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Decameron Fifth Day, Fifth Story Summary

Giannole and Minghino

Intro

  • Storyteller: Neifile
  • Everyone laughs their heads off at Filostrato's story and thank him for telling something upbeat for a change. Neifile decides to also tell a tale set in Romagna.

Story

  • Giacomino da Pavia inherits his friend Guidotto's ward, a 10-year-old girl.
  • Giacomino takes the girl, Agnesa, to his hometown of Faenza and raises her as his own.
  • The girl grows up to be beautiful, what else is new?
  • So beautiful that two gentlemen, Giannole and Minghino, fall desperately in love with her.
  • Each man plots to kidnap her.
  • Giannole works with Giacomino's servant, Crivello, to help him get into the house.
  • Minghino cozies up to Giacomino's maidservant. She delivers his love letters and puts in a good word with her mistress.
  • Both Crivello and the maidservant promise to let their respective gentlemen into the house as soon as Giacomino decides to dine out.
  • When that happens, they both send word and both men come running with their posses to snatch the girl.
  • Giannole gets there first and grabs the girl, dragging her into the street.
  • Agnesa is not pleased. She lets out a blood-curdling scream.
  • Minghino rushes to the rescue and the two men start fighting. In the end, Minghino manages to get Agnesa back into the house.
  • Giacomino returns and realizes quickly that Agnesa has had nothing to do with this, but he has to marry her off and quick.
  • The families of the two men realize they're in a heap of trouble, so they write letters to Giacomino to ask his forgiveness and to ask him what kind of recompense he wants.
  • Giacomino says that because he's not native to the area, and that Agnesa actually is, he'll be ruled by them.
  • Then Giacomino is obliged to tell the story of how his friend Guidotto found Agnesa.
  • He'd been plundering houses in Faenza during wars there when they found a little girl in an abandoned house.
  • She was a sweet 2-year-old and called him "father," so he took her into his care.
  • One of the gentlemen listening to the story had actually witnessed the incident and knew that the house belonged to a man named Bernabuccio, who lost a little girl of that age at that time.
  • Bernabuccio, who's present at the telling of this story, asks to see the skin behind Agnesa's ear, so that he can look for an identifying scar.
  • Wouldn't you know, she not only has the scar, she looks just like Bernabuccio's wife!
  • Not only are father and daughter reunited, but another problem is solved. Bernabuccio is Giannole's father, too. He clearly can't marry his sister, because ew.
  • So Minghino wins the day, getting the girl because they don't have matching DNA.