Federigo's Falcon

from The Decameron Giovanni Boccaccio translated by G. H. McWilliam Once Filomena had finished, the queen, finding that there as no one left to s!ea" a!art from herself #$ioneo being e%cluded from the rec"oning because of his !rivilege& smiled cheerfully and said' (t is no my o n turn to address you and ( shall gladly do so, dearest ladies, ith a story similar in some res!ects to the one e have )ust heard. *his ( have chosen, not only to acquaint you ith the !o er of your beauty over men of noble s!irit, but so that you may learn to choose for yourselves, henever necessary, the !erson on hom to besto your largesse, instead of al ays leaving these matters to be decided for you by Fortune, ho, as it ha!!ens, nearly al ays scatters her gifts ith more abundance than discretion. +ou are to "no , then, that ,o!!o di Borghese $omenichi, ho once used to live in our city and !ossibly lives there still, one of the most highly res!ected men of our century, a !erson orthy of eternal fame, ho achieved his !osition of !re-eminence by dint of his character and abilities rather than by his noble lineage, frequently too" !leasure during his declining years in discussing incidents from the !ast ith his neighbors and other fol". (n this !astime he e%celled all others, for he as more coherent, !ossessed a su!erior memory, and s!o"e ith greater eloquence He had a fine re!ertoire, including a tale he frequently told concerning a young Florentine called Federigo, the son of Messer Fili!!o .lberighi, ho for his deeds of chivalry and courtly manners as more highly s!o"en of than any other squire in *uscany. (n the manner of most young men of gentle breeding, Federigo lost his heart to a noble lady, hose name as Monna Giovanna, and ho in her time as considered one of the loveliest and most adorable omen to be found in Florence. .nd ith the ob)ect of inning her love, he rode at the ring, tilted, gave sum!tuous banquets, and distributed a large number of gifts, s!ending money ithout any restraint hatsoever. But since she as no less chaste than she as fair, the lady too" no notice, either of the things that ere done in her honor, or of the !erson ho did them. (n this ay, s!ending far more than he could afford and deriving no !rofit in return, Federigo lost his entire fortune #as can easily ha!!en& and reduced himself to !overty, being left ith nothing other than a tiny little farm, hich !roduced an income )ust sufficient for him to live very frugally, and one falcon of the finest breed in the hole orld. /ince he as as dee!ly in love as ever, and felt unable to go on living the sort of life in Florence to hich he as!ired, he moved out to ,am!i, here his little farm ha!!ened to be situated. Having settled in the country, he ent hunting as often as !ossible ith his falcon, and, ithout see"ing assistance from anyone, he !atiently resigned himself to a life of !overty. 0o one day, hile Federigo as living in these straitened circumstances, the husband of Monna Giovanna ha!!ened to fall ill, and, reali1ing that he as about to die, he dre u! his ill. He as a very rich man, and in his ill he left everything to his son, ho as )ust gro ing u!, further sti!ulating that, if his son should die ithout legitimate issue, his estate should go to Monna Giovanna, to hom he had al ays been dee!ly devoted. /hortly after ard he died, leaving Monna Giovanna a ido , and every summer, in accordance ith Florentine custom2 she ent a ay ith her son to a country estate of theirs, hich as very near Federigo's farm. ,onsequently, this you lad of hers ha!!ened to become friendly ith Federigo, acquiring a !assion for birds and dogs2 and, having often seen Federigo's falcon in flight, he became fascinated by it and longed to o n it, but since he could see that Federigo as dee!ly attached to the bird, he never ventured to as" him for it. .nd there the matter rested, hen, to the consternation of his mother, the boy ha!!ened to be ta"en ill. Being her only child, he as the a!!le of his mother's eye, and she sat beside his bed the hole day long, never ceasing to comfort him. 3very so often she as"ed him hether there as anything he anted, im!loring him to tell her hat it as, because if it ere !ossible to acquire it, she ould move heaven and earth to obtain it for him.

