Madam Francesca—Rinuccio Palermini

Madam Francesca—Rinuccio Palermini is a relationship of passionate pursuit and deliberate refusal. Rinuccio, a Florentine exile living in Pistoia, seeks Madam Francesca’s favor; she, unwilling to love either of her two suitors, turns his devotion into a test designed to end his importunities. His willingness to risk a night in a tomb proves the intensity of his attachment, but not a claim on her affection: when circumstances prevent him from completing the errand, she rejects him outright.

An Unequal Courtship

Madam Francesca is a fair widow of Pistoia. Rinuccio Palermini and his fellow Florentine exile Alessandro Chiarmontesi have each fallen passionately in love with her, without knowing of the other’s suit. Both send messages and entreaties; Francesca has sometimes listened to them, but comes to regret having encouraged either man and wants to withdraw from both. Her relation with Rinuccio is therefore shaped from the outset by a sharp imbalance: his love presses toward possession, while her priority is to regain control over access to herself.

The Test of the Tomb

To create a pretext for refusing further messages, Francesca devises separate errands for the two men involving Scannadio, a notorious man buried that same day. Rinuccio is told to go to the tomb around midnight, remove the corpse, and bring it to her house without speaking, whatever he hears or feels. The apparent promise of Francesca’s love makes the service a trial of his devotion, though her stated purpose is to demand something she expects neither suitor to do.

On his way to the tomb, Rinuccio considers the danger of being caught carrying a corpse and condemned as a sorcerer, as well as the harm discovery could bring to his kin. He nevertheless decides that refusing the first service Francesca has asked of him would be intolerable, and goes on. Finding the tomb open, he reaches inside for Scannadio’s body—but takes hold of Alessandro’s feet. Alessandro has followed Francesca’s other instruction by disguising himself in the dead man’s clothes and lying in the tomb. Rinuccio unknowingly hauls his rival out and carries him toward Francesca’s house.

Interruption and Refusal

Near the house, the night watch, lying in wait for an outlaw, hears Rinuccio stumbling in the dark. The officers challenge him; he drops his burden and runs. Alessandro, still dressed in Scannadio’s clothes, scrambles away as well. Watching from a window with her maid, Francesca recognizes Rinuccio carrying Alessandro and marvels at the men’s boldness. The watch’s intervention ends the attempt before Rinuccio can deliver his burden or learn whom he has carried.

The next day, the open tomb and missing corpse prompt conjecture in Pistoia, where some people suppose that devils have carried Scannadio off. Rinuccio and Alessandro each report his attempt to Francesca and ask for her favor. She pretends to believe neither account and tells them that, since they have not done what she required, she will grant neither of them anything. Rinuccio’s courage thus earns no romantic reward: Francesca uses the failure of his task as the excuse she wanted, and the relationship ends on her terms.

The Relationship’s Significance

Rinuccio’s conduct makes his devotion vivid through action rather than declaration: despite imagining arrest, disgrace, and danger, he enters the tomb and shoulders what he believes is a corpse. But the comic reversal—his carrying a living rival—makes the service’s outcome radically different from his intention. Francesca’s test is not a mutual courtship ritual; it is a stratagem for escaping persistent advances from both men. The episode distinguishes the strength of a suitor’s desire from the woman’s consent, and gives Francesca the final decision about whether the relationship proceeds.