The 5 most famous medieval tales and their moral

Undoubtedly, many of you will know several children's stories. Some of them are very old; so much so that they are lost in the mists of time. Today, however, the moralizing concept of fables has been lost. But, in the Middle Ages, each and every one of the stories that were told had a very interesting didactic meaning that is worth remembering.

Next, we present you 5 medieval tales with their respective moral. We hope you enjoy them.

5 short medieval tales (and their moral, explained)

Most of the tales from the Middle Ages that we have today have come down to us because they were written down. Therefore, it is logical to think that it was not precisely the people who were in charge of preparing these stories, but the scholarly characters. Obviously, the popular masses had their own folklore, but in this article we will focus on the so-called example medieval, a literary genre that became very famous during the time. Let's see what it consists of.

We have already commented in other articles that the Middle Ages is a direct heir to the classics. In terms of fables, it could not be otherwise. The narratives of the Greek Aesop (620-564 B.C. C) were very present in medieval culture, and greatly influenced scholars who wrote moralizing tales. On the other hand, we have the oriental accounts (mainly from India and Persia) that had reached West through Islam and that, very soon, began to be translated into vernacular languages, such as Spanish. This is the case of the famous compilation of stories Calila and Dimna, whose origins date back to India and which was one of the best-known anthologies of fables in the European Middle Ages.

These tales or fables were known at the time as example (plural of example, example). Its basic characteristics are the brevity and the didactic and moralizing character of its argument. It must be taken into account, by the way, that we are talking about another era and another mentality, and that their values ​​do not always coincide with ours. Generally, the example or stories were led by animals, which represented various qualities or human vices.

5 of the best known medieval tales

Below, you will find 5 of the best-known medieval tales, along with their respective moral. The stories have been adapted for better understanding.

1. The thief and the moonbeam (from the compilation of short stories Callilla and Dimna)

One moonlit night a man and his wife were sleeping peacefully in his room. The man had an incredible fortune, and that night a gang of thieves tried to break into the house to steal everything. The man heard noise and, upset, woke up his wife. When she asked him what was wrong, he told her:

• My darling, thieves have come in to steal. Pretend to wake me up and ask me how I got so lucky.

Her wife was very surprised, but she did what her husband had asked. To her question, he replied, loud enough for the thieves to hear:

• How did I get my fortune? Well, stealing it, dear! At night, he entered the houses of the rich and released this spell: he repeated the word “Zulam” seven times. In this way, I could enter hugging the light that emanated from the moon, without being seen by anyone, and in this way I would take everything that was in the house with me without raising any suspicion.

The thieves were listening to the parliament of the good man. They chuckled, pleased to have discovered such a secret. Thus, the chief of the thieves pronounced the spell seven times, and tried to hold on to the moonbeam that entered through the window. The fall was tremendous, and the thief broke his legs. When the master of the house came with a rod and asked him who he was and what he was doing there, the thief lamented:

• That's fine with me, for thinking I'm smarter than my deceiver and for believing in the impossible!

The moral of this story is obvious. The thief thinks he is smarter than the person he is going to rob, and then pays the consequences. Do not believe yourself above others, since we are always susceptible to being deceived.

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2. The Fox and the Raven (from Count Lucanor, of don Juan Manuel).

Lo and behold, one day a raven perched on a tree branch with a glossy piece of cheese in its beak, for which he was to give a good account. But before he could eat it, a cunning fox passed by who envied the crow's luck and wanted to eat the cheese too. So he patiently sat down under the branch of the tree, and began to say to the crow:

• Good morning, Mr. Raven. How beautiful you look today! Your plumage looks more beautiful than ever. The raven looked at her sideways, a little skeptical. He had never considered himself beautiful, and the fox's compliments aroused his distrust. But the fox kept talking to him non-stop.

• And your song? The sweetest of creation. Could you delight me with a song, Mr. Raven? In the end, the words of the fox softened the mistrust of the crow, which, full of pride, opened its beak to “sing”. The cheese fell to the ground, and immediately, the fox grabbed it and ran away. That day, the crow was left without lunch.

This fable that collects Count Lucanor He talk to us about the dangers of believing in the flattery of others. It is an obvious example against pride.

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3. The greyhound and his master (of The book of good love of the Archpriest of Hita)

A gentleman had a young, strong and swift greyhound. Every time he went hunting with him, the dog brought him good game, which greatly satisfied his master. The gentleman was very proud of his greyhound, and showered him with pampering and care.

