The Decameron is a collection of 100 novellas by Italian
author Giovanni Boccaccio, probably begun in 1350 and finished in 1353. It is a
medieval allegorical work best known for its bawdy tales of love, appearing in
all its possibilities from the erotic to the tragic. Many notable writers such
as Chaucer are said to have drawn inspiration from The Decameron.
— Excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.