A conventional exhortation with strong connections to minstrelsy and oral traditions. Hall suggests that the poem “was apparently sung, or chanted, or recited . . . such a performance might have masked certain metrical irregularities that instantly become evident to a modern prosodist. . .” (p. 33). Because nearly every line of the extant texts contains divergent readings, Allen posits an “exclusive common ancestor” from which all three derive. This ancestor was not the author’s version; it is just possible that it was not written down. She offers three reasons for variation in the MS tradition: “1) a later redaction by the author; 2) later additions by performers or unprofessional adaptors; and 3) scribal corruption” (p. 33). William A. Quinn in Jongleur: A Modified Theory of Oral Improvisation and Its Effects on the Performance and Transmission of Middle English Romances (Washington: University Press of America, 1982) agrees that King Horn and Havelok were both performed rather than read to an audience. As in all oral performances, variations occur while the story is being told and metrical irregularities are not as discernible to the ear when there are distractions for the eye.

Hall suggests that biweste is a formality in romance discourse. Direction and precise location are problematic in this poem; among the MSS variation on direction is evident. See notes for lines 1145 and 1339.

The description of Horn as “fair” is important. More frequently are found superlative descriptions of the romance heroine, though the Horn poet connects Horn with his mother’s good looks (lines 7–8). Havelok, too, is extraordinarily handsome.

He was bright so the glas; / He was whit so the flur; / Rose red was his colur. Heroes described this way include Guy of Warwick (line 132), Bevis of Hampton (line 2675), and Ipomadon (line 5021). Hall points out several passages like this used to praise the beauty of women, but has “not found anything quite like it used for a hero of romance” (p. 93). See note to line 319.

Villains are often placed in opposition to the “good guys” in medieval romance. Thus Athulf is named just before Fikenhild whose name, deriving from OE ficol, means “deceitful.”

Rod on his pleing. Hall notes that “to play almost regularly means to ride out by wood or water” (p. 96). But it could also suggest specific leisure time activities of the aristocracy such as hunting and hawking.

Fifteen is a favorite number for romance writers and probably has numerological significance, i.e., the combination of seven (the number of completion) and eight (a number of new beginning). It could also be a division between stages of life as seems to be suggested by line 18 announcing Horn’s age.

Sarazins. This is a contested term that could apply to many groups of non-Christian invaders. See Diane Speed, “The Saracens of King Horn,” Speculum 65 (1990), 564–95.

Crist. The first mention of the deity, unusual since more often Middle English romances begin with an invocation or prayer. According to Allen in “Some Textual Cruces in King Horn,” Medium Aevum 53 (1984), 73–77, there are “twenty-seven instances where God or Christ is mentioned in one or more of the three manuscripts and in only five of them is there consensus of agreement in all three” (p. 73).

The king alighte of his stede. The king’s dismounting is curious here. Considering the threat he has just heard, remaining on horseback in a state of combat readiness might be a prudent idea. In later romances hand-to-hand combat takes place only after an opponent is knocked off his horse. Hall thinks this episode harkens back to a pre-Conquest English custom.

The fremde ne the sibbe. This is a conventional phrase meaning “no manner of men.”

Godhild’s retreat under a roche of stone may be to a subterranean chamber or cave. Her desire to separate herself from the world is an act reminiscent of the desert saints but also could be an act of self defense. Godhild is an uncommon name in England and is probably derived from the German Gundihildis.

That Horn is not slain is quite extraordinary given his princely position and the possibility that revenge might occur. The Greeks did not hesitate to kill Hector’s son during the Trojan War just for this reason.

The children (i.e., young knights or squires) are Horn and his companions. At this point, Horn is still considered a “child,” not only because of his tender age, but because of his impending social, political, and military obligations. For this reason, Lee C. Ramsey, in Chivalric Romance: Popular Literature in Medieval England, classifies King Horn as a “child exile” narrative, a story about “growing up in a personal, military, social, and political sense” (p. 26). In line 1529 Athulf is called “child” not in the sense of immaturity, but rather as an indication of his chivalry.

The se bigan to flowe. “The sea reached high tide”; or “The sea began to rise, or surge.” See MED flouen v. 4a.

The boat has been set adrift and becomes subject to the will of God. Tradition held that those exposed in such a manner, just as those subjected to trials by ordeal, would die if guilty of some crime or sin. It could also be construed as a test of faith. Other romance figures were tested in the same ways, most notably Emaré or Custance as she is known in Chaucer’s The Man of Law’s Tale and Crystabelle with her son Eglamour in the romance bearing his name. Saints were also tested in this way.

Suddene is a locale contested among scholars. It could be the Isle of Man, between Ireland and Britain, Sussex, Cornwall, South Devon, Roxburgh, and/or the land of Suðdene as in Beowulf.

