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What happens to Arcita and Palemone in Giovanni Boccaccio’s Teseida?
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Giovanni Boccaccio
Italian poet and scholar Giovanni Boccaccio, detail of a fresco by Andrea del Castagno; in the Cenacolo di Sant'Apollonia, Florence.
In Giovanni Boccaccio’s Teseida, the two friends Arcita and Palemone both fall in love with the same woman, Emilia. Their rivalry culminates in a tournament held to determine who will win her hand. Arcita emerges as the victor of the competition, but he dies immediately afterward.1