[2] On 6 May 1600 the Diary of Philip Henslowe records a payment to playwright William Haughton for a play called The Devil and His Dame.
One of the sources for Grim is Machiavelli's novel Belfagor arcidiavolo;[8] the play's treatment of Saint Dunstan draws upon the Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine.
The devil Belphagor comes to live on Earth for a time, to investigate reports that women have grown extreme in their misbehaviors and have made marriage a curse.
In the play's subplot, Grim the collier is a simple and good-hearted soul who is devoted to his love, Joan of Badenstock.
After complications with Clack the Miller and Parson Shorthose, Grim wins her in the end, with the help of Puck or Robin Goodfellow (alias Akercock; in this play, a devil like Belphagor).