Well bruc thu thin evening. The sense is “bear your name well.” As Hall notes, “let your fame be spread wide as is the sound of a horn” (p. 107). Sands notes the puns on the name “Horn,” the instrument called a “horn” which resounds literally, just as fame does metaphorically, “Bi dales and bi dune” (p. 22).

fundling. C: fundyng. Horn and his companions are treated as orphans rather than enemies, a sign of their lack of martial prowess and the accoutrements of knighthood. Abandonment and orphanage were serious matters in the Middle Ages. See John Boswell, The Kindness of Strangers: The Abandonment of Children in Western Europe from Late Antiquity to the Renaissance (New York: Vintage Books, 1988).

Bivore me to kerve, / And of the cupe serve. Serving at table was customary practice for young boys at court. It taught both courtesy and discipline.

Rymenhild’s speechlessness is a symptom of love sickness. Her tongue is “broken,” as Sappho might say.

Athulf is Horn’s sworn brother. The relationship is like that among the four men in Athelston and between Amis and Amiloun. In modern terms a sworn brother is synonymous with a “blood brother,” though there is usually no exchange of bodily fluid.

wexe wild. McKnight and Hall note the popularity of this expression. Here it is symptomatic of love sickness and its accompanying loss of reason and self-control. Swooning could also be a symptom of the condition.

F&H note that often “beds were the only furniture in most apartments, and hence served as chairs or benches.” A maiden’s wooing of a man is less usual but may be found in Amis and Amiloun, Bevis of Hampton, and Sir Eglamour.

Fairer bi one ribbe. Having one more rib in the same way that (according to the creation story in Genesis) woman has one more rib than man and is also the “fairer” sex. Susan Dannebaum disagrees because “this interpretation has the disadvantage of paralleling Horn’s physical excellence to that of women rather than to some masculine ideal” (p. 116). She sees instead a parallel between Adam and Christ, who were conventionally thought by medieval commentators to have had perfect physical bodies. For example, Nicholas Love’s Mirrour of the Blessed Lyf of Jesu Christ (a translation of St. Bonaventure’s Meditationes Vitae Christi) sees both Adam and Christ as paragons of masculine beauty. Dannenbaum believes a more typical (or at least male) medieval comparison would link Havelok to these male figures, who symbolize old and new creation, rather than to Eve, who symbolizes the fall of humanity. See also Liam Purdon, “King Horn and the Medieval Trope of Christ the Lover-Knight,” Proceedings of the PMR Conference at Villanova 10 (1985), 137–47.

With him ye wolden pleie. Pleie has a range of meanings including those implicating innocent games of “merriment” and “pleasure” as well as more serious games of martial prowess and sexual intercourse. The context here seems to suggest a certain degree of intense sexual interest, something akin to the pleasure of foreplay.

Hall notes the paucity of description for Rymenhild. Horn’s beauty does indeed seem of more interest. He, not she, illuminates the bedchamber.

gan stonde. “did stand.” Gan is an auxiliary verb which simply intensifies the main verb and is indicative of past tense and causative aspect. The H scribe regularly substitutes con for gan.

Heo sette him on pelle. According to the MED, pelle has a range of meanings including “hide,” “skin,” “furred skin used as lining or trim on a garment”; it could also refer to a cloak or mantle or a piece of parchment. F&H gloss the term “rich coverlet” (p. 37), with which Hall seems to agree when he calls it the “rich cloth covering the bed” (p. 118). Hall bases his gloss on the use of the term in the King of Tars, “on bedde . . . that comelich was isprad with palle” (lines 781–83).

Ich am icome of thralle. Hall’s note illuminates Horn’s motive for describing himself as the son of a thrall (peasant): “Horn’s statement is dictated by caution and the desire not to compromise his master Athelbrus, who has told him to be careful and true to him” (p. 319).

The disparity in social status for a marriage alliance such as this in actual life would be subject to disapprobation. Being knighted raises Horn’s apparent social status, however, and renders his marriage to a princess possible.

With loveliche speche. Allen notes that this reading “does not make sense since Rymenhild is begging Athelbrus (through Horn) to make a persuasive appeal to her father to knight her lover.” Allen prefers liþeliche, which she suggests adds the appropriate touch of graciousness and humility. But Hall’s glossing of the term as “loving and affectionate” makes sense too since Rymenhild’s appeal to her father is predicated upon a close personal relation (father/daughter) just as much as it is based upon the political relation of king and subject. As any daughter knows, a doting father is easily persuaded with loveliche speche.

A sword, spurs, and a horse are essential items for a knight. Chivalry itself is derived etymologically from cheval, the French term for horse; a chevalier is one who rides a horse, i.e., a knight. Also, the dubbing signals a transformation in Horn’s martial capability because as a thrall he cannot bear arms. Hall notes the oddity of the king’s putting the boots and spurs on Horn, a practice usually enacted by knights rather than kings (p. 127).

