Italian Prose (V)

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The Italian Prose 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 A 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 the text, including mistranslations, help confirm that a French Version A/L text was the source or this manuscript. One of those mistranslations changes the boar (sanglier) in Aper to a lord (sengniore) (Ward p. 211).

Tradition & Lineage

Branch of the tradition

West

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

Place of composition

Italy

Date of Composition

1300 - 1350

Source for date of composition

Ward (1893)

Modern Scholarship & Editions

Modern research literature

Wikeley (1983), Varnhagen (1881), Ward (1893)

Modern Editions

Varnhagen, Eine Italienische Prosaversion der Sieben Weisen (1881)

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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