Hero-Myths & Legends of the British Race
"Nay," quoth Havelok, "that will I not. I cannot feed her, much less
clothe and lodge her. My very garments are not my own, but belong to
the cook, my master." Godrich fell upon Havelok and beat him
furiously, saying, "Unless thou wilt take the wench I give thee for
wife I will hang or blind thee"; and so, in great fear, Havelok agreed
to the wedding. At once Goldborough was brought, and forced into an
immediate marriage, under penalty of banishment or burning as a witch
if she refused. And thus the unwilling couple were united by the
Archbishop of York, who had come to attend the Parliament.
Never was there so sad a wedding! The people murmured greatly at this
unequal union, and pitied the poor princess, thus driven to wed a man
of low birth; and Goldborough herself wept pitifully, but resigned
herself to God's will. All men now acknowledged with grief that she
and her husband could have no claim to the English throne, and thus
Godrich seemed to have gained his object. Havelok and his unwilling
bride recognised that they would not be safe near Godrich, and as
Havelok had no home in Lincoln to which he could take the princess, he
determined to go back to his faithful foster-father, Grim, and put the
fair young bride under his loyal protection. Sorrowfully, with grief
and shame in their hearts, Havelok and Goldborough made their way on
foot to Grimsby, only to find the loyal Grim dead; but his five
children were alive and in prosperity. When they saw Havelok and his
wife they fell on their knees and saluted them with all respect and
reverence. In their joy to see their king again, these worthy
fisherfolk forgot their newly won wealth, and said: "Welcome, dear
lord, and thy fair lady! What joy is ours to see thee again, for thy
subjects are we, and thou canst do with us as thou wilt. All that we
have is thine, and if thou wilt dwell with us we will serve thee and
thy wife truly in all ways!" This greeting surprised Goldborough, who
began to suspect some mystery, and she was greatly comforted when
brothers and sisters busied themselves in lighting fires, cooking
meals, and waiting on her hand and foot, as if she had been indeed a
king's wife. Havelok, however, said nothing to explain the mystery,
and Goldborough that night lay awake bewailing her fate as a thrall's
bride, even though he was the fairest man in England.
The Revelation and Return to Denmark
As Goldborough lay sleepless and unhappy she became aware of a
brilliant light shining around Havelok and streaming from his mouth;
and while she feared and wondered an angelic voice cried to her:
"Fair Princess, cease this grief and heavy moan!
For Havelok, thy newly wedded spouse,
Is son and heir to famous kings: the sign
Thou findest in the cross of ruddy gold
That shineth on his shoulder. He shall be
Monarch and ruler of two mighty realms;
Denmark and England shall obey his rule,
And he shall sway them with a sure command.
This shalt thou see with thine own eyes, and be
Lady and Queen, with Havelok, o'er these lands."
This angelic message so gladdened Goldborough that she kissed, for the
first time, her unconscious husband, who started up from his sleep,
saying, "Dear love, sleepest thou? I have had a wondrous dream. I
thought I sat on a lofty hill, and saw all Denmark before me. As I
stretched out my arms I embraced it all, and the people clung to my
arms, and the castles fell at my feet; then I flew over the salt sea
with the Danish people clinging to me, and I closed all fair England
in my hand, and gave it to thee, dear love! Now what can this mean?"
Goldborough answered joyfully: "It means, dear heart, that thou shalt
be King of Denmark and of England too: all these realms shall fall
into thy power, and thou shalt be ruler in Denmark within one year.
Now do thou follow my advice, and let us go to Denmark, taking with us
Grim's three sons, who will accompany thee for love and loyalty; and
have no fear, for I know thou wilt succeed."
The next morning Havelok went to church early, and prayed humbly and
heartily for success in his enterprise and retribution on the false
traitor Godard; then, laying his offering on the altar before the
Cross, he went away glad in heart. Grim's three sons, Robert the Red,
William Wendut, and Hugh the Raven, joyfully consented to go with
Havelok to Denmark, to attack with all their power the false Jarl
Godard and to win the kingdom for the rightful heir. Their wives and
families stayed in England, but Goldborough would not leave her
husband, and after a short voyage the party landed safely on the
shores of Denmark, in the lands of Jarl Ubbe, an old friend of King
Birkabeyn, who lived far from the court now that a usurper held sway
in Denmark.
Havelok and Ubbe
Havelok dared not reveal himself and his errand until he knew more of
the state of parties in the country, and he therefore only begged
permission to live and trade there, giving Ubbe, as a token of
goodwill and a tribute to his power, a valuable ring, which the jarl
prized greatly. Ubbe, gazing at the so-called merchant's great stature
and beauty, lamented that he was not of noble birth, and planned to
persuade him to take up the profession of arms. At first, however, he
simply granted Havelok permission to trade, and invited him and
Goldborough to a feast, promising them safety and honour under his
protection. Havelok dreaded lest his wife's beauty might place them in
jeopardy, but he dared not refuse the invitation, which was pointedly
given to both; accordingly, when they went to Ubbe's hall, Goldborough
was escorted by Robert the Red and William Wendut.
