Havelok the Dane
The poem is notable for its interest in law and legal practice and its exploration of ideal kingship, as well as for its detailed depiction of working-class life in 13th-century Lincolnshire.
It has been called a 'bourgeois' romance because of the high value placed on hard work, virtuous behaviour, and proverbial wisdom, but since this value is just as observable in working-class life the term can be misleading.
A statue of Grim and Havelok stood outside the main site of Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education from 1973 until 2006, but was removed on health and safety grounds after Havelock was decapitated by vandals.
She wakes Cuheran and he explains the dream as a prophecy of the feast he will be cooking the next day and adds that he doesn't know why a flame burns at his mouth when he sleeps (241-310).
Havelock defeats Edulf in battle (735-758) and then Edelsie, having used the tactic taught to him by Argentille of propping up the corpses of his army to make it look like he has more men.
Havelok is intricately constructed, consisting of a double arc in which the royal heirs of both Denmark and England are unjustly displaced as children but later restored to their rightful positions.
After Athelwold's death Godrich immediately betrays his oath and imprisons Goldborow in a remote tower in Dover.
The poem then shifts to Denmark, where a similarly virtuous king, Birkabein, dies, leaving behind two daughters, Swanborow and Helfled, and a son, Havelok.
Godard too betrays his trust: he brutally murders the daughters by cutting their throats and hands the three-year-old Havelok over to a thrall, the fisherman Grim, to be drowned in the sea.
Grim recognizes Havelok as the rightful heir to the kingdom when he sees a pair of miraculous signs: a bright light that emerges from the boy's mouth when he is sleeping, and the “kynemerk,” a cross-shaped birthmark on his shoulder.
Havelok's humility, gentleness and cheerful nature make him universally popular, especially with children, and his unusual height, strength and beauty draw attention wherever he goes.
During a festival, Havelok takes part in a stone-throwing competition and far surpasses the efforts of the other young men with his near-superhuman strength.
Godrich notices Havelok's unusual height and decides to arrange a marriage between him and Goldburow, as this will fulfil the literal terms of his promise to Athelwold that Goldboruw should marry the 'highest' man in the kingdom; believing Havelok to be a peasant's son, he intends to deprive Goldboruw of her inheritance by the marriage.
She then notices his birthmark, and an angel tells her of Havelok's royal lineage and his destiny as king of Denmark and England.
At the same time, Havelok has a dream in which he embraces the land and people of Denmark in his arms and presents the kingdom at Goldboruw's feet.
When Havelok has received the submission of many of the Danish lords amid great rejoicing, he defeats Godard and the usurper is condemned to be flayed and hanged.
