SOURCE: "The Home of the Beves Saga," Publications of the Modern Language Association of America (PMLA), Vol. XVII, No. 2, 1902, pp. 237-46.

[In the essay reprinted below, Hoyt contends that the Bevis saga is of Anglo-Saxon derivation, not French or German. To support his argument, he calls attention to important parallels between the Bevis story and the tale of King Horn—an early-thirteenth-century English romance of indigenous origin.]

The question of the original home of the Beves saga has often been discussed, but no satisfactory conclusion has been reached. The conjectures regarding it have been various, but as yet unconvincing.

Amaury Duval¹ places the scene of the story in France at Antonne, but without giving definite grounds for this supposition. Turnbull² and Kölbing³ both adopt this view without argument. Pio Rajna⁴ was the first to suggest a Germanic home for the saga, locating Hanstone (Hamtoun) on the continent near the French border of Germany. The arguments given are unimportant, but this view of the origin has been accepted by Gaston Paris,⁵ although he takes exception to Rajna's wildest suppositions as to the name Hanstone. Albert Stimming⁶ has exposed the weakness of Rajna's reasoning, but even he leaves the question still unsettled. Later in his introduction, he gives impartially the arguments in favor of French as well as those in favor of Germanic origin, but does not regard them as sufficient ground for forming an opinion. These comprise the conjectures thus far advanced, and all are weakly supported and inconclusive.

A resemblance between the Beves and the Horn seems to me to furnish at last the key to the complete solution of the problem. If the Beves can be shown to be but a romantically developed form of the Horn saga, its ultimate origin must at once be acknowledged to be the same as that of its more primitive base. Since such a relation can be proved, I present the proposition that the Beves, like its prototype, the Horn, is Anglo-Saxon and insular—not French, nor German.

The Beves romance is obviously a hotch-potch of adventures formed about a simple story. This simple base may be given briefly as follows:—A young man, driven from home, wins power in the service of a foreign king, gains the love of the king's daughter, returns home, and takes revenge on his enemies. This summary will be seen to serve admirably as an outline of the story of King Horn. Upon this relation, which has not been noticed heretofore, I base the proposition just given.⁷

A closer examination of the two poems shows that this resemblance is not merely that of two "expulsion and return" romances, but that the central story of the Beves parallels the Horn, incident for incident. Naturally, this parallelism is not exact, nor would we have it so. The differences, however, can be explained in accordance with the method of the Beves-writer, who was developing a long romantic story, zealously religious, from the Horn, which is itself simple and almost savage in its roughness.

Even a brief examination of the two romances will make clear the close resemblance in their essential elements, although they have always been regarded as entirely unlike.

The first incident—the expulsion—is the one most changed and developed in the Beves. In the Horn, the hero and his companions are set adrift by the "Saracens," who have conquered his father's land. The Beves, however, uses an entirely different motive—the cruel mother. Beves, after his father's murder, wildly accuses his mother of instigating the crime, and opposes her marriage with the murderer. Her first attempt on Beves's life is frustrated by the faithful old man, Saber, to whom she has given the boy to be put to death. He spares him, and shows the mother his coat dipped in the blood of a goat. Beves is too much enraged, however, to tend sheep quietly for his friend, and, rushing back to court, denounces his mother before them all. This time Saber is powerless to save him, and he is taken to the seashore and sold to some foreign merchants.

In this incident the Horn is absolutely simple, using only the conquest by the Saracens and the subsequent setting adrift of Horn and his noble friends. Such a situation would be obviously unfitted to the highly religious tone of the Beves; Saracens could not be permitted to destroy the hero's land, even in his youth. The author, therefore, in seeking an induction more suited to his purpose, made use of a well-known type of expulsion incidents, which had the additional advantage of giving him an opportunity for a wide romantic development later. This is exactly the treatment we should expect in the case of a late romance, developed from a simple early form. Any feature, not in accord with the author's time, would be changed to fit the later conditions. We seek, then, a similarity of fundamental elements only, and this we find in the retention of the "expulsion" itself, although the method employed is entirely different.

