Chapter I: Part 1

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[Gh] [gh] yogh (only in notes)
[w] wynn (only in notes, see below for italicized form)
[s] [´æ] long "s", accented "æ" (both rare, only in notes)
[-a] vowel with overline (rare)
[oe] oe ligature

One Greek phrase has been transliterated and is shown between #marks#. The letter thorn Þ þ, used in both notes and body text, is unchanged.

The original book (EETS E.S. 4, 1868, ed. Skeat) exists in at least two forms. See Errata section at the end of the e-text for details.

In the main text, footnotes are grouped at the end of text sections. Most headnotes have similarly been moved to the nearest break in the text. Sidenotes keep their original starting point, but are collected into full sentences.

_Typography:_

Large initial capitals are shown with a single leading + to avoid "breaking" the text:

+Herknet to me, gode men
Wiues, maydnes, and alle men ...

Italicized letters representing expanded contractions are shown in br{ac}es. All other italics are shown conventionally with _lines_; this includes italicized _w_, used by the editor for wynn [w]. If you find the braces distracting you may delete them globally; they are not used for any other purpose.

A few French passages in the Preface use a trailing tilde ~, as in the word "q~". In the original, the ~ was attached to the preceding letter, but not directly above it. Superscript letters are shown with a caret ^.

Square brackets are in the original except those in standard formulas such as [Footnote] or [Transcriber's Note].]

THE LAY OF
HAVELOK THE DANE.

Early English Text Society.
Extra Series. No. IV.
1868.

Dublin: William McGee, 18, Nassau Street.
Edinburgh: T. G. Stevenson, 22, South Frederick Street.
Glasgow: Ogle & Co., 1, Royal Exchange Square.
Berlin: Asher & Co., Unter den Linden, 20.
New York: C. Scribner & Co.; Leypoldt & Holt.
Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co.
Boston, U.S.: Dutton & Co.

+The Lay of+

+HAVELOK THE DANE:+

Composed in the Reign of Edward I, about A.D. 1280.

Formerly Edited by Sir F. Madden for the Roxburghe Club,

And now Re-Edited from the Unique Ms. Laud Misc. 108,
in the Bodleian Library, Oxford;

by the

REV. WALTER W. SKEAT, M.A.,

Author of "A M[oe]so-Gothic Glossary," Editor of "Piers Plowman,"
"William of Palerne," &c.

LONDON:
Published For The Early English Text Society,
By N. Trübner & Co., 60, Paternoster Row.

MDCCCLXVIII.

+Extra Series,+
IV.

John Childs and Son, Printers.

CONTENTS.

TITLEPAGE. The engraving represents the seal of Great Grimsby,
described in § 19 of the Preface, p. xxi.

PREFACE. § 1. The former edition of 1828. § 2. The present
edition. § 3. Plan of this edition. § 4. Notices of the story by
Early Writers: the longer French Version. § 5. The shorter
French Version. § 6. Peter de Langtoft (1307). § 7. Rauf de Boun
(1310). § 8. A Brief Genealogy, Herald's Coll. MS. (ab. 1310).
§ 9. Metrical Chronicle (ab. 1313). § 10. Robert of Brunne
(1338); ed. Hearne. § 11. Robert of Brunne; Lambeth MS.
§ 12. French Prose "Brute" (1332). § 13. English Prose "Brute,"
MS. Harl. 2279. § 14. Gray's Scala Cronica (ab. 1360).
§ 15. Eulogium Historiarum (1366). § 16. Henry de Knyghton
(1395); Warner (1586); Webster (1617). § 17. Danish traditions.
§ 18. Lincolnshire traditions. § 19. Seal of Great Grimsby.
§ 20. Sketch of the French "Lai." § 21. Gaimar's abridgment.
§ 22. Sketch of the English Lay. § 23. Possible date of
Havelok's reign. § 24. Story of "Edwin of Deira." § 25. On the
names "Curan" and "Havelok." § 26. Description of the MS.
§ 27. Grammatical forms in the Poem. § 28. On the metre.
§ 29. On the final _-e_, &c. i

EMENDATIONS, &c. liv

THE LAY OF HAVELOK 1

NOTES TO "HAVELOK" 87

GLOSSARIAL INDEX 105

INDEX OF NAMES 157

[Headnotes:
_The full set has been duplicated here to act as a supplementary
table of contents. Headnotes separated by / were continued across
facing pages._

