TWO DISSEETATIONS 
 
 HAMLET 
 
 SAXO GRAMMATICUS 
 
 SHAKESPEAK. 
 
 I. THE HISTORICAL PERSONALITY OF HAMLET. 
 
 11. THE RELATION OF THE ' HAMLET ' OF 
 SHAKESPE.\R TO THE OERMAN PLAT, 
 'PRINZ HAMLET AUS DANEMARK,' etc. 
 
 BY 
 
 E. G. LATHAM, M.A., M.D., etc. 
 
 WILLIAMS AND NORGATE, 
 
 14, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON, 
 AND 20, SOUTH FREDERICK STREET, EDINBURGH. 
 
 1872. 
 
 [Jll Rights Reserved.] 
 
U55'^ 
 
 ON THE DOUBLE PERSONALITY OF THE HAMLET 
 OF SAXO GRAMMATICUS— THE HAMLET OF 
 SHAKESPEAR— ITS RELATION TO THE GER- 
 MAN HAMLET. 
 
 /. 
 
 BY DR. R, G. LATHAM, M.A., M.D., ETC. 
 PART I. 
 
 Saxo Grammaticus lived in Denmark during the latter 
 half of the twelfth century, and wrote a work on the 
 history of his country. — the ' Historia Danica ;' his 
 friend, patron, and instigator being Absalon, Arch- 
 bishop of Lund. His father and grandfather held 
 respectable offices in the state. He was born not 
 much before, nor yet long after, 1150. His work was 
 begun after 1177. Little as this information amounts 
 to, it is nearly all we have ; nor is this little abso- 
 lutely beyond cavil. It has even been doubted, for 
 instance, whether he Avere a native of Denmark, the 
 name Saxo suggesting a German origin. It seems, 
 however, to have passed into a proper name before 
 the end of the eleventh century. When it took the 
 honourable addition of Grammaticus is uncertain. 
 
 Of authorities, in the strict sense of the term, Saxo 
 quotes only two, — Beda and Dudo of St. Quentin, 
 both incidentally. He made, however, application 
 to the learned men of the day, and resorted to the 
 traditionary lore of the Icelanders. Thirdly, he 
 quotes certain passages from certain poets, but, as 
 
 B 
 
 M595810 
 
Z SAXO GRAMMATICUS. 
 
 they are in Latin and anonymous, the value of them 
 is uncertain. Are they originals or translations? 
 They occur chiefly in the earlier books. His cotem- 
 porary Snorro Sturleson, in his ' Heimskringla,' or 
 ' History of the Kings of Norway,' written in the 
 vernacular Icelandic, makes similar references. His 
 quotations, however, are in the original language and 
 the original metres, and generally the name of the 
 composers accompanies them. Upon the whole, 
 then, w^e have a fair general notion of what Saxo 
 means by the carmiiia antiqua. Occasionally we 
 can trace them in the prose narrative by their 
 alliteration^ 
 
 The true illustration, however, of Saxo is to be 
 found in the age to which he belonged. Neither he 
 nor his co temporaries had anything like systematic, 
 critical, or adequately informed predecessors. In the 
 way of actual testimony they had nothing but that of 
 the men of their own generation for the events of their 
 own time. Application to the oldest of these cotem- 
 poraries led them generally into the region of tra- 
 dition. Latin accounts, when they delivered new 
 matter, w^ould rarely transcend the introduction of 
 Christianity ; even the carmina antiqua would gene- 
 rally consist of allusions to events supposed to be 
 generally known rather than of explicit narratives. 
 
 About any English sources Saxo says nothing be- 
 yond his reference to Beda. The only parts, how- 
 ever, of the earlier narrative which point in the 
 direction of genuine history are English. This is 
 because occasionally, exceptionally, and under very 
 favourable circumstances, an event or individual may 
 be common to the history of two nations, of which the 
 
SAXO GRAMMATICUS. 6 
 
 records of the one are older than those of the other, 
 but at the same time accessible to the younger. 
 When such happens, a piece of real or approximate 
 history may be obtained. If so, it stands by itself, 
 isolated, and, as such, contrasted with what precedes 
 and what follows it. This is the way in which the 
 Britons knew about Cassivelaunus, Cynobelinus, and 
 the like ; not because there were any native records 
 to say who they were and what they did, but because 
 certain Romans had written about them, and cer- 
 tain Britons had read what they wrote. Beyond all 
 this, there were certain floating names, narratives, 
 and inferences Avearing the garb of tradition, of 
 which the best that could be said is that where there 
 is a superstructure there is a foundation, or, more 
 simply, where there is smoke there is fire. 
 
 Saxo's age, however, either required or produced 
 something more than this ; for it was the age of the 
 early French romances, the age of poems in Ger- 
 many like the ' Nibelungen-lied,' the age of a wholly 
 new literature in the vernacular languages, and of 
 certain very peculiar and characteristic forms of Latin 
 prose. They passed for history ; logography, however, 
 would be the better name. That any writer wil- 
 lingly and consciously sat down to concoct a syste- 
 matic series of dynasties with the view of extending 
 the antiquity of his county to such or such Scrip- 
 tural or Classical date, is what few believe ; but that 
 sooner or later most countries produced a work in 
 which such an extension is to be found, is beyond 
 doubt ; and one of these is the ' Historia Danica,' 
 another being the ' British History ' of Geoffrey of 
 Monmouth. There are others, but these best illus- 
 
 B 2 
 
4 SAXO'S LIST 
 
 trate both one another and the age which produced 
 them. 
 
 We may call this constructive chronology ; though 
 I again guard myself against the supposition that I 
 consider either Geoffrey or Saxo as wilful and con- 
 scious constructors. How the system grew up is 
 doubtful. It culminated, however, in more countries 
 than one about the same time, — the time under 
 notice. 
 
 How it grew we cannot say ; but now that we have 
 got it, we can analyse it. 
 
 The common-sense method of treating lists of kings 
 which logographies of this kind give us is to take the 
 two extremes, either of which supplies us with a start- 
 ing-point. We know that the newest is historical; we 
 know that the earliest is not. We may begin, in 
 British history, with Cassivelaunus and the evidence 
 of Julius Csesar, or we may begin with Brutus, the 
 eponymus of Britain, and no evidence whatsoever. 
 
 This principle is universal in its application, 
 though it need not always be applied. Sometimes 
 tve see all that it gives us by mere inspection ; at 
 others, it has special complications that keep it in 
 the background. It is always, however, implied. In 
 the following series the most historical part lies near 
 the middle. The thirty-eighth king is a cotemporary 
 of Charlemagne ; and, as this brings him on the con- 
 fines of continuous history, the list is here made to 
 end with him. 
 
 1. Hwm&ZeJ. (word for word 4. Skiold. 
 
 Hamhlet.) 5. Gram. 
 
 2. Dan I. 6. Gutliorm and Hading. 
 
 3. Humble II. {vide supra) 7. Frofho I. 
 
 and Lotlier. 8. Ha If dan. 
 
OF DANISH KINGS. 5 
 
 9. Roe. 24. Ingeld. 
 
 10. Scato. 25. Frotho V. 
 
 11. Helgo. 26. Haldan. 
 
 12. Rolvo. 27. Sivald. 
 
 13. Hother. 28. Sigurd. 
 
 14. Roricus. 29. Five Kings. 
 
 15. ViUetus. 30. Harold Hildetand. 
 
 16. Verm/undus. 31. Olo. 
 
 17. Ufa. 32. Omundus. 
 
 18. Dan II. 33. Syvardus. 
 ^19. HuGLETus (melius Hu- 34. Buthlus. 
 
 GLEKUs). 35. Jarmeric. 
 
 20. Frotho II. 36. Snio. 
 
 21. Fridlev. 37. Gormo. 
 
 22. Frotho III. 38. Gotricus. 
 
 23. Frotho lY. 
 
 To these must be added, from the Danish dynasties 
 in Ireland, Amhlaihh Cuaran, or Anlaf Cwiran^ and 
 from the kings of Norway, Olaf Kyrre. 
 
 Now it is not in accordance with the rules of rhe- 
 toric to address the argument to the eye rather than 
 the understanding, and to throw the proper duties of 
 the writer upon the printer. Nevertheless, it is clear 
 that in the preceding list a great deal is indicated 
 by the italics. This is, firstly, because the question 
 is so complicated that no means whatever of abating 
 its complexity should be neglected; and secondly, 
 because a general view of the import of several 
 names separated from one another by occasional 
 intervals is absolutely necessary as a preliminary. 
 Hugletus has a value of its own. Vikletus^ Ver- 
 mundiis, TIffo have theirs. The others, in italic, have 
 theirs ; and, in a smaller degree, every name on the 
 list has a value of some kind or other. 
 
6 VIKLETUS, VERIMUNDUS, AND UFFO. 
 
 The reasons for the predominance of the italicized 
 names are as follo\Y. They apply to persons who are 
 mentioned in compositions other than Scandinavian, 
 and as such have a prerogative claim to something- 
 like historical value. Anglo-Saxon England notices 
 Gufhorm, Half clan, Frofho, and Ingeld, so that 
 we find these names on both sides of the German 
 Ocean. But the Anglo-Saxon history is, for the 
 time, obscure. Of one of the two, either Sigurd or 
 Sivald, or (more probably) a mixture of the two, 
 there are notices in both the German and English 
 literatures ; and, though neither of these is abso- 
 lutely authoritative, the concurrence of the evidence 
 is better than no secondary confirmation at all. Of 
 Rolvo and Roricus more will be said hereafter. The 
 remaining names, as far as Sigurd, which are printed 
 in ordinary type, are only found in the Old Norse 
 narratives, Norwegian, Swedish, or Icelandic, which 
 differ from those of Denmark only in degree. Be- 
 tween Sigurd and Gotricus the bearing of the names 
 upon the present argument is less direct. 
 
 Now ViHefus, Vermundus, and Uffo are names of 
 wdiich the slightly altered forms Wiglaf] Warmund, 
 and Off a appear in the Anglo-Saxon poem ' Beowulf,' 
 wdiere they belong to men of the same generation; 
 herein giving us a slight deviation from the text ot 
 Saxo, where they are grandfather, son, and grandson 
 respectively. This, however, has never induced a 
 single commentator to hesitate in identifying them. 
 They differ, too, in the details of their history. Never- 
 theless their connection has always been allowed. 
 Nor is this strange, provided that we do not take 
 it for more than it is worth. It is iK)t supposed that 
 
HUGLETUS, OK HUGLEKUS. 7 
 
 an accurate history can be got either out of the 
 ' Historia Danica ' or the poem of ' Beowulf,' nor yet 
 out of the two combined. It is only believed that 
 the same characters are to be found, to a consider- 
 able extent, in both. And surely this is the case ; 
 for, besides these, the names of Halfdan, Frotho (one 
 or more), and Ingeld are common to the tw^o com- 
 positions. Still Viklet, Vermund, and Uffo have the 
 prerogative. They are most closely connected with one 
 another, not only in Saxo's history and the poem, 
 but elsewhere. They appear in more than one of 
 the Anglo-Saxon genealogies, and here, as in Saxo, 
 in sequence rather than as mere cotemporaries. 
 
 The order in the genealogies is (1) Wiglaf, (2) 
 Wsermund, (3) Offa, and that wherever we find the 
 names. More than this, in two English biographies 
 of King Offa, of which more wdll be said as we pro- 
 ceed, the name of Offa and Vermund reappear, and! 
 in the local traditions of Warwickshire they appear* 
 again. On the other hand it is only in Saxo that 
 they are connected with either Hamlet or Eoric, In 
 'Beowulf Wiglaf appears to be the youngest of the 
 three, and Wsermund the oldest. They are not, how- 
 ever, as in Saxo, father, son, and grandson, though 
 this (be it noted) is what they are in the gene- 
 alogies. 
 
 Upon the name Hugletus so much depends that 
 we must begin with putting it into its right form, 
 by changing the t into k. In doing this we merely 
 follow our predecessors, the earlier of whom had less 
 evidence in favour of the change than has since been 
 supplied by the later ones. The same is the case 
 wdth the t in Vikletus, and something very like it 
 with the th of Amle?^Aus. 
 
8 HUGLEKUS. 
 
 Laying aside the manifestly erroneous Hwhlesth, 
 we have the four following forms, — (1, 2) Hugle^ 
 and Hugle^, (3) Hugla/, and (4) Hugle^, the last 
 being, decidedly, the worst. It is found, as Ave see, 
 in Saxo ; it is also found in two of his successors, the 
 author of the 'Chronicon Erici Kegis,' and Petrus 
 Olaus ; but it is found nowhere else. Huthle/, too, 
 is found but once. In all the other lists the spelling 
 is either with a ^ or a g. 
 
 (V.) 
 Roric Slaganbogi. Uffi. 
 
 WiglafF. Dan. 
 
 Wermund. Hiiglekr. 
 
 Frothi tin Frokni. 
 
 (VI.) 
 
 Roric Slanggenbogi. VfFa. 
 
 Yinglet. Daii. 
 
 Ouermund Blinde. Hiiglekr. 
 
 Frotlii liin Frokni. 
 
 (VII.)1 
 
 Dan. Hughlek. 
 
 Frotlii. 
 
 Thirdly, there is, in Saxo himself, a second Hugle- 
 tiis, a king of Ireland. The story, however, which is 
 told of him is one which reappears in the ' Heims- 
 kringla.' There he is a king of Sweden, and Huhlei^r 
 is his name. Saxo's form, then, is a bad one; so 
 that, as a great deal depends upon it, it is fortunate 
 that it is so easily corrected. 
 
 Now, for more than half a century it has been 
 
 ' Tlie numerals are those of the divisions in the first volume of 
 Langebek's ' Scriptores.' Eoric is here contemporary with Eorieus, 
 who is contemporary with Amlethus ; Uffo is wanting j but Vermund 
 is blind. See pp. 5 — and 7U, 71. 
 
CHOCHILAICUS. 9 
 
 acknowledged that, word for word, this IlulileiJcr is the 
 Norse form of the Anglo-Saxon Hygeldc^ or Higeldc^ 
 one of the heroes in 'Beowulf,' and (what is more 
 important) that both are, word for word, Chochilaicus^ 
 or Chochelagus, the name of a Danish sea-king who, 
 in th@ beginning of the sixth century, was killed in 
 the Netherlands, — the authority being no less than 
 that of Gregory of Tours, whose important work on 
 the early history of the Franks was composed within 
 sixty years of the event.^ 
 
 This brings us to the high and exceptional value 
 assigned to the name Huglet^ or, in the full Latin 
 form, Hugletus ; for upon this name, along with the 
 assumptions that connect it with another, nine-tenths 
 of the present argument depends. 
 
 "His gestis, Dani cum rege suo, nomine Ghochilaichoy 
 evectu navali per mare Gallias appetnnt. Eggressi ad terras 
 pagum unum de regno Theuderici devastant atque captivant, 
 oneratisque navibus tam de cap ti vis quam de reliquis spoliis 
 reverti ad patriam cupiunt. Sed rex eorum in litus residebat^, 
 donee naves altum mare comprehenderent^ ipse deinceps 
 secuturus. Quod cum Theuderico nunciatum fuisset, Theu- 
 debertum^ fihum suum^ in illas partes cum magno exercitu 
 ac magno armorum apparatu direxit. Qui^ interfecto rege^ 
 hostes navali proelio superatos opprimit^ omnemque rapinam 
 terrae restituit/^ — Gregorius Turonensisj ' Historia Eccle- 
 siastica Francorum/ iii. 3. 
 
 An anonymous historian, above seventy years after- 
 w^ards, wdiose work is, to a great extent, a reproduction 
 of Gregory's, repeats the account, with an important 
 
 ^ The credit of identifyini^ Hygelac with Cochilaigns belongs to 
 Outzen, in his paper "Ueber das Angelsachsische Beowulfs Gedicht," 
 in the ' Kieler Blatter ' (1816 ?).— Thorpe, Trcmslation of ' Beowulf; 
 Preface, xxv. 
 
