Gesta Romanorum And The Moralization Of The Latin West In The Late Middle Ages

As an important literary work in the Middle Ages,Gesta Romanorum relates to many aspects of social life in medieval Western Europe,such as people’s religious beliefs,social justice,personal character and quality,etc.In this paper,some of the most involved topics are analyzed and explained.This paper first discusses the social and theoretical roots of moral education in medieval Latin Western Christian churches and the ways to achieve moral education,and then discusses the main content of moral education in legends.The second chapter discusses the public’s understanding of original sin,God’s grace and redemption,repentance and so on under the influence of Christian ethics.The third chapter discusses the guidance direction of personal morality in medieval society,including the promotion of virtues such as loyalty,kindness,truth and justice and the criticism of vice such as pride,greed and lust.The fourth chapter discusses the pursuit of political and legal values such as fairness and justice and the imagination of the ideal ruler image in the Middle Ages.The fifth chapter discusses the legend’s depiction of the double image of women and marriage life,which reflects the double attitude of the masses towards women in the Middle Ages,as well as the pursuit of sacred marriage and beautiful family life.Chapter six discusses the ambivalent attitude towards leprosy in the Middle Ages and the reasons for the formation of this idea.Legend,as a popular medieval sermon manual for priests,reflects that the Christian Church propagates its universal values and ethical concepts through the moral education of the common people.Through the exploration of the legend,we can get a glimpse of the small,so as to deeply understand the common mentality,ideas and values of the society under the background of medieval Latin Christianity.