BAR'LAAM AND JOS'APHAT, one of the most widely-spread religious romances of the middle ages, relating the conversion of the Indian prince Josaphat by the hermit Barham, and thereby illustrating the power of Christianity to overcome temp tation, and proving its superiority over all other creeds. The story, however, has been discovered to be nothing more or less than a Christianized version of the legendary history of Buddha, agreeing with it in all essentials and many details. The celebrated divine, John Damascene, is regarded as the author of the original Greek 3IS., which was first published by M. de Boissonade in the 4th volume of his Anecdota (Paris, 1832), and translated into German by Liebrecht (Must., 1847). But even in the middle ages, a Latin version of this romance had been extensively circulated. About the end of the 15th c.; it was often printed in a detached form, and later it appeared amongst the works of John Damascene (Paris, 1609). Vincent de Beauvais wove the story into his Speculum Historiale. From the Latin version sprung three French poetical versions belonging to the 13th c., and as yet unprinted. The Italian
Stork dt S. Bsrlaam (latest edition, Rome, 1816) may be traced to a Provencal original as early as the beginning of the 14th century. In Germany, Rudolf von Ems derived his poem, B. and .1., first printed at Konigsberg (1818), and later at Leipsie. from the Latin of John Damascene. There is also an Augsburg impression of a prose translation of the ancient Latin text, belonging to the close of the 15th century. The Spanish Historia, de B. y .1., by Joan de Arze Solorzauo (Madrid,-1608), the Polish poetical ver sion, by Kulizowsky (Cracow, 1688), as well as the Bohemian (Prague, 1593), are all borrowed fro the Latin; while the Icelandic Barlaams Saga. and the Swedish popular tale, B. och J., have a German source. A Norwegian version, printed from an old vellum MS. of the beginning of the 13th c., said to have been translanted by king Ilakon Sverre son, appeared in 1851. This romance has even been rendered into the Tagala language of the Phi uppines, and there printed (Manilla, 1712).