The first request of a newly dubbed knight is usually granted.

According to custom, any knight could confer knighthood. Hall notes that “the knighting of Horn’s comrades at the same time as himself is in accord with actual custom: the number of persons advanced with the distinguished personage varies with his rank” (p. 127).

A central requirement of chivalry is for a knight to prove himself worthy of his designated lady’s love.

Medieval romance is filled with magical rings. One of the most memorable is found in Chrétien de Troyes’ Yvain. Given to the hero by a woman named Lunette, the ring confers invisibility to its wearer, though its true power is to help a knight conquer his fear. Rings could also function as signs of recognition between lovers, as in Erle of Tolous, Sir Eglamour, Ipomadon, and Floris and Blanchefleur.

Dubbing as ornamentation is unique here. In addition to signifying a ritual conferring knighthood, “dubbing” could also mean “attire,” or “adornment,” or “finery” according to the MED.

The arming of horses seems to have developed in the late twelfth century. The first mention of it in literature is in Wace’s Roman de Rou. Hall dates the time when the usage became common in England by comparing the Statute of Winchester (1285) with the Statute of 27 Edward I (1298): “The former does not make any mention of armor for the horse, the latter makes it universally obligatory” (p. 132). This is Horn’s second steed; the first is white. It is not unusual for literary knights to have three horses of different colors, e.g., Ipomadon and Sir Gowther.

hethene honde is a frequently used expression of contempt. Saracens apply it to Christians just as Christians apply it to Saracens and other enemies. See Sowdone of Babylone (line 956).

The carrying of an enemy’s decapitated head on sword or spear point occurs not only in romance, but is a practice that carried over into real life. During the Rising of 1381, for instance, rebels paraded the heads of the Archbishop of Canterbury and several other government officials through the streets of London before piking them on the city gates. One of their leaders, Wat Tyler, suffered similar retaliatory treatment at the hands of the king’s men.

The king him rod. This is an example of a reflexive verb form (as if one were to say “the king took himself out riding”).

moder child. Hall suggests that this use of the phrase in the popular sense, i.e., as every man alive, is comparatively rare in Middle English. Allen notes that moder was probably added by the scribe of the lost ancestor she dubs the “exclusive common.”

Seint Stevene. This may refer to one of many saints by the name of Stephen, but a likely candidate would be the deacon and protomartyr whose life first appears in Acts of the Apostles. He was martyred by stoning.

Sture. Probably the River Mersey, near modern Liverpool.

F&H note this baring of the sword as a “magical act” accompanying an oath. Hall sees the practice as more akin to realism: “The practice was of the highest antiquity among all northern nations” (p. 137).

A brunie was an armored corselet secured to the body with laces.

wyve. “Wife” should be read as “woman” here. At this point, Horn and Rymenhild are betrothed, but not officially married.

Seven years is the regular probationary period for a lover in ballad and romance. It is the measure of apprenticeship. Rymenhild’s earlier premonition is fulfilled as will be her dream.

feol to grunde. The swoon is a trope of medieval romance, though Dante the Pilgrim does it frequently in the Commedia, a work not often considered part of the romance tradition. As Allen notes, the episode here is not connected with Rymenhild’s previous faint (p. 301).

Editors disagree about the meaning of these lines. F&H think that the glove exchange is a way for Horn and Berild to pledge that they will not compete in love. Sands agrees with Hall when he suggests the following reading, which seems to make sense here: “When you [Berild] go a-wooing, entrust him [Horn] with your glove [i.e., as a symbol that he will not compete with you]; [but if] you intend to marry, he’ll drive you away; because of Cutberd’s handsomeness, assuredly you’ll never succeed [in love]” (p. 36).

Exactly the 25th of December.

The contract made here Hall says is “primitive” in character but seems to represent trial by combat, a practice in which judgment is rendered by whoever wins the battle. Fighting a giant and defeating him is the stuff of which legendary kings are made. (The battle of David and Goliath is one outstanding Scriptural example.) There are many such contests in Arthurian romance, including King Arthur’s confrontation with a giant at Mont St. Michel.

Right at prime tide. In its original sense, this means something like “6 a.m.,” and is a term borrowed from the monastic division of the day into seven prayer-periods (Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, Compline). This comes to mean simply “early in the morning” in secular usage.

He yaf dentes inoghe. “He gave enough blows,” a typical understatement in Old and Middle English battle descriptions.

The wording of Horn’s reply is confusing. He means something like the following: “Oh king, it would be wrong for me to accept what you are offering — your daughter [in marriage].”

Knave is often used less pejoratively in the Middle Ages, meaning “boy” or “servant” rather than in more modern usage where it connotes “rascal,” “thief,” or worse.

F&H identify Reynes as Furness, Lancashire (northwestern England).