In the second incident—the reception at the foreign court—the two stories are closely parallel. Horn is at once received into favor by Aylmar, king of Westernesse, who is struck by the lad's beauty (1. 161 ff.). The king has him instructed in all arts and makes him his cupbearer (1. 229 ff.). In the Beves, also, the hero, by his beauty, wins immediate favor with King Ermin of Ermonie, to whom the merchants have presented him. Ermin at once appoints him chamberlain (1. 534 f. and 571 ff.⁸). The slight difference here is due to the difference in age of the two heroes. The numerous incidents of the expulsion in the Beves necessitate a youth of riper years than in the simpler Horn.

In the court, Horn is beloved by all who know him (11. 245 ff.) and especially by Rymenhild, the daughter of the king. As soon as he learns of her love, Horn loves her in return, but seeks knighthood and honor that he may be worthy of her. In the Beves, religion plays a much more important part. Beves is loved by all who know him, as in the Horn, and especially by Josiane, the daughter of King Ermin (11. 578 ff.). Beves, however, unlike Horn, will have nothing to do with Josiane for a long time, and only after her promise to embrace Christianity does he become her lover. The change is characteristic of the religious tone of the whole Beves, the author of which could not allow his Christian hero to love a Saracen, until she had offered to renounce her false faith. The marriage, in the Beves as in the Horn, is not consummated until long after, when vengeance has been taken upon the youth's enemies in his native land. It is noteworthy in this episode that the hero in each case is knighted by the king at his daughter's request, in order to defend the country against foreign foes.

The banishment, which forms the third incident, is also closely paralleled in the motiving. The meetings of the lovers are falsely reported to the king in each case. Beves is betrayed by two knights, whom he had rescued in battle; Horn, by Fikenild, one of his twelve chosen comrades (Horn, 680 ff.; Beves, 1206 ff.). In the Horn, the king straightway banishes the hero, but, in the Beves, the incident is skilfully worked over to give an opportunity for the long episodes of Beves's imprisonment and his return adventures. This is accomplished by means of a sealed letter, which is given him to carry to Damascus. This letter contains instructions for Beves's instant death, but Brandimond, to whom it is delivered, throws him into prison instead. The difference in development is again perfectly characteristic; the author of the Beves, feeling the necessity of changing from the simple banishment of the Horn in order to lengthen his story, drew upon this well-known device of mediaeval fiction,—the Uriah or Bellerophon letter.

The fourth incident in the Horn, which occurs during this banishment, although not found in a corresponding place in the Beves, is nevertheless closely paralleled. Horn journeys to the land of King Thurston, and, by his valor in battle, wins the offer of the kingdom after the king's death, and of the hand of the princess. The corresponding episode in the Beves occurs during the wanderings of Beves and Terri (11. 3759 ff.). They come upon the land of Aumberforce, and in a tournament—a natural change for the romantic author—Beves wins the hand of the Lady of Aumberforce and the promise of the succession after her father's death. Horn refuses King Thurston's offer, but promises to remain and serve him for seven years. Beves likewise refuses to accept Aumberforce and its princess, but is retained by her as her "lord in clene manere" for seven years.

It is to be noticed, also, that the ultimate outcome of the adventure is the same in both cases. Terri, Beves's foster-brother, gains the Lady of Aumberforce when Beves finds Josiane; Athulf, Horn's most intimate and faithful friend, marries Reynild, the daughter of King Thurston, when Horn returns to Rymenhild.

The fifth incident—the first marriage—shows the same close resemblance. During Horn's absence when banished by King Aylmar, Rymenhild is wooed by King Modi of Reynes and at last forced to wed him. Horn, however, returns just in time to prevent the consummation of the marriage. This differs little from Josiane's experience during Beves's imprisonment by Brandimond. She is forced to marry King Yvor, but preserves her virginity by means of a charm. Horn, on his opportune return just alluded to, disguises himself in a palmer's weeds to gain admittance to his love's presence. He is served by her own hands and reveals himself by means of a magic ring she had given him. Beves also returns after the same term of absence—seven years—although his adventures have been very different, as we are prepared to expect by the change in the method of banishment. He, too, gains admittance to his love's presence by adopting a palmer's weeds. Within the castle he is served by his mistress's own hands and reveals himself by his horse Arondel, which is endowed with supernatural powers. The parallel here is carried even into the replies which the assumed palmer makes to his lady's inquiries, granting always the partial rationalizing of the magic ring element by the substitution of the wonderful horse Arondel (cf. Horn, 1007 ff. with Beves, 2041 ff.). The plan of action after the recognition in the two stories is eminently characteristic. Horn straightway kills off most of his enemies; Beves, however, contrives to escape with Josiane in a highly romantic manner, well-calculated to bring in other adventures.

