Maria Grazia Cammarota

L’intervento si concentra sulla prima novella della nona giornata del Decameron, che ha come protagonista una bella e ingegnosa vedova, Madonna Francesca de’ Lazzari, la quale si libera di due fastidiosi corteggiatori imponendo loro una prova d’amore apparentemente impossibile. L’analisi si propone di evidenziare gli elementi caratterizzanti di una catena di riscritture che inizia con Boccaccio e, migrata in area tedesca, passa attraverso la traduzione quattrocentesca di Arigo per arrivare nelle mani di Hans Sachs, che tra il 1540 e il 1560 offre al proprio pubblico ben quattro rivisitazioni della novella italiana.

Ælfric’s views on warfare and violence have attracted much scholarly attention, giving rise to opposing interpretations of his intended purpose: to some a glorification of war and to others a call to pacifism. Far less has been written, however, on a more controversial issue within this general subject matter: the sinfulness of homicide committed by soldiers in a public war waged with a just cause, and the consequent need for them to atone. This article aims to throw light on this neglected aspect of Ælfric’s writings, and argues that his eloquent silence on this ethical dilemma downplays the sense of guilt experienced by warriors who shed blood at the command of a superior. While the clergy’s participation in physical combat is incompatible with Christ’s teachings, secular soldiers must fight enemies to defend their country: in fact, for this order of society, waging war is not simply lawful, it is a duty, and has the support of God. That no reference to the sinfulness of bloodshedding should be present in Ælfric’s hagiographical narratives is therefore crucial, for it probably contributes to remove the ‘agony of conscience’ suffered by those Christian soldiers who are reluctant to stain their hands with human blood, and thus reinforces the principle that killing in a just war to repel an enemy attack is not an obstacle to salvation.

This contribution aims to provide a new interpretation of Bruder Wernher's anti-papal Spruch N. 2 (Gregorie, babest, geislich vatter, wache vnd brich abe dinen slaf!). The analysis will take into account some relevant documents produced by the papal and imperial chanceries, in order to better define the historical and political context which may be reflected in the text. Thus, it will be shown that the poet enters into the debate of the second half of the 1230s, giving voice to growing demands for a change in the political strategy adopted by Gregory IX against Frederick II. Furthermore, it will be argued that the opening lines of the Spruch contain an allusion to Psalm 43 (Exsurge, quare dormis, Domine?). Therefore, the poet touches upon a crucial issue in the ideological and political conflict between sacerdotium and regnum: the role as vicarius Dei that both the Pope and the Emperor claimed to hold.