Paris Bibliothèque nationale de France, français 95

Manuscript Identification

Reference Number

Fr31

Location

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France

Siglum / Shelfmark

Français 95 (formerly Regius 6769)

Page / Folio range

355ra-380ra

Textual Content & Tradition

Standardised title of narrative

Sept Sages de Rome

Incipit or textual title

A Romme ot I empereour qui ot a non Dyoclesiens…

Version (siglum)

Overlap of Versions A and L

Language Group within Version

French A/L Overlap

Further scholarly subgroup (2)

Text Q

Source for textual relationship

Runte, Society of the Seven Sages Portal (2014)

Languages

Language of text

Old French (Nord)

Digitisation & Editions

Digitisation

https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b6000108b

Modern Editions

Plomp, De Middelnederlandsche bewerking van het gedicht van den VII Vroeden van binnen Rome (1899), Runte, Les sept sages de Rome: An On-Line Edition of French Version A (2006)

Authorship & Production

Place of Production

Thérouanne, France

Date of Production

c. 1280

Source of Date of Production

BNF: https://archivesetmanuscrits.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cc13594b

Physical Description

Material

Parchment

Total pages / folios

394

Height

470

Width

330

Illustrations

Yes

Contents & Additional Texts

Other texts in the Manuscript

1ra-113va: L'estoire del saint Graal

113va-354vb: Le roman de Merlin en prose, avec la Suite Vulgate du Merlin

355ra-380ra: Le roman des sept sages de Rome

380ra-394vb: André le Moine, La penitance Adam

Catalogues & Research Literature

Catalogue

Arlima: https://arlima.net/no/4153, BNF: https://archivesetmanuscrits.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cc13594b

Modern Research Literature

Plomp (1889), Runte (1974), Runte, Society of the Seven Sages Portal (2014), Runte, Wikeley, Farrell (1984), Runte (1989), Le Roux de Lincy (1838), Paris (1876), Berne-Aïache (1966), Berne-Aïache (1977), Speer (1981), Foehr-Janssens (1994), Coco (2016)

Embedded Stories in This Manuscript

Has Short Title	Has Sequence Number	Has Narrator	Has Name Variation
Arbor – The Tree	1	Empress
Canis – The Faithful Dog	2	Bancillas
Aper – The Boar and the Fruit	3	Empress
Medicus – The Doctor	4	Lentulus
Gaza – The Treasure	5	Empress
Puteus – The Well	6	Anxilles
Senescalcus – The Seneschal	7	Empress
Tentamina – The Test	8	Malquidras	Malquidarz
Virgilius – Virgil's Marvels	9	Empress
Avis – The Bird	10	Cato	Caton
Sapientes – The Wise Men	11	Empress
Vidua – The Widow	12	Jesse
Filia	13	Empress
Inclusa – The Imprisoned Wife	14	Meron
Roma – Rome Besieged	15	Empress
Vaticinium – The Prophecy	16	Prince

Research Material

Has Research Material Title	Has Research Material Link	Has Research Material Description

Spectacular initial minature and marginalia.

The BNF catalogue notes that this manuscript and the manuscript 'Phillips 130' (Yale University Beinecke Library, MS 229) are 'complémentaires'. The Beineke Library manuscript contains: Le livre de Lancelot du Lac, La queste del Graal, La mort au roy Artu. This has led to some cataloguing confusion; on the JONAS site, for example, the listing for the 'Sept Sages de Rome, version A' includes 'Yale University Library Beinecke Ms 229'. This appears to be in error, and due to the linking of the two manuscripts through their Arthurian texts.

This text is also apparently closely related to Cambridge G VI.28. Plomp (1889) observes that BNF 95 and Cam GV1.28 are so closely related that they replicate the same error: Anxilles is introduced 2nd, and Lentulus 3rd, but Lentulus tells the 2nd story, and Anxilles the 3rd.