Italian Prose (V)

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The Italian Prose (V), the redaction of Version A found in British Library Add. MS. 27429, represents one of the three Italian redactions of the Version A pattern. Like the version titled Storia favolosa di Stefano, the Prose version edited by Varnhagen (and therefore often designated redaction V) also replaces the story Puteus with Mercator, a story that clearly mirrors the frame-tale's structure and concerns. Mercator is found only in these two Italian redactions, and also in the anomalous Latin (and later German) translations of Version A known as the Allegatio septem sapientum or Libellus muliebri nequitia plenus. The Latin Allegatio also replaces Puteus with Mercator, and was composed sometime in the 14th century, in Northern Italy - making it roughly contemporary with the Italian Version A redactions.

According to Varnhagen's edition (1881), some elements of this text, including mistranslations, help confirm that a French Version A/L text was the source or this manuscript. One of the more entertaining of those mistranslations changes the boar (sanglier) in Aper to a lord (sengniore) (Ward p. 211).

Other elements that signal the relationship to L as well as A is the fact that the prince does not tell a story in this text; instead, the tale concludes with the trial by combat, in which the Empress's champion is defeated.

Identification and general Information
Reference Number
Siglum of the version of the Seven Sages
Version Number
Title	Il Libro dei Sette Savi
Author

Tradition and Lineage
Branch of the tradition	West
Adapted from (version)	French A/L Overlap
Adapted into (version)
Source for composition and adaptation information

Recorded secondary versions

A (Seven Sages) Dutch Version A Dutch Verse Version: Van den seven vroeden van binnen Rome French Version A: Roman des Sept Sages Group U Group V Group W Group X Group Y Group Z Gaelic Version A German Version A: Allegatio/Libellus Italian Version A Italian Prose (V) Libro dei Sette Savj (A) Storia favolosa di Stefano (S) Latin Version A Latin Version A: Allegatio / Libellus Middle English Version A Midland Version Y Group Northern English Southern English Old Swedish Version A: Sju vise mästare Old Swedish Redaction A Old Swedish Redaction B Older Scots Version A: Buke of the Sevyne Sagis Welsh Version A: Chwedleu Seith Doethon Rufein Early Modern and Modern Welsh Version A Middle Welsh Version A

Connected manuscripts
Manuscript Language Location Date of Production London British Library Add. MS. 27429 Italian London, British Library 1301 - 1325

Language and Composition
Original language of version	Italian
Language of text	Italian
Regional or specific language of version
Translated into (languages)
Place of composition	Tuscany, Italy
Date of composition	1300 - 1350
Islamic date of composition
Hebrew date of composition
Source for date of composition	Ward (1893), D'Agostino (2022)

Modern Scholarship and Editions
Modern research literature	Wikeley (1983), Varnhagen (1881), Ward (1893), D'Agostino (2022), Bianchi (2014-2015), Giannetti (1996), Cesari (1896), D'Ancona (1864)
Modern Editions	Varnhagen, Eine Italienische Prosaversion der Sieben Weisen (1881), Bianchi, Libro dei sette savi di Roma (2014-2015)

Notes and Commentary
Note
Notes on motifs
Notes on the frame

Pattern of embedded stories in this version

Has Short Title Has Sequence Number Has Narrator Has Name Variation Arbor 1 Empress   Canis 2 Bancillas Bencillas Aper 3 Empress   Medicus 4 Anxilles Auxlex Gaza 5 Empress   Mercator 6 Lentulus Litalus Senescalcus 7 Empress   Tentamina – The Test 8 Malquidras Malchidras Virgilius 9 Empress   Avis 10 Caton Cato Sapientes – The Wise Men 11 Empress   Vidua – The Widow 12 Jesse Fifth Master Roma 13 Empress   Copy Embedded Stories Copy Embedded Stories × Select Target Page: Close Process

Connected prints
No connected prints