Wikipedia
The Bovo-Bukh ("Bovo book"; also known as Baba Buch, etc.; Yiddish: בָּבָא-בּוּך, בּוֹבוֹ-בּוּך), written in 1507–1508 by Elia Levita, was the most popular chivalric romance in the Yiddish language. It was first printed in 1541, being the first non-religious book to be printed in Yiddish. For five centuries, it endured at least 40 editions. It is written in ottava rima and, according to Sol Liptzin, is "generally regarded as the most outstanding poetic work in Old Yiddish". [Liptzin, 1972, 5, 7]
The theme derives from the Anglo-Norman romance of Sir Bevis of Hampton, by way of an Italian poem that had modified the name Bevis of Hampton to Buovo d'Antona and had, itself, been through at least thirty editions at the time of translation and adaptation into Yiddish. The central theme is the love of Bovo and Druziane. [Liptzin, 1972, 6], [Gottheil] The story "had no basis in Jewish reality", but compared to other chivalric romances it "tone[s] down the Christian symbols of his original" and "substitute[s] Jewish customs, Jewish values and Jewish traits of character here and there..." [Liptzin, 1972, 8]
The character was also popular in Russian folk culture as Prince Bova.
The Bovo-Bukh later became known in the late 18th century as the Bove-mayse or "Bovo's tale". This name, in turn, was corrupted and passed into the Yiddish language as bubbe meise, literally "grandmother's tale", meaning "old wives' tale". [Liptzin, 1972, 7]