The Decameron: Day 8: Fifth Tale Summary & Analysis

Elissa’s tale reminded Filostrato of another anecdote about Maso del Saggio. Florence’s chief magistrates are often “mean-hearted men” who live “frugal and beggarly” lives and act as if they are penniless. Their “inborn miserliness and avarice” inclines them to picking judges and notaries of low character. Niccola da San Lepidio, a man who looks more like a coppersmith than a man of law, is one of these low-quality judges.

One day, Maso del Saggio is hanging around the courts just to watch (as people often do) when he catches sight of Niccola da San Lepidio’s “curious and witless appearance.” His judge’s cap is dirty, his gown hangs down beneath his robe, and the crotch of his breeches hangs down around his knees. He shows this sight to his equally puckish friends Ribi and Matteuzzo.

Realizing that someone could easily conceal himself under Niccola da San Lepidio’s platform and that there’s a hole big enough for a man’s hand beneath his feet, Maso del Saggio suggests that they pull the judge’s pants down. The next day they return to the court, where Matteuzzo crawls under the platform. Maso and Ribi approach the judge from the right and left and grab his robe. They pretend to present him with a civil case in which Maso claims that Ribi stole his boots, and Ribi complains that Maso stole his saddlebag. When the judge stands up, Matteuzzo grabs the seat of his pants and pulls them off—easily due to the judge’s scrawny frame.

Confused, Niccola da San Lepidio tries to cover himself with his robe, but Maso del Saggio and Ribi hold on to it. Eventually, Matteuzzo releases the judge’s pants, and the three pranksters exit the court. Realizing that he’s been tricked, the judge demands to know where they’ve gone, but they are nowhere to be found. The incident angers the chief magistrate until people point out that it was the Florentines’ way to show that they knew his judges were fools.