Retelling the novella

The third novella of the first day. In the novella, the sultan Saladin, who is actually based on the great sultan of Egypt and Syria, Salāh al-Dīn al Al-Ayyūbi (1138-1193), is in need of money after all the wars he has fought.Giovanni Boccaccio, Decameron. Edited by Amedeo Quondam, Maurizio Fiorilla and Giancarlo Alfano (Milano: Mondadori Libri S.p.A., 2020) Melchisedech is a rich Jew that might be able to lend him some money. However, the sultan fears that the Jew may not willingly give it to him. Therefore, Saladin decides to trick him by making Melchisedech offend him and thus justifying his request for money. The sultan tries to do this by asking Melchisedech the following question:

My good man, I have heard from many people that thou art very wise, and of great discernment in divine things; wherefore I would gladly know of thee, which of the three laws thou reputest the true law, the law of the Jews, the law of the Saracens, or the law of the Christians?Valente uomo, io ho da più persone inteso che tu sé savissimo e nelle cose i Dio senti molto avanti; e per ciò io saprei volentieri da te quale delle tre leggi tu reputi la verace, o la giudaica o la saracina o la cristiana. In other words: which one of the three monotheist religions (Judaism, Islam and Christianity) is the true and superior one? Melchisedech, well aware of the sultan’s intentions, cleverly provides Saladin an answer by telling him a story:

He tells the story of a merchant who possesses a ring that has been passed around the family for many generations and was given to the son who received the inheritance. The merchant has three sons, who are all good, virtuous and obedient to their father, and who he loves equally. Not knowing who to give the ring, he promises it to each one of them, whereafter he asks a goldsmith to make two rings identical to the original one. No one could spot the difference between the three rings, not even the goldsmith himself. After the father’s death, the three brothers quickly realize that they have all been given a ring, yet it is impossible to distinguish the original one. Thus, it still remains undetermined who the true heir is. Melchisedech then tells the sultan that this is also the case with the three religions.Melchisedech means King of Justice and Righteousness in Hebrew and he was the priest of God in the Hebrew bible. The meaning of his name should be no surprise given the fact that the Jew presents the three faiths as equal.