From Galeso to Cimone and Back: Classical Erudition, Etymology, and the Destabilization of interpretatio nominis in Decameron V.1

Abstract

Novella V.1 of the Decameron recounts the transformation of a Cypriot youth given two names in the tale: Galeso and Cimone. Love changes the uncouth protagonist, given the brutish nickname Cimone in childhood, into a sophisticated man of letters worthy of his aristocratic birth name, Galeso, a transformation evoking classic Neoplatonic and Stilnovistic tropes. Boccaccio’s narrative undermines these, however, when the post-transformation protagonist chooses to keep his nickname rather than revert to his more genteel birth name. This study explores the relationship between Galeso/Cimone’s two names and his pre-and post-transformation natures. I argue that the recurring lack of correspondence between the protagonist’s name and his nature destabilizes the ancient exegetic strategy of interpretatio nominis, which holds that the etymology of the former gives the reader clues for interpreting the latter. Whereas previous scholarship has explored the etymological implications of the nickname Cimone for disrupting this interpretive framework, I trace the classical roots of the more seemingly noble birth name, Galeso. I maintain that its rustic classical associations, in particular, its evocation of Ovid’s uncivilized Cyclops-shepherd, Polyphemus, prompt the savvy reader to question interpretatio nominis as an effective heuristic tool.