Walter William Skeat

From the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries it seems to have been almost classic, and during that period two full metrical versions, one in Norman French and the other in English, were written, besides many other short versions and abridgements which still exist.

These are given exhaustively by Professor Skeat in his edition of the English poem for the Early English Text Society, and it is needless to do more than refer to them here as the sources from which this story is gathered.

These versions differ most materially from one another in names and incidents, while yet preserving the main outlines of the whole history.

It is evident that there has been a far more ancient orally preserved tradition, which has been the original of the freely treated poems and concise prose statements of the legend which we have.

Grim the fisher is certainly a historic character in his own town, and it has not been hard to combine the various callings of the worthy foster-father of Havelok and the troubles of both mother and son.

A third local variant tells that Havelok was found at Grimsby by the fisher adrift in an open boat, and I have given that boat also a place in the story in a different way.

The names of the kings are too far lost to be set back in their place in history, but Professor Skeat gives the probable date of Havelok and Grim as at the end of the sixth century, with a possible identification of the former with the governor of Lincoln, baptized by Paulinus.

I have therefore assumed this period where required.

From the 11th to the 13th centuries, it seems to have been almost classic, and during that period, two full metrical versions, one in Norman French and the other in English, were written, besides many other short versions and abridgments which still exist.

These are given exhaustively by Professor Skeat in his edition of the English poem for the Early English Text Society, and it is needless to do more than refer to them here as the sources from which this story is gathered.

These versions differ most materially from one another in names and incidents, while yet preserving the main outlines of the whole history.

It is evident that there has been a far more ancient, orally preserved tradition, which has been the original of the freely treated poems and concise prose statements of the legend which we have.

Grim the fisher is certainly a historic character in his own town, and it has not been hard to combine the various callings of the worthy foster-father of Havelok and the troubles of both mother and son.

A third local variant tells that Havelok was found at Grimsby by the fisher adrift in an open boat, and I have given that boat also a place in the story in a different way.

The names of the kings are too far lost to be set back in their place in history, but Professor Skeat gives the probable date of Havelok and Grim as at the end of the 6th century, with a possible identification of the former with the governor of Lincoln, baptized by Paulinus.

I have therefore assumed this period where required.

It is impossible, however, but that here and there errors of translation will be found, and I shall be grateful to any scholar who may feel sufficient interest in the book to point these out.

The text of The Vision used as the foundation for this rendering is that known as the B text, published by Professor Skeat in his small volume of Piers the Plowman.

This text has also been carefully compared with that in his larger edition of the complete work, and occasionally the older edition by Wright has been consulted.

An occasional reading has been taken from the C text, and an appendix of the most interesting additional passages from the same version will be found at the end of this volume.

The spelling of the medieval Latin has been retained throughout.

Only such notes have been added to the book as are needful to bring out the complete meaning of the text, and for many of these I am indebted to Professor Skeat's editions of The Vision.

Readers who desire to know more concerning the points of history, archaeology, and language connected with the poem are referred to these books, where they will find such matters treated with enthusiastic scholarship.

And here I wish very heartily to thank Professor Skeat, who is always ready to help younger workers in his own field, for the very generous permission he has given me to make such use of his notes as I have done.

From the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries it seems to have been almost classic, and during that period two full metrical versions, one in Norman French and the other in English, were written, besides many other short versions and abridgments, which still exist.

These are given exhaustively by Professor Skeat in his edition of the English poem for the Early English Text Society, and it is needless to do more than refer to them here as the sources from which this story is gathered.

These versions differ most materially from one another in names and incidents, while yet preserving the main outlines of the whole history.

It is evident that there has been a far more ancient, orally preserved tradition, which has been the original of the freely treated poems and concise prose statements of the legend which we have.

Grim the fisher is certainly a historic character in his own town, and it has not been hard to combine the various callings of the worthy foster-father of Havelok and the troubles of both mother and son.

A third local variant tells that Havelok was found at Grimsby by the fisher adrift in an open boat, and I have given that boat also a place in the story in a different way.

The names of the kings are too far lost to be set back in their place in history, but Professor Skeat gives the probable date of Havelok and Grim as at the end of the sixth century, with a possible identification of the former with the governor of Lincoln, baptized by Paulinus.

I have therefore assumed this period where required.

From the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries it seems to have been almost classic, and during that period two full metrical versions, one in Norman French and the other in English, were written, besides many other short versions and abridgments, which still exist.

These are given exhaustively by Professor Skeat in his edition of the English poem for the Early English Text Society, and it is needless to do more than refer to them here as the sources from which this story is gathered.

These versions differ most materially from one another in names and incidents, while yet preserving the main outlines of the whole history.

It is evident that there has been a far more ancient, orally preserved tradition, which has been the original of the freely treated poems and concise prose statements of the legend which we have.

Grim the fisher is certainly a historic character in his own town, and it has not been hard to combine the various callings of the worthy foster-father of Havelok and the troubles of both mother and son.

A third local variant tells that Havelok was found at Grimsby by the fisher adrift in an open boat, and I have given that boat also a place in the story in a different way.

The names of the kings are too far lost to be set back in their place in history, but Professor Skeat gives the probable date of Havelok and Grim as at the end of the sixth century, with a possible identification of the former with the governor of Lincoln, baptized by Paulinus.

I have therefore assumed this period where required.

