Havelok the Dane. a presentation

Transcription

1 Havelok the Dane a presentation

2 TIMELINE OF EVENTS 1016: Danish Conquest 1066: The Norman Conquest 1171: Norman Invasion of Ireland 1215: Magna Carta : France invades England 1280~90: Havelok the Dane was written

3 The Story

4 Historical Context Most scholars place Havelok the Dane at the end of the thirteenth century between 1280 and 1290 reworking of Anglo-Norman sources? First known telling was ~ in Geffrei Gaimar s L Estoire des Engles Le Lai d Haveloc ( ) was based on this Robert Mannyng s Chronicle of England contains a concise rendition of Havelok s story in 82 long lines Many versions but all focus on his body - Bigger than others - Immeasurable strength

5 ENGLAND DENMARK Parallel narrative Narrator inserts himself in the midst of action

6 OMG he is king BIRTHMARK Hunger Magical signs of royalty

7 Body: Light in mouth She saw therinne a lith ful shir, Al so brith so it were day, Aboute the knave ther he lay. Of hise mouth it stod a stem Als it were a sunnebem; Al so lith was it therinne So ther brenden cerges inne. [she saw a light as bright as day shining around Havelok where he lay. A ray like a sunbeam came from his mouth, as bright as though candles were burning.] (ll )

8 Body: Light in mouth O nith saw she therinne a lith, A swithe fayr, a swithe bryth - Al so brith, all so shir So it were a blase of fir. She lokede noth and ek south, And saw it comen ut of his mouth That lay bi hire in the bed. No ferlike thou she were adred! On hise shuldre, of gold red She saw a swithe noble croiz; Of an angel she herde a voyz: (ll )

9 Body: Kynmerk Als he tirveden of his serk, On hise rith shuldre a kynmerk, A swithe brith, a swithe fair. "Goddot!" quath Grim, "this ure eir, That shal louerd of Denemark! He shal ben king, strong and stark; He shal haven in his hand Al Denemark and Engeland. [when he pulled back Havelok s shirt he found the birthmark of a king on his right shoulder. By God, this is our heir who should be lord of Denmark! Grim told Leve. He will be a strong, brave king of both Denmark and England.] (ll )

10 Food: purveyance Thouthe, "Ich am now no grom! Ich am wel waxen and wel may eten More than evere Grim may geten. Ich ete more, bi God on live, Than Grim an hise children five! [ I am no longer a boy, he thought. I am grown and may eat more than Grim can get; by God, I eat more than Grim and his five children!] (ll ) purveyance: the king s right to buy or borrow at will from his subjects of all ranks foodstuffs and other provisions for the royal household (Murtaugh 478) this prerogative was a source of potentially dangerous rancor in England, as the needs of the royal household were folded into the much larger demands of simultaneous wars in France and Scotland (Murtaugh 478) This had happened under Henry II, who used purveyance to feed his armies during the Irish expedition of 1171 (Murtaugh 478)

11 Food Louerd, we sholen thee wel fede Til that thu cone riden on stede, [Lord, we shall feed you well until you can ride on a steed] the rebuilding of social order must begin at its most fundamental level, with the simple act of feeding a hungry child (Hotsetter 57) (ll , emphasis my own)

12 Food: inability to have a wife "Nay," quoth Havelok, "bi my lif! Hwat sholde ich with wif do? I ne may hire fede ne clothe ne sho. Wider sholde ich wimman bringe? I ne have none kines thinge - I ne have hws, I ne have cote, Ne I ne have stikke, I ne have sprote, I ne have neyther bred ne sowel, Ne cloth but of an hold whit covel. This clothes that ich onne have Aren the kokes and ich his knave!" (ll )

13 Food: Athelwold s inability to eat He was so faste wit yvel fest That he ne mouthe haven no rest, He ne mouthe no mete hete, Ne he ne mouchte no lythe gete, Ne non of his ivel that couthe red - Of him ne was nouth buten ded. (ll )

14 Food: feast at Ubbe s "Dame, thou and Havelok shulen ete samen, And Goldeboru shal ete wit me, That is so fayr so flour on tre. In al Denemark is wimman non So fayr so sche, by Seint Johan." Thanne were set and bord leyd, And the beneysun was seyd, Biforn hem com the beste mete That king or cayser wolde ete: Kranes, swannes, veneysun, Lax, lampreys, and god sturgun, Pyment to drinke and god claré, Win hwit and red, ful god plenté - (ll )

15 Religion: Christianity and its influences [Also a wicke traytur Judas] [That werse was thanne Sathanas] Jesu Crist, that Lazarun To live broucte fro dede bondes, He lese hire wit Hise hondes! And leve sho mote him yse Heye hangen on galwe tre That hire haved in sorwe brouth, So as sho ne misdede nouth. Godrich is identified with the Christian archetypal traitor Betrays both the divinely appointed king and religious vow for the sake of material gain Paralleled with the character of Gorard Just as Judas must hang for betraying Christ, so Godrich must hang for betraying God s representative on earth

16 Religion: Changes to system of governance?

17 Religion: Justice? Irony? "We deme that he be al quic flawen And sithen to the galwes drawe At this foule mere tayl, Thoru his fet a ful strong nayl, And thore ben henged wit two feteres We judge that Godard be flayed alive, then drawn by the foul mare to the gallows with a strong nail through his feet. There he shall be hanged with two fetters Shamelike in wicke wede, And, hwan he come unto the borw, Shamelike ben led ther thoru, Bi southe the borw unto a grene, That thare is yet, als I wene, And there be bunden til a stake Godrich was sentenced to be bound tightly upon a wretched ass lengthwise, not across, with his nose upon its tail. He was to be led through Lincoln in shame, dressed in filthy clothes tied to a stake and burned to dust

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19 Works Cited Herzman, Ronald B., et al., editors. Four Romances of England: King Horn, Havelock the Dane, Bevis of Hampton, Athelston. Medieval Institute Publications, Hostetter, A. "Food, Sovereignty, and Social Order in Havelok the Dane." JEGP, Journal of English and Germanic Philology, vol. 110 no. 1, 2011, pp Project MUSE, doi: /egp Murtaugh, Daniel M. Havelok the Dane: Kingship, Hunger, and Purveyance. Neophilologus, vol. 100 no. 3, July 2016, pp Springer Link, doi: /s Ishkanian Aram, Vahan. The Dual Concept of Kingship in Havelok the Dane. summit.sfu.ca/system/files/iritems1/2821/b pdf