THE GOOD KING ATHELWOLD /
IS KING OVER ALL ENGLAND.
ATHELWOLD IS ABOUT TO DIE.
HE SUMMONS HIS LORDS TO WINCHESTER.
ATHELWOLD SELECTS EARL GODRICH /
TO BE HIS DAUGHTER'S GUARDIAN.
KING ATHELWOLD DIES.
EARL GODRICH TAKES POSSESSION.
GODRICH PLOTS AGAINST HIS WARD.
BIRKABEYN IS KING OF DENMARK.
BIRKABEYN SELECTS EARL GODARD /
TO BE GUARDIAN OF HIS THREE CHILDREN.
GODARD IMPRISONS THE THREE CHILDREN.
GODARD KILLS SWANBORGUGH AND HELFLED.
GODARD SPARES HAVELOK FOR A TIME.
GODARD TELLS GRIM TO DROWN HAVELOK.
HAVELOK IS TAKEN TO GRIM'S COTTAGE.
GRIM SEES THAT HAVELOK IS THE KING'S SON.
GRIM AND HIS WIFE FEED HAVELOK.
GRIM SAYS HE HAS DROWNED HAVELOK.
GRIM SETS SAIL FOR ENGLAND.
GRIM FOUNDS THE TOWN OF GRIMSBY.
HAVELOK DOES NOT LIKE BEING IDLE.
HAVELOK SELLS FISH LIKE THE BEST.
HAVELOK GOES TO LINCOLN TO GET WORK.
HE HELPS THE EARL OF CORNWALL'S COOK.
HAVELOK IS HIRED BY THE EARL'S COOK.
HE CUTS WOOD, AND DRAWS WATER.
HAVELOK GROWS VERY TALL AND STRONG.
HE SEES SOME MEN "PUTTING THE STONE."
HE "PUTS THE STONE" FURTHER THAN ANY.
GODRICH HEARS OF HAVELOK'S STRENGTH.
GOLDBOROUGH IS SENT FOR TO LINCOLN.
GODRICH ASKS HAVELOK IF HE WILL MARRY.
HAVELOK RESOLVES TO GO TO GRIMSBY.
GRIM'S CHILDREN WELCOME HAVELOK.
GOLDBOROUGH SEES THE WONDROUS LIGHT.
HAVELOK TELLS HER HIS STRANGE DREAM.
SHE SAYS HAVELOK WILL BE A GREAT KING.
HAVELOK PRAYS FOR VENGEANCE ON GODARD.
HAVELOK ADDRESSES GRIM'S THREE SONS.
HE ASKS THEM TO GO WITH HIM TO DENMARK.
HAVELOK GIVES UBBE A GOLD RING.
UBBE INVITES HAVELOK TO A FEAST.
UBBE TAKES A GREAT FANCY TO HAVELOK.
UBBE SENDS HAVELOK TO BERNARD.
A GANG OF THIEVES BESET BERNARD'S HOUSE.
THREE OF THE THIEVES ATTACK HAVELOK.
HAVELOK SLAYS SEVEN OF THE THIEVES.
THE THIEVES SHOOT AT HIM FROM A DISTANCE.
HUGH AND THE REST COME TO THE RESCUE.
ALL THE SIXTY THIEVES ARE SLAIN.
UBBE ASKS BERNARD WHAT HAS HAPPENED.
BERNARD RELATES HAVELOK'S PROWESS.
THE OTHERS CONFIRM BERNARD'S STORY.
UBBE SENDS FOR HAVELOK AND TAKES HIM TO HIS CASTLE.
UBBE SEES THE MIRACULOUS LIGHT /
WHICH ISSUES FROM HAVELOK'S MOUTH.
THE LIGHT SHOWS THAT HAVELOK IS THE HEIR.
UBBE SAYS HAVELOK SHALL BE KING.
UBBE RELATES HAVELOK'S HISTORY.
UBBE DOES HOMAGE TO HAVELOK.
ALL SWEAR TO BE FAITHFUL TO HAVELOK.
UBBE DUBS HAVELOK A KNIGHT.
HAVELOK IS MADE KING OF DENMARK.
HAVELOK GOES TO SEEK OUT GODARD.
GODARD'S MEN ARE BEATEN.
GODARD IS BOUND AND LED TO HAVELOK.
HE IS CONDEMNED TO BE HUNG.
GODARD IS FLAYED ALIVE AND HUNG.
GODRICH RAISES AN ARMY AGAINST HAVELOK.
GODRICH EXCITES THE ENGLISH AGAINST HAVELOK.
THE ENGLISH MARCH TO GRIMSBY.
COMBAT BETWEEN UBBE AND GODRICH.
GODRICH DISPLAYS GREAT PROWESS.
COMBAT BETWEEN GODRICH AND HAVELOK.
GODRICH IS BOUND AND FETTERED.
THE ENGLISH SUBMIT TO GOLDBOROUGH.
GODRICH IS CONDEMNED TO BE BURNT.
THE EARL OF CHESTER MARRIES GUNILD.
HAVELOK REMEMBERS BERTRAM'S KINDNESS.
BERTRAM MARRIES GRIM'S SECOND DAUGHTER.
HAVELOK IS CROWNED KING OF ENGLAND.
SUCH IS THE "GESTE" OF HAVELOK.
SAY A PATERNOSTER FOR THE AUTHOR.]

PREFACE.

§ 1. The English version of the Lay of Havelok, now here reprinted, is one of the few poems that have happily been recovered, after having long been given up as lost. Tyrwhitt, in his Essay on the Language and Versification of Chaucer, has a footnote (No. 51) deploring the loss of the Rime concerning Gryme the Fisher, the founder of Grymesby, Hanelok [_read_ Havelok] the Dane, and his wife Goldborough; and Ritson, in his Dissertation on Romance and Minstrelsy--(vol. i. p. lxxxviii. of his Metrical Romanceës)--makes remarks to the same effect. It was at length, however, discovered by accident in a manuscript belonging to the Bodleian library, which had been described in the old Catalogue merely as _Vitæ Sanctorum_, a large portion of it being occupied by metrical legends of the Saints. In 1828, it was edited for the Roxburghe Club by Sir F. Madden, the title-page of the edition being as follows:-- "The Ancient English Romance of Havelok the Dane, accompanied by the French Text: with an introduction, notes, and a glossary, by Frederick Madden, Esq., F.A.S. F.R.S.L., Sub-Keeper of the MSS. in the British Museum. Printed for the Roxburghe Club, London. W. Nicol, Shakspeare Press, MDCCCXXVIII." This volume contains a very complete Introduction, pp. i-lvi; the English version of Havelok, pp. 1-104; the French text of the Romance of Havelok, from a MS. in the Heralds' College, pp. 105-146; the French Romance of Havelok, as abridged and altered by Geffrei Gaimar, pp. 147-180; notes to the English text, pp. 181-207; notes to the French text, pp. 208-210; and a glossary, &c., pp. 211-263. But there are sometimes bound up with it two pamphlets, viz. "Remarks on the Glossary to Havelok," by S. W. Singer, and an "Examination of the Remarks, &c.," by the Editor of Havelok. In explanation of this, it may suffice to say, that the former contains some criticisms by Mr Singer (executed in a manner suggestive of an officious wish to display superior critical acumen), of which a few are correct, but others are ludicrously false; whilst the latter is a vindication of the general correctness of the explanations given, and contains, incidentally, some valuable contributions to our general etymological knowledge, and various remarks which have proved of service in rendering the glossary in the present edition more exactly accurate.[1]

[Footnote 1: In particular, we find there a complete proof,
supported by some fifty examples, that, _as_ can be traced,
through the forms _ase_, _als_, _alse_, _also_, to the A.S.
_eall-swa_; a proof, that in the difficult phrase _lond and
lithe_, the word _lithe_ [also spelt _lede_, _lude_] is equivalent
to the French _tenement_, _rente_, or _fe_; and, thirdly, a
complete refutation of Mr Singer's extraordinary notion that the
adverb _swithe_ means _a sword_!]

§ 2. Owing to the scarcity of copies of this former edition, the committee of the Early English Text Society, having first obtained the approval of Sir Frederic Madden, resolved upon issuing a reprint of it; and Sir Frederic having expressed a wish that the duty of seeing it through the press should be entrusted to myself, I gladly undertook that responsibility. He has kindly looked over the revises of the whole work,[2] but as it has undergone several modifications, it will be the best plan to state in detail what these are.

[Footnote 2: In the same way, _William of Palerne_ was prepared
by me for the press, subject to his advice; see _William of
Palerne_, Introduction, p. ii.]

