"Moral tales" are a text type originating around 1780 for the education and edification of simple folk, written principally by clerics, and published in schoolbooks, newspapers, calendars and catechisms. The author provides a bibliographical access to the text corpus, introduces the authors - who are largely unknown - and categorises the motifs, ideas and programmes in these texts.

Die Autorin lehrt Volkskunde an der Universität Würzburg.