Abstract
The four cardinal virtues (fortitude, temperance, prudence, justice,) belong among the most widely used philosophical concepts that the Latin Middle Ages borrowed from the Ancient world. The Platonic scheme was widespread in the ethical systems of antiquity, notably in Neoplatonism and Stoicism.
Latin Christian authors adopted the system and coined the names of the individual cardinal virtues. This book aims at showing how the four -square construction permeates variety of seemingly unrelated texts and how a modern reader can use it to gain access into the premodern literary sphere, alien and attractive at the same time.
The four cardinal virtues help to constitute the meaning of various spatial and corporal medieval metaphors - they are symbolized by four rivers of the Earthly Paradise, act as personalized allegories, or as signposts to sanctity. This book offers twenty readings of various medieval and post -medieval texts, arranged in four groups, each consisting of five essays.
Each group is dedicated to one of the virtues and opens with a general prologue, inspired by recent scholarly works relevant to the given issue, István Bejczy's monograph The Cardinal Virtues in the Middle Ages in particular. The essays are supplemented with recordings, which were made by the Czech public broadcaster Český rozhlas Vltava and aired in 2016 as a part of the celebrations of the 700th anniversary of Charles IV, the Holy Roman Emperor.