10 CHOCHILAICUS. 
 
 addition, for he tells us that the action took place in 
 the district of tlie Attuarii. 
 
 "In illo tempore Dani cum rege suo, nomine Cochilago, 
 cum navale hoste per altnm mare Gallias appetunt^ Theu- 
 derico pagum Attoarms et alios devastantes atque capti- 
 vantes plenas naves de captivis habentes, alto mare in- 
 trantes, rex eorum ad litus maris resedit. Quod cum Theu- 
 derico nunciatum fuisset, Tkeudebertum, filium suum^ cum 
 magno excercitu in illis partibus dirigens^ qui^ consequens 
 eos, pugnavit cum eis casde maxima^ atque ipsis prostratis, 
 regem eorum interfecit^ prgedam tulit et in terram suam 
 restituit." — Gesta Benmi Francorum, cxix. 
 
 Theudebert was the son of Diedrich (Thierry), the 
 son of Clovis. He was the king of Austrasian 
 Franks,and the date of the descent is a.d. 515 or 516. 
 
 A notice that merely tells us that a pirate, who 
 was a Dane, was in a certain year killed in a certain 
 part of the Netherlands, tells us little enough ; and, 
 in some respects, tells us w^orse than nothing, inas- 
 much as, from the simple impossibility of contradic- 
 tion, it enables the speculator to take any action of 
 any hero of the same or a similar name, and to con- 
 nect or identify the two. To a man who is merely 
 known to have died a.d. 516, any exploit within fifty 
 years anterior to that date, and within a limited though 
 somewhat wide range of circumstances, may be attri- 
 buted. All that can be said, on the first view, as an 
 abatement of this objection, is that the name is a 
 scarce one. It is not one like Olaf, or Harold, or 
 Knut, and a host of others. There is but one Chochi- 
 laicus in actual history. 
 
 A little more can be got by supposing that, though 
 but one of his deeds (and that the last) is recorded, 
 
CHOCHILAICUS. 11 
 
 he may have been, like the brave men who lived 
 before Agamemnon, a hero of much proAvess, and of 
 great, though forgotten, renown. And such seems to 
 have been the case. There was a legend in one of 
 the islands of the mouth of the Rhine, that Hiuglauc^ 
 the king of the Geats, was a man of such gigantic 
 stature that, wdien he w^as but twelve years of age, 
 no horse could carry him ; in proof of which were his 
 bones, which are still to be seen in the island under 
 notice. It would be w^ell if the geologist, by the aid 
 of the tradition, if it still exist, would ascertain the 
 exact locality of the gigantic fossil — saurian or mam- 
 malian, as the case may be — which is thus iden- 
 tified with the great sea-king of the sixth century. 
 As for the legend itself, we know with w^hat it is 
 connected, viz. the similar story as to the size of Eolf 
 Ganger, or Rodolf, Eaoul, Eollo or Ron, The Walker, 
 From its simplicity, and from the slightness in the 
 alteration of the name, this, the Rhenish legend, 
 may pass for the oldest of the notices of Chochi- 
 laicus ; and, if it be still current, for the one that 
 lasted the longest. In this the great hero is a Geaf^ 
 a term to which we shall soon make a second allu- 
 sion. 
 
 Thirdly, the date of his death was a peculiar one. 
 It belongs to that pre-eminently obscure period be- 
 tween the evacuation of Britain by the Romans and 
 the introduction of Christianity into England under 
 the Frank missionaries. How utterly destitute this 
 era is for definite data in the history of Scandinavia 
 need only be hinted at. That it was but little better 
 in England is best known to those w^ho have exa- 
 mined critically the evidence of what is called the 
 
1 2 CHOCHILAICUS. 
 
 Anglo-Saxon Conquest, concerning the Ellas, the 
 Cerdics, the Idas, the Stufs, the Wihtgars, the Ceaw- 
 lins, et hoc genus omne^ who founded such and such 
 kingdoms in such and such years. Saving the Franks, 
 there are no Germans who can show for this century 
 such a date as that of the death of Chochilaicus; and 
 this is from a Frank writer in Latin. Never, however, 
 was there a period during which a hero, who is 
 known only through his death in the Netherlands, 
 w^as more likely to have done something, during the 
 days of his activity, on the other side of the German 
 Ocean, than the year a.d. 615. Neither is there any 
 era during which the record of it was more likely 
 to have been lost ; or, if not wholly lost, to have 
 been converted into a matter of inference. This 
 means that Chochilaicus was sufficiently a man of 
 note to justify us in associating with his personal 
 history such names as come within probable con- 
 ditions, and if any such associations connect him with 
 England, they favour rather than impugn the iden- 
 tification. 
 
 Fourthly, and this, though it rests on negative 
 evidence, has been long recognized, comes the fact 
 that, whatever it may be in other respects, Chochi- 
 laicus is the first name in Danish^ history, and it is 
 part of the present treatise to show that upon this 
 much depends. 
 
 ^ "Der AngrifF auf den Gau der Hattiiarien um das Jahr 515, aus 
 dem sie Ton Theodebert, Tbeoderichs Sokn, mit Verlust ikres An- 
 fiihrers zuriick.^etrieben wurden, ist der erste Daneneinfall, dessen die 
 frankisclien Annalisten gedenken." — Zeuss, Die Deutschen und die 
 NacJibarstdinme, pp. 508-9. 
 
 A notice of a collision between tbe Danes and the Heruli is a few 
 years earlier than this defeat of Chochilaicus. In the notice, however' 
 of this event there are no names of any of the individual agents. 
 
THE PREDECESSORS OF HUGLEK. 13 
 
 Having thus shown a reason for giving the Hugletus 
 of Saxo a predominance over even Vikletus, Vermun- 
 dus, and Uifo, we now look to his place both in real 
 history and in Saxo's list of kings. In this he is the 
 nineteenth. Three only, (or at most but four, 
 Guthorm, Frotho I., Halfdan, and Rolvo (the sixth, 
 seventh, eighth, and twelfth) bear historical names ; 
 but they seem to be names out of their proper place 
 i.e. antedated. 
 
 The second, Dan 1., is an eponymus. 
 
 The first, Humble I., is a pro-eponymus, a term, 
 and one upon which more will be said in the sequel. 
 
 The third, Humble II., is Humble I. repeated. 
 His co-regent, Lothar, seems to be in the same cate- 
 gory with Guthorm, etc. 
 
 The fourth is SMold, an eponymus to the dynasty 
 of the SMoldings. 
 
 The fifth is Gram. 
 
 The ninth (the intermediate ones have been already 
 noticed) is Eoe, the founder of Roeskilde, much, no 
 doubt, as King Lud of London was the builder of 
 Ludgate. 
 
 The tenth and eleventh are Scato and Helgo ; the 
 first a divine, the second an heroic name ; each mythic 
 rather than historical. 
 
 The twelfth is Rolvo, already mentioned. 
 
 The thirteenth, Hother, is mythic. In his days 
 Odin and Balder visited Denmark. 
 
 The fourteenth, Roric, is merely, so far as the long 
 narrative connected with his reign is concerned, the 
 Amlethus (or rather the Amlethz) of the third and 
 fourth books, though he may be something else 
 besides. 
 
14 HUGLEK AND CHOCIIILAICUS. 
 
 The fifteenth, Viklet, is the successor of Eoric, 
 under whom Hamlet's history is continued and brought 
 to a conckision. 
 
 The sixteenth, Vermund, is Uffo's father, UfFo being 
 to Vermund much as Hamlet was to Roric. 
 
 The seventeenth, UfFo mysterious and brave as 
 he was during his father's reign, is, after his accession 
 to the throne, no better than Eoric. He, doubtless, did 
 great things, but the record is lost. His reign is 
 dispatched in about ten lines, more than half of which 
 are devoted to telling us that there is nothing to be 
 said about it. But more will be said about UfFo 
 hereafter. What, however, we must most especially 
 do with him is this : we must separate UfFo, the son 
 of Vermund, (the Crown Prince, so to say,) from UfFo 
 the King, as decidedly as we are about to separate 
 the Amlethus of the third book from the Amlethus 
 of the fourth. 
 
 Then comes Dan 11. , a repetition of Dan I., the 
 eponymus, he being the eighteenth on the list. 
 
 Ilucjlet is the nineteenth, Huglet being, so far as 
 he is Chochilaicus, expressly a Bane. 
 
 Now what is the difference between Htiglek, as he 
 will henceforth be called, as the nineteenth king of 
 Denmark in Saxo's list, and Chochilaicus^ as the 
 bearer of the first name in Danish history I Certainly 
 not the difference between One and Nineteen; for 
 when the two Dans are eliminated as eponymi ; and 
 the two Humbles as pro-eponymi; and Guthorm, 
 Frotho, and Halfdan, as antedated ; and the rest of 
 first fourteen as a mixture of myth and inference; 
 and Eoric as a mere lay-figure in the history of 
 Amlethus; and Viklet, Vermund, and UfFo, as 
 
HUGLEK AND CHOCHILAICUS. 15 
 
 English rather than Danish; — what, I ask, when we 
 have done all this, remains between Huglek and the 
 head of the list I Nothing. 
 
 This is our method when we deal with the list as 
 we find it. The place, however, of Huglet in respect 
 to Gormo suggests another explanation. It is with 
 Gormo that the genuine and continuous history of 
 Denmark is considered to begin ; so that both Gormo 
 and Huglek stand at the head of a list. Now the 
 differences in position between these two names is so 
 nearly the difference between those of Huglekus and 
 Humblus, that the probability of Saxo's long serial 
 list being made out of two shorter parallel ones sug- 
 gests itself, and, as two lists of this kind would 
 consist of twenty names each, these are just the ones 
 every logographer would devise who had been taught 
 to look upon Gorm as the twentieth King of Den- 
 mark, counted from either the eponymic Dan or the 
 exceptionally historical Chochilaicus. 
 
 That any such calculation was afloat when the two 
 hypothetical lists were first constructed is not known to 
 the present writer by anything like evidence. It is a 
 mere inference from the fact of such relations between 
 two epochs being, whether real or supposed, common 
 in the history of logography, combined with the way 
 in which the present assumption squares with the fact 
 of the two catalogues. In order to bring the two 
 halves into an exact equality some little manipulation 
 is required. The conjoint kings. Humbles II. and 
 Lothar, and Guthorm and Hading may be separated. 
 One of the two Humbles may be omitted. The five 
 kings may be treated as one, and some of the Frothos 
 may be omitted. But, even without this, Dan II. 
 
16 HUGLEK, HYGELAC, AND CIIOCHILAICUS. 
 
 and Huglekus come very close upon the middle of the 
 list; and that each of these is just the name with 
 which a list begins is evident. Dan II., as the head 
 of one list out of two, is in the place of Dan I., an 
 eponymus. Huglekus has a similar place as the first 
 historic Dane. This he is as the representative of 
 Chochilaicus. Humble, however, is in the same place 
 as Amlethus in his character of Huglek ; while, as 
 Humble I., he is the father of Dan H. But Dan II. 
 is the son of Ufi'o. Uffo, however, is Olaus Man- 
 suetus, who is, again, the Amlethus of the third book. 
 I do not say that all this gives us even half elements 
 of the dislocation and confusion here suggested. I 
 only say that if a succession of equations of this kind 
 is to be accounted for, it will not be accounted for by 
 the mere chapter of accidents. 
 
 As a point in the credibility of early Danish history 
 this train of criticism would be important, and much 
 might be said in its favour. For the present purpose 
 it is enough for Huglek to be at the head of some 
 list or other ; and this he is according to either of the 
 views here exhibited. 
 
 Place for place, then, and name for name, Huglek 
 and Chocilaicus, though not identical, are very near 
 one another. Huglek is the first probable king; 
 CJiochilmcus the first actual historical hero in Den- 
 mark. For Chochilaicus write Hygeldc, and the dif- 
 ference between the names is diminished. And of 
 both of them this may be predicated, — they are the 
 names of the first historical Dane who has come down 
 to us with a name at all. 
 
 This is the coincidence which most especially com- 
 mands our attention. The extent to which Danish 
 
THE THIRD AND FOURTH BOOKS OF SAXO. 17 
 
 history, after the time of Chochilaicus and Huglek, 
 becomes regular and consecutive is a widely different 
 question, and one to which the answer must be given 
 in the negative. There is certainly a gap between 
 Chochilaicus and the Danes of the eighth century. It 
 is almost as certain that the list of the immediate 
 successors of Huglek is inaccurate. Nevertheless, 
 Frotho II. is more in his proper place than Frotho I. ; 
 and so it is with the Halfdans. Indeed, the worst of 
 the names between Huglet and Gorm is in a better 
 predicament than the best of the Dans and Humbles ; 
 than Hother, Helgo, Scato, Gram, or Skiold. 
 
 Now comes the time for the introduction of a rule 
 which would, if practicable, have been introduced at 
 even an earlier stage of this dissertation. It will be 
 either repeated or alluded to more than once during 
 this work. It will come in at the end, even as it has 
 appeared at the beginning, and is continued through- 
 out ; for it is fundamental and essential to the whole 
 line of argument. Yet it is a mere receipt for reading 
 Saxo ; or, if we choose our illustration from another 
 quarter, a mere guide-post at the beginning of a 
 journey. We must never, however, either overlook 
 or neglect it. 
 
 There is a Third Book and a Fourth Book in Saxo, 
 and between these the reign of the king named 
 Eoricus is divided (no other reign being so distri- 
 buted), — and in the first of these the history of 
 Hamlet begins and in the second ends. Nominally, 
 it is the reign of Roricus ; actually, it is the story of 
 Hamlet. Roricus is something less than an Agamem- 
 non. Hamlet is something more than an Achilles. 
 Roricus is next to nowhere ; Hamlet is all but every- 
 
 c 
 
18 THE HAMLETS OF THE THIRD AND FOURTH BOOKS 
 
 where. The points, however, to be borne in mind 
 are that there is not one Hamlet, but two ; and that 
 the Hamlet of the third book is a different person 
 from the Hamlet of the fourth. This rule is abso- 
 lute ; and, more than this, it is only with the Hamlet 
 of the third book that the Hamlet of Shakespear 
 coincides. The Hamlet of Saxo's third book has 
 little more to do with the Hamlet of the fourth than 
 Shakespear's Hamlet has to do with Shakespear's 
 Macbeth. If there be a fraction of overstatement in 
 this illustration it must be excused. The diiference 
 between the tw^o is the difference (to use an old illus- 
 tration) of Alexander the Great and Alexander the 
 Coppersmith. We shall lose much more by under- 
 valuing than by exaggerating it. There is some con- 
 nection, some confusion, some action and reaction 
 between them ; but in all the essentials, the two 
 Hamlets are, to speak irreverently, — 
 
 ^' Two single gentlemen rolled into one.^^ 
 
 Such is the Amlethus, or, rather, the pair of Amlethi 
 of Saxo. 
 
 With this pre-eminence given to Hugletus we 
 naturally expect to find that his reign, whether long 
 or short, is treated as one of importance. 
 
 The whole history, however, of Huglet as we find 
 it in Saxo is as follows : — 
 
 " Post hunc regnat Hugletus, qui Homothum et Hogri- 
 mum, Svetiae tyrannos maritimo fertur oppressisse conflictu.''^ 
 And the notice of it by another writer is equally 
 concise ; indeed, it is almost an abridgement of the 
 preceding : — 
 
 " Tlia var Dan Kunung Uffa sun, ok Huhlek Kunung 
 Uffa sun, ban drap tva hofthinga af Suerike, Hemoth ok 
 Hagrim/* 
 
OF SAXO AKE TWO DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS. 19 
 
 This disappoints us. Two lines, along with an 
 unsatisfactory editorial note, is little for the first 
 king of a dynasty and a kingdom, especially when the 
 bearer of the name has been mentioned, with the cir- 
 cumstances of time and place, by the historian of a 
 distant country. 
 
