Roma: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 12:03, 15 July 2025

DeceptionMagicReligious conflictMilitary conflictMistaken or concealed identityWise old manOld manDeceitful old manChristianityReligionIslam

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.

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); Clouston (1884); Campbell (1907)
-|Has Motif=Deception; Magic; Religious conflict; Military conflict; Mistaken or concealed identity; Wise old man; Old man; Deceitful old man
+|Has Motif=Deception; Magic; Religious conflict; Military conflict; Mistaken or concealed identity; Wise old man; Old man; Deceitful old man; Christianity; Religion; Islam
 |Has Summary='''Rome'''
-At a time when Rome is besieged by many 'heathen' 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.
+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.
 |Has Note=Nishimura notes relevant motifs (TMI V232.1: Angel as helper in battle; TU345: Pagan army), as well as relevant reference narratives: