In the fifth tale of the fourth day of the Decameron a young woman handles and kisses the severed head of the man who was once her lover, just like in the opening quotation.

Lorsque Fouque eut la force de la regarder, elle avait place sur une petite table de marbre, devant elle, la tete de Julien, et la baisait au front. Il entendit Mathilde marcher avec precipitation dans la chambre.

Ses mains tremblantes ouvrirent le manteau. Le souvenir de Boniface de La Mole et de Marguerite de Navarre lui donna sans doute un courage surhumain. Il lui montra du doigt un grand manteau bleu sur le plancher la etait enveloppe ce qui restait de Julien.Įlle se jeta a genoux. Keywords: Boccaccio, Decameron IV,5, Lisabetta da Messina, beheading, burial, severed head.įouque n'eut pas le courage de parler ni de se lever. Taking this into account, her behaviour as well as other aspects of the tale take on new meanings. Therefore, the pot of basil in Boccaccio's tale is Lorenzo's tomb, and Lisabetta beheads her dead lover in order to be able to perform suitable funeral rites. In case of dismemberment, the burial place corresponds to where the head is interred. Abstract: This paper suggests a new interpretation of the tale of Lisabetta da Messina (Decameron IV,5) in the light of a fact that has thus far been disregarded by scholars: namely, that in both medieval culture, and its basis in Roman law, an individual cannot have more than one grave.

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