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BEWARE: There is a very small chance, that this text is not in the public domain. If we are violating any copyright law, we are abjectly sorry and will immediately beg for permission to use it or take it down. After several months research and several letters, the question of the copyright status and the holder of it remain a deep, dark mystery. But we couldn't bear it that Poggio and Mr. Storer's work is as good as lost to most of the world. They deserve so much better. We welcome any input on this matter. For others who wish to steal any portion of this text, this is not a good text to lift because you, too, are operating under the same risk. Know this: if we get in big trouble we will share our pain with you.


CLICK on Chapter Number, description or page number to jump around in the book, they are all active links.
      If you want to know which are by POGGIO and which are by DOMENICHI and the three others by neither of these two, then scroll down to the end. The stories are divided up by author and also linked to them there.
      If you want link-backs to come right back without using the back arrow on your browser, you will have to hold your horses. That is not fun to do manually and it will have to wait until I have been encouraged to do so by those who would like to have it happen. I am trying to type up some nice Renaissance Italian fairy tales and I am distracted. — Elf.ED.


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CONTENTS

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PAGE



xxvINTRODUCTION



I: Old Wine 33



II: How a Friar's Breeches became Sacred Relics 33



III: The Sleepy Confessor 36



IV: Worst of All 37



V: The Worst Men in the World 37



VI: Francesco Sachetti 37



VII: The Old Woman's Prayer 38



VIII: The Peace of the Monastery 39



IX: An Excommunicated Peasant eaten by the Priests 40



X: Of a Curate who buried a Little Dog 41



XI: Of a Countryman who wished to marry a young Girl 43



XII: Of a Doctor who betrayed the wife of a Tailor who was ill 43



XIII: Of a hermit who had many Women 44



XIV: Messer Nicholas 46



XV: The Choristers 47



XVI: Kings and Asses 47


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XVII: The Unrepentant Smith 48



XVIII: Of Lorenzo de' Medici 48



XIX: Of An Englishman 49



XX: Jettison 49



XXI: Of Lorenzo de' Medici 50



XXII: Of Lorenzo de' Medici 50



XXIII: Of a Priest who did not know when Palm Sunday fell 51



XXIV: Of Some Peasants who bought a Crucifix 53



XXV: Of Messer Paolo Marchese 54



XXVI: The Host's Fee 54



XXVII: Pirrinicilo the Gascon 55



XXVIII: Of Roderigo Carrasio 56



XXIX: Big Fish and Little Fish 57



XXX: Of Jacopo Sannazzaro 57



XXXI: Of Francesco Elio 58



XXXII: Of Roberto da Lecce 59



XXXIII: The Fair Penitent 60



XXXIV: Of a Man who made his Wife believe him to be Dead 61



XXXV: Saying of a Cook to the Illustrious Duke of Milan 63



XXXVI: A Request of the same Cook to the same Prince 64



XXXVII: Of Giovanni Visconti 65



XXXVIII: Of King Ludovic of France 66


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XXXIX: Tosetto of Padua 68



XL: Of Messer Marco of Lodi 68



XLI: Two Knights of Castille 69



XLII: Of a Man who asked Pardon of his Sick Wife 70



XLIII: A Woman's Answer 71



XLIV: Of the King of Tunis 72



XLV: The Wife's Confession 72



XLVI: Story of a man who sent Letters to his Wife and his Creditor 74



XLVII: A Priest's Awkward Question 75



XLVIII: Of some Ambassadors sent from Perugia to Pope Urban 76



XLIX: Foolish Saying of some Florentine Ambassadors 78



L: Of a Drinker 78



LI: Of a woman who in order to cover her head Exposed Herself 79



LII: Bernabò, Duke of Milan 80



LIII: Of One who wanted to spend 1000 Florins to be Famous 80



LIV: Facetia of the Celebrated Dante 81



LV: Answer given by a Woman to a Man who asked if his Wife could have a Twelve-months' Child 82



LVI: Dispute between a Florentine and a Venetian 83



LVII: Antonio Lusco's Story 84



LVIII: Of a Young Woman Separated from her Husband 2


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LIX: Contest between Two Men about their Crest 85



LX: Story of a Tutor 86



LXI: Of a Woman who insisted on calling her Husband Lousy 87



LXII: Of a Man who sought for his Wife Drowned in a Stream 88



LXIII: Elegant Reply of Dante, Florentine Poet 89



LXIV: Pleasant Answer of the same Poet 90



LXV: The Story of Francesco Filelfo 91



LXVI: The Story of a Mountebank told by the Cardinal of Bordeaux 92



LXVII: The Husband's Revenge 94



LXVIII: Messer Franco's Cat 95



LXIX: Of a Doctor who Cured the Mad 95



LXX: Of a Mad Woman 98



LXXI: Of A Woman who stood on the Banks of the Po 100



LXXII: The Abbot of Settimo 100



LXXIII: Saying of Lorenzo, Roman Priest 101



LXXIV: Of a Prodigy 101



LXXV: The Exhortation of a Cardinal 102



LXXVI: Of a Preacher who preferred Virgins to Married Women 103



LXXVII: Poor Cocchino 104



LXXVIII: Witty Answer on the Few Friends of God 104



LXXIX: Of a Friar of St Anthony, a Peasant, and a Wolf 105


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LXXX: Marvellous Compensation between Penitent and Confessor 106



