Wide-ranging stories offer a glimpse into witchcraft, magic, Crusaders, astrology, alchemy, pacts with the Devil, chivalry, trial by torture, church councils, mercantile life, other elements of Middle Ages.

Ranging from half-page morality tales to hilarious bawdy stories several pages long, these centuries-old narratives offer revealing glimpses into many elements of medieval culture. Witchcraft, magic, Crusaders, astrology, alchemy, pacts with the Devil, chivalry, and trial by torture are here, along with 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 translated into English previously. 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, and to provide fascinating insights for the scholar, student, or historian.

CONTENTS Introduction: The Medieval Short Story in Its Context Sources of the Stories From Disciplina clericalis, by Pedro Alfonso . 1. Half-Friends and Whole Friends 2. Paying Duties on Defects3. Guilt by Association. 4. The Injured Eye 5. The Sheet Ruse6. The Sword Ruse 7. The Endless Story 8. The Ruse with the Well 9. The Ten Coffers 10. The Ten Casks of Oil.11. The Golden Snake 12. The Three Dreams The Royal Tailor's Apprentice 14. The Peasant and the Bird 15. The Plowman, the Wolf, and the Fox 16. The Moonbeam 17. Maimundus the SlaveFrom Dolopathos, by Jean de Haute-Seille 18. The Faithful Hound19. The Resourceful Burglars20. The Heartless Creditor21. The Widow's Son22. The Highwayman's Sons 23. The Swan Childrentents From Sermones feriales et communes, by Jacques de Vitry 24. The Stag among the Oxen 25. The Demon Abbey 26. Celestial Hospitality 27. The King and His Astrologer28. The Hermit Served by a Devil. 29. The Bishop's Horse 30. Self-Crucifixion 31. Abelard's Unusual Lectures 32. Saint Theobald and the Demon 33. The Pledged Beard 34. Too Much Olive Oil35. The Daughter of the Count of Toulouse 36. Stinking MoneyFrom Il Novellino37. The Three Gems. 38. The Imprisoned Philosophe 39. The Right Way to Spend Money40. Meliadus and the Fearless Knight 41. God and the Minstrel.42. A Bad Rate of Exchange 43. A Romantic Triangle 44. The Emperor's Face45. The Determined Widow 46. The Blind Men's Dispute47. The Maligned Youth 48. The Massacre of the Elderly From Gesta RomanoTum 49. The Pirates' Captive 50. The Story of Saint Alexis51. The Story of Saint Julian the Hospitaler 52. The Weeping Dog 53. Who Is Free from Cares? 54. The Overbearing Emperor 55. Lady-of-Solace 56. The Memorial Suit of Armor 57. The Rocky Path and the Level Path58. The Golden Apple 59. God's Mysterious Ways60. Three Valuable Gifts61. The Household Snake Contents Vll From El Conde Lucdnor, by Juan Manuel62. Satisfying Public Opinion 63. Partridges for Supper64. An Incident at the Siege of Seville. 65. An Experiment in Alchemy.66. A Lesson from the Crows 67. Testing Three Princes 68. A Vendor of Good Sense 69. A Spur to Good Deeds 70. The Devil and the Devotee71. True Spanish Chivalry and Loyalty72. A Pact with the Devil From Il Pecorone, by Giovanni Fiorentino. 73. The Pound of Flesh74. A Lay Brother at the Pope's Council 75. The Robe with the Silken Seat. 146 76. A War Fought for Love 77. Hell Hath No FuryFrom II Trecentonovelle, bv Franco Sacchetti 78. Rewarded for Vilification 79. The Vicissitudes of Fortune 80. Giotto's Unwelcome Client 81. Strange Doings of City Councilmen. 82. The I ,iving Crucifix 83. Taming a Shrew 84. Dante, the Good Neighbor85. ; Runaway Horse 86. Adventures of a Florentine Painter 87. A Shower of Ink 88. Dreams of Glory 89. The Demon Cockroaches 90. The Crab's Revenge From Les cent nouvelles nouvelles 91. Tamping and Fishing 92. Anecdotes about Talbot in France 93. The Virgin Husband 94. An Exasperating Greyhound 95. The Devil from the Latrine. 96. A Daring Rescue Vlll Contents 97. A New Way to Recover Lost Property 98. The Dog's Legacy 99. A Disastrous Elopement. From Dil Ulenspiegel. 100. A Violent Easter Play101. The Miracle Cure 102. Invisible Murals 103. A Village Without Cuckolds 104. A Papal Interview 105. Eulenspiegel's Dying Confession106. The Tailors' Convention. 107. The Old Woman's Subterfuge108. Charity to the Blind