ABSTRACT

In the medieval literature of the Low Countries, four fable collections are known, along with a number of stray fables found in other texts. The fable collections are called Esopet, Parabelen van Cyrillus, Twispraec der creaturen, and Dye historien ende fabulen van Esopus. In the Esopet it is observed that evil things happen, and that the weak and the poor are usually the victims of the strong and the rich. The Parabelen van Cyrillus consists of four books containing dialogues between animals or between other creatures, whereby the moral is explained with the help of quotations from classical authors, the Bible, and other works. Although from a much later date, the collection Dye historien ende fabulen van Esopus is, in its contents and ethics, more closely related to the Esopet than to the other two collections. The last collection, the Twispraec der creaturen, contains 122 fables or dialogues, each concluded by a sententia stating the moral, and followed by moralization.