I was really interested in Medieval literature; I think that was my entry point and I was interested in it probably even before I went to university, where I read Italian and German. I studied a great deal of medieval literature as part of German but not so much on the Italian side until I started an MA in Medieval Studies. The ways in which books and texts move around caught my interest and I stumbled onto Boccaccio because I wanted to work on the transmission of literature. I went to a professor and asked what kind of work there was to do in that area; he suggested Boccaccio.
I guess what keeps me going now is that he’s written so many texts and he was such an experimenter. There’s a ton of material out there so you can keep going and keep finding new things. He was in so many different networks and involved in so many different things.
DR RHIANNON DANIELS
Interview with
Dr Rhiannon Daniels is a professor of Renaissance Studies at the University of Bristol, specialising in Boccaccio and the Decameron. Last year she organised a series of conferences and exhibitions at the University of Manchester in celebration of the 700th anniversary of his birth. She is currently on research leave, writing a new book on Boccaccio. We caught up with her, and talked to her about herself and her research.
What sparked your interest in Boccaccio and the Decameron?