—þan castle of Deoure
on þere sæ oure;
(Laȝamon, iii. 250),
which reminds us of Havelok’s wife Goldborough, who was imprisoned at
—doure
þat standeth on þe seis oure;
(l. 320).
The very name Helen, though not the name of Havelok’s wife, was that of his mother, who was killed by the pirates. For the connection between Laȝamon’s Helen and pirates, see Sir F. Madden’s note, vol. iii. p. 428. 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. 279. And I may here add another coincidence, of an interesting but certainly of a very circuitous nature. A close examination of the Lay of King Horn shews that there is no real connection between the story therein contained and that of Havelok. Yet there is a connection after a sort. Though by different authors, and in different metre, both lays are found in English in the same MS.; both versions belong to the same date; both are from French versions, written by Englishmen from British sources; and now, if we compare King Horn with the very part of Laȝamon now under consideration, there is at once seen to be a most exact resemblance in one point. The story of the ring given by Horn to Rymenhild (K. Horn, ed. Lumby, ll. 1026-1210) is remarkably like that of the ring whereby Brian is recognized by his sister (Laȝamon, iii. 234-238). But it is hardly worth while to pursue the subject further. 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 whether he was a Danish or only a British enemy of the Angles is not of very great importance. If, however, more exact dates be required, they may be found in “The Conquest of Britain by the Saxons,” by Daniel P. Haigh, London, 8vo, 1861, pp. 363-367; where the following dates are suggested. 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. For he it was who really married the daughter of Æthelberht, and it was the archbishop of York, Paulinus, who performed the ceremony. The relation of how Eadwine was persecuted by Æthelfrith, how he fled and was protected by Rædwald, king of the East Angles, how he saw a vision of an angel who promised his restoration to the throne and that his rule should exceed that of his predecessors, how, with the assistance of Rædwald, he overthrew and slew Æthelfrith in a terrible battle beside the river Idle, may be found in Beda’s Ecclesiastical History, bk. II. ch. 9-16.[31] In the last of these chapters there is again mention of Blecca, the governor of the city of Lincoln. Sir F. Madden, in his note to l. 45, speaks of the extraordinary proofs of the peaceable state of the country in the reign of Ælfred; but Beda uses similar language in speaking of the reign of Eadwine; and the earlier instance is even more remarkable. “It is reported that there was then such perfect peace in Britain, wheresoever the dominion of King Edwin extended, that, as is still proverbially said, a woman with her new-born babe might walk throughout the island, from sea to sea, without receiving any harm. That king took such care for the good of his nation, that in several places where he had seen clear springs near the highways, he caused stakes to be fixed, with brass dishes hanging at them, for the conveniency of travellers; nor durst any man touch them for any other purpose than that for which they were designed, either through the dread they had of the king, or for the affection which they bore him, &c.”[32] Readers who are acquainted with the pleasing poem of “Edwin of Deira,” by the late Alexander Smith, will remember his adventures; and it may be noted, as an instance of the manner in which poets alter names at pleasure, that Mr Smith gives to Æthelfrith the name of Ethelbert, to Eadwine’s wife Æthelburh, that of Bertha, and to his father Ælle, that of Egbert. 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.