The Decameron (From the Greek: δέκα - ten & μέρα - day) (
Italian:
Decameron or
Decamerone ), subtitled
Prince Galehaut (Old ), is a collection of
novellas by the 14th-century Italian author
Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375). The book is structured as a
frame story containing 100 tales told by a group of seven young women and three young men sheltering in a secluded villa just outside
Florence to escape the
Black Death, which was afflicting the city. Boccaccio probably conceived the
Decameron after the epidemic of 1348, and completed it by 1353. The various tales of love in
The Decameron range from the
erotic to the
tragic. Tales of wit,
practical jokes, and life lessons contribute to the mosaic. In addition to its literary value and widespread influence (for example on
Chaucer's
The Canterbury Tales), it provides a document of life at the time. Written in the
vernacular of the
Florentine language, it is considered a masterpiece of classical early Italian prose.