Havelok the Dane (Legendary character) -- Romances
“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.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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