From the 11th to the 13th centuries it seems to have been almost classic, and during that period two full metrical versions, one in Norman French and the other in English, were written, besides many other short versions and abridgements, which still exist.

These are given exhaustively by Professor Skeat in his edition of the English poem for the Early English Text Society, and it is needless to do more than refer to them here as the sources from which this story is gathered.

These versions differ most materially from one another in names and incidents, while yet preserving the main outlines of the whole history.

It is evident that there has been a far more ancient orally preserved tradition, which has been the original of the freely treated poems and concise prose statements of the legend which we have.

Grim the fisher is certainly a historic character in his own town, and it has not been hard to combine the various callings of the worthy foster-father of Havelock and the troubles of both mother and son.

A third local variant tells that Havelock was found at Grimsby by the fisher adrift in an open boat, and I have given that boat also a place in the story in a different way.

The names of the kings are too far lost to be set back in their place in history, but Professor Skeat gives the probable date of Havelock and Grim as at the end of the 6th century, with a possible identification of the former with the governor of Lincoln, baptised by Paulinus.

I have therefore assumed this period where required.

From the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries it seems to have been almost classic, and during that period two full metrical versions, one in Norman French and the other in English, were written, besides many other short versions and abridgments, which still exist.

These are given exhaustively by Professor Skeat in his edition of the English poem for the Early English Text Society, and it is needless to do more than refer to them here as the sources from which this story is gathered.

These versions differ most materially from one another in names and incidents, while yet preserving the main outlines of the whole history.

It is evident that there has been a far more ancient, orally preserved tradition, which has been the original of the freely treated poems and concise prose statements of the legend which we have.

Grim the fisher is certainly a historic character in his own town, and it has not been hard to combine the various callings of the worthy foster-father of Havelock and the troubles of both mother and son.

A third local variant tells that Havelock was found at Grimsby by the fisher adrift in an open boat, and I have given that boat also a place in the story in a different way.

The names of the kings are too far lost to be set back in their place in history, but Professor Skeat gives the probable date of Havelock and Grim as at the end of the sixth century, with a possible identification of the former with the governor of Lincoln, baptised by Paulinus.

I have therefore assumed this period where required.

From the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries it seems to have been almost classic, and during that period two full metrical versions, one in Norman French and the other in English, were written, besides many other short versions and abridgments which still exist.

These are given exhaustively by Professor Skeat in his edition of the English poem for the Early English Text Society, and it is needless to do more than refer to them here as the sources from which this story is gathered.

These versions differ most materially from one another in names and incidents, while yet preserving the main outlines of the whole history.

It is evident that there has been a far more ancient, orally preserved tradition, which has been the original of the freely-treated poems and concise prose statements of the legend which we have.

Grim the fisher is certainly a historic character in his own town, and it has not been hard to combine the various callings of the worthy foster-father of Havelok and the troubles of both mother and son.

A third local variant tells that Havelok was found at Grimsby by the fisher adrift in an open boat, and I have given that boat also a place in the story in a different way.

The names of the kings are too far lost to be set back in their place in history, but Professor Skeat gives the probable date of Havelok and Grim as at the end of the 6th century, with a possible identification of the former with the governor of Lincoln, baptized by Paulinus.

I have therefore assumed this period where required.

From the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries, it seems to have been almost classic, and during that period two full metrical versions, one in Norman French and the other in English, were written, besides many other short versions and abridgments which still exist.

These are given exhaustively by Professor Skeat in his edition of the English poem for the Early English Text Society, and it is needless to do more than refer to them here as the sources from which this story is gathered.

These versions differ most materially from one another in names and incidents, while yet preserving the main outlines of the whole history.

It is evident that there has been a far more ancient, orally preserved tradition, which has been the original of the freely treated poems and concise prose statements of the legend which we have.

Grim the fisher is certainly a historic character in his own town, and it has not been hard to combine the various callings of the worthy foster-father of Havelock and the troubles of both mother and son.

A third local variant tells that Havelock was found at Grimsby by the fisher adrift in an open boat, and I have given that boat also a place in the story in a different way.

The names of the kings are too far lost to be set back in their place in history, but Professor Skeat gives the probable date of Havelock and Grim as at the end of the sixth century, with a possible identification of the former with the governor of Lincoln, baptized by Paulinus.

I have therefore assumed this period where required.

From the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries it seems to have been almost classic, and during that period two full metrical versions, one in Norman-French and the other in English, were written, besides many other short versions and abridgments, which still exist.

These are given exhaustively by Professor Skeat in his edition of the English poem for the Early English Text Society, and it is needless to do more than refer to them here as the sources from which this story is gathered.

These versions differ most materially from one another in names and incidents, while yet preserving the main outlines of the whole history.

It is evident that there has been a far more ancient, orally preserved tradition, which has been the original of the freely-treated poems and concise prose statements of the legend which we have.

Grim the fisher is certainly a historic character in his own town, and it has not been hard to combine the various callings of the worthy foster-father of Havelock and the troubles of both mother and son.

A third local variant tells that Havelock was found at Grimsby by the fisher adrift in an open boat, and I have given that boat also a place in the story in a different way.

The names of the kings are too far lost to be set back in their place in history, but Professor Skeat gives the probable date of Havelock and Grim as at the end of the sixth century, with a possible identification of the former with the governor of Lincoln, baptized by Paulinus.

I have therefore assumed this period where required.