Roma: Difference between revisions

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Rome

At a time when Rome is besieged by many 'heathen' kings, 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.

Note
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

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

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 {{Inset Story
-|Has Critical Literature=Nishimura (2001)
+|Has Critical Literature=Nishimura (2001); Clouston (1884); Campbell (1907)
 |Has Content Tag=Deception; Magic; Religious conflict; Military conflict
 |Has Summary='''Rome'''
-At a time when Rome is besieged by many 'heathen' kings, seven wise men attempt to govern the city, but cannot repel the enemy forces. At last the seventh wise man, 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.
+At a time when Rome is besieged by many 'heathen' kings, 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.
-|Has Note='''Motifs:''' cf. TMI V232.1 Angel as helper in battle. TU345 Pagan army.
+|Has Note=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’ (the exiled king defends a besieged city by writing on a writing-board the enemy’s schemes and defensive measures) and 139 ‘Der tödliche Basiliskenblick’ (a besieged soldier dies without being wounded by a basilisk on the city walls). ''Golden Legend'', 5 ‘St. Thomas the Apostle’ (p. 92. A child standing on the gate reads a letter written by the Lord to the enemy army surrounding the city, and they either disperse or make peace with him); 83 ‘Pope St. Leo’ (p. 340. Attila, who was told by the man standing at Leo’s right hand with the drawn sword in his hand that if he did not do as he said, the whole army would be destroyed, agreed to withdraw from Italy and release the prisoners); 84 ‘St. Peter the Apostle’ (pp. 362-363. The remains of Peter and Paul were stolen by the Greeks); 113 ‘Assumption of the Virgin Mary’ (p. 195. The Tunica of the Virgin is raised and set forth, and the enemy army is attacked by madness and blindness); 149 ‘St. Luke the Evangelist’ (p. 114. The Turkish hordes besieging Antioch are defeated by the appearance of St. Luke); and 152 ‘St. Simon the Apostle and St. Jude’ (p. 134. The letters of Jesus are read at the city gates, and the enemy is defeated or makes peace). Gibbon, ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', ch. 20 (p. 247. Of the victory of Constantine the Great, some in later times told that a divine army descended from heaven to aid the emperor; see also the note on Castor and Pollux, p. 249), ch. 35 (p. 273. Legend that St. Peter and St. Paul appeared to Attila besieging Rome and threatening the king), and ch. 58 (pp. 176-177. When the Crusaders occupying Antioch were besieged in the opposite direction, three knights with pure white robes and shining weapons were seen among the soldiers who went out, and the papal deputy declared them to be the three martyrs, St. George, St. Theodorus, and St. Mauricius). Ortutay, ''Hungarian Folktales'', 37 ‘The Gypsy Who Became King’ (when they all roll up their asses on horseback and point them at the enemy troops, the enemy, seeing them from a distance, thinks they are unidentifiable cannibals and retreat).
+'''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’.
-''Shiki [Shiji, History]'', 22 ‘Biography of Titan (the lord of a castle that has escaped falling makes it known that “the gods have come down to teach me” and announces to the whole castle that “now the incarnation of the gods will appear and become my master”. In ''Sangokushi'' (the Records of the Three Kingdoms), 95, there is a story in which Kongming (Komei), in the face of 150,000 enemy soldiers, hid his army of only 2,500 men and opened the gates of the castle while he sat in the gate tower and played the zither. The enemy general saw him playing the zither and retreated, fearing that there must be some trick in the castle because Kongming never does anything dangerous.
+See also ''Shiki [Shiji, History]'', 22 ‘Biography of Titan', and ''Sangokushi'' (the Records of the Three Kingdoms), 95.
-'''Bibliography:''' Chauvin VIII231. Landau 41. W.A. Clouston, p.343. Campbell, 1907, pp. cviii-cix. Krappe, 1927, pp.168-176. My translation of the ''Tale of the Seven Wise Men'', note 22.
+'''Additional Bibliography:''' Chauvin VIII 231; Landau 41; Krappe, 1927, pp. 168-176.
 }}