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==Introduction==

The Renaissance was one of the most important periods in the history of the western world. This era saw the development of the modern conception of the individual, the emergence of humanism and new forms of cultural expression, all of which influence us to this day. There are many important figures in this era which lasted roughly two centuries (1320-1527 AD), who contributed to the Renaissance and the revival of European culture. These included great artists such as Michelangelo and Leonardo and great writers such as Petrarch, Dante, and Machiavelli. One writer who made a dramatic contribution to the Renaissance was Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375), although his contribution is often neglected. This article argues that Boccaccio was an important figure in the development of Humanism, the Italian language and the development of modern literature.

==The life of Giovanni Boccaccio==

The future writer was born in a village outside of the city of Florence and he was the son of Boccaccio de Chellino, a wealthy merchant and banker, who was employed by the famous Bardi Bank. It appears that Boccaccio was born outside of marriage and he was raised by his father and legitimized. The young boy received an excellent education and was tutored in Latin and his father also gave him some business training. From an early age, the young Giovanni was determined to be a poet. His father moved to Naples and worked as a financial advisor to the king and Boccaccio was familiar with the Neapolitan Court. The young man was obliged to become an apprentice banker, which he hated, but he was able to meet many writers and scholars <ref>Bartlett, Kenneth R. The Civilization of the Italian Renaissance. Toronto: D.C. Heath and Company, 1992, p 42-43)</ref>. It was about this time that he became interested in the mythology of the Greeks and the Romans. The young man would regularly attend the Royal Court and he fell in love with the young daughter of the king, who inspired some of his later works, but his passion was not requited. Boccaccio’s first efforts were in poetry and he was much influenced by the Sicilian School <ref>Bartlett, p 42</ref>. He wrote a long poem, Il Filostrato, and Teseida, which represented his emotional turmoil caused by his unrequited love for the King’s daughter. In 1340 the Bardi Bank collapsed, and this causes a European wide financial crisis, which forced Boccaccio to return to Florence, leaving his beloved in Naples. It was at this time that he grew as a writer and wrote a traditional medieval style Romance in verse, In the Elegy of Lady Fiammetta, which has some of his finest poetry. The young writer traveled throughout Italy at this time and he appears to escape the Black Death unscathed (1347-1350). The plague killed up to one-third of the population of Italy and the devastation it caused, deeply impacted Boccaccio’s writings. The Black Death was directly the inspiration for his greatest work the Decameron, which was written between 1348-1353 <ref> Mc William, G.H.: 1995, Introduction to The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio, Penguin Classics, Suffolk England, 1995), p 5</ref>. This is a large prose work and it is a collection of short stories or Nouvelles. It was an instant sensation and has remained so to this day. Boccaccio came to regret his masterpiece and after completing it he seemed to have experienced some form of crisis. In the 1350s he met Petrarch and the two men became friends’ and each influenced the works of the other. In the 1350s Boccaccio wrote the biography of Dante and went on to write a collection of biographies On Famous Women and On Famous Men, which was very popular. He also wrote a work on classical mythology and this is considered to be one of the first studies of myth ever produced. In 1362 during a religious crisis, he met a monk who told him to abandon literature and to burn his extensive library, for the sake of his soul <ref>McWilliam, p 4</ref>. Thankfully, Petrarch intervened and persuaded Boccaccio to follow his vocation as a writer and scholar. His native Florence recognized his talents and he was appointed as a public lecturer on the works of the great Dante. He also because of the influence of his great friend Petrarch, became a diplomat and he was engaged on diplomatic missions throughout Europe. As he grew old he returned to his native Tuscany and lived in the village of Certaldo, until his death in 1375.