LXXXI: Of one who Spoke Ill of the Life of Cardinal Angelotto 107



LXXXII: How a daughter Excused her Sterility to her Father 108



LXXXIII: Of a Friar who had a Child by an Abbess 109



LXXXIV: Of a Man who declared that the Archbishop of Cologne was a Quadruped 110



LXXXV: Of a Man who Vowed a Candle 111



LXXXVI: Another Jest of a Man who made a Vow to St Ciriac 112



LXXXVII: Of a widow who desired a Husband of advanced Age 113



LXXXVIII: The Jealous Husband 114



LXXXIX: Pleasant Tale 114



XC: Facetious Answer applicable to Bishops 115



XCI: How a Hospital was Cleared of its Inmates 115



XCII: The Priest’s Mistake 116



XCIII: Of a Young Woman made Fun of by her Old Husband 117



XCIV: The Beautiful Scholar 118



XCV: Galba’s Cloak 118



XCVI: The Cabbage and the Cauldron 119



XCVII: The Blind Man and the Virgin 119



XCVIII: Of Finetto 120


viii

XCIX: Of the Numerous Doctors in Ferrara 121



C: Two Young Men 123



CI: A complaint to Facino Cane 124



CII: The Jest told by a Friar on Easter Day 125



CIII: Of Ottaviano Dagnano 126



CIV: How to be Remembered 126



CV: Of a woman who Deceived her Husband 127



CVI: Of a Gambler who was sent to Prison 129



CVII: Of a father who was Reproved by his Drunken Son 129



CVIII: Happy Answer of a Woman to a Young Man in Love 130



CIX: Dante and King Robert of Naples 131



CX: Of Bardella of Mantua 134



CXI: The Timorous Duellists 135



CXII: Second Thoughts 135



CXIII: The King of the Canaries 136



CXIV: Facetia of an Ignoramus 140



CXV: A Biting Answer 141



CXVI: Of an English Dyer who had an Adventure with his Wife 142



CXVII: The Merchant of Ascoli 143



CXVIII: The Ass and the Noble’s Servant 147



CXIX: Newly Married 148



CXX: The Hanging Man 148


ix

CXXI: Of Alessandro Mola, Courteous Gentleman 150



CXXII: Remark of Lattanzio Benucci 150



CXXIII: The Pimp 151



CXXIV: The Principle of Tragedy 151



CXXV: The Meaning of Venice 152



CXXVI: Of Alfonso de' Pazzi 153



CXXVII: Of Messer Paolo dell' Ottonaio 154



CXXVIII: The Senate and the Roman People 156



CXXIX: Letters 156



CXXX: Good Answer to Messer N——— 157



CXXXI: Under the Protection of St Margeret 158



CXXXII: San Marino and Venice 159



CXXXIII: Of Raphael of Urbino 159



CXXXIV: A Madman in Church 160



CXXXV: Of a Florentine who bought a Horse 161



CXXXVI: Of a Venetian who went to Treviso and had a Stone thrown at his Back by his Servants 161



CXXXVII: Facetia of Ridolfo, Signor di Camerino 162



CXXXVII: The Gentleman and his Miller 163



CXXXIX: The Notary's Will 164



CXL: Merchant's Good Faith 164



CXLI: Husbands and Wives 165



CXXLII: The Safest Ship 166



CXLIII: Facetia of Some Thieves 167


x

CXLIV: Recalling Solomon 168



CXLV: A Woman's Answer 169



CXLVI: A Good Master for Thieves 169



CXLVII: The Wise Parent 170



CXLVIII: The Doctor of Law 172



      The following facetiæ are from the collections of —



      LODOVICO DOMENICHI: Nos.  I,  III,  IV,  V,  VI,  VI,  VIII,  XIV,  XV,  XVI,  XVII,  XIX,  XX,  XXI,  XXII,  XXV,  XXVI,  XXVII,  XXVIII,  XXIX,  XXX,  XXXI,  XXXII,  XXXVIII,  XXXIX,  XL,  XLI,  XLIV,  XLV,  LXVII,  LXVIII,  LXXVII,  XCIV,  XCV,  XCVI,  XCVII,  XCVIII,  XCIX,  C,  CII,  CIII,  CIV,  CX,  CXI,  CXII,  CXVIII,  CXIX,  CXX,  CXXI,  CXXII,  CXXIII,  CXXIV,  CXXV,  CXXVI,  CXXVII,  CXXVIII,  CXIX,  CXXX,  CXXXI,  CXXXII,  CXXXIII,  CXXXIV,  CXXXVIII,  CXXXIX,  CXL,  CXLI,  CXLII,  CXLIII,  CXLIV,  CXLVI,  CXLVII,  CXLVIII.



      From POGGIO: Nos.  II,  IX,  X,  XI,  XII,  XIII,  XXIII,  XXIV,  XXXIII,  XXXIV,  XXXV,  XXXVI,  XXXVII,  XLII,  XLIII,  XLVI,  XLVII,  XLVIII,  XLIX,  L,  LI,  LII,  LIII,  LIV,  LV,  LVI,  LVII,  LVIII,  LIX,  LX,  LXI,  LXII,  LXIII,  LXIV,  LXV,  LXVI,  LXIX,  LXX,  LXXI,  LXXII,  LXXIII,  LXXIV,  LXXV,  LXXVI,  LXXVIII,  LXXIX,  LXXX,  LXXXI,  LXXXII,  LXXXIII,  LXXXIV,  LXXXV,  LXXXVI,  LXXXVII,  LXXXVIII,  LXXXIX,  XC,  XC1,  XCII,  XCIII,  CI,  CV,  CVI,  CVII,  CVIII,  CXIV,  CXV,  CXVI,  CXXXV,  CXXXVI,  CXXXVII,  CXLV.



      No. CIX is from GIOVANNI SERCAMBI; CXVII from an anonymous author of XVth century; CXIII from LORENZO MAGALOTTI.




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