K (Sept Sages de Rome)
The Old French Version K is one of the oldest redactions of the Roman des Sept Sages de Rome. It takes its siglum from the initial of the earliest editor (H. A. Keller, in 1836). Like versions D (Sept Sages de Rome) and C (Sept Sages de Rome), Version K is presumed to have originated from a (now lost) verse version, which Gaston Paris called Version V. Version K is the only complete surviving metrical redaction of the early, Old French Sept Sages narrative, and it survives in only one manuscript. It contains the same stories as Version D and Version A, but in a slightly different order.
In this version, the king of Rome is named Vespanianus, and his first wife is the daughter of the duke of Carthage. Neither the prince nor the king's second wife are named. The dating of this text is partially reliant on the way parts of the narrative may be compared to other twelfth-century texts, including Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae. According to Krappe (1924, 1932; see Foehr-Janssens, 1994, and Speer 1989), Version K's rendition of Sapientes, including the plot points of Merlin interpreting dreams, may be linked to (or have derived from) the story of Merlin and Vortigern in the Historia.
| Identification and general Information | |
|---|---|
| Reference Number | |
| Siglum of the version of the Seven Sages | K (Sept Sages de Rome) |
| Version Number | |
| Title | Roman des Sept Sages |
| Author | |
| Tradition and Lineage | |
|---|---|
| Branch of the tradition | West |
| Adapted from (version) | V (Lost metrical Old French Sept Sages) |
| Adapted into (version) | |
| Source for composition and adaptation information | Campbell (1907), Foehr-Janssens (1994) |
| Recorded secondary versions |
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Circle detected when trying to insert Latin Version S into the tree. |
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| Language and Composition | |
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| Original language of version | Old French |
| Language of text | Old French |
| Regional or specific language of version | |
| Translated into (languages) | |
| Place of composition | France |
| Date of composition | 1155 - 1190 |
| Islamic date of composition | |
| Hebrew date of composition | |
| Source for date of composition | |
| Modern Scholarship and Editions | |
|---|---|
| Modern research literature | Speer (1983), Foehr-Janssens (1994), Speer (1987), Runte, Wikeley, Farrell (1984), Campbell (1907), Speer (1989) |
| Modern Editions | Misrahi, Le Roman des Sept Sages (1933), Speer, Le Roman des Sept Sages de Rome (1989), Keller, Li Romans des Sept Sages (1836) |
| Notes and Commentary | |
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| Note | |
| Notes on motifs | |
| Notes on the frame | |
| Pattern of embedded stories in this version |
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No connected prints |