Page 80 - THE DECAMERON: 100 Days on 100 Etchings by Petru Rusu
P. 80
“Tancredi, Prince of Salerno“
Tancredi has a beautiful daughter called Ghismonda that he she chose such a low-born guy. And now the image of them
loved so much he didn’t want to marry her off. Eventually, he making love is burned on his brain forever. Tancredi tells
gives her up to the Duke of Capua, but the Duke dies early and Ghismonda that he already knows what he’s going to do with
Ghismonda returns home again. And once again, Tancredi’s Guiscardo, but he wonders what to do with her. Ghismonda
in no hurry to marry off his beloved daughter. The beautiful knows what this means. She decides not to sugar-coat the
and young daughter tires of her loneliness and decides to story for Daddy in order to save her life. If Guiscardo dies, she
take a lover on the sly. She sets her heart on her father’s wants to die, too. She reminds her father what it’s like to be
valet, Guiscardo. Guiscardo notices that he’s caught her eye young, to understand about the pleasures of the flesh and to
and the feeling is clearly mutual. Ghismonda passes him a have a lot of time on your hands. Then she takes him to task
letter concealed in a hollow reed. In it, she tells him how to for being elitist. Guiscardo’s a noble man in his behavior even
proceed. As palaces often do, Tancredi’s palace has a secret if he wasn’t born into nobility. Ghismonda reminds her father
passage to an unknown place. The door to a forgotten cavern how much he actually likes Guiscardo and says that she fell
is conveniently located in her bedroom. Guiscardo just has to in love with him on Tancredi’s own good opinion of the young
lower himself into the cavern from outside the palace and he man’s virtues. Tancredi isn’t moved by her speech. He decides
can walk right into his lover’s room. Which he does. More than to spare his daughter and kill Guiscardo. So his servants
once. Everything’s going well until one day Tancredi decides strangle Guiscardo and by Tancredi’s orders, remove his heart.
to speak with Ghismonda in her room. She isn’t there, so he Tancredi has the heart placed in a gold chalice and sent up to
decides to curl up on a low stool behind a curtain and wait Ghismonda with a special little note. Ghismonda’s a woman
for her. Of course, Ghismonda’s made a date with Guiscardo prepared for all emergencies. In this case, she’s prepared a
for that very afternoon. She returns to her room and lets her potion to end her life. She cries enough tears into the chalice
lover in by the secret door. Tancredi wakes up and is horrified to mix with the poison and then drinks up. Her serving women
by what he sees going on in the bed next to him. He doesn’t tell Tancredi what’s going on and he rushes to her. Ghismonda
say anything, but he’s already got a pretty grisly plan taking tells him that he’s just getting what he wanted and that if he
shape in his mind. Tancredi has Guiscardo arrested as he’s really does feel sorry about the whole thing, he should bury
leaving the cavern and gives him a very good dressing down the two lovers together. She dies, clutching Guiscardo’s heart-
before locking him up for the night. In the morning, Tancredi chalice to her chest. Tancredi is sorry for his actions, but too
confronts Ghismonda. He’s peeved not just because she’s late. To make amends, he buries the two lovers together in a
carrying on with a man outside of marriage, but because public ceremony.
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