Indian Sculpture c12.114

c12.114

the *Gesta Romanorum*, the *Legenda Aurea*, and the *Speculum Historiale* of Vincent of Beauvais. The *Gesta Romanorum* is a collection of anecdotes and tales, compiled in the thirteenth or fourteenth century, which were used by preachers to enliven their sermons. The *Legenda Aurea* (Golden Legend) of Jacobus de Voragine, written in the thirteenth century, is a collection of the lives of the saints, which was immensely popular and influential throughout the Middle Ages. The *Speculum Historiale* of Vincent of Beauvais is a vast encyclopaedic work, which aimed to provide a complete history of the world from the creation to the author's own time. These works, and others like them, provided the medieval mind with a rich store of historical and legendary material, which was used to illustrate moral and religious truths.