The dialogue of Salomon and Saturnus, with an historical introd. by John M. Kemble

1848·16.2 MB·English

by  Kemble, John Mitchell, 1807-1857

COLLEGIUM

THE DIALOGUE
OF
AND
SALOMON
SATURNUS,
WITH AN HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION,
BY
JOHN
M. KEMBLE, M.A., TRIN. COLL. CAMB.
MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ACADEMIES OF BERLIN AND MUNICH,
FELLOW OP THE ROYAL SOCIETIES OF HISTORY IN STOCKHOLM AND COPENHAGEN,
FELLOW OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES IN ICELAND,
AND HONORARY SECRETARY OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND, KTC., ETC., ETC.
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR THE ^LFRIC SOCIETY.
MDCCCXLVIII.
PRINTED BY
AND JOHN EDWARD TAYLOR,
RICHARD
FLEET STREET.
RED LION COURT,
FLAMMAM.
AI.KRE
PREFACE.
IF a strict application of the Horatian maxim could ensure
the excellence of a book, there would be no cause to doubt
me
the success of this one it has lain by not nine, but
:
fifteen years, having been first commenced at Cambridge in
the year 1833, partly with a desire to distract my mind and
obtain some relief from severer studies.
But it had at the same time another motive. In the
course of a laborious into the of the Refor-
inquiry progress
mation in Germany, it was impossible not to become aware
of the character of the literature
extraordinary generally
prevalent in the fifteenth century : the merciless ridicule
with which Ulrich von Hutten and his friends had assailed
the defenders of the old and now crumbling system, appeared
to me to have formed no unimportant element in the strength
of the Reforming party, an opinion which has since been
expressed by Ranke in his History of the Reformation. The
"
Literae Obscurorum Virorum," so humorous in themselves
and so full of wit and fun, I had before rather devoured than
read, for the sake of the amusement they supplied : they now
presented themselves under a totally new aspect, namely, as
PREFACE.
iv
a weapon which had been wielded with fatal effect against
the vast and obscene sect of Obscurants who had overlaid the
mind of Europe. My first desire was to republish them no
very good edition of the book being known to me with
and which was
copious illustrations additions, it hoped might
still be supplied by the German libraries. But circumstances
prevented me from returning at that time to the Continent,
and deprived me of the means of executing the plan upon a
scale which alone would have been worthy of it. In the
course of my reading however I had found a series of tales,
all of which, in my opinion, had some connection with
the Reforming movement, and which, if not at first caused
by had at least been turned to account for its advance-
it,
ment. Among these was the Salomon and Marcolf, the
wide dispersion and popularity of which were proved by the
frequent editions which immediately, upon the invention of
issued from the
printing, press.
The illustration of this tale seemed worthy of being under-
taken, especially as it was obvious that it might be made
subservient to another end, the development of the History
of Fiction. Whatever the form it had assumed in the fif-
teenth century, it was certain that it dated from very much
earlier periods, and had its remote origin in very different
states of feeling its connexion also with the popular litera-
;
ture even of our own day offered some grounds of interest.
This then is the history of the present work, in its earlier
form. It will be readily imagined that fifteen years have not
passed without bringing great changes in the mode in which
PREFACE.
v
I myself view such collections. Much that in 1833 had been
heaped up by way of illustration, and whose introduction
could only have been justified by such an object, has now
been cancelled in deference to the demands of
delicacy.
Much too that would then have appeared for the first time,
has since been made accessible through other collections.
Accordingly many things have been omitted entirely, while
short extracts have in other cases been relied upon to put the
reader in possession of the general argument.
On the formation of the ^Eifric Society it was remembered
that such a book was in The remarkable poem of
being.
Salomon and Saturn was selected for and the
publication,
materials previously collected formed a not uninteresting
introduction to it. The reader is thus put in possession of
the principal facts connected with this publication. I shall
be only too happy if he laughs over it as I have laughed, or
derives from its perusal some of the relief which I sometimes
have derived when wearied with of a more severe
inquiries
and serious character.
M. KEMBLE.
J.
Common Wood, near Rickmersworth,
March, 1848.