The second marriage forms the last important incident, and is, like the others, closely parallel in the two romances. Beves, before marrying Josiane, must set out from Cologne—where a long series of adventures has landed them—to relieve his foster-father Saber and to avenge himself upon his father's murderer. Horn in Westernesse will, also, neither marry nor rest until he has regained his hereditary kingdom. During Horn's absence, Rymenhild is again persecuted by Fikenild, whom Horn had unwisely spared. Horn a second time returns at the right moment; he assumes a harper's disguise to gain admittance to his enemy's castle, and this time makes his revenge more complete. After thus gaining his love again, Horn lives peacefully upon his own lands, crowning Arnoldin king of Westernesse and wedding Athulf to King Thurston's daughter. In the other story, Josiane, during Beves's absence, is importuned by Miles of Cologne and compelled by force to marry him. In desperation she succeeds in hanging him on the marriage-bed on the wedding evening. For this act she is condemned to be burned, and thus there is an opportunity for a romantic rescue. The Beves is then carried on, page after page, by means of incidents varying in the different versions. The end, however, resembles the ending of the Horn. The conquered territories are distributed among the hero's intimate friends, or relatives, and Beves and Josiane grow old in peace upon their own possessions. The final touch in the Beves is of course the more elaborate. Beves and Josiane die at the same time and are buried together; the Horn simply says "Nu are hi both ded," and commits their souls to God.

In the second marriage episode, it is noteworthy that, in the Horn, the repetition is an exact one—the opportune return, the disguise, and all. This shows a much more primitive stage of development than the Beves, where the story is artistically varied by the incidents of the murder in the bed chamber, the trial, and the rescue.

These parallels account for everything in the central story of the Beves—the story with which the author worked as his original. The omitted parts are non-essential elements. An examination of these plus-incidents shows that, without exception, they are repetitions or romantic commonplaces, and hence cannot be relied upon as giving any definite evidence for the original home of the saga.

Of these plus-incidents, three can be at once dismissed. These are important in the English Beves, but are not found in the Anglo-Norman version, which Stimming has proved to be the source of our English form. These late additions are Beves's fight with fifty Saracens over a question of religious belief (11. 585-738), the dragon fight (11. 2597-2910), and the encounter with the burghers of London (11. 4287-4538).

Another class among the plus-incidents may be set aside also as unimportant in our discussion. There is no method of developing or enlarging a romance better recognized than that of repeating in a modified form one of the original incidents. This appears in the Beves in Josiane's second marriage. This very repetition is seen in the Horn as well. There, however, as I have already noted, it is an exact repetition—the simplest form of development. In the Beves, the repeated incident is carefully developed and this accounts fully for the changes. In the first marriage, Josiane preserves her virginity by means of a charm; in the second, the author gains variety by employing the well-known romantic feature of the murder in the bed chamber.

Other important repetitions may be seen in the numerous military expeditions (11. 3303-3458, 3967-4004, 4109-4252). These repeat, with more or less variation, Beves's great battle against Brandimond immediately after being knighted (11. 989-1068). This incident parallels, in its motiving, Horn's fight with the pagan freebooters, in which he proves his right to the knighthood just conferred upon him (Horn, 623-682).

A third class among the plus-incidents may comprise those features which are the direct outgrowth of feudal and chivalric conditions. Such features, unless they are parts absolutely essential to the story, are of course not portions of the simple original, which must have been formed in more primitive times. The sealed letter, the long imprisonment, the escape, and the many adventures of the return may safely be classed in this group. Here, too, we may place Beves's expedition in aid of Saber, and his subsequent journey to London to sue his estates.

