The Decameron characters

Appears from the start

The eldest of the seven young women who meet in a Florentine church while plague devastates the city. Clear-headed and decisive, she proposes that the group withdraw to a country estate, establishes rules for an orderly communal life, and serves as sovereign of the first day of storytelling.

Appears from the start

One of the seven young Florentine women who meet in a church while plague has broken down ordinary life in the city. She joins Pampinea's proposed retreat to the countryside and becomes part of the ten-person storytelling company.

Appears from the start

One of the seven young women who agree to leave plague-stricken Florence for an orderly rural retreat. She is part of the central company whose members share responsibility for stories and recreation.

Appears from the start

One of the three young men invited to accompany the seven women out of Florence. His assumed name suggests someone overcome by love, and he brings a more melancholy temperament to the otherwise sociable storytelling company.

Appears from the start

One of the seven young Florentine women who form the storytelling company. She leaves the plague-stricken city with the others and participates fully in the group's carefully organized country life.

Appears from the start

One of the seven young women who devise a retreat from Florence during the plague. She joins the other women and three men in the rural household where storytelling becomes their chief shared activity.

Appears from the start

One of the three young men who join the women's retreat from Florence. Cheerful, outspoken, and inclined toward provocative humor, he quickly emerges as the company member most willing to test the limits of its decorum.

Appears from the start

One of the seven young women who leave Florence for the country estate. She is a member of the ten-person company that replaces the city's disorder with an agreed routine of meals, music, rest, and stories.

Appears from the start

One of the seven young Florentine women in the central company. She accepts Pampinea's plan for a dignified escape from the plague and takes her place among the retreat's storytellers.

Appears from the start

One of the three young Florentine men invited to join the women's country retreat. Composed and courteous within the group, he participates in the shared effort to preserve civilized company during the plague.