Dolopathos
The narrative Dolopathos, sive Rege et Septem Sapientibus (The King and the Seven Wise Men) was composed by the Cistercian monk Johannes de Alta Silva (or Jean de Haute-Seille) sometime between 1184 and 1212. The work is dedicated to Bertrand, Bishop of Metz, and between these dates the monastery of Haute-Seille was in the bishop's diocese. The original Latin Dolopathos was translated into Old French by the poet and trouvere Herbert in the early 13th century.
Dolopathos represents a unique version of the Seven Sages tradition, distinct from all the other Western texts. As outlined in Gilleland, the narrative opens with a lengthy preamble that sets the scene of the frame story in Sicily, whose king Dolopathos - meaning one who suffers great grief - is characterised as a beloved and benevolent ruler. His political enemies slander him to the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus, but Dolopathos travels to Rome and mounts an eloquent defense of the justice of his rule. Learning how beloved he is by his people, Augustus rules in Dolopathos' favour, and the two become friends; Augustus even gives Dolopathos his wife's sister (the daughter of Agrippa) in marriage, who bears him a son. The boy is foretold to rule Sicily, to suffer treachery, and to worship the greatest god - presaging the conversion to Christianity at the end of the text. The education of the prince Lucinus follows the pattern found in the Eastern narratives, in that a single sage - Virgil, in this case - educates him until he has mastered the arts and sciences. His vow of silence upon his return to the king's court is punctuated by his written communication; this does not stop his step-mother from accusing him of rape after her failed seduction attempt.
The following stories-as-evidence told by seven sages from Rome and eventually Virgil diverge from the expected pattern, in that the queen does not tell any stories in between the sages' tales. In addition to the omission of half the expected tales, Dolopathos is further distinguished by the unique collection of tales it does contain. The first story, Canis, is the only embedded tale found across all major branches of the tradition; of the rest, two (Gaza, Puteus) are part of all of the versions of the broad Western Seven Sages tradition (e.g., the Historia and Version A). Of the others, seven are found nowhere else in the tradition, and several - Creditor, Cygni, and Polyphemus - have important links to broader European literary traditions, sometimes appearing here for the first time before their eventual widespread popularity.
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| Reference Number | |
| Siglum of the version of the Seven Sages | Dolopathos |
| Version Number | |
| Title | Dolopathos |
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| Tradition and Lineage | |
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| Branch of the tradition | West |
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| Language and Composition | |
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| Original language of version | Latin |
| Language of text | Latin |
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| Translated into (languages) | French |
| Place of composition | Haute-Seuille, France |
| Date of composition | 1184 - 1212 |
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| Source for date of composition | Gilleland (1981) |
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