Gesta Romanorum
Preserved but no longer current.
The tale of the bond is ch. xlviii, and that of the caskets is ch. xcix. Much of the plot is also given in the 14th century // Pecorone of Ser Giovanni; but Shakespeare could not read Italian, there was no translation in his day, and it is more than doubtful whether he ever saw or was aware of it.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Gesta Romanorum” mean?
The tale of the bond is ch. xlviii, and that of the caskets is ch. xcix. Much of the plot is also given in the 14th century // Pecorone of Ser Giovanni; but Shakespeare could not read Italian, there was no translation in his day, and it is more than doubtful whether he ever saw or was aware of it.
Is “Gesta Romanorum” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.