Page 72 - THE DECAMERON: 100 Days on 100 Etchings by Petru Rusu
P. 72

“Ferondo and the Abbot“


             There was an Abbot who was very holy, except for his habit                   cloister. Now he’s in Purgatory! The Abbot then dresses in

             of loving beautiful women. The Abbot has a friend called                     Ferondo’s clothes and makes many trips to the new widow’s
             Ferondo.  Ferondo isn’t the most cultivated of people, but                   house, to collect his “payment.” People think that Ferondo’s
             he does have a beautiful wife. And of course our Abbot falls                 ghost is wandering about doing penance. Meanwhile, Ferondo
             desperately in love with her. Ferondo’s a fool, but he keeps a               wakes up to find himself in a vault with a strange monk. The

             watchful eye on his wife. This drives the Abbot nuts, because                monk gives him a good beating with sticks. Ferondo learns
             he can’t find an opportunity to be alone with her. The wife’s                that he’s in Purgatory and that he’s going to be beaten twice
             duped into believing that the Abbot is truly a holy man and                  a day for the sin of being jealous of his wife. He promises the
             she wants to confess her sins to him. Ferondo thinks nothing                 monk that if he ever gets to live again, he’ll let his wife do

             of this and gives her permission to go. Her confession is an                 whatever she wants. The beatings and conversations between
             earful. She says that Ferondo is an idiot and jealous to boot.               the monk and Ferondo go on for ten months. The meetings
             What’s she to do? The Abbot likes this very much and tells                   between the Abbot and Ferondo’s wife continue, too until she
             her that they will have to cure Ferondo of his jealousy by                   gets pregnant. It becomes clear to them that Ferondo needs

             sending him to Purgatory. He intends that Ferondo should die                 to come back from Purgatory pronto. The monk in Purgatory
             for a little while, go to Purgatory to pay for his sins and then,            tells Ferondo that God’s decided to send him back to Earth,
             with the help of special prayers, come back to life. He warns                and that He’ll send them a son in good time. The Abbot
             the wife that though she’ll be a widow temporarily, she can’t                mixes up another batch of powder-tainted wine and puts the

             remarry. She just has to offer some form of payment to him                   sleeping Ferondo back into his tomb. In the morning, he wake
             for this service. Can you guess what it will be? Ferondo’s wife              up and emerges from the grave. The monks think they’re
             is freaked out by his request. How is this saintly behavior?                 witnessing a miracle. The Abbot plays along with the whole
             Don’t worry, says the Abbot. Saintliness belongs to the soul                 thing, declaring it a sign of God’s power. Since everyone

             and what he wants has only to do with the body. So the Abbot                 already thinks the Abbot is a saint, these shenanigans earn
             takes a miracle powder that he received from some random                     him even more points. Ferondo returns to his wife and “gets
             eastern prince and mixes it with Ferondo’s wine. Ferondo                     her pregnant.” They conveniently have a boy, just like the
             loses consciousness, is declared dead and quickly buried in a                monk promised him. And Ferondo keeps his word to never be

             tomb. That night, the Abbot takes a trusted monk-friend with                 jealous again - which gives the Abbot and his wife just enough
             him to the tomb and relocates Ferondo to a vault inside the                  room to visit each other when the need arises.








                                                                                                                              “Ferondo and the Abbot” Retrieved from publicly source: shmoop
     DECAMERON      72                                                                                       <https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/decameron/summary/third-day-eighth-story>
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