Vigil (Christianity)

Vigil (Christianity) appears in the Decameron through a domestic calendar of abstinence: Ricciardo di Chinzica lists the vigils of the Apostles among the occasions on which, he claims, husband and wife should refrain from sex. The story does not explain the observance itself; instead, it shows how a religious term becomes one item in Ricciardo’s elaborate means of limiting his marriage to Bartolomea.

The vigil in Ricciardo’s calendar

Ricciardo, a wealthy judge in Pisa, marries Bartolomea, a beautiful young woman. After their first night together nearly exhausts him, he begins teaching her a calendar of supposed reasons for abstinence. He claims that every day is sacred to one or more saints and adds fast days, Ember Days, the vigils of the Apostles, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, Lent, lunar phases, and numerous other exceptions. The vigils are thus named as part of a long sequence of observances, not treated as a distinct episode or explained in detail.

Religious observance as marital excuse

The narrative presents Ricciardo’s calendar as a contrivance: he has made it up to justify avoiding sexual relations, and Bartolomea is left with intimacy perhaps once a month, or less. His schedule gives the appearance of religious discipline to what is, in practice, a way of controlling the terms of married life. The mention of the Apostles’ vigils contributes to the calendar’s accumulating authority, while the story’s emphasis remains on Ricciardo’s use of it rather than on the observance’s religious meaning.

The calendar’s reversal

During a country outing near Monte Nero, Bartolomea goes boating with other women while Ricciardo is in a separate boat. Paganino da Mare, a corsair, captures her vessel and carries her away in full view of her husband. After taking her to Monaco, Paganino comforts her with words and then with sexual attention. In the story’s pointed reversal, Ricciardo’s calendar and its holy days have altogether escaped Bartolomea’s mind by the time she is living with Paganino.

Meaning within the episode

The vigil matters here as one detail in a system of postponements that Ricciardo imposes on his wife. The contrast is not an explanation of Christian vigil practice, but a contrast between his rule-bound excuses and the new circumstances of Bartolomea’s life. By including apostolic vigils alongside fasts, feast days, and other exceptions, the story makes the calendar seem less like a single observance than an endlessly expandable instrument of marital avoidance.