Giovanni Boccaccio wrote Day 10, Story 10, also known as the story of Griselda, as the final tale in his Decameron. This story takes place in a town south of Turin, Italy, and revolves around the tale of an Italian Marquis of Saluzzo named Gualtieri, who is plagued with the responsibility to produce an heir to continue his bloodline as the leader of his people, a problem that he chooses to solve by marrying a peasant woman named Griselda.
Certaldo, Italy - Casa del Boccaccio; Giovanni Boccaccio [1313-1375]
Much like Gualtieri, Italian writer and poet, Giovanni Boccaccio managed to create his own legacy through his life and works which since then have become some of the greatest historical features of his hometown of Certaldo, Italy. Found on Via Boccaccio, within the heart of Certaldo, buildings such as Boccaccio’s very own home have been turned into museums to pay homage to one of Italy’s most prominent literary figures. Casa del Boccaccio was Boccaccio’s childhood home since the early 13th century. It was restored in 1823, although the original structure of the home was damaged on January 15, 1944, due to an airstrike during World War II. Since then, the house has been rebuilt and renovated to preserve the illustrious works of the poet, including furniture and various illustrated editions of the Decameron that survived the war. Other objects that can be found within the small museum include a collection of late 14th to early 15th-century women’s shoes, the fresco painting of Boccaccio by painter Benvenuti housed within “the poet’s room," and various geographical, historical, and cultural exhibitions dedicated to Boccaccio’s time. Lastly, housed within Boccaccio’s home is the tombstone plate of the poet, although the actual poet’s remains reside in another tomb located in the Chiese dei Santi Jacopo e Filippo, known as the Church of St. Jacopo and Filippo, also located in Certaldo.
Fitchburg, MA - Fitchburg Art Museum; Eleanor Norcross [1854-1923]
New England, though in many ways different from Certaldo, Italy, contains many museums that house a tremendous amount of history. One such museum is the Fitchburg Art Museum, located in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Like many other cultural heritage sites like Casa del Boccaccio, we can thank legacy for its existence. The Fitchburg Art Museum owes its creation to its founder, Ella Augusta, better known as Eleanor Norcross. Eleanor Norcross much like Boccaccio grew up in the town for which she is famous. From an early age her parents, who were also influential Fitchburg residents, supported her pursuits in the arts, painting, and art collecting. Her father, Amasa Norcross, survived both Eleanor’s mother and younger brother, resulting in a strong relationship with his only daughter. Due to his influence, Eleanor went on to study fine arts in Paris, France, through which she then became the avid painter we know today. This was not enough, however. Eleanor wanted to share her appreciation for the arts and the collections that inspired her with all her fellow Fitchburg residents. It was through this goal that the Fitchburg Art Museum was born, first as the Fitchburg Art Center (1929) and later on as the current museum. Much like Boccaccio, though Eleanor never lived to see the result of her dream realized, or the effects of her inspiration, her legacy lives on through those who have chosen to preserve her memory and work. As a result, through a translation of her vision, her collection has grown and will continue to do so, so long as cultural heritage continues to be of importance.
Giovanni Boccaccio is the author of the famous Decameron. He was born in 1313 in Certaldo or Florence, Italy; the exact location is unknown. He died December 21st, 1375. His gravestone is located inside the Church of Saints Jacob and Filippo in Certaldo, Italy. After the death of his father and stepmother due to the plague, Boccaccio began the composition of the Decameron. In the Decameron, Boccaccio focuses on numerous ideas throughout, but one specific idea is the focus on fortune and disability in Day 2, Story 1. Day 2, Story 1 is a story about a man named Martellino, who pretends to be visibly crippled in order to enter a heavily-packed church of a saint who has just deceased. Everyone makes a pathway for Martellino in order for him to be ‘healed’ by the saint for his disability, but someone in the crowd notices him and everyone starts to kick and fight him for lying about his disability.
Joseph Palmer was born in 1789 in a village between Leominster and Fitchburg, Massachusetts. He was persecuted at the age of forty because of his beard. Palmer died in 1873. This persecution made such an impact on his life and is so widely known that it is engraved on his gravestone. Boccaccio also has writing on his gravestone, which he composed himself before he died. Palmer was persecuted because in the year 1830 citizens went as far as attacking Palmer with razor blades outside of a hotel in an attempt to cut off his beard. Palmer defended himself, rightfully so, and was sent to Worcester County Jail. During this time period, beards were considered the mark of lunatics. It is interesting how going against the social norms and having a beard enraged people enough to attack him and try to cut off his beard. Palmer was also attacked while in jail and continuously defended himself; they placed him in solitary confinement numerous times. During the Medieval period, disability was sometimes something that needed correction or needed to be cured. It is also known for using the “religious model,” which replaces medicine with religion.
The connection Palmer and the character Martellino in the Decameron is how both were attacked due to not following social norms, but there are complex differences in their situations. In the Decameron, Martellino is only attacked because he lied about his disability; the civilians wanted Martellino to be healed. They wanted Martellino to be healed because it goes against the social norm during that time period of accepting someone who is a cripple. They relied on religion as medicine in order to change that. Their beliefs in this method were very strong, so the fact that someone would mock their beliefs and not respect the process they believed in was problematic. In Joseph Palmer’s case, not only was he considered to be a lunatic just because of his long facial hair, he was also accused of communing with the devil by his local preacher. It is interesting how hundreds of years later you can still be attacked for not following the social norms of the time period and how society takes action into their own hands in order to correct what they believe to be wrong, even authorities.
