Ember Days

Ember Days appear in the Decameron as one observance in the calendar of abstinence that Messer Ricciardo di Chinzica imposes on his wife, Bartolomea. The story gives no dates or further account of the observance; its significance in the episode lies in how Ricciardo incorporates it into a long list of reasons to avoid marital intimacy.

Place in Ricciardo’s Calendar

After marrying the young and beautiful Bartolomea, Ricciardo claims that the days of the year are sacred to numerous saints and that husband and wife must abstain on their feast days. His calendar also excludes fast days, Ember Days, vigils of the Apostles and other saints, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, Lent, and certain phases of the moon. The narrative presents this elaborate schedule as something Ricciardo feigns and teaches his wife, rather than as a neutral account of the observance.

The list gives Ember Days no special description or separate treatment. They are included among many overlapping restrictions, so that the calendar appears comprehensive enough to leave the couple almost no time for conjugal life.

Function in the Story

Ricciardo uses the calendar to manage a mismatch between his young wife’s expectations and his own limited physical capacity. He is described as frail, and after their wedding night he needs wine and restorative remedies to recover. Thereafter, he teaches Bartolomea that the many sacred days require abstinence, while keeping close watch lest another person teach her to distinguish working days from holidays.

The Ember Days therefore matter in the episode not as a subject of religious instruction, but as one component of a domestic system of restriction. The comic force comes from the contrast between the calendar’s sacred vocabulary and Ricciardo’s private purpose: a broad catalogue of observances becomes an instrument for controlling his wife’s access to sexual life.