Page 133 - THE DECAMERON: A Visionary Journey in 100 Stories and 100 Etchings by Petru Russu

The Fifth Day | The Eighth Novell As he continued to love and spend excessively, his kinsfolk and friends,
Storyteller: Filomena fearing he would waste both himself and his wealth, advised him to
leave Ravenna and stay elsewhere for a while to cool his passion and
Nastagio degli Onesti loved a lady gained no affection despite lavish reduce his expenses. For a long time, Nastagio dismissed their advice,
spending. He retreated to Chiassi, where he witnessed a knight but eventually, he grew tired of saying no and promised to obey. He
hunt, kill, and have a damsel devoured by two dogs. Nastagio invited equipped himself as if for a journey to distant parts, got on horseback,
the lady to a meal, where they witnessed the gruesome scene. and left Ravenna with several friends. They arrived at a place called
Terrified, the lady accepted Nastagio's love, and they married. Chiassi, about three miles from Ravenna, where Nastagio halted, set
up tents and pavilions, and told his companions he intended to stay
there while they returned to Ravenna. Nastagio began to live in a fine
and lordly fashion, inviting friends to breakfast or supper as he had
done before.

Around the beginning of May, with the season being very fine, Nastagio
brooded on the cruelty of his mistress. To avoid disturbance, he sent
all his servants away and wandered slowly, deep in thought, into the
pinewood. After walking for about half a mile, he heard a woman
wailing and shrieking. His melancholy interrupted, he looked up and
found himself in the pinewood. He saw a beautiful, stark naked damsel
with disheveled hair and torn flesh from briers and brambles, running
towards him and crying for mercy. Two fierce mastiffs pursued her,
biting her cruelly, while a knight on a black horse, carrying a rapier and
1985 HAND COLORED AQUA TINTA / AQUA FORTE
29,5X19,5 CM. | 11¾X7½ IN. (IMAGE SIZE). uttering blood-curdling threats, followed closely behind.

Amazed and appalled, Nastagio felt compassion for the lady and
wanted to save her from her anguish and peril. Unarmed, he grabbed
a branch to use as a cudgel and prepared to confront the dogs and the
In Ravenna, an ancient city in Romagna, there lived many noblemen
knight. The knight, seeing this, called out to him, "Hold off, Nastagio,
and gentlemen. Among them was a young man named Nastagio degli
leave the dogs and me alone to deal with this vile woman as she
Onesti, who inherited immense wealth from his father and one of his
deserves." The dogs gripped the damsel tightly, stopping her flight,
uncles. Being without a wife, Nastagio, as young men often do, fell
and the knight dismounted. Nastagio approached, saying, "I don't
in love with a daughter of Messer Paolo Traversaro, a lady of much
know who you are, but it's a gross outrage for an armed knight to kill
higher birth than his own. He hoped to win her love with gifts and
a naked woman and set his dogs on her as if she were a wild beast. I
other courtship methods, but despite his efforts, she remained harsh,
will do all I can to protect her."
ruthless, and unrelenting. Her disdain was so hard for Nastagio to bear
that he often longed to end his life. However, he refrained and resolved
The knight replied, "Nastagio, I am from the same city as you. You
many times to give her up or hold her in contempt, but his love only
were a little boy when I, Messer Guido degli Anastagi, was far more in
grew stronger as his hope dwindled.
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The Decameron