmacco and Nello, makes Calandrino believe that he is pregnant. Calandrino then supplies the three men with capons and money for taking a certain medicine, and recovers from his pregnancy without giving birth.
5th Slide * p659 * Aunt of Calandrino dies, leaving him 200 pounds. * He wanted to purchase a farm acting like he had 10,000 gold florins to spend, but the price of property was too high. * Buffalmacco and Bruno, joined by Nello, decides to trick Calandrino * In 14th century, Europe underwent a harmful economic and social depression which arrested the development of urban progress and imposed new forms of organization in social life.
6th slide * Here we can see how Naïve Calandrino is because just by listening to other people’s comments, he feels sick. 7th slide
P661
* Master Simone – Takes Calandrino’s pulse and tells him that he is pregnant.
* Calandrino blames his wife, worries how he’s to produce the infant.
He should’ve picked up that they are joking when Master simone tells him that he is pregnant. We can see how uneducated Calandrino is.
On top : If we think in Boccaccio’s view, I think he wanted to indicates how men in 14th century couldn’t stand the fact that the wives have the leadership.

p662. * Master simone tells Calandrino that it’s going to cost him a pretty penny. * 3rd paragraph
Difference between these days and back then : It is odd that Calandrino only worries about how painful it would be to have a baby, not embarrassed him being pregnant..
8th slide * Master Simone gives a potion for a painless miscarriage. * after taking a potion, Calandrino believes it to have been effective on his body because it says that "He bestowed high praise on Master Simone for his miraculous cure, which in only three days had effected a painless miscarriage.“ * This shows how much he believed in fole magic * The three men were delighted for getting round Calandrino’s avarice so cleverly, but they had not deceived Monna Tessa.
9th
Slide * Through this story…Boccaccio wants to tell * How uneducated people are during 14th century. * How men cannot stand the fact that how their wives are better than them in many ways. * How big work of women do when they are delivering. * Calandrino’s lies and greedy desire leads him to lose all his money. *

Why Calandrino?

Nozzo di Perino, his simplemindedness, quaint ways, and strong affinity for all types of folk magic makes him the target of Bruno and Buffalmacco's jokes. Their magic, which Calandrino believes exerts strong influences on him, is merely a sham