Oxford Decameron

Boccaccio's Decameron

This wonderful testimonial to 15th century Italian illumination is stored today in the Bodleian Library in Oxford. The shelf mark MS. Holkham misc. 49 refers to its provenance: the manuscript resided centuries long in Holkham Hall in Norfolk, the famous country home of Thomas Coke, First Earl of Leicester, with his famous library with books from his grand tour of Italy. It was surely there that the Earl acquired the impressive Decameron manuscript originating from Ferrara ca. 1467.

In the Circle of the Court of Ferrara

The manuscript originated at the behest of Teofilo Calcagnini, an official at the court of Borso d’Este. Taddeo Crivelli (active in Ferrara 1451–1479), a gifted miniaturist, was responsible for the Ferrara-style Renaissance illumination. Under the rule of Borso d’Este, Crivelli worked both for noble as well as institutional patrons. One of his significant works was surely the Bible of Borso d’Este, one of the primary works of Italian Renaissance illumination.

The Famous Ten-Day-Work

Taddeo Crivelli created a splendid manuscript of the famous Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375) for the court official. The collection of short stories by the humanist-influenced author of the Italian Renaissance is considered to be one of the most important works of world literature. Originating around the middle of the 14th century, Boccaccio narrates 100 stories altogether – told by ten people over ten days – with the plague in Florence as a backdrop.

The Diverse Book Decoration

Every page of the manuscript is wonderfully designed – and each differently. A variety of ideas and concepts are presented here. The text in two columns is often framed by colorful ornamental friezes, adorned with floral ornamentation, or illustrated with miniatures of the content. This diverse, colorful adornment inter alia is taken from mythology and from the Decameron itself. Artful initials round out the accomplished pictorial adornment.