10.7: In which a king is a prince of a guy

Bernardo Puccini was a well-to-do apothecary. Florentine by birth, he plied his trade in Sicily, where he lived with his wife, and beautiful daughter, Lisa.This young woman, lovely and impressionable, falls, and falls hard for King Peter of Sicily, after seeing him joust.

This is hopeless. Peter has a consort and even if he didn’t, the world in which a king marries a tradesman’s daughter is not this one. Lisa knows this, but it makes no difference to her. She can’t shake her feelings. Instead she takes to her bed and pines away, to the point of death.

Her parents are understandably distraught, and beg her to tell them what they can do to bring her back to health. Lisa, in what may be termed a Hail Mary, asks for a visit from Minuccio, Peter’s court troubador.

Minuccio obliges and hears from Lisa herself how she is sick unto death for love of King Peter. She begs the musician to create a ballad about this and sing it for Peter, so at least he will know of her chaste suffering.

Minuccion leaps upon this opportunity, what troubador wouldn’t? He composes a ballad of heart rending beauty and sings it for the king. Peter is impressed with the nobility of the young woman (and probably her good taste in men) and consults with his wife as to the best response.

They come up with this. Peter asks the Puccinis if he may visit their daughter. Of course, they don’t refuse. The news doesn’t kill Lisa with happiness, luckily. She receives the king. He asks, in return for a chaste kiss, if she would accept him as her knight (nobly doing noble deeds in her name) and if she would allow him to find her a suitable match.

Lisa agrees ecstatically to all. Peter gently kisses her forehead and finds her a mate. Thereby proving that not all kings are jagoffs.