Liberality and munificence are the two main pillars of the last day of the Decameron. Tension in the bringing of the work to a close is symbolically increased by the competition engaged upon by the storytellers. The members of the brigade try to outdo each other, challenging each other at the level of storytelling, in the search for an example that can be the most emblematic and that can conform to the theme imposed upon the tales to be told. Ruggieri de’ Figiovanni, a Florentine knight, criticises the generosity of the King of Spain, presumably Alfonse X the wise[1], lamenting inadequate recompense for his services and obtaining full satisfaction from the sovereign (1). Ghino di Tacco, the proverbial villain from Siena, spontaneously cures the stomach-ache of the abbot of Clignì, a very rich prelate, who had fallen his prisoner. By way of voluntary ransom for having been cured the prelate intercedes with the Pope on behalf of Ghino, managing to have the Church pardon him for his past as a brigand and admit him to the Order of the Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem (2). The tale of  Mitridanes and Natan is set in far off China. Champions of courtesy who have entered into competition, the clash between the two reveals itself to be also a confrontation between two different ages of the life of man and their different characters. The old and even-tempered Mitridanes manages to dominate the youthful impulse of Natan, who, motivated by envy, is set upon eliminating his rival (3). Questions 13 and 4 of the Filocolo are the sources of the subjects of novellas 4 and 5. These are two cases of amorous munificence, in which Gentile dei Carisendi (4) and messer Ansaldo (5) renounce to having their beloveds, and both decide not to attempt at the marital status of  Catalina and Dianora. It is thus that the courtly model of adulterous love is questioned, as it is sacrificed upon the alter of the munificence of the soul. At the same time the reader’s attention is focused upon the marital couple, the social component that dominates without contrast the last five novellas.

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[1] L. Rossi, La maschera della magnificenza amorosa: la decima giornata, in Introduzione al Decameron, a c. di M. Picone-M. Mesirca, Firenze 2004, pp. 267-289, in part. p. 274.