The Heptameron is a collection of 72 short stories written in
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
by Marguerite of Navarre, published in 1558. It has the form of a frame narrative and was inspired by the
Decameron of
Giovanni BoccaccioGiovanni Boccaccio was an Italian author and poet, a friend, student, and correspondent of Petrarch, an important Renaissance humanist and the author of a number of notable works including the Decameron, On Famous Women, and his poetry in the Italian vernacular...
. It was originally intended to contain one hundred stories covering ten days just as the
Decameron does, but at Marguerite’s death it was only completed as far as the second story of the eighth day.
The Heptameron is a collection of 72 short stories written in
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
by Marguerite of Navarre, published in 1558. It has the form of a frame narrative and was inspired by the
Decameron of
Giovanni BoccaccioGiovanni Boccaccio was an Italian author and poet, a friend, student, and correspondent of Petrarch, an important Renaissance humanist and the author of a number of notable works including the Decameron, On Famous Women, and his poetry in the Italian vernacular...
. It was originally intended to contain one hundred stories covering ten days just as the
Decameron does, but at Marguerite’s death it was only completed as far as the second story of the eighth day. Many of the stories deal with love, lust, infidelity and other romantic and sexual matters. One was based on the life of
Marguerite de La RocqueMarguerite de La Rocque de Roberval was a French noblewoman who spent some years marooned on the Île des Démons in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, off the coast of Quebec...
, a French noblewoman abandoned, as punishment, with her lover on an island off
QuebecQuebec is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking identity and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
.
The collection first appeared in print in 1558 under the title
Histoires des amans fortunez edited by
Pierre BoaistuauPierre Boaistuau, known as Pierre Launay was a French author, editor, translator. He was the first editor of the works of Marguerite de Navarre...
, who took considerable liberties with the original version, using only 67 of the stories, many in abbreviated form, and omitting much of the significant material between the stories. He also transposed stories and ignored their grouping into days as envisaged by the authoress. A second edition by Claude Gruget appeared only a year later in which the editor claimed to have “restored the order previously confused in the first impression”. Also the prologues and epilogues to each short story left out by Boaistuau were put back and the work was given, for the first time, the title
Heptaméron (from the
GreekGreek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical...
έπτά – “seven” and ημέρα – “day”) due to the seven day time frame into which the first 70 short stories are grouped.
Summary of the "Prologue"
In the "Prologue" to
The Heptameron, Parlamente, having obtained her husband Hircan's permission to do so, makes bold to ask Lady Oisille to devise an appropriate means by which the company of stranded guests, who are waiting for the building of a
bridgeA bridge is a structure built to span a valley, road, body of water, or other physical obstacle, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle. Designs of bridges vary depending on the function of the bridge and the nature of the terrain where the bridge is constructed.-History:The first...
to be completed and who are beset by a series of natural calamities and criminal actions that keeps them virtual prisoners in an
abbeyAn abbey , is a Christian monastery or convent, under the government of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community....
, may amuse themselves. A devout
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians believe was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, and the Son of God.The term "Christian" is also used adjectivally to...
, the lady suggests that they read the
BibleThe Bible contains the central religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. Modern Judaism generally recognizes a single set of canonical books known as the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, as it is written almost entirely in the Hebrew language, with some small portions in Aramaic...
. However, Hircan says that they are young enough to need other diversions as well. Parlamente suggests that those who want to write stories after the manner of Boccaccio, do so, sharing them with the others in the
afternoonAfternoon is the time of day from 12:00 to — depending upon context — evening, sunset, or 18:00. Its use is often quite subjective.The term should not be confused with "after noon" , which is a translation of the Latin "post meridiem" as used in the 12-hour clock, meaning a time of day from noon...
, after Scriptures are read in the
morningThe word morning originally referred to the sunrise. Morning precedes midday, afternoon, and night in the sequence of a day.Morning is the part of the day usually reckoned from dawn to noon...
. (Marguerite herself was a protector of
Francois RabelaisFrançois Rabelais was a major French Renaissance writer, doctor and Renaissance humanist. He has historically been regarded as a writer of fantasy, satire, the grotesque, and both bawdy jokes and songs.- Biography :...
, who dedicated the third volume of his book,
Gargantua and PantagruelThe Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel is a connected series of five novels written in the 16th century by François Rabelais. It is the story of two giants, a father and his son and their adventures, written in an amusing, extravagant, satirical vein...
, to her.) It will take 10 days to complete the bridge, and, each
dayA day is a unit of time equivalent to approximately 24 hours. It is not an SI unit but it is accepted for use with SI. The SI unit of time is the second....
, in a shady grove in a meadow, the writers will share 10 tales, telling a total of 100 stories. The stories will be published, if the audience likes them, and be presented to the listeners as presents.
Lady Oiselle agrees to Parlamente's recommendation, provided that the stories are true.
Sample story summarized
Saffrendent tells the third story, which is set in Naples, Italy, during the reign of King Alfonso.
During a carnival, the king visits his subjects’ homes as they vie to provide him the best hospitality. As he visit’s a happily married young couple, he is smitten by the wife’s beauty, and he sends her husband to Rome for a couple weeks on trumped-up business. While the husband is away, the king succeeds in seducing the wife. After a while, the husband becomes suspicious of his wife’s fidelity. He bides his time in silence, hoping for the opportunity to avenge himself.
He convinces the queen that he loves her and that she deserves to be treated better by her husband, who dishonors her in cuckolding him. They agree to an adulterous affair between themselves, so that the nobleman cuckolds the king who has cuckolded him. Whenever the nobleman visits his country estates, the king visits his wife. Instead of going to his estates, the nobleman now goes to the castle to dally with the queen while the king commits adultery with his wife. The affairs continue for years, well into the couples’ old age. Like many stories of this sort, Saffredent’s tale deals with the theme of cuckoldry and depends on both dramatic irony and situational irony for its plot and effects.
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