King Robert of Sicily

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

A metrical romance taken from the Story of the Emperor Jovinian in the Gesta Romanorum, and borrowed from the Talmud. It finds a place in the Arabian Nights, the Turkish Tutinameh, the Sanskrit Panchatantra, and has been rechauffe by Long- fellow.

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “King Robert of Sicily” mean?

A metrical romance taken from the Story of the Emperor Jovinian in the Gesta Romanorum, and borrowed from the Talmud. It finds a place in the Arabian Nights, the Turkish Tutinameh, the Sanskrit Panchatantra, and has been rechauffe by Long- fellow.

Is “King Robert of Sicily” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.