Boccaccio: Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, with her Ethiopes. De mulieribus claris (Anonymous Ms. Paris, XV. c.).

This illustration shows how Boccaccio's texts provided reference material for poets and playrights. Shakespeare has numerous references to Solomon, and to Ethiopes. Don Armado in Love's Labour's Losy exclaims "Love is a devil; there is no evil angel but Love. Yet was Samson so tempted, and he had an excellent strength; yet was Solomon so seduced, and he had a very good wit." (I.ii.166-90). Rosalind defines Phoebe's love letter thus: "women's gentle brain/ Could not drop forth such giant-rude invention,/ Such Ethiop words, blacker in their effect/ Than in their countenance. (IV.i.34-7). Romeo comments on Juliet's beauty: "It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night/ Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear." (I.v.45-6). Picture and data courtesy of the Yorck Project, under Creative Commons Attribution-Share- Alike License (Wikipedia).