This book unveils Boccaccio’s defence of literature against claims of immorality by showcasing how both pagan and Christian literary works serve to heal, console, and provoke thoughtfulness.

Primary Texts
Abbreviations
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Genealogy of the Gods Books 14 and 15 and the Defence of Poetry
2. Petrarch versus Boccaccio on Poetry
3. Defensio and Laudatio: Boccaccio and the Poetry of Others
4. The Decameron in Dialogue with the Genealogy of the Gods: How the Decameron Defends Vernacular Prose Fiction - Part 1
5. The Decameron in Dialogue with the Genealogy of the Gods: How the Decameron Defends Vernacular Prose Fiction - Part 2
Conclusion
Appendix: Comic Tales in the Decameron
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Brenda Deen Schildgen is a distinguished professor emerita of comparative literature at the University of California, Davis.