 But it is the doctrine of the present writer that no 
 such mutilation of the due proportions of Huglekus 
 really exists. He has his history, or what passes for 
 such, and, so far as the mere mass of detail is con- 
 cerned, it is no smaller than our presumptions make 
 it. How far it is historical is another question. 
 
 It is submitted, subject to future argument, that 
 the narrative proper due to Huglekus has been trans- 
 ferred to Amlethus, and in Saxo's fourth book it is to 
 be found under that name. This means that in the 
 fourth book we may read Huglekus for Amlethus. 
 How this comes to pass is a question which may stand 
 over for a time. 
 
 At present it is sufficient to say that the main 
 evidence of the change lies (1) in the results to which 
 it leads, or the harmony or symmetry of the system 
 which arises out of them ; and (2) in the ease with 
 which the chief difficulty, the difference between the 
 words Huglekus and Amlethus, is surmounted. 
 
 In the first place, it converts the trio formed by 
 Viklet, Vermund, and Uffo, into a quaternion, by 
 which the agreement between Saxo and Beowulf is 
 notably increased. 
 
 Saxo. Beowulf. 
 
 Huglelms. Higelac. 
 
 Yikletus. Wiglaf. 
 
 Vermundus. Garmund. 
 
 Uffo. Offa. 
 
 c 2 
 
20 UFFO AND OLAUS MANSUETUS. 
 
 From which it follows that so far as the Amlethus of 
 the fourth book is Huglek or Chochilaiciis, he is also 
 Higeldc, and, vice versa, Higelac is Amlethus. That 
 Higelac and Huglek give Chochilaicus is, it must be, 
 remembered, no new doctrine. The new doctrine, 
 innovation, paradox, suggestion, discovery, interpreta- 
 tion, or whatever it may be called, is that Huglekus 
 is Amlethus. Here, indeed, and no earlier, the 
 present criticism begins. It proceeds by bringing 
 Havelok, the Dane, into the same category with 
 HugJeJc, Higelac, and Chochilaicus. 
 
 It is only, however, the Amlethus of th.^ fourth book 
 who is compared with Huglekus and his parallels, 
 equivalents, or aliases. 
 
 The Hamlet of the third book is UfFo (as Crown 
 Prince) who (as Kin(/) becomes Glaus Mansiietiis. 
 
 But Olmis Mansuetiis is, as name, much the same as 
 Olaus Tranqiiilhcs ; which is a recognized translation 
 of Olsii Kyrre; which is, combination for combination, 
 the Anglo-Saxon ^^i/^^/C^^'/ra??, and the Irish Amhhlaihh 
 Cuaran. Just, however, as Olaf thus fuses with the 
 adjunct Cuaran, so does HaveloJc, which comes from 
 Higelac and Chochilaicus. From Amhhlaihh it is now 
 submitted that Amlethus is an admissible transition. 
 The difficulty, however, of connecting the two names 
 is not supposed to be one between two words. It is 
 a confusion between two individuals. 
 
 So much for the names. How far the details in 
 the way of narrative and evidence support this view 
 must be collected from the sequel. All that need be 
 adduced before we proceed to the minuti<^ of the 
 question is the notice that it is upon the result, taken 
 as a whole, rather than from the evidence that pre- 
 
HIGELAC. 21 
 
 sents itself at each successive step, that the judgment 
 of the reader must be founded. 
 
 A writer who professedly makes his investigations 
 on the principle of finding something like an Ariad- 
 nean thread to the mysteries of a labyrinth, rather 
 than the topographical details of the maze itself, 
 as after its exploration it could be represented by a 
 map, must tax the reader's patience on two points. 
 He must not be asked to make his exposition in- 
 teresting by leading him gradually up to unexpected 
 results, and so stimulate his curiosity. The reader 
 must see the plan beforehand. He must look upon 
 the subject as a theorem, rather than a problem. His 
 interest, if he have any in the matter, must be con- 
 centrated on the evidence by which it stands or falls, 
 rather than upon any curious result which the inquiry 
 may lead to. But this requires him to tolerate occa- 
 sional repetitions and occasional anticipations. Of 
 these there shall be as few as possible. Still, there 
 will be some. 
 
 HiGELAC. 
 
 Between the death of Cochilaicus and the date of 
 the single known existing manuscript of Beowulf 
 there is an interval of about* five hundred years, 
 during which time the name of the Danish sea-king 
 was exposed to all the chances of an imperfect record, 
 — perhaps to those of a mere tradition ; and this in 
 three different countries ; i. e. by inference, in Britain 
 
 "* Unfortunately, as of Cajdmon and the Codex Exoniensis, there is 
 only a single manuscript of Beowulf extant, which I take to be of the 
 first half of the eleventh century. — Thorpe, Translation of- Beowulf y 
 Preface, xi. 
 
22 HIGELAC. 
 
 (which we may now call England), in Denmark, and 
 in the Netherlands. How it survived its bearer in this 
 last country we have seen ; for the origin of the tradi- 
 tion is, doubtless, older than the notice of it, and the 
 notice of it is from writers several centuries after the 
 event. The bones that gave rise to it may still exist, 
 — possibly in some well-frequented geological museum, 
 with an able exposition of their real nature, and a 
 Greek name for the extinct animal to which they 
 originally belonged. The title, however, of the tradi- 
 tional proprietor, Huiglauc, is genuine. 
 
 As far, then, as the outward and visible signs of 
 fame are concerned, the great name of the first of 
 the historical Danes is concealed for four centuries, 
 and when it appears in the poem of Beowulf, it is 
 not that of the hero and protagonist, but that of a 
 secondary personage ; secondary, however, only as a 
 hero. In rank he is the superior to Beowulf, and, in 
 a composition especially appropriated to himself, he 
 would, perhaps, be at least his equal in heroism. As 
 it is, he is as Agamemnon to an Achilles, or as 
 Charlemagne to Eoland. However, even thus, he is 
 always mentioned as a man of a sufficient note to be 
 alluded to without explanation, or as one of whom 
 an adequate knowledge might be taken for granted. 
 At present, this is as much as need be said. Actual 
 parallelism is not to be expected where in one narra- 
 tive the name of the person compared is that of a 
 secondary character, in the other, that of a protagonist. 
 
 There is another caution to be inculcated. Chochi- 
 laicus is a Danish Eink. Higelac is a Geat, which 
 may be either Goth or Jute, the latter being its more 
 natural meaning. But though called a Geat, there 
 
HIGELAC. 23 
 
 is much which connects him with Englishmen, for 
 Wsermund, OfFa, and Wiglaf, his cotemporaries, are 
 English. The present doctrine which makes him a 
 a Dane of Jutlafid, settled in England^ reconciles 
 these discrepancies, — discrepancies upon which much 
 criticism has been bestowed. 
 
 The poem itself, which may almost claim the 
 honourable title of epic, consisting of more than six 
 thousand lines, though written in the short alliterative 
 metre of the Anglo-Saxons, is, when compared with 
 the incidents essential to its structure, a long one. 
 For these are eminently simple. Three fights with 
 three monsters (one of them being against two at 
 once), in the first two of which Beowulf is victorious, 
 but in the last of which he is killed, form the nucleus 
 of it. All beyond is episode and allusion, for which 
 the feasts in celebration of his victories, and other 
 adventitious narratives, supply opportunities. Indi- 
 vidually, I think it gives us at least three shorter 
 poems fused into one ; so that the elements are older 
 than the final form. This, while it subtracts from 
 its unity, adds to the antiquity of its subject-matter. 
 
 Hrothgar builds a palace named Pleorot, of which 
 all that we know for certain is that it stood in the 
 neighbourhood of a fen, perhaps a Danish, perhaps 
 an English one. Here he is seriously plagued by a 
 water-fiend named Grendel. Him Beowulf conquers, 
 and episodes follow. Then he conquers him along 
 with his mother, — the devil and the devil's dam ; 
 and similar episodical allusions succeed. Finally, he 
 is himself killed by a fire-drake. In the last struggle 
 Wiglaf helps him. With this exception all the other 
 characters are but loosely connected with the main 
 
24 HIGELAC. 
 
 action. Higelac, however, has the foremost place 
 among them, though even here he is secondary. 
 But there are two Beowulf s : Beow^ulf the Scylding, 
 and Beowulf the Wsegmunding, the latter being the 
 true hero. 
 
 The most special piece of evidence that identifies 
 Higeldc wath Chochilaicus, both as Avord for w^ord, 
 and man for man, is the following : — 
 
 The quarrel was formed, 
 Fierce against the Hugas, 
 After Hygelac came;, 
 Faring with a naval force 
 To Friesland ; 
 Where him the Hetwceras 
 In war vanquished. 
 
 5819-5825. 
 
 As Hetivaras is Aftoani, which is Chattiiarii, the 
 letter change from cJi to h is verified for both names, 
 and the connection of Chochilaicus with the Chattuarii 
 is that of Higeldc with the Hetwceras. 
 
 So much for the locality. The date of Higelac is 
 that of Hengist ; for Hnaef^ the Hoeing, Hrothgar the 
 Dane, Higelac the Geat, and Hengest the Jute, are 
 all vassals under Healfdene. On the other hand, 
 Fin is the king of the Frisians, and Hildeburh is his 
 queen. Hnsef is slain in a murderous battle against 
 him. A truce follows, w^hen the body of Hnsef is 
 burnt. Hengist meditates, and finally takes, his 
 revenge on Fin ; and when Fin is slain, Hildeburh is 
 
 ^ In Latin this would be Cneph, or Cniva Chaucus, Hnsef being a 
 true German name. It is from some one of Hnsef's that Hanover has 
 been belie»v^ed to take its name. 
 
HIGELAC. 25 
 
 borne off to Denmark. A connection, however, with 
 Hengest cannot be said to prove a connection with 
 England. It merely suggests a presumption of one. 
 
 In respect to his genealogy, Higelac is the son of 
 Hrethel ; and Herebeald and Haetheyn are his 
 brothers. Thus : — 
 
 Hrethel 
 
 Herebeald Heetheyn Higelac 
 
 Of whom Beowulf says : — 
 
 Hrethel^ the king, 
 Gave we treasure and feasting, 
 Of our kinship was mindful, 
 I was not to him, in life. 
 In aught more welcome, 
 A warrior in his burghs 
 Than any of his children, 
 Herebeald and Hgetlieyn, 
 Or my Higelac. 
 
 4852-4860. 
 
 Now, this is not incompatible with the descent of 
 Chochilaicus ; for Chochilaicus, like Melchizedek, so 
 far as history is concerned, has neither father nor 
 mother. He may be any one's son, and any one may 
 be credited with his parentage. He may or may 
 not, then, have been the son of Hrethel. I do not, 
 however, imagine that he was so, and I doubt whether 
 Higelac was ; or, rather, I treat the consideration of 
 the question as irrelevant. It seems pretty certain 
 that the father of Chochilaicus, eo nomine and totidem 
 Uteris^ was unknown, and the same may be said in 
 respect to his representative. Higelac's parentage is 
 certainly possible, but it is the only one which is so. 
 
26 HIGELAC. 
 
 The father of Huglekus is Dan II. ; a name which 
 tallies very well with the fact of the bearer's son 
 being the first of the historical Danes, but which is 
 anything but favourable to the notion of his having 
 been a real individual. Of Havelok, the father is 
 Birkabeyn ; of Hamlet, Horvendil ; — both, for widely 
 different reasons, impossible parents. 
 
 With Havelok Higelac agrees in his connection 
 with England ; with the Amlethus of the Fourth 
 Book in a similar connection with England, and his 
 superadded relations with Wiglaf, AVsermund, and 
 OflPa. Of anything beyond this, in the way of either 
 a connection or dissociated, there are only two pieces 
 of detail which deserve notice. 
 
 Of extracts, however, like the following — 
 
 "WTien from home had heard In that day 
 
 Higelac's thane {i. e. Beowulf) Of this life 
 
 (A good man among the Noble and vigorous 
 
 Geats) He hade for him a wave-tra- 
 Of GrendeFs deeds ; verser 
 
 Who of mankind was Good be prepared. 
 In power strongest 390-400. 
 
 there are perhaps as many as twenty. They are all, 
 however, to the same purpose ; all general and in- 
 definite ; all limited to the statement, slightly changed 
 according to the circumstance, of the relation between 
 Higelac and Beowulf being that of lord and thane. 
 The two that are sufficiently special to command a 
 fuller exposition relate to Higelac, — 
 
 1. As the possessor of the Brosinga-men ; 
 
 2. As the husband of Hygd. 
 
 This is to be compared with Hamlet's Shield ; 
 Hamlet being, of course, the Amlethus of Saxo's 
 
HIGELAC. 
 
 27 
 
 Fourth Book. Such, too, is also the case with the 
 second extracts. Higelac and the Amlethus of Book 
 III. are wholly incommensurable. 
 
 The Brosinga-men. 
 
 Thorper 
 
 To him the cup was borne, 
 
 and friendly invitation 
 
 in word offer M, 
 
 and twisted gold 
 
 kindly shown, 
 
 sleeves two, 
 
 a mantle and rings, 
 
 of collars the largest 
 
 of those that I on earth 
 
 have heard tell of: 
 
 not any under heaven I 
 
 more excellent have heard of 
 
 treasure-hoard of men, 
 
 since Hama bore off 
 
 to the noble bright city 
 
 the Brosings^ necklace, 
 
 the jewel and its casket : 
 
 he into the guileful enmity 
 
 fell 
 of Eormenric ; 
 
 and chose tli' eternal council. 
 That ring had 
 Hygelac the Goth, 
 Swerting^s nephew, 
 
 Translation. 
 
 the last time 
 
 when he under his banner 
 his treasure defended, 
 guarded the spoil of the 
 
 slain : 
 him fate took off, 
 after he for pride 
 sought his own woe, 
 a war with the Frisians : 
 he the ornament conveyed, 
 the precious stones, 
 over the cup of waves, 
 the powerful king ; 
 he fell beneath his shield : 
 departed then into the grasp 
 
 of the Franks 
 the king's life, 
 his breast-weeds, 
 and the collar also : 
 worse warriors 
 plunder^ the falFn, 
 after the lot of war ; 
 the Goths^ people 
 held the mansion of the dead. 
 2390-2432. 
 
 2. 
 
 The Lady Hygd. 
 She is to be compared with Hamlet's bad wife. 
 
28 
 
 HIGELAC AND HYGD. 
 
 Thorpe^ s 
 The mansion was excellent^ 
 a cliief renownM the king ; 
 high the hall ; 
 Hygd very young, 
 wise, well-nurtured, 
 though winters few 
 amid the burgh-enclosure 
 had abided 
 Haereth's daughter ; 
 although she was not mean, 
 nor of gifts too sparing 
 to the Goths' people, 
 of treasure-acquisitions, 
 yet violence of mood movM 
 the folks' bold queen, 
 crime appalling. 
 No one durst that 
 beast address, 
 of the dear companions, 
 save her wedded lord, 
 who on her daily 
 with eyes gazed ; 
 but to him a death-band 
 decreed, calculated, 
 hand-bound, 
 was quickly after, 
 after the hand-grasp, 
 with the sword resolved, 
 so that the pernicious brand 
 must decide, 
 
 the deadly bale make known 
 such is no feminine usage 
 for a woman to practise, 
 although she be beautiful, 
 that a peace- weaver 
 machinate to deprive of life 
 
 Translation. 
 
 after burning anger 
 
 a dear man ; 
 
 at least with that reproached 
 her 
 
 Heming's son, 
 
 while drinking ale ; 
 
 Others said, 
 
 that she dire evils 
 
 less perpetrated, 
 
 direful iniquities, 
 
 after she was first, 
 
 given gold-adorned, 
 
 to the young warrior, 
 
 the noble beast, 
 
 after she Offa's court, 
 
 over the fallow flood, 
 
 through her father's counsel, 
 
 by journey sought, 
 
 where she afterwards well, 
 
 on the throne, 
 
 the good and great 
 
 life's creations 
 
 living enjoy' d, 
 
 high love entertained 
 
 towards the prince of heroes, 
 
 of all mankind, 
 
 as I have heard 
 
 the best 
 
 between the seas, 
 
 of the human race \ 
 ; for OfFa was, 
 
 for gifts and wars 
 
 {a bold man in arms) 
 
 widely honour' d ; 
 
 he in wisdom held 
 
 his country ; 
 
HIGELAC. 
 