§ 3. With respect to the text, the greatest care has been taken to render it, as nearly as can be represented in print, an exact copy of the MS. The text of the former edition is exceedingly correct, and the alterations here made are few and of slight importance. Sir F. Madden furnished me with some, the results of a re-comparison, made by himself, of his printed copy with the original; besides this, I have myself carefully read the proof sheets with the MS. _twice_, and it may therefore be assumed that the complete correctness of the text is established. It seems to me that this is altogether the most important part of the work of a _Text_ Society, in order that the student may never be perplexed by the appearance of words having no real existence. For a like reason the letters þ and [w] (the latter of which I have represented by an italic _w_) have now been inserted wherever they occur, and the expansions of abbreviations are now denoted by italics. For further remarks upon the text, see the description of the MS. below, § 26. Sidenotes and headlines have been added, but the numbering of the lines has not been altered. The French text of the romance, the title of which is _Le Lai de Aveloc_, and the abridgment of the story by Geffrei Gaimar, have not been here reprinted; the fact being, that the French and English versions differ very widely, and that the passages of the French which really correspond to the English are few and short. _All_ of these will be found in the Notes, in their proper places, and it was also deemed the less necessary to print the French text, because it is tolerably accessible; for it may be found either in vol. i. of Monumenta Historica Britannica, ed. Petrie, 1848, in the reprint by M. Michel (1833) entitled "Le Lai d'Havelok," or in the edition by Mr T. Wright for the Caxton Society, 1850. An abstract of it is given at p. xxiii. The Notes are abridged from Sir F. Madden's, with but a very few additions by myself, which are distinguished by being placed within square brackets. The Glossarial Index is, for the most part, reprinted from Sir F. Madden's Glossary, but contains a large number of _slight_ alterations, re-arrangements, and additions. The references have nearly all been verified,[3] and the few words formerly left unexplained are now either wholly or partially solved. I have now only to add that a large portion of the remainder of this preface, especially that which concerns the historical and traditional evidences of the story (§ 4 to § 18), is abridged or copied from Sir F. Madden's long Introduction, which fairly exhausts the subject.[4] All extracts included between marks of quotation are taken from it without alteration. But I must be considered responsible for the rearrangement of the materials, and I have added a few remarks from other sources.

[Footnote 3: I say _nearly_, because I have not been able to
verify _every_ reference to _every_ poem quoted. I have verified
and critically examined all the citations from the _poem itself_,
from Ritson's Romances, Weber's Romances, La[gh]amon, Beowulf,
Chaucer, Langland, and Sir Walter Scott's edition of Sir Tristrem
(3rd edition, 1811).]

[Footnote 4: To this, the reader is referred for fuller
information.]

§ 4. NOTICES OF THE STORY OF HAVELOK BY EARLY WRITERS. There can be little doubt that the tradition must have existed from Anglo-Saxon times, but the earliest mention of it is presented to us in the full account furnished by the French version of the Romance. Of this there are two copies, one of which belongs to Sir T. Phillipps; the other is known as the Arundel or Norfolk MS., and is preserved in the Heralds' College, where it is marked E. D. N. No. 14; the various editions of the latter have been already enumerated in § 3. This version was certainly composed within the first half of the twelfth century. From the fact that it is entitled a _Lai_, and from the assertion of the poet--"Qe vn _lai_ en firent li Breton"--"whereof the Britons made a lay"--we easily conclude that it was drawn from a British source. From the evident connection of the story with the Chronicle called the _Brut_, we may further conclude that by _Breton_ is not meant Armorican, but belonging to _Britain_. The story is in no way connected with France; the tradition is British or Welsh, and the French version was doubtless written in England by a subject of an English king. That the language is French is due merely to the accident that the Norman conquerors of England had acquired that language during their temporary sojourn in France. From every point of view, whether we regard the British tradition, the Anglo-Norman version, or the version printed in the present volume, the story is wholly English. It is not to be connected too closely with the Armorican lays of Marie _de France_.[5]

[Footnote 5: "The word Breton, which some critics refer to
Armorica, is here applied to a story of mere English birth."
Hallam; Lit. of Europe, 6th ed. 1860; vol. i. p. 36. See the whole
passage.]

§ 5. We next come to the abridgment of the same as made by Geffrei Gaimar, who wrote between the years 1141 and 1151. In one place, Geffrei quotes Gildas as his authority, but no conclusion can easily be drawn from this indefinite reference. In another place, he mentions a feast given by Havelok after his defeat of Hodulf-- _si cum nus dit la verai estoire_-- "as the true history tells us." As this feast is not mentioned in the fuller French version, and yet reappears in the English text, we perceive that he had some additional source of information; and this is confirmed by the fact that he mentions several additional details, also not found in the completer version. That the lay of Havelok, as found in Gaimar, is really his, and not an interpolation by a later hand, may fairly be inferred from his repeated allusions to the story in the body of his work. There are three MS. copies containing Gaimar's abridgment, of which the best is the Royal MS. (Bibl. Reg. 13 A. xxi.) in the British Museum; the two others belong respectively to the Dean and Chapter of Durham (its mark being C. iv. 27) and to the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln (its mark being H. 18). It is curious that the Norfolk MS. contains not only the fuller French version of the story, but also the Brut of Wace, and the continuation of it by Gaimar. Gaimar's abridgment, as printed in Sir F. Madden's edition, is taken from the Royal MS., supplemented by the Durham and Lincoln MSS. See also Monumenta Historica Britannica, vol. i. p. 764. It is important to mention that Gaimar speaks of the Danes as having been in Norfolk since the time that Havelok was King, after he has been relating the combats between the Britons and the Saxons under the command of Cerdic and Cynric. Another allusion makes Havelok to have lived long before the year 800, according to every system of chronology.

§ 6. The next mention of Havelok is in the French Chronicle of Peter de Langtoft, of Langtoft in Yorkshire, who died early in the reign of Edward II., and whose Chronicle closes with the death of Edward I. Here the only trace of the story is in the mention of "Gountere le pere Hauelok, de Danays Ray clamez"--Gunter, father of Havelok, called King of the Danes. The allusion is almost valueless from its evident absurdity; for he confounds Gunter with the Danish invader defeated by Alfred, and who is variously called Godrum, Gudrum, Guthrum, or Gurmound. He must have been thinking, at the moment, of a very different Gurmund, viz. the King of the Africans, as he is curiously called, whose terrible devastations are described very fully in La[gh]amon, vol. iii. pp. 156-177, and who may fairly be supposed to have lived much nearer to the time of Havelok; and he must further have confounded this Gurmund with Gunter. For the account of Robert of Brunne's translation of Langtoft's Chronicle, see below, § 10.