.fter hearing this offer re!eated for the um!teenth time, the boy said' 4Mother, if you could arrange for me to have Federigo's falcon, ( believe ( should soon get better.4 On hearing this request, the lady as some hat ta"en abac", and began to consider hat she could do about it. 5no ing that Federigo had been in love ith her for a long time, and that she had never deigned to cast so much as a single glance in his direction she said to herself' 4Ho can ( !ossibly go to him, or even send anyone, to as" him for this falcon, hich to )udge from all ( have heard is he finest that ever fle , as ell as being the only thing that "ee!s him alive6 .nd ho can ( be so heartless as to de!rive so noble a man of his one remaining !leasure64 Her mind filled ith reflections of this sort, she remained silent, not "no ing hat ans er to ma"e to her son's request, and even though she as quite certain that the falcon as hers for the as"ing. .t length, ho ever, her maternal instincts gained the u!!er hand, and she resolved, come hat may, to satisfy the child by going in !erson to Federigo to collect the bird, and bring it bac" to him. .nd so she re!lied' 4Bear u!, my son, and see hether you can start feeling any better. ( give you my ord that ( shall go and fetch it for you first thing tomorro morning.4 0e%t morning, ta"ing another lady ith her for com!any, his mother left the house as though intending to go for a al", made her ay to Federigo's little cottage, and as"ed to see him. For several days, the eather had been unsuitable for ha "ing, so Federigo as attending to one or t o little )obs in his garden, and hen he heard, to his utter astonishment, that Monna Giovanna as at the front door and ished to s!ea" to him, he ha!!ily rushed there to greet her. When she sa him coming, she advanced ith omanly grace to meet him. Federigo received her ith a dee! bo , hereu!on she said' 4Greetings, Federigo74 *hen she continued' 4( have come to ma"e amends for the harm you have suffered on my account, by loving me more than you ought to have done. .s a to"en of my esteem, ( should li"e to ta"e brea"fast ith you this morning, together ith my com!anion here, but you must not !ut yourself to any trouble.4 4My lady,4 re!lied Federigo in all humility, 4( cannot recall ever having suffered any harm on your account. On the contrary ( have gained so much that if ever attained any "ind of e%cellence, it as entirely because of your o n great orth and the love ( bore you. Moreover, ( can assure you that this visit hich you have been generous enough to !ay me is orth more to me than all the money ( ever !ossessed, though ( fear that my hos!itality ill not amount to very much.4 /o saying, he led her unassumingly into the house and thence into his garden, here, since there as no one else he could call u!on to cha!eron her, he said' 4My lady, as there is nobody else available, this good oman, ho is the ife of the farmer here ill "ee! you com!any hilst ( go and see about setting the table.4 *hough his !overty as acute, the e%tent to hich he had squandered his ealth had not yet been fully borne home to Federigo2 but on this !articular morning, finding that he had nothing to set before the lady hose love he had entertained so lavishly in the !ast, his eyes ere ell and truly o!ened to the fact. $istressed beyond all measure, he silently cursed his bad luc" and rushed all over the house li"e one !ossessed, but could find no trace of either money or valuables. By no the morning as ell advanced, he as still determined to entertain the gentle oman to some sort of meal, and, not ishing to beg assistance from his o n farmer #or from anyone else, for that matter&, his ga1e alighted on his !recious falcon, hich as sitting on its !erch in the little room here it as "e!t. .nd having discovered, on !ic"ing it u!, that it as nice and !lum!, he decided that since he ha no here else to turn, it ould ma"e a orthy dish for such a lady as this. /o ithout thin"ing t ice about it he rung the bird's nec" and !rom!tly handed it over to his house"ee!er to be !luc"ed, dressed, and roasted carefully on a s!it. *hen he covered the table ith s!otless linen, of hich he still had a certain amount in his