 29 
 
 Garmund's grandson 
 mighty in conflict. 
 
 from him^ Eomer sprang 
 for help to heroes 
 Heming^s son 
 
 11. 3929. 
 
 '' The preceding digression about Hygd and OfFa," 
 remarks Mr. Thorpe in a note, " is barely intelligible." 
 It points, however, to some dark traits in Hygd's 
 character. After Higelac's death, she first offers her 
 hand to Beowulf, who refuses it. That she marries 
 OflPa we have just seen. So mysterious, however, are 
 her conjugal relations, that, though Thorpe makes her 
 Higelac's wife, Kemble can scarcely say whether she 
 is Higelac's or Offa's. However, Higelac is now 
 dead, slain in Friesland. 
 Nor was that least 
 of hand-meetings, 
 where Hygelac was slain, 
 when the Goths'* king. 
 In war onslaughts, 
 the lordly friend of nations, 
 In the Frieslands, 
 HretheFs off*spring. 
 Sword- drunken perished, 
 By the falchion beaten. 
 Thence Beowulf came 
 By his own power. 
 The need of swimming suf- 
 
 ferM ; 
 He had on his arm 
 
 thirty 
 
 War-equipments. 
 
 When he to the sea went down. 
 
 Not tlie Ketwoeras 
 
 Had need of exultation 
 
 In that host of war, 
 
 ^ Compare JEumer suborned by Curchelm to stab Edwin, King of 
 Northumberland. 
 
 Who in front against him 
 
 Bore the linden ; 
 
 Few again came 
 
 From that warlike darer. 
 
 Their home to visit ; 
 
 Swam over the seal's course 
 
 Ecgtheow's son (^. e. Beo- 
 wulf), 
 
 a poor solitary, 
 
 Again to his people, 
 
 Where him Hygd offered 
 
 Treasure and realm. 
 
 Rings and princely throne : 
 
 In her child she trusted not. 
 
 That he against foreign folks 
 
 His paternal seats 
 
 Could hold. 
 
 Then was Hygelac dead. 
 
 Yet not for that sooner the 
 
 poor people 
 Could prevail 
 
30 HAVELOK THE DANE. 
 
 witli tlie prince Yet lie tim among his people 
 
 on any account^ Witli friendly instructions 
 
 That lie to Heardred (Hyge- maintained 
 
 lac^s son) Kindly with honour ; 
 
 would be Lordj Until he became older 
 
 or the kingdom And ruled the Weder-Goths. 
 would choose ; 
 
 11. 4747. 
 
 The Brosinga-men and Hygd have been noticed 
 thus fully, not so much because they are the two 
 special details connected with the name of Higelac, 
 but because they will both be met with again. 
 
 Havelok the Dane. 
 
 The interval between the recognized date of Beo- 
 wulf and the earliest notice of Havelok the Dane is 
 about^ two hundred years, and very important ones 
 they are ; since, upon the connection between Have- 
 lok with Higelac or Chochilaicus, who goes before, 
 and Amlethus, who follows after him, nine-tenths of 
 the present treatise depends. 
 
 Havelok stands like Janus, looking both ways. 
 We must consider him as the bearer of a name, and 
 we must consider the story connected with him. It 
 is in the latter respect that he differs most notably 
 from Higelac and Chochilaicus. In Beowulf Hi- 
 gelac is only a secondary character ; in the romance 
 that bears his name Havelok is all-in-all, and we may 
 add that the two poems are of a widely different 
 character. As for Chochilaicus it has already been 
 stated that all we know of him is that he lived and 
 died, and that in probably three countries he left his 
 mark behind him ; beyond this, however, he is merely 
 
 ' See note p. 21. 
 
HAVELOK AND HIGELAC. 31 
 
 the owner of a name round which attributes and 
 narratives, generally heterogeneous, and almost al- 
 ways foreign to the historical individual, as round 
 some organic nucleus, have gravitated and accumu- 
 lated ; and that to such a degree that the original 
 Chochilaicus, if not wholly transmuted, ends in being 
 the least part of himself. Sometimes we are fortunate 
 enough to trace these accretions to their own proper 
 sources ; in which case we get, by the method of ex- 
 clusion, some approximation to the real personality 
 of the central or fundamental figure. With this we 
 must generally be content. I think that with Have- 
 lok and Chochilaicus we can, certainly, do thus much, 
 and I fear we can do no more. 
 
 Chochilaicus, Hiuglauc, Higelac, and Havelok are 
 the same names ; and, so far as the bearer of them 
 was a single hero, the three are one. In the sup- 
 posed bones of the giant of the Netherlands, the 
 historical sea-king undoubtedly left his mark on the 
 Lower Khine ; and he is further supposed to have left 
 them in Britain in the stories of Higelac and Have- 
 lok. As a Dane, then, on English ground, and as a 
 king or captain of note, we may make a guess about 
 Chochilaicus ; but further than this we may not pro- 
 fess to do anything. All beyond is the history of 
 certain foreign additions which his fame has brought 
 within the sphere of its attraction. 
 
 This we must clearly understand ; for it is on one 
 point only that the comparison of Havelok with 
 Higelac is clear enough to speak for itself, or to 
 stand on its own merits, independent of j^rimd facie 
 objections. This point is the name. Word for word, 
 Havelok is merely the Danish form of Higelac, and 
 
32 HAVELOK AND HIGELAC. 
 
 Higeldc, the Anglo-Saxon of HaveloJc. In the details, 
 however, of the two narratives there is no such like- 
 ness. Indeed there is, to some extent, a contrast. 
 "Whether this has prevented the connection between 
 the poem of Beowulf, so far as it relates to Higelac 
 and the Havelok romances being recognized, is more 
 than I can say. It may have done so or it may not. 
 I could certainly, for the sake of the present argu- 
 ment, have wished that the relation here suggested 
 had, by having been recognized by some of my pre- 
 decessors, come down to me as an admitted fact, 
 and that the identity of Havelok and Higelac stood 
 in the same category with that of Higelac and Cho- 
 chilaicus. On the other hand it must be remem- 
 bered that it w^as not until the eleventh hour that 
 the two poems on Havelok were known to the public. 
 Outzen knew nothing about them ; and though the two 
 texts were published during the days of both Kemble 
 and Thorpe, they were not published until each of 
 those scholars had gone far enough in his study of 
 Beowulf to have formed an opinion independent of 
 them. Such, in my mind, is the true explanation of 
 their silence ; at any rate I should be sorry to think 
 that the comparison of Havelok and Higelac was one 
 which they had condemned rather than overlooked. 
 The importance of the double connection here claimed 
 for Havelok is beyond doubt. He is more like Hi- 
 gelac in name than in deed. He is more like Amlethus 
 in deed than in name. 
 
 But what if there are two claimants to the very 
 name, and two claimants to the actions connected 
 with it ? Such is the case. If it were not so, our 
 task would be easy; for it would merely consist in 
 
HAVELOK AND HYGELAC. S3 
 
 the elimination of the manifestly adventitious ele- 
 ments from the stories of the French and English 
 Havelok ; the result being that Havelok, like Hi- 
 gelac and Chochilaicus, was a Danish king or captain 
 who left his mark in England during the sixth cen- 
 century, etc., as has just been stated. But, even 
 when this is obtauied, we are unfortunately in the 
 dark, inasmuch as we are not sure of his relation to 
 the history of either England or Denmark, inasmuch 
 as there is a second historical hero of whom both 
 Danish blood and English notoriety may be predi- 
 cated ; and, what is more perplexing still, he bears a 
 name which might pass into that of Havelok. 
 
 It has long been known that the name of Havelok 
 appears in the story of the famous Guy, Earl of 
 Warwick, who, by killing the Norwegian giant Col- 
 brand, freed Northumberland from its allegiance to 
 the Danes, to which it had been subject since the 
 time of Ha7?elocke. It is hard to believe that this n 
 is not properly a f ; indeed the substitution may be a 
 mere clerical error. The passage runs thus: — 
 
 " Athelstone lay at Winchestre, and the king of Den- 
 mark sent ynto him an harowde of armes, to witte, whether 
 he wold fynde a man to fight with Colbrande for the right 
 of the kyngdom of Northumhr, that the Danes had claimed 
 before by the title of Kyng Hanelohe, that wedded Goldes- 
 hurgOj the king's daughter of Northumbr.^' 
 
 As however it was Havelok who married Goldes- 
 burg, it is Havelok who is here indicated. Only, 
 however, in this special extract. In the following, 
 though the spelling is the same, and the event al- 
 luded to the sa'me, Hay^elok is a different person, 
 and, what is moie, a real historical one. 
 
 D 
 
34 ANLAF CWIRAN. 
 
 '^ But or Guy went that man him tolde, 
 Tliat the King was in cases colde. 
 The King of Denmarke^ Hcmelocl-e, 
 And the King of Norway, Gonclodce." 
 
 Here Ha^zelocke is the associate of Conelocke, who 
 is an Irishman of the tenth century. 
 
 "An. DCCCCXLiv. Blacar expulsus e DubHnio, et Ainlaf ei 
 succedit. Pars gentis O^Cannanorum occisa per Congalac, 
 et Amlaf Cuarau in Conallia.''^ — Annales TJttonieni^es. 
 
 The same names, with the same spelling, appear 
 asfain in 946-7. In the Irish, of which the Latin is 
 a translation, Amlaf is spelt Amlaip. Anelaphus is 
 also an English form. 
 
 Bodl. Laud. 636. Gott. Bom. A. viii. 
 
 An. Dcccc . XLix. Her com An. dcccc.xlix. Her com 
 Anlaf G voir an on Nor^ Anlaf Gwiran on 
 
 hymbraland. Nor^hymbr aland. 
 
 An. DCCCC. L.j DCCCC.LI. An. DCCCC. L., DCCCC. LI. 
 
 An. DCCCC. Lii. Her Nor^- An. dcccc. lii. Her NorS- 
 
 hymbre hymbre 
 
 fordrifan Anlaf cyning, and fordriuon Anelaf cing . and 
 
 underfongon ^Yric Haroldes underfengon Trie Haroldes 
 
 sunu. sunu. 
 
 The reason why the particular MSS. give the 
 adjunct Cwiran will soon become evident. There is 
 confusion here, but it does not affect the important 
 word under notice.^ There is confusion, but we can 
 see our way through it. There are two series of 
 names which were originally different, but which 
 here become confluent, or rather, proceeding from 
 opposite points meet and mix midway ; not without 
 
 ^ Eric is the name of tlie usurping uncle in the Dramatis Personse of 
 the German " Hamlet " and Warner's tale of " Argentile and Curan." 
 9 Sax. Chron. 
 
IRISH ORIGIN OF THE FORM AMLETHUS. 06 
 
 antagonism. Thus on one side we have Chochilaicus, 
 Higelac, and Havelok ; on the other, Olaus, Olaf, and 
 Anlaf ; whilst at the point of contact between the 
 two lines we get, applied to the same person, Ha^^e- 
 lock, which points to Haz^elok, and AnelapA, which 
 suggests Anlaf. Which is our hero ? Both or neither. 
 It is this very confusion or ambiguity which helps to 
 the mystery of his personality. 
 
 It must not seem strange that notwithstanding all 
 the associations Avhich connect Hamlet, Prince of 
 Denmark and a Scandinavian, along with the reasons 
 here given for identifying Ilavelok the Bcme with 
 Chocilaicus the result should be that, of all countries 
 in the world, Ireland is the one to which the 
 Amlethus of Saxo must be directly referred. That 
 some such form as Amlaf is needed to account for 
 the change of name is simply part and parcel 
 of the present line of criticism, and so is the 
 doctrine that Ireland is the country which supplies it. 
 But it may naturally be argued by those to whom 
 Ireland seems an impossible source, that such a 
 necessity, by proving too much, invalidates the whole 
 train of reasoning. Be it so. But is Ireland in 
 reality thus impossible I Is it even improbable I 
 Is it not rather one of the first countries towards 
 which we look ? Next to Great Britain and Ger- 
 many, and perhaps Finland, Ireland was the country 
 which the Scandinavians looked upon with the most 
 interest. When Iceland was discovered, and it was a 
 question whether it had ever before been trodden by 
 the foot of man, the possibly prior population was 
 referred to Ireland. The holy island of lona, Irish 
 in language, though Scotch in geography, was as 
 
 D 2 
 
36 ANLAF CAVIRAN. 
 
 much Norwegian as Irish. The important work upon 
 history, geography, and history, written exceiitionally 
 in the Old Norse of Norway rather than in that of 
 Iceland, the ' Mirrour of Kings,' gives more space 
 to what then passed for the topography, the geo- 
 graphy, and the history of Ireland than to all the 
 other descriptions of all the other parts of the world 
 put together. Thirdly, the Irish Annals give us not 
 less than four different Amlafs as kings either of Ire- 
 land or of certain parts of it. The date of Amlaf 
 Cuaran is a.d. 950. The Amlaf who was defeated 
 at Brunanburg w^as just dead. Then, assigned to 
 A.D. 850, or a full century earlier, we^*^ find Amelaus, or 
 Amelavus, as king of Dublin, with two other of his 
 countrymen and brothers rulino^ contemporaneously 
 in Limeric and Waterford. Finally, whatever may 
 be the difficulty in determining the origin of the story 
 of Saxo's Amlethus, it is the unanimous opinion of 
 the commentators that it is not to be found in Scan- 
 dinavia. No such name occurs in any Icelandic 
 record ; for, though there exists a Hamlet's Saga, it 
 is acknowledged to be founded on Saxo's narrative, 
 — the source of Saxo's narrative being as uncertain 
 as ever. 
 
 After an anticipation of objections like this it 
 seems useless to add that, after all, it is not in 
 Ireland that we must look for the original source. 
 Olaf, the son of Sihtric, began, as a historical king, 
 either in Scandinavia or as a Scandinavian. His 
 name in England took the form of Anlaf. In 
 Ireland it became Amhlaf. It reached — probably 
 thi'ough the Orkneys and Norway — Denmark in 
 
 ^" Only, however, in the later writers. 
 
ANLAF CWIRAN. 37 
 
 a form which in Latin became Amlethiis ; and, 
 as it had passed tlirough the English and Irish 
 languages before, it is no wonder that it was not 
 recognized on its return to its native country. It 
 had been so altered during its passage through two 
 languages as to look like a stranger. Still less was 
 it like Ilugleik^ or Hugletus. In fact, then, Amlethus 
 is English after the fashion of Vermundus, Vikletus, 
 and UfFo ; but changed, in both form and import, 
 from having passed through Ireland. The history of 
 the two countries fully sustains this hypothesis. 
 
 Thus far the association of He^elok with Congalac 
 on the one side, and with Goldsburgh on the other, 
 has been our only evidence in favour of names so un- 
 like as Olaus and Chochilaicus taking the same form. 
 It can now be improved ; and that by attending to the 
 import of- the word Cuaran or Civiran^ which has 
 already presented itself twice; in the ' Ulster Annals ' 
 and in the ' Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.' The date, how- 
 ever, of the events with which it is connected is one 
 thing, the entry of the name itself another. The 
 latter may much later than the former. 
 
