Italian Version A
From The Seven Sages of Rome
The Italian branch of the Version A pattern, sometimes referred to in scholarship as the versione francese-italica (by e.g. Cesari), exists in a few different redactions. All of these follow, or nearly follow, the story-order set by the Old French Version A, and are presumed to be indirect translations of French iterations of the narrative.
These redactions are :
- Libro dei Sette Savj (A), edited by d'Ancona (1864)
- Italian Prose (V), edited by Varnhagen (1881)
- Storia favolosa di Stefano (S), edited by Bozzoli (1999); first discussed in Cesari (1896).
All of these texts have complex inheritances, and none appear to be a straight translation of an individual text. For example, the Italian Prose (V) betrays the influence of L (Sept Sages de Rome), perhaps suggesting that an French A/L Overlap text was the source. The Storia favolosa di Stefano has historically been designated part of Version A, but also evidences influences of I (Versio Italico). Some scholarship (D'Agostino (2022) therefore groups it with other Version I texts instead of with the A branch.
Tradition & Lineage
Branch of the tradition
Recorded Secondary Versions
- A (Seven Sages)
- Dutch Version A
- French Version A: Roman des Sept Sages
- Gaelic Version A
- German Version A: Allegatio/Libellus
- Italian Version A
- Latin Version A
- Middle English Version A
- Old Swedish Version A: Sju vise mästare
- Older Scots Version A: Buke of the Sevyne Sagis
- Welsh Version A: Chwedleu Seith Doethon Rufein
Connected Manuscripts
| Has Language | Has Location | Has Date Range Of Production | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florence Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Gaddiano 166 | Italian | Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana | 1274 - 1500 |
| Florence Biblioteca nazionale centrale, Palatino 680 | Italian | Florence, Biblioteca nazionale centrale | 1401 - 1500 |
| London British Library Add. MS. 27429 | Italian | London, British Library | 1301 - 1325 |
Modern Scholarship & Editions
Modern research literature
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 | |
| Inclusa – The Imprisoned Wife | 14 | Arcius |