Roma
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.
| Note |
|---|
|
Motifs: cf. TMI V232.1 Angel as helper in battle. TU345 Pagan army. 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). 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. 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. |
| Critical Literature |
|---|
| Nishimura (2001) |
| Roma appears in the following versions and secondary versions |
|---|
| Roma appears in the following manuscripts |
|---|