The Decameron by Jonathan Polkest

I'm saddened to see that in 1720 Daniel Defoe said "Redruth is worthy of no consideration...", which of course is completely wrong in every way. Going back a little further to 1348 when Redruth was entertaining some far more appreciative visitors, apart from marauding Saxon mercenaries who somehow seem to have kept on arriving and building biodomes, restaurants and theme parks...Far from Redruth (not a metaphor) The Flea a vanishing vampire and herein the representation of collective death in The Decameron; Boccaccio's account of The Black Death plus nine other stories is probably one of the most commonly known sources. Alberto Teneti's article "La rappresentazione della morte collettiva nel Decameron" discusses the lack of Boccaccio's attachment of a moral or religious significance to the devastating event. Tenanti notes that the author takes care not to allow a Christian interpretation of the Plague to prevail, indifferently attributing it either to the influence of the celestial bodies or to Gods divine justice. Boccaccio refuses to take a position but there is without a doubt sympathy on his part towards the tragic situation in the Florentines.
My quest for an identifiable icon for European history, with notions of unification, bonds or commonality rests on the shoulders of the carrier of the Black Death - The Flea, though currently some dispute this source of pestilence I cling to the notion of destruction through close contact in increasingly over populated, unsavoury habitats. Could the Flea serve in anyway to allegorize the mass movement of people around and through Europe now?

detail Pheadra St Loy by Jonathan Polkest

Eastern Green Horses / Annunciation-closer

The Annunciation by Jonathan Polkest

The Annunciation - preparing the canvas

B is for Before