Hi - I wonder what is the earliest recorded British joke (I suppose
that could include Saxon, Gaelic, Norman-French and maybe Latin from
Romans - hmm) Hi, I wonder what is the earliest recorded joke in the
British Isles. Thank you.

My guess is that it probably has something to do with what is, or
isn't, worn under a kilt.

tutuzdad-ga

I would have thought the first would be about holding a sword or
something of a warlike nature.

You might be interested in some of the Anglo-Saxon riddles of the
Exeter Book. Three of the naughtier ones are here (translated into
modern English):

http://itsa.ucsf.edu/~snlrc/britannia/flowers/enigmata.html

Info about the Exeter Book:

http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~cpercy/courses/1001Brewer.htm

As usual, we have to give place to Pinkfreud, who has her hand on the
pulse of Anglo-Saxon humor.
I wanted to suggest that in an early English translation of the
Nibelungen Saga, in the scene where Brunnhilde is protecting her
maidenhood  - for some reason she and Siegfried have to share her bed
-  she places her sword between them.  In a still undocumented
version, Siegfried remarks:  "Yes, I wanted to get something straight
between us two (too?)"