§ 7. But soon after this, we come to a most curious account. In MS. Harl. 902 is a late copy, on paper, of a Chronicle called _Le Bruit Dengleterre_, or otherwise _Le Petit Bruit_, compiled A.D. 1310, by Meistre Rauf de Boun, at the request of Henry de Lacy, earl of Lincoln. It is a most worthless compilation, put together in defiance of all chronology, but with respect to our present inquiry it is full of interest, as it soon becomes obvious that one of his sources of information is the very English version here printed, which he cites by the name of _l'estorie de Grimesby_, and which is thus proved to have been written before the year 1310. "The Chronicler," says Sir F. Madden, "commences, as usual, with Brute, B.C. 2000, and after taking us through the succeeding reigns to the time of Cassibelin, who fought with Julius Cæsar, informs us, that after Cassibelin's death came Gurmound out of Denmark, who claimed the throne as the son of the eldest daughter of Belin, married to Thorand, King of Denmark. He occupies the kingdom 57 years, and is at length slain at _Hunteton_, called afterwards from him _Gurmoundcestre_. He is succeeded by his son Frederick, who hated the English, and filled his court with Danish nobles, but who is at last driven out of the country, after having held it for the short space of 71 years. And then, adds this miserable History-monger: 'Et si entendrez vous, que par cel primer venue de auaunt dit Roy Gormound, et puis par cele hountoux exil de son fitz Frederik, si fu le rancour de Daneis vers nous enpendaunt, et le regne par cel primere accion vers nous enchalangount plus de sept C auns apre, _iekis a la venue Haneloke, fitz le Roy Birkenebayne de Dannemarche, q~ le regne par mariage entra de sa femme_.' --f. 2 b.

"After a variety of equally credible stories, we come to Adelstan II.[6] son of Edward [the Elder], who corresponds with the real king of that name, A.D. 925-941. He is succeeded by his son [brother] Edmund, who reigned four years [A.D. 941-946], and is said to have been _poisoned_ at Canterbury; after whom we have ADELWOLD, whose identity with the Athelwold of the English Romance, will leave no doubt as to the source whence the writer drew great part of his materials in the following passage:

'Apres ceo vient Adelwold son fitz q~ reigna XVJ et demie, si
engendroit ij feiz et iij filis, dount trestoutz murrirent
frechement fors q~ sa pune file, le out a nom _Goldburgh_, del age
de VJ aunz kaunt son pere Adelwold morust. Cely Roy Adelwold quant
il doit morir, comaunda sa file a garder a vn Count de Cornewayle,
al houre kaunt il quidou~ie (sic) hountousment auoir deparagé,
quaunt fit _Haueloke_, fitz le Roy Byrkenbayne de Denmarche, esposer
le, encountre sa volunté, q~ primis fuit Roy Dengleterre et de
Denmarch tout a vn foitz, par quele aliaunce leis Daneis queillerunt
g^{e}ndr~ (sic) mestrie en Engleterre, et long temps puise le
tindrunt, _si cum vous nouncie l'estorie de Grimesby_, come _Grime_
primez nurist Haueloke en Engleterre, depuis cel houre q'il feut
chasé de Denmarche &c. deqis al houre q'il vint au chastelle de
Nichole, q~ cely auauntdit traitre _Goudriche_ out en garde, en quel
chastel il auauntdit Haueloke espousa l'auauntdit Goldeburgh, q~
fuit heir Dengleterre. Et par cel reson tynt cely Haueloke la terre
de Denmarche auxi comme son heritage, et Engleterre auxi par mariage
de sa femme; et si entendrez vous, q~ par la reson q~ ly auauntdit
Gryme ariua primez, kaunt il amena l'enfaunt Haueloke hors de
Denmarche, par meyme la reson reseut cele vile son nom, de Grime,
quel noun ly tint vnquore Grimisby.

'Apres ceo regna meyme cely Haueloke, q~ mult fuit prodhomme, et
droiturelle, et bien demenoit son people en reson et ley. Cel Roy
Haueloke reigna xlj. aunz, si engendroit ix fitz et vij filis, dount
trestoutz murrerount ainz q~ furunt d'age, fors soulement iiij de
ses feitz, dont l'un out a noum Gurmound, cely q~ entendy auoir son
heire en Engleterre; le secound out a noun Knout, quen fitz feffoit
son pere en le regne de Denmarche, quant il estoit del age de xviij
aunz, et ly mesme se tynt a la coroune Dengleterre, quel terre il
entendy al oeps son ainez fitz Gurmound auoir gardé. Mes il debusa
son col auxi comme il feu mounté vn cheval testous q~ poindre
volleyt, en l'an de son regne xxiij entrant. Le tiers fitz ont a
noun Godard, q~ son pere feffoit de la Seneschacie Dengleterre, q~
n'auo~ut (sic) taunt come ore fait ly quart. Et le puisnez fitz de
toutz out a noum Thorand, q~ espousa la Countesse de Hertouwe en
Norwey. Et par la reson q~ cely Thorand feut enherité en la terre de
Norwey, ly et ses successours sont enheritez iekis en sa p~ce (sic)
toutdis, puis y auoit affinité de alliaunce entre ceulx de Denmarche
et ceulx de Norwey, a checun venue q~ vnkes firent en ceste terre
pur chalenge ou clayme mettre, iekis a taunt q~ lour accion feut
enseyne destrut par vn noble chevallere _Guy de Warwike_, &c. Et
tout en sy feffoit Haueloke sez quatre fitz: si gist a priorie de
_Grescherche_ en Loundrez.' --f. 6 b.

"The _Estorie de Grimesby_ therefore, referred to above, is the identical English Romance before us, and it is no less worthy of remark, that the whole of the passage just quoted, with one single variation of import, has been literally translated by Henry de Knyghton, and inserted in his Chronicle.[7] Of the sources whence the information respecting Havelok's sons is derived, we are unable to offer any account, as no trace of it occurs either in the French or English texts of the story."

[Footnote 6: "The Chronicler writes of him, f. 6. 'Il feu le
plus beau bacheleir q{e} vnqes reigna en Engleterre, _ceo dit le
Bruit_, par quoy ly lays ly apellerunt _King Adelstane with gilden
kroket_, pour ce q'il feu si beaus.' We have here notice of
another of those curious historical poems, the loss of which can
never be sufficiently deplored. The term _crocket_ (derived by
Skinner from the Fr. _crochet_, uncinulus) points out the period
of the poem's composition, since the fashion alluded to of wearing
those large rolls of hair so called, only arose at the latter end
of Hen. III. reign, and continued through the reign of Edw. I. and
part of his successor's."]

[Footnote 7: See below, § 16.]

§ 8. "About the same time at which Rauf de Boun composed his Chronicle, was written a brief Genealogy of the British and Saxon Kings, from Brutus to Edward II., preserved in the same MS. in the Heralds' College which contains the French text of the Romance. The following curious rubric is prefixed:-- _La lignée des Bretons et des Engleis, queus il furent, et de queus nons, et coment Brut vint premerement en Engleterre, et combien de tens puis, et dont il vint. Brut et Cornelius furent chevalers chacez de la bataille de Troie, M. CCCC. XVII. anz deuant qe dieus nasquit, et vindrent en Engleterre, en Cornewaille, et riens ne fut trouee en la terre fors qe geanz, Geomagog, Hastripoldius, Ruscalbundy, et plusurs autres Geanz._ In this Genealogy no mention of Havelok occurs under the reign of Constantine, but after the names of the Saxon Kings Edbright and Edelwin, we read: 'ATHELWOLD auoit vne fille _Goldeburgh_, et il regna vi. anz. HAUELOC esposa meisme cele Goldeburgh, et regna iij. anz. ALFRED le frere le Roi Athelwold enchaca Haueloc par Hunehere, et il fut le primer Roi corone de l'apostoille, et il regna xxx. anz.' --fol. 148 b. By this account Athelwold is clearly identified with Ethelbald, King of Wessex, who reigned from 855 to 860, whilst Havelok is substituted in the place of Ethelbert and Ethered."