Finally, there is a class of episodes which will at once be recognized as commonplaces of romance. The boar-fight, the encounter with the lions and the giant, Josiane's delivery in the forest, her capture by the treacherous page, and her search in minstrel's garments may be grouped here. No one of these is an essential part of the story, and each can be easily explained as a characteristic addition, or a change to fit the style of a more romantic writer.

These four classes include all the plus-incidents of the Beves,⁹ which therefore have no weight against the proposition that the central story of the Beves is equivalent to the Horn. There is no essential incident in the Beves which is not found in the Horn, and, conversely, the Horn incidents reappear in the Beves, though with many romantic changes and developments. A more exhaustive study than is possible in this article shows that the close resemblance between the Beves outline and the Horn extends often to matters of minute detail.

The contention that the Horn is equivalent to the main story of the Beves, is strengthened by observing that the Horn shows a repetition which reappears in the Beves. This is the second marriage episode, which, in the Horn, is simply repeated, as I have shown. In the Beves, though more highly developed; it follows the outline of the Horn so closely as to be practically a proof of the correctness of the proposition. It is not held, of course, that the Beves is necessarily from the extant text of the Horn, but that it goes back to some form of the Horn saga, and is therefore Anglo-Saxon or Anglo-Danish—insular, and not continental. That the original was a developed form of the saga, the repetition of the marriage episode shows, and it may well have borne the name of Horn, although the mere name is of little importance.

The Anglo-Saxon origin thus contended for fits well with what has already been proved regarding the Beves. Stimming has shown that the Anglo-Norman is the oldest extant version, and that this Anglo-Norman form is an insular product. His thesis is strengthened when we prove that the original story was also of insular origin.

The theory of an insular home for the saga explains well the nautical character of the Beves, which is quite unlike the air of the French chansons, and associates the romance rather with English and Germanic material.

It suits, too, the name Hamtoun, which, in the earlier versions, is unquestionably English, despite the efforts of Duval and Rajna to prove it French or German.

Finally, it fits the historical Beves¹⁰ mentioned by Elyot,¹¹ Fuller¹² and others. This Beves lived in the time of William the Conqueror, and, with a few followers, resisted ineffectually the power of the invaders. Whether this is real history or fiction, our proposition agrees well with it, especially as this Beves lived at first near Southampton, and nothing would be more natural than to group a series of adventures about a local hero.

Because we have seen that the central story of the Beves is equivalent to the Horn, and that its plus-incidents are easily accounted for as the work of a later romantic writer, and because all external evidence strengthens this proposition, we may confidently place the Beves in the rank of the Guy, the Horn, and the Havelock as insular and not continental material.

Notes

¹Histoire Litteraire de la France, xviii, pp. 750 ff.

²Sir Beves of Hamtoun, pp. xv ff. (1837).

³Sir Beves of Hamtoun (E. E. T. S.), p. xxxiv (1885).

⁴ I Reali di Francia, pp. 123 ff. (1872).

⁵Romania, II, 359.

⁶Der Anglonormannische Boeve de Haumtone, pp. clxxxi ff. (1899).

⁷ Stimming, in his list of parallels, notices a resemblance in episodes only, not in the whole outline, and draws no conclusions. He says: "Das Liebesverhältnis zwischen Boeve und Josiane berührt sich in mehreren Punkten mit dem zwischen Horn und Rimel. Auch Horn wird von Winkle, gegen dem er sich freundlich bewiesen, verleumderischerweise angeklagt, Rimel beschlafen zu haben, und letztere soll gegen ihrem. Willen gewaltsam verheiratet werden." (p. cxc.)

⁸ References in the Beves are to the A text of Kölbing's edition.

⁹ Two episodes—Beves's swimming the sea on Trinchefis (1811-1818), and the island duel (4137-4239)—may, at first thought, be excluded from these classes. When considered in connection with their setting of commonplace romantic material, they show at once that they are elements quite unessential to the main story, and chosen by the author for variety only.

¹⁰ This is probably what is alluded to as "a kernel of genuine English tradition" by Prof. George H. McKnight, p. vii of the introduction to his edition of King Horn, just published in the E. E. T. S. series (1901).

¹¹ Sir Thomas Elyot, The Boke named the Governour, H. H. S. Croft's edition, I. 184.

¹² Thomas Fuller, Worthies of England, under Souldiers of Hantshire.