Roma – Rome Besieged

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DeceptionMagicReligious conflictMilitary conflictMistaken or concealed identityWise old manOld manDeceitful old manChristianityReligionIslamCity besiegedDisguise

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.

See also Senescalcus and Roma and Roma and Lupus.

[Added by Jane Bonsall]

Note

Note: As indicated above, Roma is sometimes combined with other stories, new or previously existing in the Seven Sages corpus, forming a hybrid tale. The most popular of these is Senescalcus and Roma, found in the Version H tradition, in which Roma is linked to the story of the Seneschal (an analogue for the Bathhouse Keeper tale in the 'Eastern' versions). The Welsh Version A also contains a Roma-hybrid, this time linked to a unique tale, titled Lupus.

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

	Has Language Of Version	Has Branch Of Tradition	Is Adapted From
A (Seven Sages)	Old French	Seven Sages of Rome	V (Lost metrical Old French Sept Sages)
C (Sept Sages de Rome)	Old French	Seven Sages of Rome
D (Sept Sages de Rome)	Old French	Seven Sages of Rome
Dutch Verse Version: Van den seven vroeden van binnen Rome		Seven Sages of Rome
Dutch Version A	Dutch	Seven Sages of Rome	French Version A: Roman des Sept Sages
English Erasto	English	Seven Sages of Rome	French Erasto, Italian Erasto
Erasto (Es)	Italian	Seven Sages of Rome	L'Amabile di Continentia (Em)
Francis Kirkman, Prince Erastus	English	Seven Sages of Rome	French Erasto
French A/L Overlap	Old French	Seven Sages of Rome	L (Sept Sages de Rome), French Version A: Roman des Sept Sages
French Erasto	French	Seven Sages of Rome	Erasto (Es)
French Version A: Roman des Sept Sages	Old French	Seven Sages of Rome	A (Seven Sages)
Gaelic Version A	Gaelic	Seven Sages of Rome	Latin Version A
German Version A: Allegatio/Libellus	German (High and Low German)	Seven Sages of Rome	Latin Version A
I (Versio Italico)	Italian	Seven Sages of Rome	A (Seven Sages), French Version A: Roman des Sept Sages
Il Libro dei Sette Savi de Roma (C)	Italian	Seven Sages of Rome
Italian Prose (V)	Italian	Seven Sages of Rome	French A/L Overlap
Italian Version A	Italian	Seven Sages of Rome	French Version A: Roman des Sept Sages
K (Sept Sages de Rome)	Old French	Seven Sages of Rome	V (Lost metrical Old French Sept Sages)
L'Amabile di Continentia (Em)	Italian	Seven Sages of Rome
Latin Version A	Latin	Seven Sages of Rome	A (Seven Sages)
Latin Version A: Allegatio / Libellus	Latin	Seven Sages of Rome	Latin Version A

Roma is narrated in the following occurrences

Narrator

Pages

Empress

A (Seven Sages), Bern Burgerbibliothek Cod. 388, Brussel Koninklijke Bibliotheek 9245, Brussel Koninklijke Bibliotheek II 1171, 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, Dutch Verse Version: Van den seven vroeden van binnen Rome, Dutch Version A, Edinburgh National Library of Scotland Advocates MS 19.2.1 (Auchinleck Manuscript), Edinburgh National Library of Scotland Advocates MS 72.1.39, English Erasto, Erasto (Es), Florence Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Gaddiano 166, Florence Biblioteca nazionale centrale, Landau Finaly 13, Florence Biblioteca nazionale centrale, Palatino 680, Francis Kirkman, Prince Erastus, French A/L Overlap, French Erasto, French Version A: Roman des Sept Sages, Gaelic Version A, German Version A: Allegatio/Libellus, I (Versio Italico), Il Libro dei Sette Savi de Roma (C), Italian Prose (V), Italian Version A, K (Sept Sages de Rome), L'Amabile di Continentia (Em), Latin Version A, Latin Version A: Allegatio / Libellus, Libro dei Sette Savj (A), London British Library Add. MS. 27429, London British Library Additional MS 15685, London British Library Arundel 140, London British Library Cotton Galba E IX, London British Library Egerton 1995, Mario Teluccini, Erasto in verse, Mario Teluccini, Erasto. Pesaro: Girolamo Concordia, 1566., Middle English Version A, Midland Version, Modena Biblioteca Estense Universitaria, Estense It. 95 (α.P.8.20), Old Swedish Version A: Sju vise mästare, Oxford Balliol College Library MS 354 (Richard Hill's Commonplace Book), Oxford Bodleian Library Rawlinson poet. 175, Padua Biblioteca Civica C.M. 304/6, Paris Bibliothèque nationale de France, français 95, Parma Biblioteca Palatina Parm. 01391, Spanish Erasto, St. Florian Stiftsbibliothek Cod. XI 92 B, Storia d'una Crudele Matrigna (M), Storia di Stefano (R), Storia favolosa di Stefano (S), Uppsala Universitetsbiblioteket Cod. C 7, Venice Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana It. IX 621 (=10697), Versio Italica historiae septem sapientum (L), Wien Österreichische Nationalbibliothek Cod. 2937

Roma appears in the following manuscripts

	Has Language	Has Siglum Of The Version Of The Seven Sages	Has Language Group Within Version
Bern Burgerbibliothek Cod. 388	Old French	A (Seven Sages)	French Version A: Roman des Sept Sages
Brussel Koninklijke Bibliotheek 9245	Old French	Overlap of Versions A and L	French A/L Overlap
Brussel Koninklijke Bibliotheek II 1171	Dutch	A (Seven Sages)	Dutch Version A
Cambridge University Library MS Dd.1.17	English	A (Seven Sages)	Middle English Version A
Cambridge University Library MS Ff. 2, 38	English	A (Seven Sages)	Middle English Version A
Cambridge University Library MS Gg.6.28	Old French	Overlap of Versions A and L	French A/L Overlap
Chantilly Musée Condé MS 683	Latin	A (Seven Sages)	Latin Version A
Chartres Bibliothèque municipale 620	Old French	C (Sept Sages de Rome)	French Version C
Dublin Trinity College Library Ms 667	Latin	A (Seven Sages)	Latin Version A
Edinburgh National Library of Scotland Advocates MS 19.2.1 (Auchinleck Manuscript)	English	A (Seven Sages)	Middle English Version A
Edinburgh National Library of Scotland Advocates MS 72.1.39	Gaelic	A (Seven Sages)	Gaelic Version A
Florence Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Gaddiano 166	Italian	A (Seven Sages)	Italian Version A
Florence Biblioteca nazionale centrale, Landau Finaly 13	Italian	I (Versio Italico)
Florence Biblioteca nazionale centrale, Palatino 680	Italian	A (Seven Sages)	Italian Version A
London British Library Add. MS. 27429	Italian	A (Seven Sages)	Italian Version A
London British Library Additional MS 15685	Latin	I (Versio Italico)
London British Library Arundel 140	English	A (Seven Sages)	Middle English Version A
London British Library Cotton Galba E IX	English	A (Seven Sages)	Middle English Version A
London British Library Egerton 1995	English	A (Seven Sages)	Middle English Version A
Modena Biblioteca Estense Universitaria, Estense It. 95 (α.P.8.20)	Italian	I (Versio Italico)
Oxford Balliol College Library MS 354 (Richard Hill's Commonplace Book)	English	A (Seven Sages)	Middle English Version A