§ 9. "Not long after the same period was written a Metrical _Chronicle of England_, printed by Ritson, Metr. Rom. V. ii. p. 270. Two copies are known to exist,[8] the first concluding with the death of Piers Gavestone, in 1313 (MS. Reg. 12. C. xii.), and the other continued to the time of Edw. III. (Auchinleck MS.). The period of Havelok's descent into England is there ascribed to the reign of King Ethelred (978-1016), which will very nearly coincide with the period assigned by Rauf de Boun, viz. A.D. 963-1004."

'_Haueloc_ com tho to this lond,
With gret host & eke strong,
Ant sloh the Kyng Achelred,
At Westmustre he was ded,
Ah he heuede reigned her
Seuene an tuenti fulle [gh]er.'

MS. Reg. 12. C. xii.

"This date differs from most of the others, and appears founded on the general notion of the Danish invasions during that period."

[Footnote 8: The poems in MSS. Camb. Univ. Lib. Ff. 5. 48 and
Dd. 14. 2 resemble this Chronicle, but do not mention Havelok's
name.]

§ 10. Before proceeding to consider the _prose_ Chronicle of the Brute, it is better to speak first of the translation of Peter de Langtoft's Chronicle by Robert of Brunne, a translation which was completed A.D. 1338. At p. 25 of Hearne's edition is the following passage:

'[Gh]it a nother Danes Kyng in the North gan aryue.
Alfrid it herd, thidere gan he dryue.
_Hauelok_[9] fader he was, _Gunter_ was his name.
He brent citees & tounes, ouer alle did he schame.
Saynt Cutbertes clerkes tho Danes thei dred.
The toke the holy bones, about thei tham led.
Seuen [gh]ere thorgh the land wer thei born aboute,
It comforted the kyng mykelle, whan he was in doute
¶ Whan Alfrid & Gunter had werred long in ille,
Thorgh the grace of God, Gunter turned his wille.
Cristend wild he be, the kyng of fonte him lift,
& thritty of his knyghtes turnes, thorgh Godes gift.
Tho that first were foos, and com of paien lay,
Of Cristen men haf los, & so thei wend away.'

"This is the whole that appears in the original, but after the above lines immediately follows, in the language of Robert of Brunne himself (as noted also by Hearne, Pref. p. lxvii.), the following curious, and to our inquiry, very important passage:"

'Bot I haf grete ferly, that I fynd no man,
That has writen in story, how Hauelok this lond wan.
Noither _Gildas_, no Bede, no Henry of Huntynton,
No William of Malmesbiri, ne Pers of Bridlynton,
Writes not in ther bokes of no kyng Athelwold,
Ne Goldeburgh his douhtere, ne Hauelok not of told,
Whilk tyme the were kynges, long or now late,
Thei mak no menyng whan, no in what date.
Bot that thise _lowed men vpon Inglish tellis_,
Right story can me not ken, the certeynte what spellis.
Men sais in Lyncoln castelle ligges [gh]it a stone,
That Hauelok kast wele forbi euer ilkone
& [gh]it the chapelle standes, ther he weddid his wife,
Goldeburgh the kynges douhter, _that saw is [gh]it rife_.
& of Gryme a fisshere, _men redes [gh]it in ryme_,
That he bigged Grymesby Gryme that ilk tyme.
Of alle stories of honoure, that I haf thorgh souht,
I fynd that no compiloure of him tellis ouht.
Sen I fynd non redy, that tellis of Hauelok kynde
Turne we to that story, that we writen fynde.'

"There cannot exist the smallest doubt, that by the 'Ryme' here mentioned 'that lowed men vpon Inglish tellis,' the identical English Romance, now before the reader, is referred to. It must therefore certainly have been composed prior to the period at which Robert of Brunne wrote,[10] in whose time the traditions respecting Havelok at Lincoln were so strongly preserved, as to point out various localities to which the story had affixed a name, and similar traditions connected with the legend, as we shall find hereafter, existed also at Grimsby. The doubts expressed by the Chronicler, as to their authenticity, or the authority of the 'Ryme,' are curious, but only of value so far as they prove he was ignorant of the existence of a French Romance on the subject, or of its reception in Gaimar's historical poem."

[Footnote 9: This proof is rendered unnecessary by the citations
from it by Rauf de Boun in 1310, and by the age of our MS.
itself.]

[Footnote 10: _Hanelok_ in Hearne, throughout, but undoubtedly
_contra fidem_ MSS.]

§ 11. "But on consulting the Lambeth copy of Rob. of Brunne, in order to verify the passage as printed by Hearne from the Inner Temple MS. we were not a little surprised to ascertain a fact hitherto overlooked, and indeed unknown, viz. that the Lambeth MS. (which is a folio, written on paper, and imperfect both at the beginning and close)[11] does not correspond with the Edition, but has evidently been revised by a later hand, which has abridged the Prologues, omitted some passages, and inserted others. The strongest proof of this exists in the passage before us, in which the Lambeth MS. entirely omits the lines of Rob. of Brunne respecting the authenticity of the story of Havelok, and in their place substitutes an abridged outline of the story itself, copied apparently from the French Chronicle of Gaimar. The interpolation is so curious, and so connected with our inquiry, as to be a sufficient apology for introducing it here."

