Medieval Popular Culture : Problems of Belief and Perception

This book attempts to reconstruct the beliefs and perceptions of the "silent majority" of medieval men and women from the writings of clerical authors, aimed at a wide audience. By scrutinizing the lives of saints, miracle stories, descriptions of fantastic travels, penitential literature, catechisms and similar genres, from the fifth to the fifteenth centuries, the author identifies elements of popular culture that found their way into Latin literature through mutual interaction between author and audience. The author thus offers a fresh and original insight into the world of the common man, his everyday habits, beliefs and behavior.