Middle English Version A
The Middle English versions of the Seven Sages of Rome are all part of the Version A tradition. Adapted from one of the Old French A texts sometime in the late 13th or early 14th century, the Middle English Seven Sages texts clearly insular popularity, developing three distinct redactions that survive in eight manuscripts. These iterations of the narrative bear striking similarity to other popular Middle English romances, both in their narrative concerns and in their form (the near-ubiquitous tail-rhymed octosyllabic couplets).
According to Campbell (and also Brunner and Whitelock), the Middle English Seven Sages may be usefully grouped into three regional categories, with dialect differences separating the 'Northern', 'Southern', and 'Midland' redactions. Both Northern and Southern groups are closely related, and are assumed to share a lost parent-text, 'Y'. The Midland redaction, which is not part of the 'Y Group', has notable stylistic distinctions from the other texts, though it follows the same essential pattern. For example, while the emperor is always called Dioclecian and his son named Florentine or Florentin, the Y Group gives the prince's mother the name 'Milicent' while the Midlands text names her 'Helie' or 'Elye'. The sage's names are relatively consistent across all versions, as is the order of the tales themselves, with the notable exception of a single text found in Cambridge University Library MS Ff. 2, 38 (often referred to in scholarship as Text F). This text contains an anomalous version of the narrative, with an atypical story order and the addition of two unique tales ('Parricida' and 'Armiger').
It is also worth noting that despite their proximity, the Middle English Seven Sages is notably distinct from the Older Scots Version A, and also the later English Prints, which are part of the H (Historia Septem Sapientum) tradition.
General Information
Language & Composition
Literature & Editions
Recorded Branch of This Secondary Version
- A (Seven Sages)
- Dutch Version A
- French Version A: Roman des Sept Sages
- Gaelic Version A
- German Version A: Allegatio/Libellus
- Italian Version A
- Latin Version A
- Middle English Version A
- Old Swedish Version A: Sju vise mästare
- Older Scots Version A: Buke of the Sevyne Sagis
- Welsh Version A: Chwedleu Seith Doethon Rufein
Adaptations
Notes
Pattern of Embedded Stories in This Version
| Has Short Title | Has Sequence Number | Has Narrator | Has Name Variation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arbor – The Tree | 1 | Empress | |
| Canis – The Faithful Dog | 2 | Bancillas | Hancyllas |
| Aper – The Boar and the Fruit | 3 | Empress | |
| Medicus – The Doctor | 4 | Anxilles | Ancilles |
| Gaza – The Treasure | 5 | Empress | |
| Puteus – The Well | 6 | Lentulus | Lentilioun |
| Senescalcus – The Seneschal | 7 | Empress | |
| Tentamina – The Test | 8 | Malquidras | Maladas |
| Virgilius – Virgil's Marvels | 9 | Empress | |
| Avis – The Bird | 10 | Cato | Caton, Catoun |
| Sapientes – The Wise Men | 11 | Empress | |
| Vidua – The Widow | 12 | Jesse | |
| Roma – Rome Besieged | 13 | Empress | |
| Inclusa – The Imprisoned Wife | 14 | Maxencius | Marcius |
Connected Manuscripts