- Romulus (fabulist)
Romulus is the author, now considered a legendary figure [William W. Kibler, "Medieval France: An Encyclopedia" (1995), p. 331.] , of versions of "
Aesop's Fables " in Latin. These were passed down in Western Europe, and became important school texts, for early education. Romulus is supposed to have lived in the fifth century.The Romulus of medieval tradition therefore represents a number of traditional attributions of Latin manuscripts of
beast fable s. These are based on prose adaptations ofPhaedrus (first century AD), whose works survive only in these forms, not by more direct transmission. The "Romulus" texts make up the bulk of the medieval 'Aesop' [Francisco Rodriguez Adrados, "History of the Graeco-Latin Fable: The Fable During the Roman Empire and in the Middle Ages" (2000 translation), p. 640.] .Scholars identify several strands of manuscriptshttp://bcs.fltr.ucl.ac.be/FE/06/fable.html, in French.] :
* The "Romulus Ordinarius" ("Romulus Vulgaris"), 83 tales known in a ninth-century text;
* The "Romulus of Vienna";
* The "Romulus of Nilant", 45 fables [ [http://www.shanaweb.net/auteurs/fleutelot/notice-sur-phaedrus.html Phèdre ] ] , published in 1709 byJohan Frederik Nilant (Jean-Frédéric Nilant).These prose works gave rise to versifications: the "Novus Aesopus" of
Alexander Neckam , the verse "Romulus" often attributed toGualterus Anglicus ("Romulus of Nevelet"). Further adaptation and expansion from those works built up the medieval Aesop tradition.The "Esope" of
Adémar de Chabannes (67 fables) is now considered to come from the "Romulus Ordinarius".The "Romulus Roberti" (22 fables) is taken from the Anglo-Latin "Romulus", with the four first tales from
Marie de France [ [http://www.arlima.net/qt/romulus_roberti.html Romulus Roberti | Arlima - Archives de littérature du Moyen Âge ] ] .References
*
Hermann Oesterley (1870), "Romulus: Die paraphrasen des Phaedrus und die Aesopische fabel in mittelalter"
*Léopold Hervieux (1893-1899), "Les fabulistes latins depuis le siècle d'Auguste jusqu'à la. fin du Moyen-Age, Vol. II.: Phèdre et ses anciens imitateurs directs et indirects"
*Georg Thiele (1910), "Der Lateinische Äsop des Romulus und die Prosa-Fassungen des Phädrus"Notes
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