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 & General Information

Title

Il Libro dei Sette Savi

Tradition & Lineage

Branch of the tradition

Seven Sages of Rome

Adapted from (version)

French A/L Overlap

Recorded Secondary Versions

• A (Seven Sages)
  • Dutch Version A
  • 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
    • Latin Version A: De Septem Sapientibus
  • 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

	Has Language	Has Location	Has Date Range Of Production

Language & Composition

Language of version

Italian

Place of composition

Tuscany, Italy

Date of Composition

1300 - 1350

Source for date of composition

Ward (1893), D'Agostino (2022)

Modern Scholarship & 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)

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	Bencillas
Aper – The Boar and the Fruit	3	Empress
Medicus – The Doctor	4	Anxilles	Auxlex
Gaza – The Treasure	5	Empress
Mercator	6	Lentulus	Litalus
Senescalcus – The Seneschal	7	Empress
Tentamina – The Test	8	Malquidras	Malchidras
Virgilius – Virgil's Marvels	9	Empress
Avis – The Bird	10	Cato
Sapientes – The Wise Men	11	Empress
Vidua – The Widow	12	Jesse	Fifth Master
Roma – Rome Besieged	13	Empress

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