'¶ Forth wente Gounter & his folk, al in to Denemark,
Sone fel ther hym vpon, a werre styth & stark,
Thurgh a Breton kyng, th^t out of Ingeland cam,
& asked the tribut of Denmark, th^t Arthur whylom nam.
They wythseide hit schortly, & non wolde they [gh]elde,
But rather they wolde dereyne hit, wyth bataill y the felde.
Both partis on a day, to felde come they stronge,
Desconfit were the danes, Gounter his deth gan fonge.
When he was ded they schope brynge, al his blod to schame,
But Gatferes doughter the kyng, _Eleyne_ was hure name,
Was kyng Gounteres wyf, and had a child hem bytwene,
Wyth wham scheo scapede vnethe, al to the se with tene.
The child hym highte HAUELOK, th^t was his moder dere,
Scheo mette with grym atte hauene, a wel god marinere,
He hure knew & highte hure wel, to helpe hure with his might,
To bryng hure saf out of the lond, wythinne th^t ilke night.
When they come in myd se, a gret meschef gan falle,
They metten wyth a gret schip, lade wyth outlawes alle.
Anon they fullen hem apon, & dide hem Mikel peyne,
So th^t wyth strengthe of their assaut, ded was quene Eleyne.
But [gh]yt ascapede from hem Grym, wyth Hauelok & other fyue,
& atte the hauene of Grymesby, ther they gon aryue.
Ther was brought forth child Hauelok, wyth Grym & his fere,
Right als hit hadde be ther own, for other wyste men nere.
Til he was mykel & mighti, & man of mykel cost,
Th^t for his grete sustinaunce, nedly serue he most.
He tok leue of Grym & Seburc, as of his sire & dame,
And askede ther blessinge curteysly, ther was he nought to blame.
Thenne drow he forth northward, to kynges court Edelsie,
Th^t held fro Humber to Rotland, the kyngdam of Lyndesye.
Thys Edelsy of Breton kynde, had Orewayn his sister bright
Maried to a noble kyng, of Northfolk Egelbright.
Holly for his kyngdam, he held in his hand,
Al the lond fro Colchestre, right in til Holand.
Thys Egelbright th^t was a Dane, & Orewayn the quene,
Hadden gete on Argill, a doughter hem bytwene.
Sone then deyde Egelbright, & his wyf Orewayn,
& therfore was kyng Edelsye, bothe joyful & fayn.
Anon their doughter & here Eyr, his nece dame Argill,
& al the kyngdam he tok in hande, al at his owene will.
Ther serued Hauelok as quistron, & was y-cald Coraunt,
He was ful mykel & hardy, & strong as a Geaunt.
He was bold Curteys & fre, & fair & god of manere,
So th^t alle folk hym louede, th^t auewest hym were.
But for couetise of desheraison, of damysele Argill,
& for a chere th^t the kyng sey, scheo made Coraunt till,
He dide hem arraye ful symplely, & wedde togydere bothe,
For he ne rewarded desparagyng, were manion ful wrothe.
A while they dwelt after in court, in ful pore degre,
The schame & sorewe th^t Argill hadde, hit was a deol to se.
Then seyde scheo til hure maister, of whenne sire be [gh]e?
Haue [gh]e no kyn ne frendes at hom, in [gh]oure contre?
Leuer were me lyue in pore lyf, wythoute schame & tene,
Than in schame & sorewe, lede the astat of quene.
Thenne wente they forth to Grymesby, al by his wyues red,
& founde th^t Grym & his wyf, weren bothe ded.
But he fond ther on Aunger, Grymes cosyn hend,
To wham th^t Grym & his wyf, had teld word & ende.
How th^t hit stod wyth Hauelok, in all manere degre,
& they hit hym telde & conseilled, to drawe til his contre,
Tasaye what grace he mighte fynde, among his frendes there,
& they wolde ordeyne for their schipynge, and al th^t hem nede were.
When Aunger hadde y-schiped hem, they seilled forth ful swythe,
Ful-but in til Denemark, wyth weder fair & lithe.
Ther fond he on sire Sykar, a man of gret pousté,
Th^t hey styward somtyme was, of al his fader fe.
Ful fayn was he of his comyng, & god help him behight,
To recouere his heritage, of Edulf kyng & knyght.
Sone asembled they gret folk, of his sibmen & frendes,
Kyng Edulf gadered his power, & ageyn them wendes.
Desconfyt was ther kyng Edulf, & al his grete bataill,
& so conquered Hauelok, his heritage saunz faille.
Sone after he schop him gret power, in toward Ingelond,
His wyues heritage to wynne, ne wolde he nought wonde.
Th^t herde the kyng of Lyndeseye, he was come on th^t cost,
& schop to fighte wyth hym sone, & gadered hym gret host.
But atte day of bataill, Edelsy was desconfit,
& after by tretys gaf Argentill, hure heritage al quit.
& for scheo was next of his blod, Hauelokes wyf so feyr,
He gaf hure Lyndesey after his day, & made hure his Eyr.
& atte last so byfel, th^t vnder Hauelokes schelde,
Al Northfolk & Lyndeseye, holy of hym they helde.'

MS. Lamb. 131. leaf 76.

[Footnote 11: The writing in the earlier portion (concerning
Havelok) is hardly later than A.D. 1400.]

§ 12. We now come to the prose Chronicle called The Brute, which became exceedingly popular, and was the foundation of "Caxton's Chronicle," first printed by Caxton A.D. 1480, but of which Caxton was not the author, though he may have added some of the last chapters. The original is in French, and was probably compiled a few years _before_ Robert of Brunne's translation of Langtoft was made, as it concludes with the year 1331, or, in some copies, with 1332. The author of it is not known, but it was probably only regarded as a compilation from the Chronicles of the earlier Historians. "In this Chronicle, in all its various shapes, is contained the Story of Havelock, _engrafted on the British History of Geoffrey of Monmouth_, and in its detail, following precisely the French text of the Romance. The only variation of consequence is the substitution of the name of Birkabeyn (as in the English text) for that of Gunter, and in some copies, both of the French and English MSS. of the Chronicle, the name of _Goldeburgh_ is inserted instead of _Argentille_; which variations are the more curious, as they prove the absolute identity of the story. For the sake of a more complete illustration of what has been advanced, we are induced to copy the passage at length, as it appears in the French Chronicle, taken from a well-written MS. of the 14th century, MS. Reg. 20 A 3, fol. 165 b."[12]

'_Des Rois Adelbright & Edelfi_, Cap. IIIJ^xx. XIX.

Apres le Roi Constantin estoient deux Rois en graunt Brutaigne,
dount li vns out a noun Aldelbright, & fust Danois, & [tint] tut le
pais de Norff' & de Suffolk, & ly altre out a noun Edelfi, q{e} fust
Brittone, & tint Nicol & Lindesey, & tote la terre desqes a Humber,
Ceux deux Rois soi entreguerroierent, [& moult s'entrehaierent] mais
puis furent il entre acordez & soi entreamerent, taunt com s'il
vssent estee freres de vn ventre neez. Le Roi Edelfi out vne soer,
Orewenne par noun, & la dona par grant amour al Roi Aldelbright a
femme. Et il engendra de ly vne fille q{e} out a noun Argentille. En
le tierez an apres vne greue Maladie ly suruint, si deuereit morrir,
& maunda par vn iour al Roi Edelfi, soun frere en lei, q'il venist a
ly parler, & cil ly emparla volentiers. Donqe ly pria le Roi
Aldelbright et ly coniura en le noun [de] Dieu, q'il apres sa mort
preist Argentille sa fille, & sa terre, & q'il la feist honestement
garder [& nurrir] en sa chambre, & quant ele serreit de age, q'il la
feist marier al plus fort hom & plus vaillaunt q'il porroit trouer,
& q{e} a donqe ly rendist sa terre. Edelfi ceo graunta, & par
serment afferma sa priere. Et quant Adelbright fust mort, &
enterree, Edelfi prist la damoysele, & la norrist en sa chambre, si
deuynt ele la plus beale creature q{e} hom porreit trouer.

