The Decameron: A Critical Lexicon (Lessico Critico Decameroniano)

When originally published in 1995, the volume represented a major, new departure from the "normal" sort of scholarship on Boccaccio's masterpiece, and its unique approach and contents are still valid and valuable today. The seventeen original essays in the volume focus on providing a comprehensive view of the *Decameron* through the analysis of particular aspects, particular problem areas in the reading and interpretation of the work. Each essay offers a critical window on a defined topic (indicated by the headwords), and, when taken together, these individual essays intersect with, supplement, and reinforce one another, thus emphasizing the harmonious nature of the work as a whole and the importance of examining it through a variety of lenses. The newness of the volume also consists in its introduction of innovative exegetical approaches and the identification of previously unidentified sources and influences. While not providing an orderly reading of the *Decameron* as a more traditional series of day-by-day *lecturae* would do, the essays examine multiple *novelle* from various Days and from differing perspectives so as to provide an assemblage of comprehensive views on the text. For the English-language edition two new items have been added: an update to Vittore Branca's essay on the history of the text of the *Decameron* and a bibliographical overview of North-American studies on the *Decameron* and, more generally, on Boccaccio's life, works and influence.