Monarch: Dioneo
- We get a little astronomy lesson in this intro, when Boccaccio tells us that the steward heads down to the Valley of the Ladies when the Morningstar (Venus) is the only one left in the sky.
- So it's early when the posse sets out for the Valley, and they're serenaded along the way by an impressive variety of birds.
- When they arrive, there's singing and eating, merrymaking—and napping.
- They settle themselves by the clear lake and Emilia's chosen to begin.