![Salman und Morolf, Dirmstein](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Salman_und_Morolf%2C_Dirmstein.jpg)
Solomon and Marcolf is a medieval narrative describing the adventures and conversations of
Solomon and Marcolf, or Marolf. The adventures have some connection with those of
Ashmedai, while the conversations consist chiefly of riddles similar to those put to Solomon by the
Queen of Sheba
The Queen of Sheba ( he, מַלְכַּת שְׁבָא, Malkaṯ Šəḇāʾ; ar, ملكة سبأ, Malikat Sabaʾ; gez, ንግሥተ ሳባ, Nəgśətä Saba) is a figure first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. In the original story, she bring ...
. The exact extent of its indebtedness to the
Haggadah
The Haggadah ( he, הַגָּדָה, "telling"; plural: Haggadot) is a Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. According to Jewish practice, reading the Haggadah at the Seder table is a fulfillment of the mitzvah to each J ...
is somewhat doubtful, though it is practically certain that the various versions are derived from an Eastern original.
Text and history
In Polish, in 1521 in Krakow, a book was published, titled "The talks that the king Salomon the clever had with Marchołt
arcolf, Markolffat and bawdy, however, as they say, very eloquent"
The earliest known versions of the tale in
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...
are the ones commonly referred to as
Solomon and Saturn
''Solomon and Saturn'' is the generic name given to four Old English works, which present a dialogue of riddles between Solomon, the king of Israel, and Saturn, identified in two of the poems as a prince of the Chaldeans.
On account of earlie ...
, first published by J. N. Kemble in 1848, for the Ælfric Society. The tale was popular in Germany, where Marcolf, or Marolf, became a sort of type of the "wise fool". It was first printed under the title ''Dis buch seit von kunig salomon vnd siner huß frouwen Salome wie sy der künig fore nam vnd wie sy Morolff künig salomon brüder wider brocht'' in
Strasbourg by the printer Matthias Hupfuff in 1499, with woodcut illustrations.
[Bavarian State Library entry, with link to digitized images of book.]
[Woodcut illustrations only, of 1555 Strassburg edition printed in: ]
Latin versions of it were often appended to the "Epistolæ Obscurorum Virorum". Both
Hans Folz and
Hans Sachs
Hans Sachs (5 November 1494 – 19 January 1576) was a German ''Meistersinger'' ("mastersinger"), poet, playwright, and shoemaker.
Biography
Hans Sachs was born in Nuremberg (). As a child he attended a singing school that was held in the churc ...
made use of the legend. A
French version was made by
Pierre Mauclerc
Peter I (french: Pierre; 1187 – 26 May 1250), also known as Peter Mauclerc, was Duke of Brittany ''jure uxoris'' from 1213 to 1221, and regent of the duchy for his minor son John I from 1221 to 1237. As duke he was also 1st Earl of Richmond fr ...
, Count of
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
, in the thirteenth century.
In
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
,
Giulio Cesare Croce
Giulio Cesare Croce (1550–1609) was an Italian writer, actor/producer of cantastoria and enigma writer.
The son of a blacksmith and a blacksmith himself, after the death of his father, his uncle continued his cultural education. He never had a ...
adopted it in his "Bertoldo", another name for Marcolf. This was developed into a book at
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...
in 1736. Other versions occur in the
Bolognese and
Venetian dialect
Venetian, wider Venetian or Venetan ( or ) is a Romance language spoken natively in the northeast of Italy,Ethnologue mostly in the Veneto region, where most of the five million inhabitants can understand it. It is sometimes spoken and often ...
s, and in
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
,
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
,
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
,
Icelandic, and
Welsh. There are two editions in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, one published by
Gerard Leeu
Gerard or Gheraert Leeu, ''Leew, Lyon'', or ''Leonis'', (between 1445 and 1450, Gouda - 1492, Antwerp) was a Dutch printer of incunabula.
Leeu printed his first (liturgical) book in May 1477 in his shop in Gouda, where between 1477 and 1484 h ...
(
Antwerp, 1492), and another, ''Sayings or Proverbes of King Solomon, with the Answers of Marcolfus'', printed by
Richard Pynson
Richard Pynson (c. 1449 – c. 1529) was one of the first printers of English books. Born in Normandy, he moved to London, where he became one of the leading printers of the generation following William Caxton. His books were printed to a high ...
in 1530, a version of the much shorter French ''Dictionnaire de Salomon''.
Editions and translations
*
* (w. trans.)
*
*
*
Studies
*
*
Notes
References
*
{{Solomon
Jewish medieval literature
Solomon