Sunday at six a.m. is probably a significant time of arrival. It marks the sabbath [seventh] day in the Old Law and the first day of creation in the New. The seven-year pattern is thus archetypal.

Also he sprunge of stone. Sands suggests that this refers to a non-Christian belief that the first humans were fashioned out of stones, and this “stoniness” made them solitary (p. 42). In his Metamorphoses, the Roman poet Ovid depicts mythic creation as Pyrrha and Deucalion, the only couple left on earth, sow stones from which a new civilization arises. Hall’s note emphasizes a psychosocial dimension of the phrase “which expresses the most complete isolation like that of one who, having come into the world without human parents, is devoid of relations or ties of any sort” (p. 152).

A beggar’s disguise is a favorite trope of medieval romance writers. Hall compares this to an episode in the Gesta Herwardi, which tells how Hereward on behalf of a friend rescues a Cornish princess. Also, there is a passage in Layamon’s Brut (lines 30728–30827) which relates how Brian visited the court of Edwine. The motif also recalls Odysseus’ entry into Ithaca in Homer’s Odyssey.

beggeres rowe. A place where poor folk were relegated and made to wait for charitable handouts. As a literary trope it appears in romances such as Sir Gowther.

The use of an animal horn as a drinking cup is ancient. Pliny, the Roman writer, describes them as vessels of the “barbarians.” Other authoritative texts were more favorably disposed, equating specific animal horns with humans of specific social ranks. The ancient Laws of Wales, for instance, relegates the horn of a wild ox to a king, while those of lesser beasts were appropriate for those of lower social status. The English drinking horn was much admired. Decorated drinking horns were prized by kings. Ordericus Vitalis’ chronicle of an Easter feast held by William the Conqueror describes the French nobility’s appreciation for a beautifully decorated English drinking horn. Henry I and Edward I were known to possess them. Hall finds it curious in light of these references that drinking horns are not mentioned frequently in Middle English literature, though Chaucer’s allusion in The Franklin’s Tale suggests its currency in the fourteenth century:

Janus sit by the fyr, with double berd, And drynketh of his bugle horn the wyn. (lines 1252–53)

Resigned to what she perceives as the beggar’s gluttony, Rymenhild offers him his original cup and the bowl she has just filled as well.

Given the frequency with which the English decorated their drinking horns, the cuppe white is probably a horn mounted in silver. F&H disagree on the meaning of the vessel, however: “because drinking horns were made of horns of animals, they were white, while bowls and other pottery were brown” (p. 58).

F&H note that a few beggars were customarily admitted to wedding feasts and served wine by the bride. Ancient Germanic custom, according to Hall, “required the lady or the daughter of the house to bear the drinking horn or cup round to the guests assembled at the greater feasts” (p. 159). Such is Weoltheow’s duty in Beowulf.

Horn’s disguise is accompanied by his telling of a parable in which he restates Rymenhild’s dream to her in an effort to reveal his true identity. The pun on “horn” in line 1155 and the preceding lack of protocol, i.e., his refusal to drink from anything other than the celebratory horn, is designed to spark her memory. He, as a fisherman, has returned to check his net to see whether she has remained true to him.

Whi he bad to Horn drinke. F&H’s capitalization of Horn in this line indicates a reading that explains why in disguise Horn commended Horn in line 1155. Such an expression of celebration would be decidedly inappropriate at a wedding feast acknowledging another man’s marriage.

St. Giles (or Aegidius) was probably abbot of a Benedictine monastery on the Rhone in Provence; he died in approximately 710. He became very popular as the patron saint of the lame. There was an important shrine of St. Giles at Nimes in southern France. The St. Giles Fair still exists at Oxford.

bi thine crois lighte. This is “a phrase without parallel” according to Hall, though he points to a similar phrase in Havelok: On his right shuldre swithe brith, / Brithter than gold ageyn the lith (lines 2140–41).

ut of stere. C: ut of stere. H: out of hurne. L: out of scyp sterne. Allen: out of herne. F&H gloss stere simply as “boat” while Sands gives the following reading: “They went over the stern [lit. ‘rudder’] away from Horn’s banner” (p. 51). The other MS readings and Allen’s emendation illuminate the scene in greater detail and suggest a third reading. Since ME hirne means a corner, nook, or hiding place, it seems reasonable that the Irishmen Horn has brought with him have emerged from a specific place located at the stern of the boat.

A touch of realism is operating in this scene since after foreign invasions, the countryside is left desolate; the native people are left to starve.

Horn’s disguise as a minstrel is effective. Like a beggar’s disguise it allows him anonymity and freedom of movement through otherwise rigid social barriers.

Ther he dude Athulf child. The designation given to Athulf does not suggest immaturity. Rather, he is a knight, having grown into his personal, military, social, and political identity.