King Frederick of Sicily appears in Pampinea’s fifth tale (V, 6). He has a taste for beautiful women, so he receives Restituta as a gift from pirates. He is outraged to discover his “property” in Gianni’s arms and initially sentences the lovers to execution. However, when he realizes that they are both from the nobility, political and class concerns override his desire for revenge, and he oversees their wedding before sending them triumphantly home. His generosity to these lovers echoes other generous sovereigns described on Day X.
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King Frederick Character Timeline in The Decameron
The timeline below shows where the character King Frederick appears in The Decameron. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Day 5: Sixth Tale
...about who gets to keep her, they decide to present her as a gift to King Frederick of Sicily, a man “much addicted to pretty things of that sort.” He likes this...
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...cruelly” because she wanted to preserve her chastity. But now, knowing what to expect from King Frederick , she feels that it’s lost anyway. Between this and her gratitude towards Gianni for...
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Speechless with horror and rage, King Frederick nearly kills Restituta and Gianni right then. But feeling that killing sleeping victims is a...
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...of the Royal Fleet, uses his clout to stay the execution while he talks to King Frederick . Acknowledging the wrong that the King has endured, Ruggieri nevertheless urges clemency towards Restituta...
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