[a] The throne eventually passes to Murry's son Horn, who after many adventures in other lands returns and defeats the Saracen occupiers[4] with the aid of an army of Irish knights.
Upon reaching adulthood, Horn and the king's daughter, Rymenhild, fall in love and become betrothed; Sir Athelbrus, the castle steward is entrusted by the princess as her go-between.
Horn, much upset by what he had read, asked the messenger to return to the princess and tell her that he would soon be there to rescue her from her hated bridegroom.
Horn reveals to King Thurston his true identity and history, and informs him that he is returning to Westernesse to claim his betrothed.
Having gathered a company of Irish knights, Horn sets sail for Westernesse, only to find out that the marriage had already taken place.
Disguised as an old palmer, having darkened his skin, Horn infiltrates the castle of King Modi, where the wedding feast is taking place, and contrives to return to her the ring she had given him at the time of their betrothal.
King Ailmar is forced to give his daughter in marriage to Horn, and the wedding takes place that very night.
At the wedding feast, Horn reveals to his father-in-law his true identity and history, and then vows that he would return to claim his bride once his native land of Suddene was free of the Saracen invaders.
Back in Westernesse, Fikenhild, now a trusted servant of the king, falsely claimed that Horn was dead and demanded Rymenhild's hand in marriage, which was granted to him, and preparations for the wedding took place.
Hearing a lay of true love and happiness, Rymenhild swoons with grief, and Horn is filled with remorse for having tried her constancy for so long.
[6] Earlier versions of the story likely did involve Norse invaders, but by the time the romance was composed they were no longer topical villains, whereas Saracens were.
The orphaned prince who recovers his father's kingdom and avenges his murder, and the maid or wife who waits years for an absent lover or husband, and is rescued on the eve of a forced marriage, are common characters in romance.
The second of these motives, with almost identical incidents, occurs in the legend of Henry the Lion, duke of Brunswick; it is the subject of ballads in Swedish, Danish, German, Bohemian, &c., and of a Historia by Hans Sachs, though some magic elements are added; it also occurs in the ballad of Der edle Moringer (14th century), well known in Sir Walter Scott's translation; in the story of Torello in the Decameron of Boccaccio (10th day, 9th tale); and with some variation in the Russian tale of Dobrynya and Nastasya.