The Dialogue of Solomon & Marcolphus

by Donald Beecher (Editor), Mary Wallis (Assistance)

The Dialogue of Solomon and Marcolphus was first published in English in Antwerp in 1492 as an anonymous translation of an anonymous Latin jestbook, the origins of which go back at least to the twelfth century. In the first part, the wisest king in history and a crafty peasant named Marcolphus engage in a proverbs contest, and in the second part Marcolphus goes on to play a dozen knavish tricks on the ever-gullible sovereign, forming what is arguably the earliest joke cycle in western literature.

239 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1492