Roma

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Rome

At a time when Rome is besieged by 'heathen' (sometimes specifically Muslim) kings (who, in some versions, wish to kill the Pope, destroy Christianity, or steal relics), seven wise men attempt to govern the city, but cannot repel the enemy forces. At last the seventh wise man (sometimes named Junius or Genius), orders the troops to be readied, then mounts the walls to the highest point. He dons a strange cloak, and a mask with many faces, a takes up two swords. He sets up a mirror or a fire behind him, and shouts so loudly the heathen armies all hear him. It seems as though the light of heaven surrounds him, and the enemy armies are tricked into believing he is a powerful god and flee, leaving Rome victorious.

See also Senescalcus and Roma and Roma and Lupus.

Note

Note: As indicated above, Roma is sometimes combined with other stories, new or previously existing in the Seven Sages corpus, forming a hybrid tale. The most popular of these is Senescalcus and Roma, found in the Version H tradition, in which Roma is linked to the story of the Seneschal (an analogue for the Bathhouse Keeper tale in the 'Eastern' versions). The Welsh Version A also contains a Roma-hybrid, this time linked to a unique tale, titled Lupus. Nishimura notes relevant motifs (TMI V232.1: Angel as helper in battle; TU345: Pagan army), as well as relevant reference narratives: Reference stories, etc.: Bible, ‘Kings 2’, 19.35; Gesta Romanorum, 21 ‘Der treue König von Sparta’ and 139 ‘Der tödliche Basiliskenblick’. For narratives linking military victory and divine intervention, see several tales from the Golden Legend, such as 5: ‘St. Thomas the Apostle’ (p. 92); 83: ‘Pope St. Leo’ (p. 340); 84: ‘St. Peter the Apostle’ (pp. 362-363); 113: ‘Assumption of the Virgin Mary’ (p. 195); 149: ‘St. Luke the Evangelist’ (p. 114); and 152 ‘St. Simon the Apostle and St. Jude’ (p. 134). See also Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, ch. 20 (p. 247, p. 249), ch. 35 (p. 273), and ch. 58 (pp. 176-177), and Ortutay, Hungarian Folktales, 37 ‘The Gypsy Who Became King’. See also Shiki [Shiji, History], 22 ‘Biography of Titan', and Sangokushi (the Records of the Three Kingdoms), 95. Additional Bibliography: Chauvin VIII 231; Landau 41; Krappe, 1927, pp. 168-176.

Critical Literature
Nishimura (2001), Clouston (1884), Campbell (1907)

Roma appears in the following versions and secondary versions

Version Original Language Branch of Tradition Adapted from A (Seven Sages) Old French West V (Lost metrical Old French Sept Sages) C (Sept Sages de Rome) Old French West D (Sept Sages de Rome) Old French West Erasto I (Versio Italica) French A/L Overlap Old French West L (Sept Sages de Rome) French Version A: Roman des Sept Sages French Version A: Roman des Sept Sages Old French West A (Seven Sages) Gaelic Version A Gaelic West Latin Version A German Version A: Allegatio/Libellus German (High and Low German) West Latin Version A I (Versio Italica) West A (Seven Sages) Il Libro dei Sette Savi West I (Versio Italica) K (Sept Sages de Rome) Old French West V (Lost metrical Old French Sept Sages) L'Amabile di Continentia Latin Version A Latin West A (Seven Sages) Latin Version A: Allegatio / Libellus Latin West Latin Version A Middle English Version A Middle English West French Version A: Roman des Sept Sages Old Swedish Version A: Sju vise mästare Old Swedish West Storia d'una Crudele Matrigna Storia di Stefano West Versio Italica (Latin)

Roma is narrated in the following occurrences

Narrator Pages Empress A (Seven Sages), Brussel Koninklijke Bibliotheek 9245, C (Sept Sages de Rome), Cambridge University Library MS Dd.1.17, Cambridge University Library MS Ff. 2, 38, Cambridge University Library MS Gg.6.28, Chantilly Musée Condé MS 683, Chartres Bibliothèque municipale 620, D (Sept Sages de Rome), Dublin Trinity College Library Ms 667, Edinburgh National Library of Scotland Advocates MS 19.2.1, Auchinleck Manuscript, Edinburgh National Library of Scotland Advocates MS 72.1.39, Erasto, French A/L Overlap, French Version A: Roman des Sept Sages, Gaelic Version A, German Version A: Allegatio/Libellus, I (Versio Italica), Il Libro dei Sette Savi, K (Sept Sages de Rome), L'Amabile di Continentia, Latin Version A, Latin Version A: Allegatio / Libellus, London British Library Additional MS 15685, London British Library Arundel 140, London British Library Cotton Galba E IX, London British Library Egerton 1995, Middle English Version A, Old Swedish Version A: Sju vise mästare, Oxford Balliol College Library MS 354 (Richard Hill's Commonplace Book), Oxford Bodleian Library Rawlinson poet. 175, Paris Bibliothèque nationale de France, français 95, St. Florian Stiftsbibliothek Cod. XI 92 B, Storia d'una Crudele Matrigna, Storia di Stefano, Uppsala Universitetsbiblioteket Cod. C 7, Versio Italica (Latin), Wien Österreichische Nationalbibliothek Cod. 2937

Roma appears in the following manuscripts

Manuscript Language Siglum (Version) Language Group within Version Brussel Koninklijke Bibliotheek 9245 Old French Overlap of Versions A and L French A/L Overlap Cambridge University Library MS Dd.1.17 English A (Seven Sages) Middle English Version A Cambridge University Library MS Ff. 2, 38 English A (Seven Sages) Middle English Version A Cambridge University Library MS Gg.6.28 Old French Overlap of Versions A and L French A/L Overlap Chantilly Musée Condé MS 683 Latin A (Seven Sages) Latin Version A Chartres Bibliothèque municipale 620 Old French C (Sept Sages de Rome) French Version C Dublin Trinity College Library Ms 667 Latin A (Seven Sages) Latin Version A Edinburgh National Library of Scotland Advocates MS 19.2.1, Auchinleck Manuscript English A (Seven Sages) Middle English Version A Edinburgh National Library of Scotland Advocates MS 72.1.39 Gaelic A (Seven Sages) Gaelic Version A London British Library Additional MS 15685 Latin I (Versio Italica) Versio Italica (Latin) London British Library Arundel 140 English A (Seven Sages) Middle English Version A London British Library Cotton Galba E IX English A (Seven Sages) Middle English Version A London British Library Egerton 1995 English A (Seven Sages) Middle English Version A Oxford Balliol College Library MS 354 (Richard Hill's Commonplace Book) English A (Seven Sages) Middle English Version A Oxford Bodleian Library Rawlinson poet. 175 English A (Seven Sages) Middle English Version A Paris Bibliothèque nationale de France, français 95 Old French Overlap of Versions A and L French A/L Overlap St. Florian Stiftsbibliothek Cod. XI 92 B German (High and Low German) A (Seven Sages) German Version A: Allegatio/Libellus Uppsala Universitetsbiblioteket Cod. C 7 Latin A (Seven Sages) Latin Version A Wien Österreichische Nationalbibliothek Cod. 2937 German (High and Low German) A (Seven Sages) German Version A: Allegatio/Libellus