 Now Anlaf Cwiran and Amblabh Cuaran point 
 beyond doubt to Olaf the son of Sihtric. The Cua- 
 ran of the following continuation points as undoubt- 
 edly to Havelok the Dane. 
 
 Haveloc fut cit roi nome 
 Et Cuaran est appellee. 
 Pour ces vus voit de lui center 
 Efc s^aventure remembrer ; 
 Q^un lai en firent li Breton, 
 Et Fappellerent de son non 
 Et Haveloc et Guarant. 
 
 Gaimar, 11. 17-23. 
 
38 ANLAF CWIRAN 
 
 The following passage, from the same poem, more 
 important still, gives us the reason he was so called, 
 or the origin of the word Ciiaran. It is one, however, 
 which has never been confirmed, and one that merely 
 represents the fancy of either the writer or some of 
 his authorities. The Danish is the language in 
 which, ere long, we shall discover its import. At 
 present, however, let us note the contents of the 
 extract. Havelok is a hewer of wood, a drawer of 
 water, and a washer of dishes ; a strong churl never- 
 theless, and liberal to his fellow-servants. When- 
 ever a piece of bread or a slice of meat might be 
 welcome to them, he gave it them willingly. In- 
 deed, his excess of liberality, easiness of temper, and 
 the pleasure he took in serving others, made him 
 pass for something like a fool. So they called him 
 Cuaran, which in the Breton language means Quis- 
 
 iron. 
 
 Merveillous fes poeit lever^ 
 Busche taiiler, ewe porter. 
 Les esquielles recevoit 
 Et apres manger les lavoit ; 
 Et quant-qu'il poeit purcliacer. 
 Piece de char ou pain enter. 
 Mult le donoit volentiers 
 As valets et as esquiers. 
 
 Tant estoit franc et deboneire, 
 
 Qe tuz voloit lur pleisir fere. 
 
 Pur la francliise qe il ont 
 
 Entre eux le tenoient pur sot ; 
 
 De lui fesoient lur deduit, 
 
 Cuaran Pappelloient tuit ; 
 
 Car ceo tenoient li Breton 
 
 En lur language quistron. 
 
 IhvL, 11. 244-360. 
 
AND HAVELOK CUARAN. 39 
 
 It is Gaimar's Chronicle from which these extracts 
 are taken. Passages, however, with a similar impoit 
 occur in the French version of the Eomance, — in the 
 French, but not in the English. With this limita- 
 tion, however, the evidence of the fusion is amply 
 adequate. This is what we find in the twelfth cen- 
 tury. Just before the end of the sixteenth, Warner, 
 one of the minor poets of the Elizabethan period, 
 published his long and once popular poem, entitled 
 'Albion's England,' in which the tale of Argentile 
 and Curan forms a well-known episode. It is founded 
 on the story of Havelok the Dane. It is, too, either 
 founded on the Romance or the same version of 
 the story. At any rate, the name of the heroine 
 is Argentile, and not, as in the English, Golds- 
 borough ; and the name of the hero is Curan^ not 
 Havelok, — not Havelok Curan^ but Curan purely and 
 simply. 
 
 Such is the evidence of the confusion between 
 Havelok and Anlaf ; no matter how it may be ac- 
 counted for, or, indeed, whether it can be accounted 
 for at all. It is a confusion between Havelok and 
 Anlaf as man and man; not between "- Havelok'' and 
 "'Hamlet''' as word and word. It is a mixture of 
 personalities; not a matter of letter-changes. The 
 husband of Goldsburgh and the Cuaran of Warner's 
 poem are one individual ; the associate of Conelok in 
 Ireland is another. 
 
 It is in this stage, then, of the development of our 
 legend to which the important change of name is to 
 be referred ; and we shall find that it does not stand 
 alone. We now, for the first time, find elements 
 which indicate the Hamlet of Saxo's Third Book. 
 
40 OLAUS MANSUETUS. 
 
 Such is his connection with the kitchen. Warner 
 calls Curan a " scullion " totidem Uteris. It is to the 
 kitchen that Saxo's Hamlet is banished by his uncle. 
 It is the kitchen and the cellar which one of his bio- 
 graphers makes the chief resorts of Uffo.^^ Like 
 Hamlet, too, and Uifo, Havelok Cuaran passes for 
 anything but a wise man ; though, as his story pro- 
 ceeds, he undeceives the world upon this point. This 
 is what is done by both UfFo and Hamlet. Lastly, 
 we have already seen that Uffo was also called Olaus 
 Mansuetiis, and we shall soon see that of Olaus Man- 
 suetus Anlaf Cuaran (or Amhlaihh Cuaran) is some- 
 thing more than a legitimate translation. 
 
 The Amlethus of Saxo's Third Book. 
 
 Gorvendil, Hamlet's grandfather, has two sons, — 
 Horvendil, Hamlet's father, and Fengo, the murder- 
 ous brother and the usurping uncle. 
 
 The members of the Hamlet family are not royal, 
 but hold territory in either Sleswick or Jutland, 
 under Roric, the true king of Denmark, whose capi- 
 tal is at Leire. 
 
 Roric has a daughter named Grytha, w^hom he 
 gives in marriage to Horvendil, and she is Hamlet's 
 mother. He has also a son, Vikletus, to whom 
 Hamlet (in the Fourth Book) acts much as Fengo 
 had acted towards himself, as a usurping nepheiv. 
 This maternal uncle of Hamlet plays an important 
 part in the history of Hamlet when Ave read it in 
 full. 
 
 ^^ "JN'am ab infantia prsefatus UfFo ventris indulgebat ingluvici, et, 
 Epicurofum more, coquince et cellario alternum officiose impendebat." 
 — Historia Jiegum Danece, cb. 1. 
 
THE AMLETIIUS OF THE THIRD BOOK. 41 
 
 Horvendil had won the hand of Grytha by his 
 victories over the famous Norwegian viking Kollar 
 and his sister Sola, also over the Slaves and Cour- 
 landers. 
 
 As soon as an opportunity presented itself, Fengo 
 murdered his brother ; for, " perceiving himself strong 
 enough to execute his enterprise, Horvendill, his 
 brother, being at a banquet with his friends, [he] 
 sodainely set upon him, whene he slew him as trai- 
 torously, as cunningly he purged himself of so de- 
 testable a murther to his subjects ; for that before 
 he had any violent or bloody handes, or once com- 
 mitted parricide upon his brother, he had incestu- 
 ously abused his wife, whose honour bee ought as 
 well to have sought and procured as traitorously he 
 pursued and effected his destruction." There was, 
 then, no mystery about Horvendil's murder, so that 
 no ghost was needed to reveal it. 
 
 The persecution of the son coincided with the 
 marriage of the mother ; and with these began the 
 simulated madness. 
 
 Hamlet, after his father's death and his mother's 
 marriage, instead of being treated with insincere 
 kindness, is, from the first, degraded and humiliated. 
 He is banished to the kitchen, and, by the kitchen 
 fire, he makes playthings of bits of wood. These he 
 cuts or whittles into barbed skewers and hooks, and 
 when asked what they are meant for, replies, "to 
 revenge my father s murder." He passes for either 
 an idiot or a lunatic, but there is always method in 
 his madness. It is thoroughly fictitious. The only 
 sign of folly that Hamlet shows is his extreme can- 
 dour. He makes no secret of what he means. It is 
 
42 THE AMLETHUS OF THE THIRD BOOK. 
 
 no easy matter, however, to sustain a double import 
 throughout a series of sayings and doings; nor are 
 Saxo's examples of the happiest. Sometimes he 
 gives us a piece of practical buffoonery, as when 
 Hamlet rides a horse with his head towards the ani- 
 mal's tail. One speech, perhaps, "darkens to sub- 
 limity," for he says of a ship's rudder that " it is a 
 knife for a big hog," — the ocean. But of images 
 like these the old Scandinavian poetry is full, and 
 over-full. 
 
 The details of Hamlet's temptation differ. The 
 novel gives the fewest of them. Here Hamlet is 
 "viciously provoked" by a gentlewoman, he being 
 previously conducted by a set of courtiers to a soli- 
 tary place within the w^oods. Of these one was his 
 foster-brother (collactaneus), who "by certain signes" 
 gives Hamlet " intelligence to what danger he was 
 likely if by any meanes he seemed to obaye, or once 
 like the wanton and vicious provocations of a gentle- 
 woman sent thither by his uncle." This abashed the 
 prince, for he loved the lady, and the lady loved him ; 
 they having also been foster-children, — " uterque 
 eosdem infantes procuratores habuerit. Domum ita- 
 que reductus, cunctis an Veneri indulgisset, per ludi- 
 brum interrogantibus puellam a se construpratam 
 faetetur. Puella de ea re interrogata nihil eum tale 
 gessisse perhibuit." There is a good deal of cross- 
 questioning, and not a little eqidvoq^ie in the exami- 
 nation of this matter. Neither the questions, how- 
 ever, nor the answers are worth giving. 
 
 The " certain sis^nes " bv which the friend of 
 Hamlet contrived to inform him that he was watched 
 gives us a riddle which certainly required a wise 
 
THE AMLETHUS OF THE THIRD BOOK. 43 
 
 man to rede. It taxed the ingenuity of Hamlet, and 
 it has certainly perplexed the commentators. The 
 prince's monitor, however, catches a horsefly, gadfly, 
 or waterfly (oestrus), and impaling it with a straw 
 sets its free. How it was to find its way to the 
 bower of Hamlet and his gentlewoman we know not. 
 However, it reaches them ; and when Hamlet sees it, 
 takes warning accordingly. How Hamlet read the 
 riddle we are not informed. Miiller reads it is a 
 sign that, inasmuch as insects are not given to impale 
 themselves, human beings must be in the neighbour- 
 hood : — 
 
 " Considerans enim^ quonam aptuis modo occultum moDi- 
 toris officium exequi periculosamque juvenis lasciviam prse- 
 currere posset, repertam humi paleam oestri prsetervolantis 
 caudaa submittendum curavit. Eget deinde ipsum in ea 
 potissimum loca, quibus Amlethum in esse cognovit ; eoque 
 facto maximum incanto beneficium attulit. Nee callidius 
 transmissum indicium, quam cognitum fuit. Siquidem 
 Amlethus, viso oestro simulque stramine, quod caudse in- 
 situm gestabat, curiosius per notato, tacitum cavendae 
 fraudis monitum intellexit.^^ 
 
 It is possible that in the following passage this 
 cestrus may be reproduced, Osric being the man of 
 the waterfly, or the friend who served Hamlet under 
 his temptation, as opposed to Horatio, who seems to 
 have nothing to do with it, answers to which, "in 
 the decent obscurity of a learned language," we 
 have alluded, it is decided that Hamlet must be mad ; 
 yet, at the same time, in the opinion of his uncle at 
 least, dangerous. 
 
 Then follows the interview with his mother, and 
 the killing of Polonius, — the spied spy. Hamlet 
 
44 THE AMLETIIUS OF THE THIRD BOOK. 
 
 enters, crowing and flapping his arms like a cock ; 
 then, suspecting an eaves-dropper, and whipping out 
 his sword kills the prying counsellor through the 
 arras. But he does not as Shakespear, and even in 
 Belleforest cry " a rat, a rat." For the rest, however, 
 of the scene the translator and original agree, and 
 when we learn that in so doing they tell us how the 
 dead body is cut up, boiled, and given to the hogs, 
 not to mention other details equally nauseous, we 
 are glad that the dramatist has ignored their nar- 
 rative. 
 
 The voyage to England now suggests itself; for 
 Fengo is still both supicious and fearful ; fearful of 
 the queen and her father. So bethinking himself of 
 a king of England (his name is unknown), he sends 
 Hamlet to him with letters. The letters, which the 
 bearer opens during the voyage, are to the effect that 
 Hamlet shall be put to death; upon reading which, 
 they are altered accordingly. What then the king 
 of England reads is as follows — that the two com- 
 panions and conductors of Hamlet's voyage are to be 
 executed, and that Hamlet himself is to be married 
 to the king's daughter. 
 
 Now, on leaving Denmark, Hamlet, who had 
 visited his mother, had privily prevailed upon her to 
 undertake to cover the walls of a chamber with 
 tapestry, held up by means of loops and pullies, and, 
 at the end of a year to enact a false funeral service 
 over himself as if dead. While this was doing he 
 would present himself alive. 
 
 We may now ask how he fared in England. One 
 of Saxo's doctrines is, that there was not only in 
 Hamlet's equivocal answers a great deal of wisdom, 
 
THE AMLETHUS OF THE THIRD BOOK. 45 
 
 but that his whole conduct, notwithstandmg appear- 
 ances to the contrary, was characterized by the 
 strictest adherence to the truth. Whatever may 
 have been the case in Denmark, his conscientiousness 
 deserts him as he approaches England. His com- 
 panions present the letters, altered as they have been 
 to their own disadvantage, but the king dissimulates, 
 and invites them to a feast. Nothing, however, will 
 Hamlet touch ; so that as far as he is concerned the 
 banquet is taken off un tasted. iVs this excites wonder, 
 a spy is set upon Hamlet to hear what he and his 
 friends say when, before retiring for the night, they 
 talk over the events of the day ; the leading topic 
 being Hamlet's strange behaviour at the feast. 
 
 " Wliy^ when abstinence was an insult to his liost^ would 
 he neither eat nor drink V 
 
 "How should I/^ said the prince^ ''^wlien the bread was 
 bloody, and the drink smacked of iron, and the meat had 
 the taste of man's flesh ? The king, too, has the visage of a 
 slave, while the queen thrice comported herself like a serving- 
 maid." 
 
 There was no doubt now about his madness ; only, 
 however, among his immediate hearers. The king, 
 on the contrary, opined that the man who spoke thus 
 was quite as likely to be a sage as a simpleton, 
 " Supra mortalium habitum aut sapere aut desipere." 
 So the steward is examined about the bread, when 
 he owns that the field in which the corn was grown 
 had been manured with human bones from a neigh- 
 bouring battle-field. The meat] The pigs had 
 battened on the rotten carcase of a robber. The 
 drink (hydromel) ? Some rusty swords were found 
 
46 THE AMLETHUS OF THE THIRD BOOK. 
 
 in the water, and the bees that made the honey (as in 
 Sampson's honeycomb) had been bred in a carrion. 
 
 But, if these answers satisfied the king as to the 
 soundness of Hamlet's understanding, they disturbed 
 him as to the question of his own legitimacy. What 
 if the charge against himself of being the son of a 
 slave were as valid as the exceptions taken to the 
 viands'? His mother, however, when cross-questioned, 
 owned that she had disgraced herself The only 
 problem now standing over was the alleged vulgarity 
 of the queen. What were the three points that 
 betrayed her 1 Hamlet alone can answer this. The 
 first was that she covered her head with a cloak. 
 
 " Free women/^ says the commentator, " wore caps which 
 servants did not ; so that the latter, when they went out in 
 the air, pulled their cloaks over their heads." 
 
 The second was, that she wore her gown tucked-up. 
 The third that she picked her teeth during her meals. 
 Of a son-in-law with wisdom like this any monarch 
 might be proud. So his daughter is betrothed to 
 Hamlet at once, and within four-and-twenty hours 
 the two attendants are hanged. And here disappears, 
 to everyone but the over-partial Saxo, the last trace 
 of our hero's vaunted truthfulness. Nothing is more 
 agreeable to Hamlet than the execution. Yet he 
 afi'ects disapproval, and clothes himself with virtuous 
 indignation. He puts also, as the price of his for- 
 giveness, a large sum of gold. This he melts down, 
 and encases in the hollow of two truncheons ; with 
 which, and after passing them off as ordinary staves 
 of w^ood, he leaves England for Denmark in the 
 twelfth month of his visit, according to the previous 
 
THE AIMLETHUS OF THE THIRD BOOK. 47 
 
 arrangement with his mother. Denmark he reaches 
 on the anniversary of his departure. His mother 
 had declared him dead, so that, in fact, he came as a 
 mourner at his own funeral. We shall now do well 
 to remember his instructions about the hangings, 
 texilihus nodis^ also about the skewers and daggers, 
 with which we cut and carved in the days when he 
 lived in the kitchen, and, connected with which there 
 was a prophetic explanation of their import. 
 