But time was passing and the dog was getting old. He no longer ran with the same speed, he no longer had the same strength; His teeth fell out and he couldn't grip prey as firmly. That is why almost all of them escaped him.

One day, the poor greyhound returned without bringing anything, and the gentleman was so angry that he hit him with a stick. While he licked his wounds, the dog lamented that human beings treat others very well when they are useful to them, and despise them when they can no longer benefit from them.

With this story, the Archpriest of Hita aims to raise awareness about how fleeting the interests of the human being are, and how he ends up despising what was once valued.

• Related article: "190 wise phrases to reflect on life"

4. Primasso the wise and the avaricious abbot (Seventh Day of The Decameron of Boccaccio)

Primasso was a sage well known in all corners of the region. Everyone who knew him wanted to sit at his table. And behold, one day, Primasso heard about the estate that the Abbot de Cligniy had on the outskirts of Paris and the great delicacies that were served there, and he wanted to come over to offer his compliments and eat with the. So he set out; and since the journey was somewhat long, he took three loaves with him in case he got hungry on the way.

When he arrived he saw that indeed the abbot's house was large and beautiful. He entered the dining room, but the abbot had not yet arrived. Primasso knew that the cleric was in the habit of sharing his table with everyone who came to visit him, so he waited patiently. However, the servants had gone to inform the abbot of his arrival. The abbot discreetly peeked in and, when he saw Primasso's beggar appearance, flatly refused to share a table with him.

Primasso waited and waited, and meanwhile he was eating the loaves that he had brought. The abbot allowed her to eat them at his table, but he refused to be served food from his property. Finally, seeing that the newcomer did not leave, he sent the servants to ask his name. And when he learned that the one sitting at his table waiting for him was the famous Primasso, he repented of his greed. Not only did he go out to eat with him, but he also gave him a noble suit and offered him a good horse so that he could return comfortably to Paris.

This "seventh day" of decameron of Boccaccio tells us about greed, especially the greed of those who have the most, as is the case of the abbot in the story. Not only that, but he also warns about the danger of believing in first impressions: the abbot sees Primasso as a stupid beggar, instead of the wise and great talker that he is.

5. The Administrator's Tale (of the canterbury talesby Geoffrey Chaucer)

In a region of England near Cambridge lived a miller with his wife and his two children. The daughter was already a young lady of twenty, while the boy was still a cradle babe. The miller was a very jealous and aggressive man; he always carried a dagger among his clothes, and no one dared to approach his wife for fear that the man would plunge the blade into his heart.

In addition to being possessive and angry, the miller was a real con man. She made fun of everyone and used her greatest cunning to fool the staff and keep the loot. This character was the one who ground the grain of a Cambridge college. The school administrator got sick, so the cunning miller took the opportunity to steal more flour than he usually stole. Scaled, two students decided to go to the mill to make sure that the grinding was carried out as stipulated.

Sure of himself and his tricks, the miller received the young people and even gave them lodging in his home. He knew that he could fool them, just as he had fooled the manager and everyone else. And lo and behold, that night they all drank heavily and retired to bed quite drunk. One of the students had noticed the miller's daughter, and discreetly climbed into her bed. The young woman, who had also noticed him, accepted him immediately.

The other student, jealous of the fate of her companion, and desirous of revenge on the miller, went to the cradle of her son and placed it near her bed. When the miller's wife returned from relieving herself, she looked for her cradle and was frightened when she did not find it. Groping in the dark, she found it and, relieved, she climbed into the bed beside her. That night the student gave her all the caresses she wanted.

At dawn, the student who had slept with his daughter wanted to sneak up to his bed. When he tripped over the cradle, he thought: "My God, I almost got into the miller's bed!", And without making a sound he advanced to the other bed, which was none other than the bed where his guest slept.. So the young man got into the miller's bed, thinking that he was his companion, and whispered into his ear, laughing, “What a night! I have spent the whole time with the miller's daughter. Hearing those words, the man rose in a rage, ready to kill the student. With the noise, the other young man and the miller's wife also woke up. She is she took a stick from the wall and unloaded a tremendous blow on the bald head of her husband, because in the latent darkness she could not distinguish who was who. The miller fell to the ground in a daze.

The students ran out of the house, taking the horses and the flour that the miller had stolen from them. And there the mocked thief remained, lamenting his fate.

This story uses a very common resource in example medieval: humor. In the canterbury tales is especially appreciated; through an agile and fun language, with evident erotic episodes, the author introduces the moral that he who "kills with iron, dies with iron". That is to say: be careful with your actions, which will turn against you. He also tells us about the dangers of anger and anger.