Messer Ruggieri de' Figiovanni

Messer Ruggieri de' Figiovanni is a wealthy, high-spirited Tuscan gentleman whose service at the court of Alfonso, King of Spain, turns an apparent slight into a comic test of merit and Fortune. He leaves Spain with more than the royal mule first given him: after making his grievance intelligible through a comparison with the animal, he receives a magnificent coffer of valuables and returns to Tuscany with public evidence of the worth he had feared went unrecognized.

Identity and Ambition

The tale presents Messer Ruggieri as one of the distinguished gentlemen of his city, perhaps the most worthy among them. Rich and spirited, he believes that the customs and way of life of Tuscany offer too little scope for displaying his ability. His decision to seek service abroad is therefore not described as an escape from poverty, but as a search for a setting in which his merit can become visible.

The fame of Alfonso, King of Spain, draws him to Spain. Ruggieri travels there honorably equipped with arms, horses, and attendants, and the king receives him graciously. His departure from home begins with confidence in his own standing and with the expectation that his service will make that standing apparent to a powerful ruler.

Service at Alfonso’s Court

Ruggieri settles at court, lives splendidly, and performs notable feats of arms. In a short time, he establishes a reputation for worth and valor. His service gives him what he sought in one respect: he is recognized as capable. The difficulty arises when he compares that reputation with the rewards distributed around him.

After a considerable stay, Ruggieri observes that Alfonso grants castles, cities, and baronies to various people, whom he considers undeserving, while giving him nothing. He fears that this absence of royal favor will diminish his reputation. Although he says he does not desire to become richer, he does care that the king has not borne witness to his merit. That distinction—between wanting wealth and wanting recognition—becomes central to the exchange that follows.

The Mule and the Unspoken Grievance

Ruggieri asks leave to depart. Alfonso grants it and gives him one of his finest mules, a practical gift for the long journey. At the same time, the king discreetly sends a trusted servant to travel with Ruggieri, without appearing to have been dispatched by the court, and report what he says about the king.

The mule supplies Ruggieri with the image through which he can express his complaint. On the road, he and his companion stop so their animals may urinate; all do so except the mule. Later, at a river where they water the animals, the mule urinates into the stream. Ruggieri curses the beast for being made after the fashion of the prince who gave it to him. The comparison turns on giving in the wrong place and withholding in the right one: it is a joke about the mule, but also a precise judgment on the king’s distribution of rewards.

The servant reports the remark, but also reports that throughout the journey Ruggieri said nothing else but what was highly praiseworthy of Alfonso. The single sharp jest thus stands apart from a sustained record of praise. Ruggieri is not portrayed as indiscriminately hostile to the king; his criticism concerns a particular failure to reward merit.

Fortune Put to the Test

The next morning, as Ruggieri is about to continue toward Tuscany, the servant reveals the king’s command, and Ruggieri returns to court. Alfonso asks him to explain the comparison. Ruggieri answers plainly: just as the mule failed to urinate when it should and did so where it should not, the king gives where he ought not and does not give where he ought.

Alfonso does not deny Ruggieri’s ability. Instead, he argues that Fortune, rather than any ignorance or unwillingness on his part, has prevented him from rewarding the knight according to his deserts. To make the claim visible, he takes Ruggieri into a great hall where two large locked coffers have been prepared. One contains the crown, royal scepter and orb, and precious ornaments and jewels; the other contains earth. Ruggieri is told to choose one and keep what he finds within.

He selects the coffer that holds earth. The choice gives physical form to the king’s account of Fortune: even a worthy man may, by chance, receive the empty outcome. Yet Alfonso does not let the test serve as a final refusal. He declares that Ruggieri’s worth deserves resistance to Fortune’s power and grants him the coffer of royal valuables, so that he may carry it to his own country as a just witness to his merit. Ruggieri accepts the gift with fitting thanks and returns joyfully to Tuscany.

Recognition and Narrative Significance

Ruggieri’s trajectory moves from service, to perceived neglect, to a pointed but controlled accusation, and finally to public recognition. The mule’s mistimed act gives his complaint its comic shape, while the paired coffers convert an abstract dispute about merit and luck into a choice whose result can be seen. His selection of earth momentarily appears to confirm that Fortune has denied him; Alfonso’s generous award then reverses that result without denying the force of chance.

The ending answers Ruggieri’s original concern on its own terms. He had feared that receiving no reward would leave his reputation unsupported; the coffer allows him to return home with tangible testimony from the king. His story therefore distinguishes a desire for acknowledgment from mere accumulation of wealth, while presenting royal generosity as capable of correcting Fortune’s apparent verdict.