The basil was quite bathed in her tears

“She then wrapped it in a piece of fine cloth, and set it in a large and beautiful pot of the sort in which marjoram or basil is planted, and covered it with earth, and therein planted some roots of the goodliest basil of Salerno, and drenched them only with her tears, or water perfumed with roses or orange-blossoms. And 'twas her wont ever to sit beside this pot, and, all her soul one yearning, to pore upon it, as that which enshrined her Lorenzo, and when long time she had so done, she would bend over it, and weep a great while, until the basil was quite bathed in her tears.”

A woman holds a terracotta pot. Terracotta, meaning 'baked earth' in Italian, is a clay-based ceramic, of which the body is permeable to air and water. The term is typically used for sculptures made of earthenware, but also for practical uses, such as containing a plant. The meaning of the pot in this novella goes deep, to which we shall return later on.

Apart from the pot, yet another thing takes the stage: basil. The plant is both associated with love and death, as we see in this novella.See The Herb Society for interesting insights on page 45. The name basil comes from the Latin medieval word basilicum and has Greek origins that derive from the word basilikon (phyton), which means royal or kingly plant, probably because basil was thought to have been used in the production of royal perfumes. The Latin name has been confused with basilisk, the Greek mythological creature described as a snake with poisonous venom. Basil would have been the antidote to this poison.From https://www.etymonline.com/word/basil What is so interesting about the plant is that it is believed to have therapeutic properties in the practices of Ayurveda or traditional Chinese medicine. We will find out later that basil is also used for other purposes in different cultures and that this may be a key element for its meaning in the story.

What was Boccaccio's plan with the basil and the terracotta? We'll find out. Oh, before I forget, the third object is the chopped off head of a man. See the raven hair emerging from the pot?