Two human documents

The judgement of Ludwig von Pastor(1854-1928) about Giovanni Boccaccio(1313-1375) is very ridiculous, in fact he said: “Boccaccio, with special predilection gathers, in his tales, the jockeys and insult to priest, monks and nuns and with sarcasm he propones it  as examples of hypocrisy and immoral behavior”; this judgment in the first book of History of popes from the end of Middle age, is a very headwork of hypocrisy; or von Pastor hasn’t read Decameron, and certainly he has read because he has expressed his evaluation, or, I think, he working to his searches in Vatican City he has adhered to morality of Vatican, hence he has so spoke about a writer that has told the human kind, that in Middle age has had these behavior, and also after, in modern era, to example, pope Paolo 3th(1468-1549) has had four sons, Ugo Boncompagni 13^th(1502-1585) has had one son, because then wasn’t scandal that a pope or priest has had a son; I retake a document that I have found in Archivio Caetani Rome(Misc.441/5), a boll, in 1262, of Urbano 4^th pope, said that Reginaldo from Sermoneta priest in Anagni now with a daughter; the Boccaccio written the Decameron between 1349 and 1353, thereupon 87 years before that the this book was written, and then a priest has had a son; other short notation; until 3th century a.Ch. the religious could marriage. The narration of Boccaccio is a portrait of human gender and his time, he was believer and I consider a painting of his time, because he described, with fantasy certainly, but he portrayed habits of his time, he his documentary of 14^th century in Tuscan; von Pastor is offended as catholic, and his idealism of sacrificed life of priest is idealized, and he took morality of his time; would be to von Pastor think it, that he lives in moral contest and assumes the current opinion as Boccaccio has took examples and episode of his time; thereby we can consider Boccaccio as absolutely true to von Pastor, that has a human document of his time, with reactions and behaviors typical of his time; von Pastor could have justified Boccaccio, that hasn’t need of justifications, if he have considered that the adherence to a conformist respectability in time of Boccaccio wasn’t; and during the last years of his life Boccaccio wanted burn his Decameron, and a priest saved this book; if it was motive to scandal a priest, in conformity to morality of his time, could have burn the book and the author; but evidently then was normal that priest have these behavior that Boccaccio describes, von Pastor is document of his time and Boccaccio of his time.

Alessandro Lusana