The Decameron: The 'eye-popping' medieval tales that pushed sexual boundaries
BBCThe Decameron: The 'eye-popping' medieval tales that pushed sexual boundaries Getty Images Franz Winterhalter's 1837 painting The Decameron captures the 10 aristocrats telling their saucy stories to each other Written by Giovanni Boccaccio in the 1350s, this collection of stories deals with sexuality in a way that can still make readers blush – and it has now inspired a Netflix comedy. Getty Images Franz Winterhalter's 1837 painting The Decameron captures the 10 aristocrats telling their saucy stories to each other What the Netflix series leaves out, however, is actually the meat of the original Decameron. We never get Tindaro's side of the argument, but we hear plenty from Licisca: "I don’t have a single neighbour who was a virgin when she got married," she shrieks, "and as for the married ones…" Licisca's uncensored rant has the female aristocrats in stitches, but when Elissa – the group's Queen for the day – can finally get a word in edgeways, she slyly pitches the servants' dispute to the gentlemen of the group: which of them is right? Getty Images A poster for 1953 flim Decameron Nights – one of the tamer adaptations of the source material When the Covid-19 own pandemic struck four years ago, Boccaccio's joyful plague text found itself in vogue, with booksellers running out of stock as simply everyone seemed to be reading The Decameron.