Chaucer, Geoffrey. "The Reeve's Tale." Translated by Larry D. Benson, 2008, sites.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/teachslf/rvt-par.htm.
“History of the University.” Fitchburg State University, fitchburgstate.edu/about/history-of-the-university/.
“Introduction and History.” University of Oxford, ox.ac.uk/about/organisation/history?wssl=1.
“University of Oxford.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 27 Jan. 2017, britannica.com/topic/University-of-Oxford.
When people come together, living in the same area and interacting with one another it can rightfully be called a community. But a community is more than just a gathering of people who live together. The dynamics of community reflect an altruistic point of view; people come together in times of crisis to assist one another. Communities are more than the sum of their parts, creating a society which is centered around a powerful sense of camaraderie. This is especially prevalent in two places exhibited here: The Basilica in Pompeii, Italy, and Main Street in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.
To the Romans, the basilica was a central engine of the community. “Basilicae” were public buildings, having a similar role to government districts such as we have today. Pompeii’s basilica was no different in this function. Located on the southwest corner of Pompeii’s forum, the basilica was a place for official business, where local government matters such as court trials were discussed as well as a place business was conducted (Fulford 290). Consequently, the basilica was a cornerstone of any ancient Roman community (literally in the case of Pompeii), as a place where public business was carried out. The basilica was always among the first public works constructed in a Roman settlement, considered to be vital to a city’s function (Ball and Dobbins 484). The idea driving Roman society was the res publica, or “public matters.” The Romans believed that government was a part of society and that society was made up of shared concerns of the people and the land they lived on (Nelsestuen 133). This concept is where we get the word for the American form of government that we have today, the “republic.”
People today have their own type of basilica, in the form of areas often referred to as “downtown.” In the community of Fitchburg, a cultural center around Main Street fulfills this role. Down this road, there are thriving shops and restaurants mixed in with official buildings such as post offices, religious organizations, the library, and even the Fitchburg Art Museum. Once upon a time there was even a Fitchburg theatre which drew large audiences from the 1930s until the 1970s. People in this city often walk this road for no reason other than to enjoy the thriving sense of kinship that one feels upon seeing all that this community has to offer.
The theme of community is a powerful one which has its roots in the ancient world, specifically Classical era Greece. In his Works and Days, Hesiod claimed “he who enjoys a good neighbor has a precious possession…Take fair measure from your neighbor and pay him back fairly with the same measure, or better, if you can; so that if you are in need afterwards, you may find him sure” (Hesiod 347-351). The idea that people assist one another and benefit from their mutual assistance is the bedrock on which large communities function. Western culture is built around this idea that we are stronger together than we are alone.
Larry F. Ball, and John J. Dobbins. “Pompeii Forum Project: Excavation and Urbanistic Reappraisals of the Sanctuary of Apollo, Basilica, and Via Della Fortuna Neighborhood.” American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 121, no. 3, 2017, pp. 467–503. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.3764/aja.121.3.0467.
Fulford, Michael. “Shops, Stalls, Stores: Pre-Consumption Deposits and Centrally Organised Distribution in Antonine Britain.”Britannia, vol. 45, 2014, pp. 279–284. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/24737454.
Hesiod, Works and Days. Translated by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, 1914.
Grant A. Nelsestuen. “Overseeing Res Publica: The Rector as Vilicus in De Re Publica 5.” Classical Antiquity, vol. 33, no. 1, 2014, pp. 130–173. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/ca.2014.33.1.130.
There are three sites across the globe that are connected to each other through their stories. These sites are the mountains of Iceland, Giant’s Causeway in Ireland, and Coggshall Park in Massachusetts. Each of these locations is unique for their beauty and the heritage that is preserved as a result of the appreciation for the sites.
Written in Iceland, a saga titled “Thidrandi Whom the Goddesses Slew” that takes place in the country and is about the emergence of Christianity. The main character, Thidrandi, is killed by the goddesses as Christianity is ushered into the country. The saga reads: “He heard likewise the noise of riding from south into the home-field, and there too were nine women, all in bright raiment, and on white horses.” The women are the goddesses and the white horses represent the beauty of having Christianity come to the country. The dark mountains in Iceland create a feeling of supernatural people hidden in them, similar to the saga. Iceland has become a tourist attraction for travelers looking to seek out natural beauty and for those wanting to learn about more legends of the land.
The Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland has its own legend of the natural world. This legend is about Finn McCool creating the landscape by throwing rocks at a giant, creating the unique scenery. The legend says that McCool had a nemesis, a giant named Benandonner, whom he would shout at across the water until the giant stormed over to Ireland. The photo shows the landscape that was apparently formed from the legend. Although people do not actually believe that it was formed by giant and McCool’s fight, the site does attract tourists every year who flock to see the popular spot and the natural beauty.
Coggshall Park is a nonprofit park that was created in Fitchburg Massachusetts for people to enjoy the natural scenery. This site has trails to walk and a lake that is surrounded by forests. This natural scenery is important to keep preserved as it is a piece of country in the middle of a bustling city filled with people who may not be able to get away to go to the country for long weekends.
The sites connect to each other as they are all beautiful, natural landscapes with stories to tell about their history. Iceland and Ireland are not far from each other and tell similar stories of supernatural beings in an otherwise natural place. Coggshall Park is not home to any kind of mystical beings, but it is home to the people of Fitchburg who use this location as a way for people to escape like the people who relay the tales of the mystical beings.