A Good Place for a Tale: Reading the Decameron in 1358–1363

This article presents a reading of Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, MS Magliabechiano II, II, 8, the oldest surviving witness to Boccaccio’s Decameron, comprising the conclusions to Days I–IX, the ballate, Dioneo’s story in Dec. IX.10, as well as an opening compiler’s prologue. It argues that the manuscript represents a significant and valuable early “reading” of the Decameron, guiding the reader’s response in a series of rubricated headings, and responding to key features of compilatio that blur the boundaries between author, compiler and the figure of Dioneo.