 Now, however, he meets the funeral procession as 
 a man alive, and is put upon the bier like a corpse ; 
 squalid in his garb, rambling in his talk. Some of 
 the followers look serious; more, however, fall to 
 gibing and jesting. '^ Where are your mates— those 
 that went to England w^ith you ?" 
 
 "Here," says Hamlet, holding out his two truncheons 
 with their cores of gold. "Now this," writes Saxo, 
 still stickling for the latent voraciousness of all his 
 hero's sayings and doings was "both a good jest and 
 a good truth, for what was the gold which the 
 truncheons enclosed but the compensation-money for 
 their deaths, and, as such, their equivalents'?" The 
 feast begins, and Hamlet mixes with the waiters, 
 careful that no one shall want drink ; but, in order 
 that he may move more freely, he girds his sword on 
 his side, taking care to be continually pulling it out ; 
 yet, at the same time, handling it so unskilfully that 
 he cuts his fingers. To stop this, the attendants nail 
 the blade to the sheath. Meanwhile the drinking 
 increases, and all become drunk. The time for 
 Hamlet's old machinations having arrived, the hang- 
 ings with the knots are let down upon the staggering 
 and sleeping carousers, and the hooks and skewers 
 
48 THE AMLETHUS OF SAXO's FOURTH BOOK. 
 
 that had been charred in the kitchen-fire, are fixed 
 in them as pegs. In short, when the whole com- 
 pany is covered, as by a big casting-net, a torch is 
 applied, and the whole crew, with the single exception 
 of the usurping uncle, burnt to death. 
 
 For him another fate is reserved. He had gone 
 to bed before the drinking had reached its height, 
 with his sword by his side on the bed. This Hamlet 
 takes to himself, leaving his own, which, from having 
 its blade and sheath nailed together, was useless in 
 its place. We anticipate the result, especially when 
 we call to mind the change of foils between Laertes 
 and Hamlet in the closing scene of the play. Fengo 
 is awakened, and hears from Hamlet the fate of his 
 courtiers. He hears, too, what use has been made of 
 the hooks and skewers ; and, lastly, that the hour has 
 at length come when the murderer of Horvendil is 
 to meet his just punishment. He grasps his sword, 
 which is, of course, as useless as a broken reed ; so 
 that his nephew kills him without either difiiculty or 
 remorse. 
 
 The Amlethus of Saxo's Fourth Book. 
 
 With the death of Fengo, the fratricide, the tJiird 
 book of Saxo ends ; and, if the parallel between the 
 Shakesperian and the Saxonian Hamlets ran on all- 
 fours, the history of Hamlet would end also. What, 
 however, we actually find in Saxo is the very reverse 
 of this ; indeed the Hamlet of the fourth book is the 
 reverse of his former self. We may almost say that 
 the heroes of the two books are two difi'erent indi- 
 viduals, so slight is the connection between them. 
 
THE AMLETHUS OF SAXO'S FOURTH BOOK. 49 
 
 The Hamlet of the fourth book is no weakling in 
 any sense of the word, neither is he either fool or 
 idiot, natural or pretending. On the contrary, he is 
 a warrior of the true Norse type, and a politician and 
 strategist of unrivalled cunning. It cannot, however, 
 be denied that, different as the Hamlets of the third 
 and fourth books are from one another, there is 
 nevertheless some sort of a connection between them ; 
 or, perhaps, it would be better to say there is a link 
 between the two books. To me, however, it looks 
 very like the links between the different stories in 
 Ovid's ' Metamorphoses ; ' links which belong to the 
 artificial concatenation of the narrative, rather than to 
 any natural cohesion between the parts of the subject- 
 matter. There is a reference to his former condition, 
 and there is a speech in justification of his conduct; 
 for less than this we can scarcely expect. Then 
 there is the forging of a shield ; no ordinary piece 
 of armour. On it are represented all the events 
 of his previous life, with wonderful minuteness, and 
 in the exact order of their occurrence. The descrip- 
 tion in Saxo is well nigh as elaborate as the work of the 
 metallurgist. In the details it reminds us of the two 
 famous shields of the Iliad and the ^neid, and of 
 more than one magic mirror. The present writer 
 compares it with the more truly Scandinavian 
 Brosinga-men. 
 
 His court in Denmark being now established with 
 more than ordinary magnificence, in strong contrast 
 to the squalour and misery of his days of his persecu- 
 tion, and, a trusty friend being chosen, Hamlet has now 
 only to visit England and return with his wife, sure 
 of a welcome from her royal father. Bui here his 
 
 E 
 
50 THE AMLETHUS OF SAXO'S FOURTH BOOK. 
 
 troubles are destined to begin afresh, and the connec- 
 tion between the two books is closer than it has been. 
 It possibly may be called organic. At the same time 
 the events that follow might have easily been nar- 
 rated without it. 
 
 There was a solemn pact and promise between his 
 father-in-law and his uncle Fengo, that if one of them 
 died a ^dolent death, the other should avenge it. But 
 here it is a son-in-law who should be the victim. 
 Nevertheless, the king makes his choice between his 
 duty and his aifections, and resolves to plot against 
 the life of Hamlet. 
 
 Throwing off the squalor of his previous life, he is 
 now, with the limitation of Roric's suzerainty, the 
 Prince of Denmark. He has only to visit his mfe 
 and her royal father to be made welcome ; but here 
 comes in the pat;t. The king of England and Fengo 
 were pledged to avenge the death of the first who 
 should die, should the death be a violent one. So 
 after a struggle of conflicting feelings, the claims of 
 friendship, and the sanctity of promises of the kind 
 prevailed, and it is settled that Hamlet shall be made 
 away with, but not by Fengo's own hand. There is 
 a terrible female in Scotland, queen and virgin, 
 fair of face, fierce of temper, strong and dangerous, 
 hating marriage and scorning men; and above all 
 things, formidable, if not fatal, to such as are tempted 
 to court her. Her will the king, — for he is a widower, 
 woo by proxy ; in which capacity Hamlet is sent forth. 
 So Hamlet proceeds, with something between an 
 army and a retinue, to Scotland, where he falls asleep. 
 There is a pleasant dale, and he puts his shield under 
 his head, with the letters in his pocket, and falls into 
 
THE AMLETHUS OF SAXO'S FOURTH BOOK. 51 
 
 a mid-day slumber. The gist of the letters are what 
 we anticipate — a death-warrant to the bearer. But 
 the virago queen sees him as he dozes, and sends a 
 crafty knave with orders to pluck the shield from the 
 back of his head, and to fetch the letters from his 
 side. This he does, and they are read by his mistress. 
 Then her real nature comes out. It is only old men 
 she dislikes, and Hamlet is not old. The letters have, 
 of course, been previously altered, to the effect that 
 she is to be wooed by the bearer. To this she has 
 no objection. What she now lays upon her scout is 
 a difficult task; he must take the letters and put 
 them back where he found them, also the shield, 
 Meanwhile Hamlet has become awake — widely so. 
 So when the scout returns and puts both letters and 
 shield in the original proper places, Hamlet is still, 
 to all appearances, asleep ; but as soon as they are re- 
 placed, the unfortunate adventurer is made prisoner ; 
 w^hereon Saxo avails himself, as usual, of the oppor- 
 tunity, and praises the wisdom of his hero, who at 
 once visits the famous virago — regina ^enates accedit. 
 
 Him the queen receives graciously, explaining the 
 folly of being bound in such a link as that of matri- 
 mony to a female who has no high blood; beauty, 
 perhaps, she may have, but blood is what a hero 
 ought to look to. She precludes denial, "Hortatur 
 itaque, ut placendi studium in se transferat, in se 
 votum nuptiale deflectat, genusque formee preeferre 
 discat. Hoc dicens astrictis in eum complexibus 
 ruit." 
 
 Still, he has to return to England ; and this he 
 does with a retinue fully sufficient for a suite, but 
 not adequate to the duties of an army. They halt 
 
 E 2 
 
52 THE AMLETHUS OF SAXO'S FOURTH BOOK. 
 
 within a certain distance of the wife's and father-in- 
 law's capital. Now the wife (the real and original 
 wife) is tender-minded, and condones, as far as may 
 be, her hnsband's second marriage. She has, or is 
 about to have, a child. But the danger to Hamlet is 
 from her father. 
 
 Hamlet, who was sent as a proxy, had won, not 
 only a second wife, but won her under the guise of a 
 principal. Let the son-in-law be on his guard against 
 the father-in-law. Hamlet is not the man to need 
 advice on such a point as this; so, when his first 
 wife's father asks him to a feast, he puts a coat of 
 armour under his clothes. He is, of course, stabbed 
 at ; indeed, slightly wounded. 
 
 Hostility is thus declared ; when Hamlet, who has 
 the scout who stole and replaced the shield and the 
 letters in his power, sends liim back to the Queen 
 (her name, as might have been stated before, is Her- 
 mentruda), who must now defend herself as best she 
 may. But the Scotch guards are evidently too weak 
 for the occasion. So Hamlet makes the dead help the 
 living. There had been a preliminary skirmish, in 
 which Hamlet lost what men went with him when 
 he parted with his second wife to parley with the 
 first. Of these he collects the corpses ; and, partly 
 by sticking them to stones, partly by propping them 
 up with stakes, and partly by fixing them on horses, 
 makes thereby a show of living men. By this the 
 battle is won, or rather the English are made afraid 
 of fighting one. After this Hamlet returns in tri- 
 umph to Denmark, where his history becomes mixed 
 with that of Yikletus. The question as to the real 
 nature of Horvendil's authority in Jutland can scarcelv 
 
VIKLETUS, VERMUNDUS, AND UEFO. 53 
 
 be dealt with seriously. This only is certain, that to 
 the authority of Eoric Vikletus succeeds ; that he 
 ejects his sister Grytha, Hamlet's mother, and (as we 
 may call her) the vice-regent of Jutland, from her 
 government, and that harshly, charging Hamlet with 
 having encroached upon the rights of the true king, 
 the king of Leire. And this he does with impunity, 
 for Hamlet (even in the fourth book an adept in 
 dissimulation) returns good for evil, and sends to 
 Vikletus rich gifts, the fruits of more than one vic- 
 tory. But he is only biding his time ; for, as soon as 
 Vikletus becomes involved with enemies in other 
 quarters, Hamlet attacks and defeats him, — not, how- 
 ever, finally. By means of alliances in Scone and 
 Sealand, Vikletus raises an army so strong as to 
 make Hamlet's case desperate. And, in truth, the 
 hero himself well nigh despairs. He knows that if 
 he fight he must die, and communes much within 
 himself whether he should die or yield. Much, too, 
 as he thinks of himself, he thinks more of his wife. 
 But she urges him to resistance: she will join him 
 in the battle, and fight and die with her dear hus- 
 band. Hamlet, kind, thoughtful, and practical, thinks 
 how, before his death, he can find a second husband 
 for her ; and with these and other tender thoughts in 
 his head, he fights a battle against Viklet, in which 
 he is killed. His widow can now choose for herself, 
 and her choice is Viklet, the slayer of her husband, 
 — "- ultro in victoris praedam amplexumque successit." 
 After this Viklet reigned long and quietly. 
 
 When Vikletus dies, Vermundus, his son, succeeds 
 him ; Vermundus being stricken in years before he 
 himself becomes a father. At length, however, a 
 
54 VIKLETUS, VERMUNDUS, AND UFFO. 
 
 son is born to him, and he is named UiFo. Now 
 UfFo, though strong in body, was slow and dull in 
 spirit, so much so as to be thought unfit for either 
 royal or princely duties. He never laughed ; rarely 
 spoke ; took pleasure in nothing. Such was Uffo in 
 his youth. His father, however, marries him to the 
 daughter of Frovinus (Freawine), governor (prcefectiis) 
 of Sleswick, whose two sons are named Keto and 
 Vigo. 
 
 There are two great wars during the reign of 
 Vermund. In the first, against Athislas, king of 
 Sweden. Frovinus is killed; his death, however, is 
 revenged upon Athislas by. his son Keto, supported 
 by Vermund. The second was against the king of 
 Saxony, who, when Vermund had become very old and 
 nearly blind, suggested that, as the father was super- 
 annuated, and the son, Uff'o, little better than an 
 idiot, he (the king of Saxony) should be entrusted 
 with the management of the kingdom of Denmark. 
 If this request were denied he would lead an army 
 against the old king and his son, or he would chal- 
 lenge either to single combat. We may guess what 
 will happen. Uffo, under the stress of circumstances 
 and the stimulus of danger, will not only speak, but 
 speak and act to some purpose. He takes up the 
 king of Saxony's challenge, and kills him in a holm- 
 gang^ on an island in the Eyder, near a spot where 
 the town of Rendsburg now stands. After Uffo's 
 return and triumph, and when gaxony is added to 
 the Danish dominions, Vermundus dies, and Uffo 
 succeeds him. How little he did as king, and how 
 he was also called Olaus Mansuetus, we have already 
 seen. 
 
VIKLETUS, VERMUNDUS, AND UFFO. 55 
 
 We have also already sqen that the triple sequence 
 of Wiglaf, Waermund, and OfFa occurs not only in 
 Beowulf, but in the Anglo-Saxon genealogies. We 
 shall now find the double sequence of Wsermund 
 and OiFa elsewhere. The lives of two kings, each a 
 king of Mercia, each connected with the abbey ot 
 St. Alban's, and each named OiFa, may be found in 
 the Appendix to Watts's edition of Mathew Paris, 
 the heading of the two texts (so suspiciously alike are 
 the biographies) being " Vita Regis 05*86 I., cui simil- 
 lima est Vita Offge II." 
 
 Offa I. is the son of Vermund, the king of the 
 West Angles, and the founder of Warwick, Caer 
 Warmund, or Curia Warmundi. Rigan, who is also 
 called Aliel, one of his nobles, aims at the succes- 
 sion, suggesting that Off'a is little better than an 
 idiot, as was actually the case. Rigan now threatens 
 war, having vainly tried to get Vermund to adopt 
 him. Ofia's affliction, unlike Hamlet's, was real and 
 physical, for he was a born blind child up to his 
 seventh, and a born mute up to his thirteenth year. 
 Under the stress of the danger that terrified his 
 father, he both speaks rationally and acts eftectively. 
 Thus encouraged, Vermund collects his soldiers, crosses 
 the Avon, conquers his enemies, and names that part 
 of the river which runs by Rug^y (a Danish name) 
 EiganhuYu, or Bigaris Brook. He then resigns, and 
 dies at Gloucester. 
 