_Coment le Roi Edelfi Maria la damoisele Argentille a vn quistroun
de sa quisine._ Cap^m. C.

Le Roi Edelfi, q{e} fust vncle a la Damoysele Argentille, pensa
fausement coment il porreit la terre sa Nece auoir par touz iours, &
malueisement countre soun serment pensa a deceiure la pucelle, si la
maria a vn quistroun de sa quisyne q{e} fust apellée Curan, si
esteit il le plus haut, le plus fort, & le plus vaillaunt de corps,
q{e} hom sauoit nulle part a cel temps, & la quidoit hountousement
marier, pur auoir sa terre a remenaunt, Mais il fust deceu. Car cest
Curan fust [le Roi] Hauelok, filz le Roi Kirkebain de Denemarche, &
il conquist la terre sa femme [en Bretaigne], & occist le Roi
Edelfi, vncle sa femme, & conquist tote la terre, _si com aillours
est trouée plus pleinement_ [_en l'estorie_], & il ne regna q{e}
treis aunz. Car Saxsouns & Danoys le occirent, & ceo fust grant
damage a tote la grant Brutaigne. Et les Brutouns le porterent a
Stonhenge, & illoeqes ly enterrerent a grant honour.'

[Footnote 12: Sir F. Madden adds-- "collated with another of the
same age, MS. Cott. Dom. A. x, and a third, of the 15th century,
MS. Harl. 200." I omit the collations; the words within square
brackets are supplied from these other copies.]

§ 13. "With the above may be compared the English version, as extant in MS. Harl. 2279, which agrees with the Ed. of Caxton, except in the occasional substitution of one word for another."[13]

'MS. Harl. 2279, f. 47._ Of the kinges Albright & of Edelf._ Ca^o
IIII^xx. XI^o.

After kyng Constantinus deth, ther were .ij. kynges in Britaigne,
that one men callede Adelbright, that was a Danoys, and helde the
cuntray of Northfolk and Southfolk, that other hight Edelf, and was
a Britoun & helde Nichole, Lindeseye, and alle the lande vnto
Humber. Thes ij. kynges faste werred togeders, but afterward thei
were acorded, and louede togedere as thei had ben borne of o bodie.
The kyng Edelf had a suster that men callede Orewenne, and he yaf
here thurghe grete frenshipe to kyng Adelbright to wif, and he
begate on here a doughter that men callede Argentille, and in the
.iij. yeer after him come vppon a strong sekenesse that nedes he
muste die, and he sent to kyng Edelf, his brother in lawe, that he
shulde come and speke with him, and he come to him with good wille.
Tho prayed he the kyng and coniurede also in the name of God, that
after whan he were dede, he shulde take Argentil his doughter, and
the lande, and that he kepte hir wel, and noreshed in his chambre;
and whan she were of age he shulde done here be mariede to the
strongest and worthiest man that he my[gh]t fynde, and than he shulde
yelde vp her lande ayen. Edelf hit grauntid, and bi othe hit
confermede his prayer. And whan Adelbright was dede and Enterede,
Edelfe toke the damesel Argentil, and noreshid her in his chambre,
and she become the fayrest creature th^t my[gh]t lif, or eny man
finde.

_How kyng Edelf mariede the damysel Argentil to a knaue of his
kichyn._ Ca^o IIII^xx. XII.

This kyng Edelf, that was vncle to the damesel Argentil, bithought
how that he my[gh]te falsliche haue the lande from his nece for
euermore, and falsly ayens his othe thou[gh]te to desceyue the
damysel, and marie here to a knave of his kichon, that men callede
Curan, and he become the worthiest and strengest man of bodie that
eny man wist in eny lande that tho leuede. And to him he thou[gh]t
here shendfully haue mariede, for to haue had here lande afterward;
but he was clene desceyuede. For this Curan that was Hauelokis son
that was kyng of Kirkelane in Denmark, and this Curan Conquerede
his wifes landes, and slow kyng Edelf, that was his wifes vncle,
and had alle here lande, as in a-nother stede hit [MS. but] telleth
more oponly, and he ne regnede but iij. yeer, for Saxones and
Danoys him quelde, and that was grete harme to al Britaigne, and
Britouns bere him to Stonehenge, and ther thei him interede with
mochel honour and solempnite.'

"It must not be concealed, that in some copies, viz. in MSS. Harl. 1337, 6251, Digby 185, Hatton 50, Ashmole 791 and 793, the story is altogether omitted, and Conan made to succeed to Arthur. In those copies also of the English Polychronicon, the latter part of which resembles the above Chronicle, the passage is not found." "Among the Harl. MSS. (No. 63) is a copy of the same Chronicle in an abridged form, in which the name of _Goldesburghe_ is substituted for that of Argentille." Sir F. Madden now adds--that "the story occurs also in some interpolated copies of Higden (the Latin text, viz. MSS. Harl. 655, Cott. Jul. E. 8, Reg. 13 E. 1). In an earlier form it is found in a Latin Chronicle of the 13th century, MS. Cott. Dom. A. 2, fol. 130."

[Footnote 13: I omit the collations with MSS. Harl. 24 and 753.
Sir F. Madden proves that this English version was made A.D. 1435,
by _John Maundevile_, rector of Burnham Thorp in Norfolk.]

§ 14. "It was, in all probability, to this Chronicle also, in its original form, that Thomas Gray, the author of the _Scala Cronica_ (or _Scale Cronicon_), a Chronicle in French prose, composed between the years 1355 and 1362, is indebted for his knowledge of the tale." The original MS. is No. 132 in the library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and was edited by Stevenson for the Maitland Club in 1836. The passage relative to Havelok is translated by Leland, _Collectanea_, vol. i. pt. 2, p. 511. This account resembles the others, and involves no new point of interest.

§ 15. I may here introduce the remark, that the story is also to be found in the _Eulogium Historiarum_, ed. Haydon, 1860, vol. ii. p. 378. I here quote the passage at length, as it is not referred to in Sir F. Madden's edition. The date of the Chronicle is about 1366. For various readings, see Haydon's edition.

Non enim est prætermittendum de quodam Dano generoso ætate juvenili
florente, qui tempore regis Edelfridi casualiter Angliam adiit, qui
a propria patria expulsus per quendam ducem falsissimum, cui pater
ejus illum commiserat ipso moriente et ducem rogavit ut puerum
nutriret usque dum posset Denemarchiæ regnum viriliter gubernare.
Dux vero malitiam machinans juvenem hæredem rectum, Hauelok nomine,
voluit occidisse. Puer vero comperiens aufugit per latibula usque
dum quidam Anglicus et mercator in illis partibus adventaret; nomen
autem mercatoris Grym vocitabatur. Hauelok autem, Grym rogans ut
ipsum in Angliam transvectaret, ipse autem annuens, puerum secum
conduxit et cum eo per aliquot tempus apud Grymesby morabatur.
Tandem ipsum ad curiam regis Edelfridi conduxit et ibi in coquina
regis moratus est.

