The more the merrier

The proverbial saying ‘the more the merrier’ is first found in John Heywood’s 1546 glossary A Dialogue conteinyng the nomber in effect of all the Prouerbes in the Englishe tongue:

Haue among you blynde harpers (sayd I.)
The mo the merier.

Heywood was well known at the Tudor court and was a relative of Sir Thomas More, with whom he performed plays. It doesn’t seem likely from the context that Heywood was making a punning reference to More, but his text in Proverbs is frequently obscure so it is possible.

See also: the List of Proverbs.