Middle Ages

Explore 82 quotes from Middle Ages

No free man shall be taken or imprisoned or dispossessed, or outlawed or exiled, or in any way destroyed, nor will we go upon him, nor will we send against him except by the lawful judgement of his peers or by the law of the land.

Magna Carta

Read The Magna Carta at the British Library's website

More information about this quote

Topic

Rule of law

Source

Magna Carta

Medium

Political charter

Genre

Political literature

Language

Latin

Time

1215 1210s 13th century

Era

Middle Ages

Authentication Score 1

Original Citation

Magna Carta Libertatum [Great Charter of Freedoms]. 5 June 1215, clause 39.

Current Citation

Magna Carta, translated by David A. Carpenter. Penguin Classics, 2015, clause 39.

I am dying of thirst by the side of the fountain.

Charles d'Orléans

More information about this quote

Topic

Thirst

Author

Charles d'Orléans

Medium

Poem

Statement Type

Paradox Metaphor, analogy and simile

Language

French

Time

1440 1440s 15th century

Era

Middle Ages

Authentication Score 3

Citation

D'Orleans, Charles. "Je meurs de soif en couste la fontaine [I die of thirst beside the fountain]." Poesies de Charles d'Orleans. c. 1440.

No freeman shall be taken, or imprisoned, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any way harmed, nor will we go upon him nor will we send upon him, except by the legal judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.

Magna Carta

Read The Magna Carta at the British Library's website

More information about this quote

Topic

Rule of law Law

Source

Magna Carta

Genre

Legal writing

Language

Latin

Time

1215 1210s 13th century

Era

Middle Ages

Authentication Score 1

Original Citation

Magna Carta Libertatum [Great Charter of Freedoms]. 5 June 1215, clause 39.

Current Citation

Magna Carta, translated by David A. Carpenter. Penguin Classics, 2015, clause 39.

You can take comfort in the likelihood that what is now making you miserable will also pass away.

Boethius

The Consolation of Philosophy

Buy The Consolation of Philosophy at Amazon Buy The Consolation of Philosophy at Amazon
Read The Consolation of Philosophy at Project Gutenberg

More information about this quote

Topic

Things get better Hard times

Author

Boethius

Source

The Consolation of Philosophy

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Latin

Time

523 520s 6th century

Era

Middle Ages

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Boethius. De Consolatione Philosophiae [On the Consolation of Philosophy]. 524, bk. 2, poem 3.

Current Citation

Boethius. The Consolation of Philosophy, translated by Victor Watts. Penguin Classics, 1999, bk. 2, poem 3.

Let us not speak of them, but look, and pass on.

Dante Alighieri

Inferno

Buy Inferno at Amazon Buy Inferno at Amazon
Read the Divine Comedy at Project Gutenberg

More information about this quote

Topic

The damned Hell

Speaker

Virgil

Author

Dante Alighieri

Source

Inferno The Divine Comedy

Medium

Poem

Genre

Narrative poem Epic poem Religious literature

Statement Type

Advice

Language

Italian

Time

1321 1320s 14th century

Era

Middle Ages

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Alighieri, Dante. "Inferno [Hell]." La Comedia di Dante Alleghieri [The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri]. Foligno: Johann Numeister and Evangelista Angelini da Trevi, 1472.

Current Citation

Alighieri, Dante. "Inferno." The Divine Comedy, edited by David H. Higgins, translated by C. H. Sisson. Oxford University Press, 2008.

If thou follow thy star, thou canst not fail of a glorious haven.

Dante Alighieri

Inferno

Buy Inferno at Amazon Buy Inferno at Amazon
Read the Divine Comedy at Project Gutenberg

More information about this quote

Topic

Destiny

Author

Dante Alighieri

Source

Inferno The Divine Comedy

Medium

Poem

Genre

Narrative poem Epic poem Religious literature

Language

Latin

Time

1321 1320s 14th century

Era

Middle Ages

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Alighieri, Dante. "Inferno [Hell]." La Comedia di Dante Alleghieri [The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri]. Foligno: Johann Numeister and Evangelista Angelini da Trevi, 1472.

Current Citation

Alighieri, Dante. "Inferno." The Divine Comedy, edited by David H. Higgins, translated by C. H. Sisson. Oxford University Press, 2008.

Worldly renown is naught but a breath of wind, which now comes this way and now comes that, and changes name because it changes quarter.

