Law and Mimesis in Boccaccio''s Decameron : Realism on Trial

Justin Steinberg's field-defining work on Boccaccio's Decameron shows how historical changes in the prosecution of crime profoundly influenced literary realism. Arguing that the Decameron's trials respond to a crisis in verisimilitude, the book engages scholars and students of medieval and early modern studies, literary theory and legal history.

In Boccaccio's time, the Italian city-state began to take on a much more proactive role in prosecuting crime – one which superseded a largely communitarian, private approach. The emergence of the state-sponsored inquisitorial trial indeed haunts the legal proceedings staged in the Decameron. How, Justin Steinberg asks, does this significant juridical shift alter our perspective on Boccaccio's much-touted realism and literary self-consciousness? What can it tell us about how he views his predecessor, Dante: perhaps the world's most powerful inquisitorial judge? And to what extent does the Decameron shed light on the enduring role of verisimilitude and truth-seeming in our current legal system? The author explores these and other literary, philosophical, and ethical questions that Boccaccio raises in the Decameron's numerous trials. The book will appeal to scholars and students of medieval and early modern studies, literary theory and legal history.