Lucas Stopper: Purification in the Decameron (outside reading connection 3)

 While reading the Decameron for my Later Middle Ages history class, I was struck by the fact that many of the themes we’ve discussed in class surrounding trauma and purification are prevalent in this story. The Decameron was written around the time of the Black Death in Italy, where about a third of the population died and social life as medieval people knew it was completely upended. This work is a fictional work that depicts many people fleeing from Italy during the plague to the countryside, where they tell stories and are merry while avoiding the rampant death they were facing. The people in this work often participate in purification rituals, usually in the form of bathing. Additionally, people going on pilgrimages to nature, which is where the people in the story flee to, was viewed as entering a liminal space. Because many medieval people did not know much of the world outside of their villages or cities, entering a new, unsettled natural environment was viewed as being in an “in-between” state, as rules and social structure went out the window. These were very interesting and obvious connections to our discussions in class the past few weeks, and I thought it was great how, even almost 1000 years ago, medieval authors were exploring the concept of coping with trauma and death and the means by which one can do that.