Extra Credit Reading Notes: The Decameron by Boccaccio, Part A

(Young men and women telling stories to escape the Black Death; source: Wikipedia)

Plot:

• Filomena tells the queen that thousands of times every day man finds himself in trouble because they don't think about their words before speaking them.
• She goes on to tell a story about Sultan Saladin:
• Sultan Saladin came from humble beginnings before becoming the ruler of Egypt. However, he presently found himself in debt.
• He heard of a wealthy but miserly Jew named Melchisedech who could lend him enough money. The Sultan came up with a plan to get Melchisedech to give him money.
• He invited Melchisedech to his court and asked him which religious was the truest: Judaism, Christianity, or Islam?
• Melchisedech says he will answer the question after telling a story of his own:
• There was once a rich old man with a beautiful, expensive ring in his possession. He declared that whichever of his children he gave the ring to would be his successor and should be treated as such by the other children.
• The ring passed down generations in this way until it fell into the hands of a man with three sons, all of whom he loved equally.
• Unable to decide whom to give the ring to, he hired a man to forge two copies of the original ring, so similar that no one could tell them apart.
• Prior to his death, he gave each of his sons one of the rings secretly. Afterwards, all three sons claimed the inheritance but discovered that the others had rings as well. As such, the dispute over the true heir is ongoing to this day.
• Melchisedech likens the father to God and the three sons to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. He claims that each group claims to have the true scripture but the dispute continues.
• The Sultan was impressed by Melchisedech and told him of his debt and his initial plan of bringing Melchisedech to his court.
• Melchisedech lent him enough money to escape his debt and the Sultan eventually payed him back. The Sultan showered Melchisedech in gifts and they remained the best of friends.

Bibliography. The Decameron by Boccaccio, translated by J. M. Rigg (1903).