# Messer Geri Spina — The Decameron character guide

> Messer Geri Spina in The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Spina, Messer Geri

**First appearance:** 0032-the-fifth-story

## Snapshot

A Florentine nobleman of standing whose table and temper are tested by the wit of a peasant-turned-courtier named Chichibio.

## Who they are

Messer Geri Spina moves among the city's elite, a man of wealth and consequence whose favor is worth courting and whose displeasure is worth fearing. His story turns on a crane, a cook's quick tongue, and the thin line between a lord's amusement and his wrath. He matters because his willingness to laugh at a clever answer reveals the Decameron's recurring bargain: wit can save a man's skin, provided the powerful man is in the mood to be entertained.

## In the story

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

Currado's daughter, widow, falls in love with Giannotto, imprisoned with him, later marries him.

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

Mentioned as the husband of Madam Oretta.

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

A man of high status and favor with Pope Boniface, who learns from Cisti's subtle lesson about the proper way to ask for his wine.

## Links

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