The two texts of the Dialogue presented here, a Latin version printed ca. 1488 and a Middle English translation printed in 1492, preserve lively, entertaining, and revealing exchanges between the Old Testament wisdom figure Solomon and Marcolf, a medieval peasant who is ragged and foul-mouthed but quick-witted and verbally astute. The Dialogue was a best-seller of its day; Latin versions survive in some twenty-seven manuscripts and forty-nine early printed editions and the work was translated into a wide variety of late medieval vernaculars, including German, Dutch, Swedish, Italian, English, and Welsh.

Excerpt from The Dialogue or Communing Between the Wise King Salomon and Marcolphus NO apology will be needed for this reproduction in facsimile of a book so full of interest both for the scholar and the bibliographer. For the benefit of those who find the reading of black letter irksome, a reprint in Roman type has been added while the bibliography of early editions at the end of the book will, it is hoped, assist those who wish to study the subject more fully. In the introduction I have endeavoured to give, as shortly as possible, an account of the growth of the legend, and I must acknowledge my special indebtedness to two writers on the subject, J. M. Kemble and M. W. Maccallum. I must thank Mr. E. B. W. Nicholson, Bodley's librarian, for permission to have the original reproduced and the photographer of the Clarendon Press for the care which has produced so good a result. To my friend Mr. F. Jenkinson, librarian of the University Library, Cambridge, I am indebted for much kind help. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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