Decameron. The first full Russian translation

For the first time with excerpts from the Decameron, one of the most famous works of the early Italian Renaissance, the Russian reading public met at the end of the 17th century. It was then that several short stories Bokkaccio were printed in transfers from Polish, the original for which was a translation into German. Of course, the accuracy of the reproduction of the Italian original in this situation could not be a question. Later, Batyushkov was engaged in individual short stories, but his translations were quite free.
The most accurate presentation of the whole "Decameron" in Russian appeared only at the very end of the 19th century thanks to the talents of the outstanding domestic philologist Alexander Nikolayevich Veselovsky. The future brilliant linguist was born in 1838 in Moscow in a general family. After graduating from the historical and philological faculty of Moscow University, he visited France and England. In Berlin, he studied lectures on the origin of language, myths, epos, and Slavicism in Prague. Later Veselovsky lived in Italy for several years, working in its libraries and archives. Returning to Russia, he made a rapid academic career, becoming an academician and honored professor of St. Petersburg University. Veselovsky was an outstanding connoisseur of both medieval European literature and European folklore. The area of ​​his interests extended from the study of ancient Indian texts to Jewish and Muslim legends and Russian spiritual verses. And today he is considered the largest specialist in the field of oral and written literature in the history of Russian humanitarian science. The magnificent erudition, the excellent knowledge of European languages, both modern and ancient, as well as a wonderful stylistic instinct allowed Veselovsky to convey as accurately as possible in its translation all the nuances of Bokkaccio, which is so rich in Decameron.
The first edition of its translation appeared in 1891-1892. The text was printed in two versions, 1000 copies contained omissions of places not allowed by censorship, and only 100 books were printed without bills. It is noteworthy that the publications of the Soviet era, as well as the publications of the Decameron, which appeared already in the 21st century, were also incomplete. This publication is deprived of this drawback. For the first time in the more than centuries-old history of the domestic publications of the famous work of Bokkaccio, readers can get acquainted with the full translation of the Decameron without any abbreviations.
This publication is excellently illustrated by the French engravings of the 19th century, as well as color miniatures from the French manuscript of the beginning of the 15th century