Phaedrus (fabulist) - Later Prose and Verse Derivations

Later Prose and Verse Derivations

In the Middle Ages Phaedrus exercised a considerable influence through the prose and verse versions of his fables, which were current, even though his own works (and even his name) were apparently forgotten. Of the prose versions, the oldest existing one seems to be that known as the Anonymus Nilanti, so called because it was first edited by Nilant at Leiden in 1709 from a manuscript of the 13th century. It follows the text of Phaedrus so closely that it was probably made directly from it. Of the sixty-seven fables which it contains, thirty are derived from lost fables of Phaedrus.