Dante Alighieri

Purgatorio

Buy Purgatorio at Amazon Buy Purgatorio at Amazon
Read the Divine Comedy at Project Gutenberg

More information about this quote

Topic

Fickleness of fame Fame

Speaker

Oderisi

Author

Dante Alighieri

Source

Purgatorio The Divine Comedy

Medium

Poem

Genre

Narrative poem Epic poem Religious literature

Language

Latin

Time

1321 1320s 14th century

Era

Middle Ages

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Dante. "Purgatorio [Purgatory]." La Comedia di Dante Alleghieri [The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri]. Foligno: Johann Numeister and Evangelista Angelini da Trevi, 1472.

Current Citation

Dante. "The Purgatorio." The Divine Comedy, edited by David H. Higgins, translated by C. H. Sisson. Oxford University Press, 2008.

There is no greater pain than to remember a happy time when one is in misery.

Dante Alighieri

Inferno

Buy Inferno at Amazon Buy Inferno at Amazon
Read the Divine Comedy at Project Gutenberg

More information about this quote

Topic

Suffering Hard times

Speaker

Francesca da Rimini

Author

Dante Alighieri

Source

Inferno The Divine Comedy

Medium

Poem

Genre

Narrative poem Epic poem Religious literature

Language

Italian

Time

1321 1320s 14th century

Era

Middle Ages

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Alighieri, Dante. "Inferno [Hell]." La Comedia di Dante Alleghieri [The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri]. Foligno: Johann Numeister and Evangelista Angelini da Trevi, 1472.

Current Citation

Alighieri, Dante. "Inferno." The Divine Comedy, edited by David H. Higgins, translated by C. H. Sisson. Oxford University Press, 2008.

And what is better than wisdom? Woman. And what is better than a good woman? Nothing.

Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales

Buy The Canterbury Tales at Amazon Buy The Canterbury Tales at Amazon
Read The Canterbury Tales at harvard.edu

More information about this quote

Topic

Wisdom Girl power

Speaker

Prudence

Author

Geoffrey Chaucer

Source

The Canterbury Tales

Language

Old English

Time

1400 1400s 14th century

Era

Middle Ages

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Chaucer, Geoffrey. "The Tale of Melibee." The Canterbury Tales. London: William Caxton, c. 1476.

Current Citation

Chaucer, Geoffrey. "The Tale of Melibee." The Canterbury Tales, edited and translated by Nevill Coghill. Penguin Classics, 2003.

Whatever we do or suffer for a friend is pleasant, because love is the principal cause of pleasure.

St. Thomas Aquinas

Buy the Summa Theologica at Amazon Buy the Summa Theologica at Amazon

More information about this quote

Topic

Friends Friendship

Author

St. Thomas Aquinas

Source

Summa Theologica

Genre

Religious literature

Language

Latin

Time

1265 1260s 13th century

Era

Middle Ages

Authentication Score 0

Original Citation

Saint Thomas Aquinus. Summa Theologica. c. 1274, pt. 1-2.

Current Citation

Saint Thomas Aquinus. The Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas, translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Provinc. Christian Classics, 1981, pt. 1-2.

For he that is fallen low did never firmly stand.

Boethius

The Consolation of Philosophy

Buy The Consolation of Philosophy at Amazon Buy The Consolation of Philosophy at Amazon
Read The Consolation of Philosophy at Project Gutenberg

More information about this quote

Topic

Inner strength Character

Author

Boethius

Source

The Consolation of Philosophy

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Latin

Time

523 520s 6th century

Era

Middle Ages

Authentication Score 0

Original Citation

Boethius. De Consolatione Philosophiae [On the Consolation of Philosophy]. 524, bk. 1, poem I.

Current Citation

Boethius. The Consolation of Philosophy, translated by Victor Watts. Penguin Classics, 1999, bk. 1, poem 1.

Of the two evils the lesser is always to be chosen.

Thomas à Kempis

Buy The Imitation of Christ at Amazon Buy The Imitation of Christ at Amazon
Read The Imitation of Christ at Project Gutenberg

More information about this quote

Topic

Evil

Author

Thomas à Kempis

Source

The Imitation of Christ

Genre

Religious literature

Statement Type

Precepts and axioms

Language

Latin

Time

1427 1420s 15th century

Era

Middle Ages

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

A Kempis, Thomas. De Imitatione Christi [The Imitation of Christ]. c. 1427.

Current Citation

A Kempis, Thomas. The Complete Imitation of Christ, translated by John Julian. Paraclete Press, 2012.

Astrology is a disease, not a science.

Maimonides

More information about this quote

Topic

Astrology

Author

Maimonides

Genre

Religious literature

Language

Judeo-Arabic

Time

1195 1190s 12th century

Era

Middle Ages

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Maimonides. Letter to Marseille. c. 1195.

In the realm of Nature there is nothing purposeless, trivial, or unnecessary.

