GUERRINO, DETTO IL MESCHINO
Andrea da Barberino
BOOK FIVE (2)
Prelude
Guerrino’s life had been short, eventful and full of misfortune. At the age of two months, having been kidnapped by pirates, he was sold into slavery. His owner contemptuously christened him Meschino, the hapless lad, to reflect his wretched state. Things took a turn for the better when he was adopted by the Emperor of Byzantium. However, despite winning the hand of the Emperor’s daughter in a tournament and being offered half of the kingdom as a dowry, he rejected her in order to attempt to trace his parents. He subsequently fell in love with a girl from Persepolis, Antinisca, but they postponed their marriage to allow Guerrino to pursue his quest. She promised to wait ten years for him, after which she would be fre
