SOURCE: "Historical Allusions," Studies on the "Havelok-Tale," Upsala, 1903, pp. 64-91.

In the following excerpt, Heyman attempts to trace many historical allusions in Havelok the Dane to their sources.

After his short analysis of the English Romance ten Brink says: "Im Havelok haben wir festen geographischen Boden unter uns;¹ doch fehlt auch hier die Brulcke, die von den Personen und Ereignissen der Fabel zur Geschichte oder zur alterer Volkssage hinüberführte—zum wenigsten fehlt eine Brücke, die wir uns ohne Gefahr anvertrauen könnten."²

This is true not only of this English version of the tale but of all the versions.

The question of the basis of the folk-traditions, on which the Havelok-tale is built up, is one which is rendered rather difficult, partly on account of the late records extant, and partly because none of the versions are of a very original character.—The interpretation of...