Havelok theDane

Abstract

Havelok the Dane is the modern name for an early Middle English poem most likely composed between 1290 and 1300, one the earliest of a group poems that forms the “matter of England.” The story of Havelok, a Danish prince who is exiled to England, becomes a kitchen scullion, is married to the heir to the English throne, and eventually becomes king of both England and Denmark, goes back to at least the twelfth century. It was widespread in both chronicle and folklore, particularly in eastern England. The Middle English poem is one of the earliest English romances but departs from the typical romance character in its folksy tone and attention to a wide range of social classes. These qualities may reveal oral origins or may have been cultivated by the poet, who, like earlier and later writers, used Havelok's story and the history of Scandinavian settlement to explore the ethnic, political, and social dynamics of England.