Plural of gest; great or remarkable deeds, adventures, or exploits, especially of heroes or knights in medieval tales.
From Old French geste, from Latin gesta (deeds, exploits), plural of gestum (deed). Medieval literature used 'gests' to describe epic narratives of heroic adventures.
The 'Geste of Robin Hood' and Beowulf-style poems weren't called 'stories'—they were called 'gests,' which captured the idea that they were records of actual deeds worthy of remembrance. This single word shows how medieval people viewed the boundary between history and legend as wonderfully blurry.
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