Ubbe received them with all honour, and all men marvelled at
Goldborough's beauty, and Ubbe's wife loved Goldborough at first sight
as her husband did Havelok, so that the feast passed off with all joy
and mirth, and none dared raise a hand or lift his voice against the
wandering merchant whom Ubbe so strangely favoured. But Ubbe knew that
when once Havelok and his wife were away from his protection there
would be little safety for them, since the rough Danish nobles would
think nothing of stealing a trader's fair wife, and many a man had
cast longing eyes on Goldborough's loveliness. Therefore when the
feast was over, and Havelok took his leave, Ubbe sent with him a body
of ten knights and sixty men-at-arms, and recommended them to the
magistrate of the town, Bernard Brown, a true and upright man, bidding
him, as he prized his life, keep the strangers in safety and honour.
Well it was that Ubbe and Bernard Brown took these precautions, for
late at night a riotous crowd came to Bernard's house clamouring for
admittance. Bernard withstood the angry mob, armed with a great axe,
but they burst the door in by hurling a huge stone; and then Havelok
joined in the defence. He drew out the great beam which barred the
door, and crying, "Come quickly to me, and you shall stay here! Curses
on him who flees!" began to lay about him with the big beam, so that
three fell dead at once. A terrible fight followed, in which Havelok,
armed only with the beam, slew twenty men in armour, and was then sore
beset by the rest of the troop, aiming darts and arrows at his
unarmoured breast. It was going hardly with him, when Hugh the Raven,
hearing and understanding the cries of the assailants, called his
brothers to their lord's aid, and they all joined the fight so
furiously that, long ere day, of the sixty men who had attacked the
inn not one remained alive.
In the morning news was brought to Jarl Ubbe that his stranger
guest had slain sixty of the best of his soldiery.
"What can this mean?" said Ubbe. "I had better go and see to it
myself, for any messenger would surely treat Havelok discourteously,
and I should be full loath to do that." He rode away to the house of
Bernard Brown, and asked the meaning of its damaged and battered
appearance.
"My lord," answered Bernard Brown, "last night at moonrise there came
a band of sixty thieves who would have plundered my house and bound me
hand and foot. When Havelok and his companions saw it they came to my
aid, with sticks and stones, and drove out the robbers like dogs from
a mill. Havelok himself slew three at one blow. Never have I seen a
warrior so good! He is worth a thousand in a fray. But alas! he is
grievously wounded, with three deadly gashes in side and arm and
thigh, and at least twenty smaller wounds. I am scarcely harmed at
all, but I fear he will die full soon."
Ubbe could scarcely believe so strange a tale, but all the bystanders
swore that Bernard told nothing but the bare truth, and that the whole
gang of thieves, with their leader, Griffin the Welshman, had been
slain by the hero and his small party. Then Ubbe bade them bring
Havelok, that he might call a leech to heal his wounds, for if the
stranger merchant should live Jarl Ubbe would without fail dub him
knight; and when the leech had seen the wounds he said the patient
would make a good and quick recovery. Then Ubbe offered Havelok and
his wife a dwelling in his own castle, under his own protection, till
Havelok's grievous wounds were healed. There, too, fair Goldborough
would be under the care of Ubbe's wife, who would cherish her as her
own daughter. This kind offer was accepted gladly, and they all went
to the castle, where a room was given them next to Ubbe's own.
At midnight Ubbe woke, aroused by a bright light in Havelok's room,
which was only separated from his own by a slight wooden partition. He
was vexed suspecting his guest of midnight wassailing, and went to
inquire what villainy might be hatching. To his surprise, both husband
and wife were sound asleep, but the light shone from Havelok's mouth,
and made a glory round his head. Utterly amazed at the marvel, Ubbe
went away silently, and returned with all the garrison of his castle
to the room where his guests still lay sleeping. As they gazed on the
light Havelok turned in his sleep, and they saw on his shoulder the
golden cross, shining like the sun, which all men knew to be the token
of royal birth. Then Ubbe exclaimed: "Now I know who this is, and why
I loved him so dearly at first sight: this is the son of our dead King
Birkabeyn. Never was man so like another as this man is to the dead
king: he is his very image and his true heir." With great joy they
fell on their knees and kissed him eagerly, and Havelok awoke and
began to scowl furiously, for he thought it was some treacherous
attack; but Ubbe soon undeceived him.
"'Dear lord,' quoth he, 'be thou in naught dismayed,
For in thine eyes methinks I see thy thought--
Dear son, great joy is mine to live this day!
My homage, lord, I freely offer thee:
Thy loyal men and vassals are we all,
For thou art son of mighty Birkabeyn,
And soon shalt conquer all thy father's land,
Though thou art young and almost friendless here.
To-morrow will we swear our fealty due,
And dub thee knight, for prowess unexcelled.'"
Now Havelok knew that his worst danger was over, and he thanked God
for the friend He had sent him, and left to the good Jarl Ubbe the
management of his cause. Ubbe gathered an assembly of as many mighty
men of the realm, and barons, and good citizens, as he could summon;
and when they were all assembled, pondering what was the cause of this
imperative summons, Ubbe arose and said:
"Gentles, bear with me if I tell you first things well known to you.
Ye know that King Birkabeyn ruled this land until his death-day, and
that he left three children--one son, Havelok, and two daughters--to
the guardianship of Jarl Godard: ye all heard him swear to keep them