# Nathan — The Decameron character guide

> Nathan in The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Nathan straightway

**First appearance:** 0112-the-first-story

## Snapshot

A fabulously wealthy nobleman whose open-handed hospitality is so legendary that a jealous rival travels to see whether it can possibly be true.

## Who they are

Nathan lives in a magnificent palace on the road between Italy and the Levant, where every traveler is fed, lodged, and sent on richer than he came, and his generosity has become a byword across the region. His virtue is tested by Mitridanes, a younger lord whose own hospitality is eclipsed by Nathan's fame and who resolves to murder him. Nathan's response — offering his rival the chance to do it, and then outdoing him in courtesy — turns the tale into a study of whether goodness can be performed without vanity.

## Relationships

### [Mithridanes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_decameron_se/characters/mithridanes)

_rivalry_

Mithridanes is consumed by envy of Nathan's generosity and plots to kill him, but Nathan's humility transforms their conflict into a strange mutual admiration.

### [Mithridanes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_decameron_se/characters/mithridanes)

_rivalry_

Mithridanes is consumed by envy of Nathan's generosity and plots to kill him, but Nathan's humility transforms their conflict into a strange mutual admiration.

### [Mithridanes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_decameron_se/characters/mithridanes)

_rivalry_

Mithridanes is consumed by envy of Nathan's generosity and plots to kill him, but Nathan's humility transforms their conflict into a strange mutual admiration.

## In the story

### [The Third Story](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_decameron_se/chapters/the-third-story)

A generous and wise old man who willingly offers his life to Mithridanes and forgives him.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_decameron_se/characters/nathan
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_decameron_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_decameron_se/characters