Rex autem Edelfridus quamdam habuit sororem nomine Orwen et illam
maritavit regi Athelberto, quod conjugium inter duos reges vinculum
amoris catenavit. Rex autem Athelbert terram citra Trentam cum regio
diademate occupavit, cum terra de Northfolk' et de Southfolk' et eis
adjacentibus. Rex vero Edelfrid comitatum Lincolniæ et Lyndeseye et
eis spectantibus. Ante maritagium puellæ Orwen illi duo reges semper
debellabant, post matrimonium factum nulla fuit divisio, nec in
familia inter eos nec in dominio.

Rex vero Ethelbert de uxore sua quamdam filiam genuit, nomine
Argentile, pulcherrimam valde. Athelberto obiente, vel ante mortem
ejus, regem rogavit Edelfridum ut filiam suam homini fortissimo ac
validiori totius sui regni in conjugium copularet, nihil doli vel
mali machinans.

Rex autem Adelfrid omnem malitiam ingeminans de conjugio puellæ
malitiose disponens, cogitans se habere unum lixam in coquina sua
qui omnes homines regni sui in vigore et fortitudine superabat, et
juxta votum patris puellæ ad illum hominem fortissimum illam
generosam juvenculam toro maritali copulavit, ob cupiditatem regni
puellæ ipsam ita enormiter maritabat. Hauelok in patria Danemarchiæ
et Argentile in Britannia æquali sorte ad custodiendum deputati
sunt, totum tamen nutu Divino cedebat eis in honorem. Nam Hauelok
post paucos annos regnum Britanniæ adoptus est, et a Saxonibus
tandem occisus et apud le Stonhenge est sepultus. Pater ejus
Kirkeban vocabatur.

This agrees closely with the accounts given above (§ 12 and § 13). The chief point to be noticed is that this account identifies Edelfrid with the Æthelfrith son of Æthelric who was king of the Northumbrians from A.D. 593 to 617, according to the computation of the A.S. Chronicle, and who was succeeded by Eadwine son of Ælle, who drove out the æthelings or sons of Æthelfrith. It may be remarked further, that the same Æthelfrith is called Æluric by La[gh]amon, who gives him a very bad character; see La[gh]amon, ed. Madden, vol. iii. p. 195.

§ 16. The story is also mentioned by Henry de Knyghton, a canon of Leicester abbey, whose history concludes with the year 1395. But his is no fresh evidence, as it is evidently borrowed from the French Chronicle of Rauf de Boun; see § 7. It is also alluded to in a blundering manner in a short historical compilation extending from the time of Brutus to the reign of Henry VI., and preserved in MS. Cotton Calig. A. 2. At fol. 107 _b_ is the passage-- "Ethelwolde, qui generavit filiam de (_sic_) Haueloke de Denmarke, per quem Danes per cccc. annos postea fecerunt clameum Anglie." Some omission after the word _de_ has turned the passage into nonsense; but it is noteworthy as expressing the claim of the Danes to the English crown by right of descent from Havelok; a claim which is more clearly expressed in MS. Harl. 63, in which the King of Denmark is represented as sending a herald to Æthelstan (A.D. 927)-- "to witte wheder he wold fynde a man to fight w{i}t{h} Colbrande[14] for the righ[t]e of the kyngdom Northumbr{e}, that the Danes had claymed byfore by the title of kyng Haueloke, that wedded Goldesburghe the kyngis daughter of Northumbr{e}" --fol. 19.[15] Four hundred years before this date would intimate some year early in the sixth century. Finally, the story is found at a later period in Caxton's Chronicle (A.D. 1480) as above intimated in § 12; whence it was adopted by Warner, and inserted into his poem entitled Albion's England; book iv. chap. 20, published in 1586. Warner called it the tale of "Argentile and Curan;" and in this ballad-shape it was reprinted in Percy's Reliques of Ancient Poetry (vol. ii. p. 261; ed. 1812) with the same title. Not long after, in 1617, another author, William Webster, published a larger poem in six-line stanzas; but this is a mere paraphrase of Warner. The title is-- "The most pleasant and delightful historie of Curan, a prince of Danske, and the fayre princesse Argentile," &c. John Fabyan, in his Concordance of Historyes, first printed in 1516, alludes to the two kings Adelbryght and Edill, only to dismiss the "longe processe" concerning them, as not supported by sufficient authority. See p. 82 of the reprint by Ellis, 4to, 1811.

[Footnote 14: Colbrande is the giant defeated by Guy in the
Ballad of "Guy and Colebrande." See _Percy Folio MS._; ed. Hales
and Furnivall, vol. ii. p. 528, where _Auelocke_ means _Anlaf_.]

[Footnote 15: Quoted in a note in Sir F. Madden's preface,
p. xxiii.]

§ 17. The only other two sources whence any further light can be thrown upon our subject are the traditions of Denmark and Grimsby. A letter addressed by Sir F. Madden to Professor Rask elicited a reply which was equivalent to saying that next to nothing is known about it in Denmark. This seems to be the right place to mention a small book of 80 pages, published at Copenhagen in the present year (1868), and entitled "Sagnet om Havelok Danske; fortalt af Kristian Köster." It contains (1) a version, in Danish prose, of the English poem; (2) a version of the same story, following the French texts of the Arundel and Royal MSS.; and (3) some elucidations of the legend. The author proposes a theory that Havelok is really the Danish king Amlet, i.e. Hamlet; but I have not space here to state all his arguments. As far as I follow them, some of the chief ones are these; that Havelok ought to be found in the list of Danish kings;[16] that Hamlet's simulation of folly or madness is paralleled by Havelok's behaviour, as expressed in ll. 945-954 of our poem; and that both Hamlet and Havelok succeeded in fulfilling the revenge which they had long cherished secretly. But I am not much persuaded by these considerations, for, even granting some resemblance in the names,[17] the resemblance in the stories is very slight. But I must refer the reader to the book itself.

[Footnote 16: So then ought Hamlet; but the editor of Saxo
Grammaticus says, "in antiquioribus regum Daniæ genealogiis
Amlethus non occurrit." See Saxo Gram. ed. Müller, Havniæ, 1839;
end of lib. iii. and beginning of lib. iv.; also the note on
p. 132 of the Notæ Uberiores. The idea that Havelock is Amlet is
to be found in Grundtvig, North. Myth. 1832, p. 565.]