“ Taking a legend as the general guide or thread of a narrative, it is the simplest and easiest plan to dress it up after one’s own fashion, and to draw upon the materials that are supplied by the general surroundings of the story. I feel confident that the narrators of the Lay of Havelok must have used materials not much unlike those used by Laȝamon, and a mere comparison of the French and English lays with Laȝamon will amply suffice to elucidate this. ”

“ They found there, however, a daughter of Grim’s, named Kelloc, who had married a tradesman of that town. Up to this time Havelok had not known his true parentage, but Kelloc thought it was now time to tell him, and said: “Your father was Gunter, the King of the Danes, whom Hodulf slew. Hodulf obtained the kingdom as a grant from Arthur. Grim fled with you, and saved your life; but your mother perished at sea. Your name is Havelok. My husband will convey you to Denmark, where you must inquire for a lord named ‘Sigar l’estal;’ and take with you my two brothers.” ”

“ Argentille soon arrived at marriageable age, and Alsi determined to marry her to Cuaran, which would sufficiently fulfil her father’s wish—Cuaran being confessedly the strongest man in those parts. To this marriage he compelled her to consent, hoping thereby to disgrace her for ever. Havelok was unwilling that his wife should perceive the marvellous flame, but soon forgot this, and ere long fell asleep. Then had Argentille a strange vision—that a savage bear and some foxes attacked Cuaran, but dogs and boars defended him. ”

“ She encouraged him, and urged him to set sail for Denmark at once. He accordingly called to him Grim’s three sons, and narrated to them his own history, and Godard’s treachery, asking them to accompany him to Denmark. To this they assented, and sailed with him and Goldborough to Denmark. There he sought out a former friend of his father’s, Earl Ubbe, who invited him and his friends to a sumptuous feast. After the feast, Havelok and Goldborough and Grim’s sons went to the house of one Bernard Brown, whose house was that night attacked by sixty thieves. ”

“ In order to avoid Godard, Grim fitted up a ship, and provisioned it, and with his wife Leve, his three sons, his two daughters, and Havelok, put out to sea. They landed in Lindesey at the month of the Humber, at a place afterwards named Grimsby after Grim. Grim worked at his old trade, a fisherman’s, and Havelok carried about the fish for sale. Then arose a great dearth in the land, and Havelok went out to seek his own livelihood, walking to Lincoln barefoot. He was hired as a porter by the earl of Cornwall’s cook, and drew water and cut wood for the earl’s kitchen. ”

“ The character of the good king Athelwold is taken from that of Æthelberht of Kent, and his love of justice may remind us of the ancient collection of laws which are still extant as having been made by that king. His extensive rule, such as is also attributed to Godrich and Havelok, may point to the title of Bretwalda, which Æthelberht so long coveted, and at last obtained. Our poet, in describing Birkabeyn, repeats this character so exactly, and makes the circumstances of the deaths of Athelwold and Birkabeyn so similar, that they are almost indistinguishable ”

“ My theory of the Lay of Havelok is then simply this, that I look upon it as the general result of various narratives connected with the history of Northumbria and Lindesey at the close, or possibly the beginning, of the sixth century, gathered round some favourite local (i.e. Lincolnshire) tradition as a nucleus. A similar theory may be true of the Lay of Horn.
§ 25. On the names “Curan” and “Havelok.”
The French version tells us that Coaran, Cuaran, or Cuheran is the British word for a scullion. This etymology has not hitherto been traced, but it may easily have been perfectly true. ”

“ With six thousand men he set out to attack Godard, whom he defeated and made prisoner, and afterwards caused to be flayed, drawn, and hung. Then Havelok swore that he would establish at Grimsby a priory of black monks, to pray for Grim’s soul; and Godrich, having heard that Havelok has invaded England, raised a great army against him. An indecisive combat took place between Ubbe and Godrich, but a more decisive one between Godrich and Havelok; for Havelok cut off his foe’s hand and made him prisoner. Then the English submitted to Goldborough, and acknowledged her as queen ”

“ It is a common custom—one which true etymologists must always deplore—to invent a story to account for a derivation; and such a practice is invariably carried out with greater boldness and to a greater extent if the said derivation chances to be false. For it is possible that Curan may be simply the Gaelic curan, a brave man, and the Irish curanta, brave. The derivation of Havelok is certainly puzzling. xxxv Professor Rask declared it to have no meaning in Danish. It bears, however, a remarkable resemblance to the Old English gavelok, which occurs in Weber’s Kyng Alisaunder, l. ”

“ One day some men met to contend in games and to “put the stone.” At the cook’s command, Havelok also put the stone, hurling it further than any of the rest.28 Godrich, hearing the praises of Havelok’s strength, at once resolved to perform his oath by causing him to marry Goldborough; and carried his design into execution. As goon as the pair were married, Havelok suddenly quitted Lincoln with his wife, and returned to Grimsby, where he found that Grim was dead, but that his five children are yet alive. ”

“ Havelok rewarded both his own friends and the English nobles; for he caused Earl Reyner of Chester to marry Gunild, Grim’s daughter, and Bertram, formerly Godrich’s cook, to marry Levive, another of Grim’s daughters; bestowing upon Bertram the earldom of Cornwall. Then were Havelok and Goldborough crowned at London, and a feast was given that lasted forty days. The kingdom of Denmark was bestowed upon Ubbe, who held it of King Havelok. Havelok and Goldborough lived to the age of a hundred years, and their reign lasted for sixty years in England. ”

