The author of Little Flowers was, well, we are not sure who the author is, but many believe the author to be Father Ugolino da Santa Maria. Very little is known about this man. According to Wikipedia, “Most scholars are now agreed that Ugolino was the author of the Fioretti, or Little Flowers of St. Francis, in their original form. Ugolino was probably one of several collectors of traditions in the Marches. The Fioretti appears to have been written sometime between 1322 and 1328″ It is a florilegium separated into fifty-three small chapters. It was based on the life of St. Francis of Assisi. It was composed (according to google, composed means “having one’s feelings and expression under control; calm”) by the end of the fourteenth century.

According to Wikipedia, “Medieval literature is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available in Europe and beyond during the Middle Ages. The literature of this time was composed of religious writings as well as secular works.” The Medieval Literature we will be talking about today is called The Song of Roland.

The Song of Roland is the oldest surviving major work of French Literature. According to Wikipedia, “The Song of Roland is an 11th-century chanson de geste based on the Frankish military leader Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778, during the reign of Charlemagne.” According to Cornell College, “Olivier: Roland’s best friend, comrade, and the brother of Aude. He is also referred to as Oliver.” This poem has been twisted from the real historical event of the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778 into a poem that was romanticized to fit what can be bluntly described as Christian propaganda. The real Battle of Roncevaux Pass was an invasion of Spain by the ruler Charlemagne to help one set of Muslims defeat another set of Muslims. In this battle he attacked a Basque Christian city. In this battle he retreated and his rearguard was ambushed and defeated by the Basques. Europeans liked listening to this poem, despite the fact that there were several changes and was not historically accurate.

Now, do these literary documents give guidance in their era as to how a typical Christian should live? Well, both of these documents demonstrate how people should act, and the two works contradict (according to google, contradict means to “deny the truth of (a statement) by asserting the opposite”) each other in the actions of their characters.

From what we see in The Song of Roland, one might to be inspired to act with courage and resilience, just as Roland did, however, he also showed a bit of pride and showed no mercy nor humility. So this might not be a good idea for Christians.

Little Flowers on the other hand, shows an exceeding amount of love, kindness, mercy, and obedience, but this document did not seem to be pointed at the common man, but rather at friars.

So, in conclusion, the answer to the overall question is yes and no. There are some characteristics that show how a Christian should live, but some of them like the pride and “showing no mercy” stuff is bad for you.