Printed English Version A

From The Seven Sages of Rome

The printed English text that is critically understood to be part of the Version A pattern was produced by Richard Pynson, circa 1493. This fragmentary text is the earliest surviving English print of the Seven Sages narrative, predating Wynkyn de Worde's 1506 text, and is thought to represent a continuation of the manuscript tradition (Zeldenrust, 2026). This sets Pynson's text apart from the de Worde text and the subsequent English print tradition, which all follow the Historia Septem Sapientum narrative pattern.