Page 214 - THE DECAMERON: 100 Days on 100 Etchings by Petru Rusu

“Ghino di Tacco and the Abbot of Cluny“
Ghino di Tacco, an Italian version of Robin Hood, was
banished from his hometown of Siena and decided to start
a rebellion against the Church of Rome. He sets himself up
on the road between Rome and Siena and sees to it that
anyone passing through is attacked and robbed. Meanwhile,
back in Rome, the Abbot of Cluny is visiting Pope Boniface
VIII when he begins to have tummy trouble. He’s advised
to go to the baths of Siena to recover. The Abbot’s very
wealthy but not too informed on current events: he doesn’t
know about Ghino, so he travels to Siena with all his wealth
on display. When Ghino’s men capture him, the Abbot has
no choice but to go along to Ghino’s fortress. Ghino puts
him in the worst room in the place while giving everyone
else in the retinue comfortable rooms. Ghino appears
before the Abbot and pretends to be a servant. He asks the
Abbot the reason for his travel and when he learns of his
illness, Ghino’s determined to help him recover. He keeps
the grumpy Abbot separated from his men for a few days
and feeds him only a small quantity of toasted bread and
wine. The Abbot has to admit that he’s actually feeling a lot
better. Now that the Abbot’s appetite has returned, Ghino
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allows him to rejoin his friends and prepares a huge banquet
for them. When it comes time for the Abbot to leave, Ghino
assembles all of the Abbot’s belongings in one room and
his horses in the courtyard. He reveals who he is and tells
the Abbot that he won’t take any of the treasures, as he
would normally do. Instead, he wants the Abbot to decide
whether or not to give him any portion of it for his medical
services. The Abbot is so moved by Ghino’s good care and
generosity that he keeps for himself only the bare minimum
he needs to get back to Rome. They part good friends. Back
in Rome, the Pope has heard about Ghino’s abducting the
Abbot and his men. He asks if the Abbot feels any better
and the Abbot tells him the whole story. He claims that
Ghino’s really a prince of a man, but that his fortune has
been, well, unfortunate. The Abbot asks the Pope to restore
Ghino to his “good graces” because he feels that Ghino is
a real gentleman and will behave better if he’s allowed to
live properly. The Pope takes the Abbot’s word for it and
pretty soon he sees that the Abbot’s right. Boniface is so
pleased with Ghino that he makes him a Knight of the Order
of Hospitallers because of his healing powers.
“Ghino di Tacco and the Abbot of Cluny” retrieved from publicly source: shmoop
<https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/decameron/summary/tenth-day-second-story>