Romulus is the author, now considered a legendary figure, of versions of ''

Aesop's Fables Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a Slavery in ancient Greece, slave and storyteller who lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 Before the Common Era, BCE. Of varied and unclear origins, the stor ...

'' 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 5th century. The Romulus of medieval tradition therefore represents a number of traditional attributions of Latin manuscripts of

beast fable An animal tale or beast fable generally consists of a short story or poem in which animals talk. They may exhibit other anthropomorphic qualities as well, such as living in a human-like society. It is a traditional form of allegorical writing. ...

s. These are based on prose adaptations of Phaedrus (1st century AD). The ''Romulus'' texts make up the bulk of the medieval 'Aesop'. Scholars identify several strands of manuscripts: * The ''Romulus Ordinarius'' (''Romulus Vulgaris''), 83 tales known in a 9th-century text; * The ''Romulus of Vienna''; * The ''Romulus of Nilant'', 45 fables, published in 1709 by Johan Frederik Nilant (Jean-Frédéric Nilant). These prose works gave rise to versifications: the ''Novus Aesopus'' of

Alexander Neckam Alexander Neckam (8 September 115731 March 1217) was an English poet, theologian, and writer. He was an abbot of Cirencester Abbey from 1213 until his death. Early life Born on 8 September 1157 in St Albans, Alexander shared his birthday with ...

, the verse ''Romulus'' often attributed to

Gualterus Anglicus Gualterus Anglicus (Medieval Latin for Walter the Englishman) was an Anglo-Norman poet and scribe who produced a seminal version of ''Aesop's Fables'' (in distichs) around the year 1175. Identification of the author This author was earlier cal ...

(''Romulus of Nevelet''). Further adaptation and expansion from those works built up the medieval Aesop tradition. The ''Esope'' of

Adémar de Chabannes Adémar de Chabannes (988/989 – 1034; also Adhémar de Chabannes) was a French/Frankish monk, active as a composer, scribe, historian, poet, grammarian and forgery, literary forger. He was associated with the Abbey of Saint Martial, Limoges, w ...

(67 fables) is now considered to derive 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 Marie de France (floruit, fl. 1160–1215) was a poet, likely born in France, who lived in England during the late 12th century. She lived and wrote at an unknown court, but she and her work were almost certainly known at the royal court of Kin ...

.Romulus Roberti , Arlima - Archives de littérature du Moyen Âge
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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romulus (Fabulist) Fabulists