The Medieval Church · c. 955–965
The Legends
Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim · c. 935–c. 1002
What it is
Eight narrative poems in leonine hexameters on saints and on the Virgin, including a version of the Theophilus legend in which a man sells his soul and is rescued by Mary.
Why it lasted
The earliest telling in the West of the pact-with-the-devil story that runs to Faust.
Where to read it
This work is in the public domain and can be read in full, free, at the archives below. The Library catalogues it; it does not host the text.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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