 Ofi"a I., his son and successor, was one day hunting 
 in a forest, and having met a lady of wonderful 
 beauty, discovers that she is the daughter of the king 
 of York. Her he makes his wife and queen. Soon 
 after this, the king of Northumberland, attacked by 
 
56 THE TWO OFF AS. 
 
 the king of Scotland, but assisted by OfFa, fights and 
 wins a great battle. Then OfFa's messenger, at or on 
 his way to York, being either drunk or drugged, is 
 robbed of his letters, for which (a thrice-told tale) 
 others are substituted, to the effect that Offa's wife is 
 to be exposed in a forest with her hands and feet cut 
 off, — she and her children. These last are cruelly 
 slaughtered, but the mother is spared on account of 
 her beauty. A hermit, however, brings them back 
 to life, and orders Offa to build a cenobium at St. 
 Alban's. This is neglected till the time of 
 
 Offa II., 
 
 a saint rather than a hero. His parents present hirn 
 m the church, and promise that, when able, he shall 
 make good the neglect of his predecessor. He was a 
 cripple rather than a mute. His wife's name was, at 
 first, Petronilla, afterwards JJryda^ or Qusendnda 
 {Drida the Queen). She had been guilty of some 
 great crime on the Continent, and was drifted to the 
 coast of England in a boat without rigging as a 
 punishment. She called herself a kinswoman of 
 Charles, the king of the Franks. A wicked and 
 deceitful woman, she contrives the murder of Albert, 
 whom Offa meant for his son-in-law, by making a 
 couch over a trap-door, under which was a pit. 
 Tempted to recline on the couch, he is let down and 
 smothered. The queen, who for her punishment is 
 confined in a solitary retreat, is at last killed by 
 robbers, and thrown into a pit, even as she had, her- 
 self, the sainted Albert. 
 
 The following are the texts which give us the 
 three varieties of the physical and mental ailments of 
 the three Offas: — 
 
THE TWO OFFAS. 57 
 
 Hie Uffo coaevos quosque corporis liabitu supergressus, 
 adeo liebetis ineptique animi principio juventae existimatus 
 estj ut privatis de publicis rebus inutilis videretur. Siquidem 
 ab ineunte aetate nnmquam lusus aut joci consuetudinem 
 praebuit, adeoque liumanae delectationis vacuus fuit, ut 
 labrorum contiueutiam jugi silenti premeret, severitatem 
 oris a ridendi prorsus officio temperaret Uffo, qui forte cum 
 coeteris aderat, responsionis a patre licentiam flagitabat, 
 subitoque velut ex muto vocalis evasit. 
 
 8axo ; Historia JDanica, lih. iv. 
 
 Ofpa I. [Vita Regis Offoe L) 
 
 Licet enim idem unicus filius ejus Offa, vel Offanus, 
 nomine, statura fuisset procerus, corpore integer, et elegan- 
 tissimee formae juvenis existeret, permansit tamen a nativitate 
 visu privatus usque ad annum septimum. Mutus autem et 
 verba liumana non proferens, usque ad annum getatis suae 
 tricesimum. 
 
 Offa II. {Vita Regis 11.) 
 
 Natus est igitur memorati Tuinfrido (qui de stemmate 
 Regum fuit) filius videlicit Pineredus, usque ad annos 
 adolescentiae,inutilis poplitibis contractis,et qui nee oculorum 
 vel aurium plene officio naturali fungeretur. Unde patri 
 suo Tuinfrido et matri suae Marcellinae, oneri fuit non lionori, 
 confusioni et non exultationi. Et licet filius unicus eis 
 fuiss€t, mallent prole earuisse, quam talem habuisse. 
 
 The following', referring to the Uffo of Saxo, now 
 ffo the Stro 
 his manhood :- 
 
 Uffo the Strono' invests him with the character of 
 
 Uffo Starke a septimo aetatis anno usque ad trigesimum 
 noluit loqui, quousque in loco, qui adliuc Kimengicamp 
 dicitur, super Eydoram, cum filio regis Teutonicorum et 
 meliore pugili totius Teutoniee solus certans ambos occidit. 
 
58 OLAF KYRRE. 
 
 et sic conditione utriusque gentis Teutonia Danis jam quarto 
 tributaria facta est.^^ — Ghronicon M'ici Regis. 
 
 The extract which indicates his gluttony and love 
 of the kitchen has been already given (p. 40). 
 
 Olaf Kyrre. 
 
 Olaf Kyrre is a cotemporary of William the Con- 
 queror ; his historian, Snorro Sturleson, of Henry II. 
 Nevertheless, near as the two dates are to one 
 another, the Saga is anything but historical. A 
 portion of it has certainly a thoroughly historical 
 look; indeed, it savours of even what is called the 
 Philosophy of History. The king is praised as the 
 upholder, if not the founder, of what we should now 
 call a Peace Policy. He let well alone, taking 
 
 ^- Though not named, Yermund is the " Blind King " in Uhland's 
 ballad so named, and Uffo his son. The name of the sword was Skrep. 
 
 (3.) 
 
 JSToch stehn die Fechter alle stumm ; 
 
 Tritt keiner aus sein Eeihn. 
 Der blinde Xouig kelirt sich um ; 
 
 " Bin ich denn ganz allein ? 
 Da sasst des Vaters Eechte 
 
 Sein junger Sohn so warm : 
 •' Vergonn' mir's, das ich fechte ! 
 
 Wohl fiihle ich Eraft im Arm." 
 
 (4.) 
 
 " O Sohn, der Feind is E-iesenstark, 
 
 Ihm hielt noch Keiner Stand ; 
 Und, doch, in dir ist edles 3Iark, 
 
 Ich fiilil's am Druck der Hand. 
 Is imm, hier, die alte* Klinge ; 
 
 Sie ist der Skalden Preiss ; 
 Und, fallst Du, so verschlinge 
 
 Die Fluth mich arm en Greiss." 
 
 * The name of this sword was Scrcp. 
 
OLAF KYRRE. 59 
 
 matters easily. He " was called by some Olaf Kyrre, 
 but by many Olaf the Bonder" (yeoman), "because 
 he sat in peace, without strife, within or without the 
 country, and gave no reasonable cause for others to 
 plunder his dominions."!^ Several of the Norwegian 
 towns made, in his reign, a start in what we now call 
 Municipal Institutions. It is scarcely a refinement 
 to suggest that this looks like the opinion of men 
 who looked back upon a time when a system of law 
 and commerce began to develope itself at the expense 
 of an age of insecure heroism, without considering 
 very nicely how much was due to age and how much 
 to the ruler. If there is something indefinite about 
 this, there is nothing either vague or hazy in the 
 delineation of- his character as an individual. He 
 was a thorough Norseman, with a fair skin and flaxen 
 hair. He was very silent, except when in his cups, 
 and then he was talkative : and he was talkative 
 very often. 
 
 Such, then, is the general view of him as a 
 politician ; such the personal description of him, 
 mind and body, as an individual. In his Saga, how- 
 ever, all this is dispatched in little more than a page. 
 The remainder has a very tralaticious look. He 
 builds a church at Nidaros (Drontheim), and places 
 the altar over the very spot where his predecessor, 
 St. Olave, was buried. Here miracles take place, 
 and a blind man sees, and a dumb man sings. 
 
 Then he has a conversation with a peasant, who 
 professes to understand the language of birds. The 
 king doubts, but the peasant convinces him. 
 
 Then he is a reformer in the domestic economy of 
 
 '^ Laing, translator of tlie Heimskringla, Saga ix. 
 
60 OLAF KYRRE. 
 
 drinking. Before his time the fire seems to have 
 been in the middle of the room, with a bench on 
 each side of it. The king sat in the middle of one 
 of them, and when he had taken his turn at the 
 drinking-horn, had to pass it across the fire to the 
 guest opposite. Olaf arranged the benches so that 
 they ran round, rather than across, the fire. 
 
 Surely we have read of something like all this 
 before, — of that mixture of wisdom and folly which 
 the habit of never speaking except when at the wine- 
 cup so naturally suggests ; of that unregal acquaint- 
 ance with the afi'airs of the kitchen ; and, above all, 
 of the speaking of the dumb man. 
 
 Indeed, this carries us farther to a comparison 
 between Olaf as a restorator of the shrine at Dron- 
 theira, and Ofi'a in the same, or a similar, at St. 
 Albans. The understanding of the language of birds 
 is too common an element in fiction to claim much 
 attention. It occurs, however, with something more 
 than ordinary prominence in both " Oswald " and 
 " Erendil " romances of the Hamlet Cycle. 
 
 This, however, only brings him within the wide 
 and indefinite domain of fiction. What can we find 
 that brings in special contact with England ? What 
 insight do we get as to the introduction of the word 
 Cwiran, or Cuaran into the British Islands 1 Olaf 
 Kyrre never set foot upon any of them. It is pos- 
 sible, however, that there was never a time when the 
 name, or even the nickname, of a king in Norway 
 was more likely to be formidable in England than it 
 was in the time of Olaf Kyrre. In his Saga there 
 are three quotations, after Snorro's practice, of 
 Scaldic poems. They are the last we have. The 
 
OLAF KYRRE. 61 
 
 names of the particular Skalds are given: — Stuf and 
 Stein ; the son of Hurdiss — Hurdisarson. They must 
 have been cotemporaries. In two of them is de- 
 cribed as the king who, without fighting, friglitened 
 England. And of the terror thus suggested, we 
 have, within England itself, ample evidence. Olaf 
 was the son of the Harald Hardrada who was de- 
 feated by Harald Godvinsson, as he is called, at 
 Stamford Bridge, just before the Battle of Hastings. 
 To ensure against the attempts on the part of his 
 son, Olaf Kyrre, one-third of Yorkshire was laid 
 waste. This is the English account. On the side of 
 Scandinavia, we have, in Olaf's Saga, a dialogue 
 between him and Canute of Denmark. Canute pro- 
 poses an invasion of England, giving Olaf the choice 
 of supplying sixty ships, and letting him (Canute) 
 command, or vice versa. In the Dialogue Olaf gives 
 his reasons for declining the command and for sup- 
 plying the ships instead. He remarks, truly enough, 
 that the Canute family have been lucky in England, 
 the Olaf family the contrary. Surely, then, there 
 was something to make the name of Olaf Kyrre 
 familiar in the parts north of the Humber. 
 
 The devastation of Yorkshire is a measure of this 
 for England; the whole tone of Olaf Kyrre's Saga 
 for Scandinavia. Even the dates have an English 
 foundation. When the cotemporary kings of Den- 
 mark are mentioned, the first of them is mentioned 
 as having died ten years after the death of the two 
 Haralds, ^. e. Harald Hardrade of Norway, and Harold, 
 the son of Godwin of England, but the names in full 
 are not given ; they are simply the Two Haralds. 
 The reader supplied the rest. There is also a curious 
 
62 OLAF KYRRE. 
 
 piece of Greek learning. The drinking that Olaf, 
 the Kitchen King, altered is called a Traj^eza (rpd- 
 Tre^a). This is meant to anticipate an objection. 
 Snorro is writing (there or thereabouts) a hundred 
 years, and no more, after the real rule of a real king 
 of Norway ; yet this is how he writes. If the con- 
 fusion, here assumed, between a Hamlet who was 
 originally Chochilaicus and Hamlet who was origi- 
 nally Olaus, actually took place, it is too near the 
 historical period to be probable. The word Kyrre 
 is to find its way from Olaf, of Norway, to Olaf, or 
 Anlaf, of England or Ireland ; to be extended from 
 him to Havelok, and to give us all the results here 
 submitted to the reader. The time is too short, or if 
 not too short too late, i. e. too near the time of 
 genuine history for such confusion to take root. It 
 looks like this at the first view, especially if we mean 
 that Havelok had never been named Cuaran until 
 Anlaf had been so named before him, and that Anlaf 
 had never been so called until after the time of Olaf 
 Kyrre ; in fact, that the Anlaf Cwiran of the year 
 A.D. 950, of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, was not so 
 called until after the end of the tenth century. Yet 
 this is what the present writer means. The date, 
 however, of an event is one thing, the date of an 
 entry (as already stated) another. 
 
 It is only in two out of seven manuscripts of the 
 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle that this adjunct is found; 
 the two which have been already quoted. In the 
 others, though the event is entered there is no such 
 name as Cwiran ; and that the two which contain it 
 are subsequent to the death of Olaf Kyrre is collected 
 from the opinion of Mr. Thorpe. Both copies are in 
 
OLAF KYRRE AND ANLAF CWIRAN. 6.3 
 
 the hand of the twelfth century ; and, except that in 
 the Bodleian MS., the hand and ink vary a little, 
 A.D. 1122, the writing is uniform. 
 
 There is no evidence, then, of the name Curran or 
 Cuaran being necessarily earlier than the time of 
 Olaf Kyrre. It may, however, have been so, inas- 
 much as there may have been two persons who bore 
 it. It is also possible that the words may be different. 
 
 Now this is a question which, for the full exhi- 
 bition of the present doctrine, it is necessary to in- 
 vestigate, and it is not pretended that it can be settled 
 conclusively. It is moreover admitted, or rather pro- 
 claimed, that the general opinion is at least against 
 Anlaf Cwiran having taken his second name from 
 Olaf Kyrre. How far the two words are the same, or 
 different, is another question. It is only, however, 
 for the establishment of certain corollaries from the 
 present train of argument that the identification is 
 required. The main fabric can stand either with or 
 without it. The confusion between Havelok Curran 
 and Anlaf Cwiran is simply a matter of fact which 
 stands upon its own merits. By the deduction of the 
 name from Olaf Kyrre we can explain it. Without 
 him it is unexplained ; it may or may not be inex- 
 plicable. However, whether explained, unexplained, 
 or inexplicable, it is equally a matter of fact. 
 
 The bearing of this is upon the fixation of one of 
 the two names of Saxo's Uffo ; for we have seen that 
 Uffo is said by Saxo to have been also called Olaus 
 Mansuetus. Uffo then is in Norse Olaf^ just like 
 Olaf Kyrre, and Anlaf fi. e. Olaf J Cwiran. What is 
 he in Norse as Mansuetus? That depends on the 
 translators of the word. It is the same of Kyrre? — 
 
64 OLAF KYRRE AND ANLAF CWIRAN. 
 
 That depends on the translator also ; for there is more 
 than one word by which the Latin Mansuetus can be 
 rendered into Norse, and more than one word by 
 which the Norse Kyrre can be rendered into Latin ; 
 while it so happens that it is a Latin writer, Saxo, from 
 whom we first get Mansuetus^ and a Norse one, Saxo, 
 from whom we first get Kyrre, How each of these 
 writers wonld have translated his own term no one 
 knows. We only know that Saxo derives the epithet 
 from the mildness of his hero's natural temper, and 
 Snorro from his peaceful policy. It is needless, after 
 this, to say that Kyn^e and Mansuetus^ if not the 
 natural, patent, and unequivocal translations of one 
 another, are allied in their signification. They are 
 represented, however, by different words ; the Danish 
 for Olaus Mansuetus is Olaf Litillate, the Latin 
 for Olaf Kyrre is Olaus Tranqiiillus. It cannot be 
 denied that, as far as the difference goes, it implies a 
 difference between the two Olafs. As for Anlaf 
 Cwiran, he is nowhere, since it is only in the Anglo- 
 Saxon Chronicle, in the Irish Annals, and in the 
 French Eomance that his second name appears; in 
 other words, Cwiran or Cuaran is no Norse term at 
 all, and this has been one of the reasons for bringing 
 in Olaf Kyrre. It is with him, and him only, that 
 Uffo as a Scandinavian is to be compared. Otfa, 
 indeed, may be compared with Anlaf Cwiran, and 
 though this increases the confusion it strengthens the 
 argument ; for the primary assumption is that from first 
 to last there is confusion, and nothing but confusion. 
 The difference, then, between Olaus Mansuetus 
 Olaus Tran€[u{llus, or Olaf Litillate and Olaf Kyrre is 
 unimportant. The real, undoubted, and historical 
 
THE UFFOS AND OLAFS. 65 
 
 Olaf is one — Olaf Kyrre. Yet the distinction could 
 scarcely fail to develop itself. In the first place, the 
 translation was a cross one, Mansuetiis had to be trans- 
 lated into Norse, Kyrre into Latin, and that by dif- 
 ferent and independent translators. Nothing, then, is 
 more natural than the two approximate synonyms, 
 Tranquillus and Mansuetus: and the doctrine that they 
 applied to two different individuals is equally so ; at 
 least, it would be so in the eyes of Scandinavian logo- 
 graphers in the twelfth century. They worked apart 
 from each other, and had few authorities to help them. 
 Saxo, for instance, in the very case before us, is 
 writing a history of the most Southern, Snorro one 
 of the most Northern, Kingdoms of Scandinavia, 
 Their materials, however, are to a great extent com- 
 mon to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Meanwhile, 
 it is from Denmark that Saxo and from Iceland that 
 Snorro is writing. It is not, then, too much to say that, 
 when, under such circumstances two different names 
 occur, the inference that there were two different 
 bearers of them presents itself as a matter of course. 
 When our data are sufficient, or, in other words, 
 we are engaged on a true historical period, this error 
 can, of course, be corrected ; or, rather, it corrects 
 itself If it were not so we should have as many 
 Charleses of Burgundy and Louises of France and Ger- 
 many as there are real or apparent synonyms for the 
 words Temeraire and Debonnair. Glaus Mansuetus, 
 then, as a King of Denmark, exists only so far as he 
 is an alias of UfFo, and Ufib, in the united character 
 of Dane and King, is merely Glaus Mansuetus under 
 an alias. There are real Uffos, and there is one real 
 Glaf the Mild, Tranquil, Peaceful or the like : but 
 
66 THE UFFOS, OLAFS, AND AMLETHI. 
 
 they are not the UfFo or Olaus Mansuetus of Saxo. 
 It is, however, on the definite authority of Saxo that 
 the two are identified. To this the attention of the 
 reader is again directed. The connexion between 
 Olaf the Mansuete, Olaf the Tranquil, Olaf Kyrre, 
 and Anlaf Cwiran is inferential ; and it is the pre- 
 sent writer who suggests it. The identification of 
 Olaus Mansuetus and Ufi'o is a matter of evidence 
 — good or bad as the case may be — but still evidence 
 as opposed to inference, and authority as opposed to 
 sneculation, On what data the statement of Saxo 
 rests I am not prepared to say. I only insist upon 
 the fact of its being Saxo's ; and, as such, I take it as 
 I find it. It leads me, as we have seen, to the Anlaf 
 Cwiran of the Anglo-saxon Chronicle, and the Am- 
 blaibh Cuaran of Ireland ; and here for the present 
 I leave it ; with a repetition of the remark that con- 
 tact with Anlaf Cwiran is much the same as con- 
 tact with Havelok the Dane. 
 