“ It may suffice to suppose that the period of the existence of Havelok and Grim may be referred to the times of Æthelberht of Kent and Æthelfrith and Eadwine of Northumbria.30 It is exceedingly probable that Havelok was never more than a chief or a petty prince, and xxxiii whether he was a Danish or only a British enemy of the Angles is not of very great importance. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The chief points to be noticed in Gaimar’s abridgment are the few additional particulars to be gleaned from it. We there find that Havelok’s mother was Alvive, a daughter of King Gaifer; that the King of Nicole and Lindeseie was a Briton, and was named Edelsie; that his sister, named Orwain, was married to Adelbrit, a Dane, who ruled over Norfolk; and that Edelsie and Adelbrit lived in the days of Costentin (Constantine) , who xxvii succeeded Arthur. It is also said that the usurper Hodulf was brother to Aschis, who is the Achilles of Geoffrey of Monmouth. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The next day, however, she again told her dream to a chamberlain, her friend, who said that he well knew a holy hermit who could explain it. The hermit explained to Argentille that Cuaran must be of royal lineage. “He will be king,” he said, “and you a queen. Ask him concerning his parentage. Remember also to repair to his native place.” On being questioned, Cuaran replied that he was born at Grimsby; that Grim was his father, and Saburc his mother. “Then let us go to Grimsby,” she replied. Accompanied by his two foster-brothers, they came to Grimsby; but Grim and Saburc were both dead. ”

“ This curious expression is ascertained to have the meaning here 124 assigned to it by observing (1) that grim and gore must be substantives, and (2) that they must be of like signification; but chiefly by comparing the line with others similar to it. Now the context, in the couplet following, repeats that “men might hear him roar, that foul vile wretch, a mile off;” and in l. 682, Godard calls Grim “a foul dirt, a thrall, and a churl.” The author clearly uses dirt and churl as synonyms. The word grim is the Danish grim, soot, lampblack, smut, dirt, answering to the English grime ”

“ There is a most curious contradiction in the English lay about Havelok’s religion; in l. 2520 he is a devout Christian, but in l. 2580 Godrich speaks of him as being a cruel pagan. Now it was just about this very time that Paulinus preached in Lindsey, “where the first that believed was a powerful man called Blecca, with all his followers” (A.S. Chron. ed. Thorpe, vol. ii. p. 21; A.D. 627) . Havelok, according to some, was buried at Stonehenge; but so was Constantine (Laȝamon, iii. 151) . A dearth in mentioned in the English lay (l. 824) ; cf. Laȝamon, iii. ”

“ Ekenbright, falling ill, committed Argentille to the care of Alsi, till she should be of age to be married to the strongest man that can be found. At Ekenbright’s death, Alsi reigned over both countries, holding his court at Nicole. Havelok, on his arrival there, was employed to carry water and cut wood, and to perform all menial offices requiring great strength. He was named Cuaran, which means—in the British language—a scullion. ”

“ The child grew up, and waxed strong. One day Grim said to him, “Son, you will never thrive as a fisherman; take your brothers with you, and seek service amongst the King’s servants.” He was soon well apparelled, and repaired with his two foster-brothers to Nicole [Lincoln] .22 Now at that time there was a king named Alsi, who ruled over all Nicole and Lindesie;23 but the country southward was governed by another king, named Ekenbright, who had married Alsi’s sister Orewen. These two had one only daughter, named Argentille. ”

“ Havelok’s father slain, A.D. 487; his expedition to Denmark, A.D. 507; his reign in England, A.D. 511-531, or a little later. These dates follow a system which is here about 16 years earlier than the dates in the A.S. Chronicle. His results are obtained from totally different considerations. On the whole, let us place Havelok in the sixth century, at some period of his life.
§ 24. It is, perhaps, worthy of a passing remark that some of the circumstances in the Lay may have been suggested by the romantic story of Eadwine of Northumbria, who was also born at the close of the sixth century. ”

“ Again, the Gunter or Gurmond who was Havelok’s father reminds us of the Gurmund of Laȝamon (p. 156) , who is curiously described as king of Africa; but the name is Danish. The character of Grim is fairly paralleled by that of Brian, who makes sea-voyages, and goes about as a merchant (Laȝamon, iii. 232) . In several respects Havelok may have been drawn from Cadwalan, whose gallant attempts to gain the king of Northumberland are recorded in Laȝamon (iii. 216-254) ; his opponent being Edwin, who has replaced Ethelfrid as Laȝamon’s narrative proceeds. ”

“ As in other old English works, men is frequently an impersonal pronoun, answering to the French on, and is followed by a singular verb; as in men ringes, 390, men seyt and suereth, 647, men fetes, 2341, men nam, 900, men birþe, 2101, men dos, 2434; cf. folk sau, 2410; but there are a few instances of its use with a plural verb, as men haueden, 901, men shulen, 747. The former is the more usual construction.
Verbs. The infinitives of verbs rarely have y- prefixed; two examples are y-lere, 12, y-se, 334. Nor is the same prefix common before past participles ”

“ 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 xviii 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 Laȝamon, who gives him a very bad character; see Laȝamon, ed. Madden, vol. iii. p. ”