The success of the "novella," a literary genre related to the short story and narrative, began in the 14th century with Boccaccio's "Decameron."

Following the formulas of this prototype, many writers of the Renaissance in Italy, France, England, and Spain (e.g., Anton Francesco Grazzini, Matteo Bandello, Marguerite de Navarre, Cervantes, and others) made the novella the most successful narrative genre of the time.

Typically, these authors used an introductory narrative to open their collection of stories, which describes how, due to a specific event (the plague in Boccaccio's work, or a celebration, a carnival, or a storm), several narrators gather to pass the time.