Gesta Romanorum

It still possesses a two-fold literary interest, first as one of the most popular books of the time, and secondly as the source, directly or indirectly, of later literature, in Geoffrey Chaucer, John Gower, Giovanni Boccaccio, Thomas Hoccleve, William Shakespeare, and others.The name, Deeds of the Romans, is only partially appropriate to the collection in its present form, since, besides the titles from Greek and Latin history and legend, it comprises fragments of different origins, Asian and European.[1] It includes, for example: Owing to the loose structure of the book, it was easy for a transcriber to insert any additional story into his own copy, and consequently the manuscripts of the Gesta Romanorum exhibit considerable variety.In 1577 the London printer Richard Robinson published a revised edition of Wynkyn de Worde, as Certain Selected Histories for Christian Recreations, and the book proved highly popular.A French version, under the title of Le Violier des histoires romaines moralisez, appeared in the early part of the 16th century, and went through a number of editions; it has been reprinted by Pierre-Gustave Brunet (Paris, 1858).
anecdotesGeoffrey ChaucerJohn GowerGiovanni BoccaccioThomas HoccleveWilliam ShakespeareHelinandusPetrus BerchoriusGuy of WarwickThe Merchant of VeniceThomas OccleveMan of Lawes TaleCrescentiaLe Bone Florence of RomeKing LearThe Dead King and his Three SonsThomas ParnellFridolinSchillerFortunatusSaint Eustacechivalric romancesSir IsumbrasApollonius of TyreUlrich ZellWynkyn de WordeSt John's College, CambridgeBohn's Antiquarian LibraryPierre-Gustave BrunetAdelbert von KellerWartonHistory of English PoetryFrederic MaddenMatter of RomeMargaret Schlauchpublic domainChisholm, HughEncyclopædia BritannicaWikisource