Gilberto

Gilberto, the husband of Dianora in the Decameron’s tale of the January garden, turns a threatened sexual bargain into a test of generosity. He is first angered when his wife reveals the promise she made to Messer Ansaldo Gradense, but, after considering her intentions, he chooses to help her face the consequences without surrendering her chastity if she can avoid it. His decision moves Ansaldo to release Dianora from her obligation, making Gilberto’s response the decisive turn in the tale.

Identity and Narrative Context

Gilberto is introduced as a wealthy gentleman of Udine, in Friuli, and as Dianora’s husband. She is a fair and noble lady whose charm has won the ardent love of Messer Ansaldo Gradense, a powerful baron renowned for prowess and courtesy. Gilberto is described as easy in temperament; the story gives that quality a particular test when his wife tells him that Ansaldo’s pursuit has reached an extraordinary point.

The episode is told by Emilia on the Tenth Day, after the company has praised the magnanimity of Messer Gentile. Emilia proposes to show that magnanimity can be surpassed. Gilberto is therefore not the tale’s only example of generosity: his decision becomes one link in a sequence in which a husband’s willingness to risk his own honour prompts a lover to restrain his desire, and that restraint in turn affects the man to whom the lover owes money.

Dianora’s Demand and the Garden

Dianora has repeatedly rejected Ansaldo’s advances and gifts. As his messages continue, she resolves to put an end to his importunities by asking for something she considers impossible: a garden near Udine, in January, as green and flower-filled as one in May. She tells Ansaldo’s intermediary that, if he can provide it, she will be ready to do what he asks; otherwise, he must stop sending messages, or she will tell her husband and relatives about his pursuit.

Ansaldo accepts the challenge. After searching for help, he hires a practitioner of necromantic art for a great sum. In the bitter cold, with snow and ice everywhere, the practitioner makes a meadow appear overnight as a flourishing garden, complete with green grass, trees, and fruit. Ansaldo sends Dianora flowers and fruit and invites her to see the marvel, reminding her of the promise she made and sealed with an oath.

The garden alters the problem Dianora had intended to make impossible. She regrets her promise, but curiosity leads her to visit the extraordinary display with other women of the city. The sight amazes her; returning home, she is so distressed by the obligation she believes herself to have incurred that she cannot conceal her state from Gilberto. Her disclosure brings the private pursuit into their marriage and forces him to respond not only to Ansaldo’s desire but also to the promise Dianora made.

Gilberto’s Response

Gilberto is initially angry when Dianora tells him what happened. He then considers what he takes to be the purity of her intention: she had meant to rid herself of an unwanted suitor, not to arrange an encounter with him. He also recognizes that Ansaldo’s magical garden has made the demand unexpectedly attainable. His change of mind does not erase his criticism. He tells Dianora that a discreet and virtuous woman should not listen to such messages or bargain over her chastity, since words admitted through the ears can give lovers hope and make what seemed impossible possible.

Yet Gilberto does not make that rebuke the end of his response. He agrees to absolve Dianora of her promise by allowing her to go to Ansaldo and ask to be released from it. His permission includes a severe qualification: if there is no other way, she may yield her body for this one occasion, but not her soul. The story presents this as a concession he would not ordinarily make, driven partly by his knowledge of Dianora’s intentions and partly by fear that Ansaldo, if deceived, might make trouble for them through the necromancer he has employed.

At daybreak Dianora goes to Ansaldo’s house, accompanied by two serving-men and a chamberwoman. Gilberto does not send her secretly or present the visit as her own desire. She tells Ansaldo that she has come at her husband’s command, and that it is Gilberto’s consideration for the burdens of Ansaldo’s passion, rather than love or a pledge of faith to Ansaldo, that has brought her there. In this way Gilberto’s decision places his own standing and his wife’s chastity within a negotiation whose terms he has chosen to face openly.

Generosity and Consequence

Dianora’s explanation changes Ansaldo’s conduct. Moved by Gilberto’s generosity, Ansaldo’s passion gives way to compassion. He refuses to take advantage of the permission Dianora has brought, receives her with reverence, and tells her that she may depart when she wishes. He asks her to convey thanks to her husband and offers to be Gilberto’s brother and servant in the future. The tale’s heading also records the final consequence of this chain of generosity: the necromancer releases Ansaldo from his bond without demanding payment.

Gilberto’s significance lies in the particular shape of his generosity. He does not pretend that Dianora’s promise was wise, nor does he simply dismiss its force. Instead, he recognizes the difference between her intention and the predicament created by the garden, then risks a concession in the hope of resolving that predicament. His action does not compel Ansaldo’s response; rather, it gives Ansaldo a chance to answer generosity with restraint. The tale thus makes Gilberto a catalyst in a reciprocal exchange: Dianora’s difficult promise draws out his costly permission, his permission awakens Ansaldo’s compassion, and Ansaldo’s refusal to claim what was offered completes the movement toward release.