Maimonides

Guide for the Perplexed

More information about this quote

Topic

Efficiency of nature Elegance of nature Nature

Author

Maimonides

Source

Guide for the Perplexed

Genre

Religious literature

Language

Judeo-Arabic

Time

1190 1190s 12th century

Era

Middle Ages

Authentication Score 1

Original Citation

Maimonides. דלאלת אלחאירין [The Guide of the Perplexed]. c. 1190.

Current Citation

Maimonides. The Guide of the Perplexed, translated by Chaim Rabin. Hackett Publishing Company, 1995.

God knows I never sought anything in you except yourself; I wanted simply you, nothing of yours.

Héloïse

Buy The Letters of Abelard and Heloise at Amazon Buy The Letters of Abelard and Heloise at Amazon

More information about this quote

Topic

Ulterior motives Purity of love Love

Author

Héloïse

Source

Letters of Abelard and Heloise

Medium

Letter

Language

Latin

Time

1132 1130s 12th century

Era

Middle Ages

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Héloïse. Letter to Abelard. c. 1150.

Current Citation

Héloïse. "Letter 2: Heloise to Abelard." The Letters of Abelard and Heloise, edited and translated by Betty Radice. Penguin Books, 2004.

Everything I have written seems like straw by comparison with what I have seen and what has been revealed to me.

St. Thomas Aquinas

Said following a mystical experience, after which Tolstoy did no more teaching or writing.

More information about this quote

Topic

Ecstatic visions

Author

St. Thomas Aquinas

Language

Latin

Time

1273 1270s 13th century

Era

Middle Ages

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

St. Thomas Aquinus. Reply to Reginald of Piperno. c. 6 Dec. 1273.

Current Citation

St. Thomas Aquinus. Quoted in The Life of Saint Thomas Aquinas: Biographical Documents, written by Kenelm Foster. Longmans, Green and Company/Helicon Press, 1959.

What place can be left for random action, when God constraineth all things to order?

Boethius

The Consolation of Philosophy

Buy The Consolation of Philosophy at Amazon Buy The Consolation of Philosophy at Amazon
Read The Consolation of Philosophy at Project Gutenberg

More information about this quote

Topic

Free will Randomness

Author

Boethius

Source

The Consolation of Philosophy

Genre

Philosophical literature

Statement Type

Question

Language

Latin

Time

523 520s 6th century

Era

Middle Ages

Authentication Score 0

Original Citation

Boethius. De Consolatione Philosophiae [On the Consolation of Philosophy]. 524, bk. 5, poem 1.

Current Citation

Boethius. The Consolation of Philosophy, translated by Victor Watts. Penguin Classics, 1999, bk. 5, poem 1.

By first recognizing false goods, you begin to escape the burden of their influence; then afterwards true goods may gain possession of your spirit.

Boethius

The Consolation of Philosophy

Buy The Consolation of Philosophy at Amazon Buy The Consolation of Philosophy at Amazon
Read The Consolation of Philosophy at Project Gutenberg

More information about this quote

Topic

Wisdom

Author

Boethius

Source

The Consolation of Philosophy

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

Latin

Time

523 520s 6th century

Era

Middle Ages

Authentication Score 0

Original Citation

Boethius. De Consolatione Philosophiae [On the Consolation of Philosophy]. 524, bk. 3, poem 1.

Current Citation

Boethius. The Consolation of Philosophy, translated by Victor Watts. Penguin Classics, 1999, bk. 3, poem 1.

Praised be You, my Lord, with all your creatures,
especially Sir Brother Sun,
Who is the day and through whom You give us light.

St. Francis of Assisi

The Canticle of Brother Sun

Read The Canticle of the Sun at ccatuga.org

More information about this quote

Topic

The sun

Speaker

St. Francis of Assisi

Source

The Canticle of Brother Sun

Medium

Song

Language

Umbrian

Time

1226 1220s 13th century

Era

Middle Ages

Authentication Score 1

Original Citation

Francis of Assisi. Cantico di frate Sole [Canticle of Brother Sun]. c. 1226.

Current Citation

Francis of Assisi. Canticle of the Sun, illustrated by Fiona French. Ignatius Press, 2006.

All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.

Julian of Norwich

Revelatons of Divine Love

More information about this quote

Topic

Everything will be ok Things get better

Author

Julian of Norwich

Source

Revelatons of Divine Love

Genre

Religious literature

Statement Type

Prophecies and predictions

Language

English

Time

1395 1390s 14th century

Era

Middle Ages

Authentication Score 0

Original Citation

Julian of Norwich. Revelations of Divine Love. London, c. 1670.

Current Citation

Julian of Norwich. Revelations of Divine Love, translated by Barry Windeatt. Oxford University Press, 2015, ch. 27.