!ossession, and returned in high s!irits to the garden, here he announced to his lady that the meal, such as had been able to !re!are, as no ready. *he lady and her com!anion rose from here they ere sitting and made their ay to the table. .nd together ith Federigo, ho aited on them ith the utmost deference, they made a meal of the !ri1e falcon ithout "no ing hat they ere eating. On leaving the table they engaged their host in !leasant conversation for a hile, and hen the lady thought it time to broach the sub)ect she had gone there to discuss, she turned to Federigo and addressed him affably as follo s' 4( do not doubt for a moment, Federigo, that you ill be astonished at my im!ertinence hen you discover my !rinci!al reason for coming here, es!ecially hen you recall your former mode of living and my virtue, hich you !ossibly mistoo" for harshness and cruelty. But if you had ever had any children to ma"e you a!!reciate the !o er of !arental love, ( should thin" it certain that you ould to some e%tent forgive me. 4Ho ever, the fact that you have no children of your o n does not e%em!t me, a mother, from the la s common to all other mothers. .nd being bound to obey those la s, ( am forced, contrary to my o n ishes and to all the rules of decorum and !ro!riety, to as" you for something to hich ( "no you are very dee!ly attached-- hich is only natural, seeing that it is the only consolation, the only !leasure, the only recreation remaining to you in your !resent e%tremity of fortune. *he gift ( am see"ing is your falcon, to hich my son has ta"en so !o erful a li"ing, that if ( fail to ta"e it to him ( fear that he ill succumb to the illness from hich he is suffering, and consequently ( shall lose him. (n im!loring you to give me this falcon, ( a!!eal, not to your love, for you are under no obligation to me on that account, but rather to your noble heart, hereby you have !roved yourself su!erior to all others in the !ractice of courtesy. $o me this favor, then, so that ( may claim that through your generosity ( have saved my son's life, thus !lacing him forever in your debt.4 When he heard hat it as that she anted, and reali1ed that he could not oblige her because he had given her the falcon to eat, Federigo burst into teas in her !resence before being able to utter a single ord in re!ly. .t first the lady thought his tears stemmed more from his grief at having to !art ith his fine falcon than from any other motive, and as on the !oint of telling him that she ould !refer not to have it. But on second thoughts she said nothing, and aited for Federigo to sto! crying and giver her his ans er, hich eventually he did. 4My lady,4 he said, 4ever since God decreed that you should become the ob)ect of my love, ( have re!eatedly had cause to com!lain of Fortune's hostility to ards me. But all her !revious blo s ere slight by com!arison ith the one she has dealt me no . 0or shall ( ever be able to forgive her, hen ( reflect that you have come to my !oor d elling, hich you never deigned to visit hen it as rich, and that you desire from me a trifling favor hich she has made it im!ossible for me to concede. *he reason is sim!le, and ( shall e%!lain it in fe ords. 4When you did me the "indness of telling me that you ished to brea"fast ith me, ( considered it right and !ro!er, having regard to your e%cellence and merit, to do everything ithin my !o er to !re!are a more sum!tuous dish than those ( ould offer to my ordinary guests. My thoughts therefore turned to the falcon you have as"ed me for and "no ing its quality, ( re!uted it a orthy dish to set before you. /o, ( had it roasted and served to you on the trencher this morning, and ( could not have ished for a better ay of dis!osing of it. But no that ( discover that you anted it in a different form, ( am so distressed by my inability to grant your request that ( shall never forgive myself for as long as ( live.4 (n confirmation of his ords, Federigo caused the feathers, talons, and bea" to be cast on the table before her. On seeing and hearing all this, the lady re!roached him at first for "illing so fine a falcon, and serving it u! for a oman to eat2 but then she became lost in admiration for his magnanimity of s!irit, hich no amount of !overty had managed to diminish, nor ever ould. But no that her ho!es of obtaining the falcon had vanished she began to feel seriously concerned for the health of her son, and after than"ing Federigo for his hos!itality and good intentions, she too" her leave of him, loo"ing all des!ondent, and returned to the child. .nd to his mother's indescribable sorro ithin the s!ace of a fe days, hether through his disa!!ointment in not being able to have the falcon, or because he as in any case suffering from a mortal illness, the child !assed from this life.

.fter a !eriod of bitter mourning and continued ee!ing, the lady as re!eatedly urged by her brothers to remarry, since not only had she been left ith a vast fortune but she as still a young oman. .nd though she ould have !referred to remain a ido , they gave her so little !eace in the end, recalling Federigo's high merits and his latest act of generosity, namely to have "illed such a fine falcon in her honor, she said to her brothers' 4(f only it ere !leasing you, ( should illingly remain as ( am2 but since you are so eager or me to ta"e a husband, you may be certain that ( shall never marry any other man e%ce!t Federigo degli .lberighi.4 Her brothers made fun of her, saying' 4/illy girl, don't tal" such nonsense7 Ho can you marry a man ho hasn't a !enny ith hich to bless himself64

4My brothers,4 she re!lied, 4( am ell a are of that. But ( ould sooner have a gentleman ithout riches, than riches ithout a gentleman.4 /eeing that her mind as made u!, and "no ing Federigo to be a gentleman of great merit even though he as !oor, her brothers fell in ith her ishes and handed her over to him, along ith her immense fortune. *henceforth, finding himself married to this great lady ith hom he as so dee!ly in love, and very rich into the bargain, Federigo managed his affairs more !rudently, and lived ith her in ha!!iness to the end of his days. Questions 8. #a& Ho does Monna Giovanna vie Federigo's love for her6 #b& What is the difference bet een saying that she 4too" no notice4 of his love and saying that she did not notice it6 #c& Why is this distinction im!ortant6 9. #a& What social and moral !roblems arise hen Monna Giovanna's son as"s her to obtain Federigo's falcon6 #b& What does her resolution of these !roblems reveal about her character6 :. #a& Ho is Federigo's decision to "ill his falcon similar to Monna's decision to as" him for it6 #b& Ho do both these actions relate to the theme of sacrifice6 ;. #a& (n hat ay are the t o main characters models of behavior6 #b& $o they have any faults6 3%!lain. <. Ho is this a story about loss and restoration, for both Monna and Federigo6 =. $id you find it disa!!ointing that Monna Giovanna 4 ould have !referred to remain a ido 4 after her husband died instead of marrying Federigo immediately6 3%!lain. .ns ers ill vary. >. Ho do the ideals of love e%!ressed in this story differ from current notions of romantic love6 .ns ers ill vary.