Description: Ranging from half-page morality tales to hilarious bawdy stories several pages long, these age-old narratives offer a wonderful glimpse into many elements of medieval culture -- witchcraft, magic, Crusaders, astrology, alchemy, pacts with the Devil, chivalry, trial by torture, church councils, mercantile life, such famous figures as Abelard, Dante, and Giotto, and much more. Chosen from ten well-known medieval collections (Disciplina clericalis, Dolopathos, Il Novellino, Gesta Romanorum, Il Pecorone, Les cent nouvelles nouvelles, etc.), almost all the pieces included here are hard to find in any language, and only a handful have been previously translated into English. These are stories that influenced many later writers, including Boccaccio, Shakespeare, Cervantes, and Flaubert, among others. Newly translated from Latin, Italian, Spanish, French, and German originals, they are sure to delight today's readers, as well as providing fascinating insights for the scholar, student, or historian.

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