 The Amlethus of Saxo, we must remember, is, by 
 the present doctrine, not one individual but two, one 
 of whom is the Amlethus of the Third, the other 
 the Amlethus of the Fourth, Book. Now great 
 prominence has been given to the fact that, while 
 the Amlethus of the Third Book is a pretending 
 madman, there is, to say the least, mental malady of 
 some sort in no less than three Ofi'as. The character 
 of this difi"ers with the individual ; but, in all, it is 
 only temporary ; Amlethus, Ufi'o, and both the Ofias, 
 like snakes that cast their skins, all come out, at 
 their proper time, as strong and wise men. Now, 
 just as the alias Olaus Mansuetus brings the Uffo of 
 Saxo into contact with Havelok, so does this com- 
 
THE UFFOS, OLAFS, AND AMLETHI. 67 
 
 mon trait of mental derangement, more or less unreal, 
 bring the same Uffo (the UfFo who is Olaus) into 
 contact with the Hamlet of the Third Book, or the 
 Hamlet of Shakespear. 
 
 The approximation, then, of Uffo — Olaus Man- 
 suetus, to Amlethus, as name and name, coincides 
 with the approximation of Uffo to Amlethus, as man 
 and man; and in this coincidence lies the great 
 importance of every relation to Uffo. So far as he 
 is Olaus Mansuetus he has brought us into contact 
 with Anlaf Cwiran, and, so far as he is the Amle- 
 thus of the Third Book, he has carried the Hamlet 
 of Shakespear along with him. 
 
 The Amlethus of Saxo (we must reiterate our 
 formula) is not one individual, but two ; one of whom, 
 the Amlethus of the Third Book and of Shake- 
 spear, we have compared with Offa, who is Olaus 
 Mansuetus. In the Amlethus of the Fourth Book ; 
 it is submitted that we have Hugletus {melius 
 Huglekus), Higelac, and Chochilaicus. The history 
 of Chochilaicus, so long as it keeps free from that 
 of Offa, etc., is comparatively simple. The agree- 
 ment, name for name, and man for man, between 
 Chochilacius and Higelac, has long been recognized ; 
 and it is to the historical Chochilaicus that the 
 legend of the bones of Hiuglauc has always been 
 referred. The Swedish Huhleikr of Snorro, and 
 the Irish Huglekus of Saxo have never been sepa- 
 ated from either one another or from Chochilaicus ; 
 though the distortion of their respective histories is 
 considerable. Of Hugletus the son of the Dan II., the 
 hero, so to say, of the present treatise, little has hither- 
 to been said either way ; for without some such doc- 
 
 F 2 
 
68 VAEIETIES OF THE NAIME AMLETHUS. 
 
 trine as the one here advanced there is next to 
 nothing to say about him. His name is here 
 changed to Huglekus on purely palseographic 
 grounds; or by a simple piece of commonplace 
 emendatory criticism. It is, then, by hypothesis, 
 put in the place of that of the Amlethus of the 
 Fourth Book, thus implying a confusion between 
 two individuals, rather than a mere change in the 
 form of a word. On the other hand, word for word, 
 Havelok is held to be Higelac ; and this brings us 
 exactly to the point where the line which begins 
 with Chochilaicus meets the line which begins with 
 Olaus Mansuetus (Uffo) ; where, as we have 
 already stated, the same individual is in two places 
 mentioned as Hanelok ; in the one of which the word 
 stands for Havelok the Dane, and in the other for 
 Anlaf Cwiran. Out of this come, (as ivords,) those 
 forms like Amblaibh, Amelaus, Amelaivus, and 
 the like, which made such a form as Amlethus pos- 
 sible. It does not come from Olaf and it does not 
 come from Higelac purely and simply ; nor does it 
 come from any letter-change between word and 
 word. By a confusion between them, as man and 
 man, the bearers of names as different as Olaf and 
 Hiirelac, take a form out of which Amlethus is a 
 probable educt. 
 
 This confusion between Havelok and Anlaf, etc., 
 like that of Olaf, rests, not upon inference, but evi- 
 dence ; and it is upon this undoubted confusion, or 
 rather upon the complex character of it, that the 
 leading elements of the present criticism mainly 
 rest. We have seen how far, as the pretending mad- 
 
AMBLAIBH, AMELAUS, ETC. 69 
 
 man, the Amlethus of the Third Book agrees with 
 Offa. We have, also, seen how decided are the 
 relations of the Amlethus of the Fourth Book with 
 Viklet, Vermund, and OfFa. They are nearly, those 
 of Higelac minus the difference of the name. But 
 Amlethus is no name at all for any single individual ; 
 the name which it is substituted for being HugleJcus. 
 Upon this substitution the whole question turns ; for 
 it will scarcely be denied that when, form for form, 
 Hugletus is changed to Huglekus, and, name for 
 name, Huglekus for Amlethus, the sequence (1) 
 Huglekus, (2) Vikletus, (2) Vermundus, and (4) 
 UfFo, in Saxo, and the association, in Beowulf, of (1) 
 Higelac, (2) Wiglaf, (3) Wiermund, and (4) Offa tell 
 their own story. What, then, becomes of Amlethus ? 
 The answer to this is that he is just explained away 
 altogether ; improved off the face of the earth ; or 
 (to go further into the over-familiar language of 
 the day) made to " disappear into space." 
 
 Nor is this strange. On the contrary, his absolute 
 abolition is the one thing needful. As has been so 
 often said, Amlethus is no man's name; but the name 
 of a pair of men. This dictum is the present 
 writer's ; but the dictum that neither, man for man, 
 nor, name for name, is a second Amlethus to be 
 found in the whole range of Scandinavian myth, 
 legend, or literature, is not the present writer's. It 
 is the express statement of Saxo's editor Muller ; and 
 that not as a mere incidental remark, but as the 
 result of careful search for instances to the contrary. 
 Something, indeed, of the kind he found ; but he espe- 
 cially commits himself to the positive assertion that 
 
70 THE DOUBLE LIST. 
 
 whatever in Scandinavian is Amlethian is merely a 
 reproduction of the Saxonian Amlethus. 
 
 It is now submitted that, when, slightly changing 
 the subject and taking Saxo's list from another point 
 of view, we may, from the series that gives ns 
 Amlethus, also get Humhlus, i.e., as a word which 
 the Anglo-Irish metamorphoses of the name Olaf 
 may legitimately be supposed to supply ; and with 
 this we may consider the relations of Dan as 
 the eponymus of Denmark, and Chochilaicus as the 
 first historical Dane. In Saxo's list Gotricus is the 
 thirty-eighth name ; and, at the same time, the only 
 one against which no objections as to its genuine his- 
 torical character can be raised. Nearly in the middle 
 of the list come (17) Uffo, (18) Dan II, (19) Hug- 
 letus {mel. Huglekus) ; and, then, at the very begin- 
 ning of it (1) Humble I, (2) Dan, (3) Humble II. 
 Now, Dan is the eponymus of Denmark; and, as 
 such, in all the dynasties has his name at, or near, 
 the top of the list. It is not necessarily quite at the 
 top ; and this is because, unless he be an autochthon, 
 he must have a parent ; a parent who in certain 
 cases, must be put forward conspicuously. When 
 two nations, for instance, profess to derive their 
 origin from two brothers, the name of the common 
 ancestor forces itself upon the logographer, The 
 Danes and English came from Dan and Angle, who 
 were brothers. But who was the father of Dan and 
 Angle? Whoever he was he was a ^ro-eponymus ; 
 and, as Dan, ivhenever it may occur^ is an eponymic, 
 the name of his father is a ^ro-eponymic, term. 
 
 The facts that determine the names of j9ro-eponymi 
 are numerous; and there is no place in the present 
 
THE DOUBLE LIST. 71 
 
 treatise for discussing them at large. It is only 
 certain that one of them is the date of the first 
 authentic name in the history of the country under 
 notice. When this is not only sufficiently early, but, 
 likewise, so isolated as to stand without any others in 
 immediate contact, there is every chance of his being 
 made either the father or the son of the eponymus ; 
 and, when there are more lists than one, he may 
 appear the father in the first, and the son, in the 
 second ; or vice versa; and, more than this, when this 
 conflict, comes under the scrutiny of a fresh logo- 
 grapher he may appear, in the way of a compromise, 
 in both characters ; just as we have it here — Hum- 
 blus I, Dan, Humblus II. 
 
 Again, the name of the eponymus may be re- 
 peated ; and it is submitted that when it shows itself 
 at anything like equal intervals, and in lists contain- 
 ing a mixture of new and old names, the chances are 
 that two lists have been fused into one. If the pro- 
 eponymus re- appears as well, the chances are im- 
 proved ; and still more closely do they approach to 
 certainty when the pro-eponymus is both father and 
 son. Now this, according to the aliases that we 
 have just investigated, is the case with 
 
 1 Humble I. 1 f 17 Ufl'o 
 
 2 Dan I. \?cn^\ 18 Dan II. 
 
 3 Humble II. J [19 Hugletus (i.e., Huglekus). 
 
 Huglekus, though it has the additional complica- 
 tion of the ambiguity of the word Humblus, which 
 maybe an alias of either Anlaf Cwiran, or Havelok, or 
 the one in one of its places, and the other in the 
 other, is repeated. Still whatever may be the explan- 
 ation of the details of the repetition of this triad, the 
 
72 CHOCHILAICUS. 
 
 repetition of the confusion of the names is un- 
 doubted. 
 
 In Chochilaicus we get a date (a.d. 516), a place, 
 and historical evidence that before, as well as after, 
 the time of Charlemagne there were Danish piracies 
 in districts as near to England as the Netherlands ; 
 or, in other words, on the opposite side of the Ger- 
 man Ocean. How far this raises a presumption in 
 favour of similar ones in Britain is a point upon 
 which there may be a difference of opinion. If the 
 history of our island, for the sixth century, were so 
 full and authentic as to make the fact of nothing 
 whatever being said about them evidence of their 
 actual non-existence, the presumption would be a 
 very slight one indeed. No such history, however, 
 exists. Our best authority for anything like detail 
 in this very obscure period is Beda, whose history is 
 not less than two centuries later ; and the utmost we 
 get from this against such a presumption is his notice 
 of the languages spoken in our island, in which Danish 
 is not mentioned. But it is only a Danish settlement 
 of a certain magnitude and permanence that this ex- 
 cludes. In the first half of the tenth century, we 
 get the name Higelac, and associated with it that 
 of Hengest as an early contemporary. Hence, while 
 the name points to Chocilaicus, the date and con- 
 nexion suggest England ; while, in respect to his 
 own connexions, Higelac is, perhaps, more of a Dane 
 than an Englishman. As far as he is concerned, 
 there is nothing that militates against his historical 
 character ; for though Grendel, the water-fiend, and 
 the fire-drake, belong to the story of Beowulf, Higelac 
 is mentioned in the poem only as the friend, kinsman, 
 and lord of that hero. 
 
., ANLAF CWIRAN. 73 
 
 The middle of the century brings us to the reign 
 of Athelstan, under whom the Danes of the Carlo- 
 vingian (as opposed to the Merovingian) period are 
 as famous as they are formidable. We have nume- 
 rous names, but any name like Havelok is con- 
 spicuous for its absence. It is plain, however, that 
 if the origin of the legend of Havelok^ the Danes, 
 and the Lincolnshire belief about the foundation of 
 the town of Grimsby, are to be investigated at all, 
 the date, name, and country of any one name any- 
 thing like Higelac must enter into the inquiry. Un- 
 less we can find a Havelok in either the tenth cen- 
 tury or the centuries that follow, we must either 
 ignore the question of his historical reality, or look 
 to some earlier period. The name, however, of 
 Havelok has not yet occurred, nor will it for the 
 next two centuries. Nevertheless, the middle of the 
 tenth century is the most important point in the 
 history of the name. Then it was that the Anlaf 
 who is supposed to have taken to himself the person- 
 ality of Higelac, so far as he was Chochilaicus, on the 
 one side, and of Uifo, so far as he was Olaus Mansuetus, 
 on the other, and out of whose name, in its Irish form, 
 Amlethus, as a word, is maintained to be an educt, 
 lived and died ; claiming for himself the title of king 
 both in Northumberland and Ireland. Here, how- 
 ever, there are, at least, three complications. In the 
 first place there are more bearers of the name than 
 one; in the second, the real and exact sound and 
 spelling of the name are uncertain ; and, thirdly, the 
 date of his life and death is nearly two hundred 
 years earlier than the names for the extraordinary 
 transformations of which it accounts, inasmuch as 
 
74 PERIOD OF CONFUSION. 
 
 the historical notices which first give us the impor- 
 tant forms, Havelok, Amblaibh, Amlethus, Cuaran, 
 and Cwiran, are all later than the beginning of the 
 twelfth century. 
 
 1. There are two Anlafs in the time of Athelstan. 
 One is killed in the Battle of Brunanburg, and this is 
 not the one who becomes Anlaf Cwiran. The one 
 who becomes Anlaf Cwiran was the son of Sidroc, 
 or Sydaracus. Of the ordinary English histories the 
 fullest account of him is in Lappenberg ; of original 
 sources, the fullest is the Irish History, published 
 under the Master of the Rolls, and edited by Mr. 
 Stewart, entitled ' The Wars of the Gael and Saxon.' 
 Here his name is spelt Amlaf. 
 
 2. Anlaf and Anelaf are the forms of the name in 
 the ' Anglo-Saxon Chronicle ' ; and the current 
 opinion as to the nature of sounds of A and n by 
 which it is distinguished from Olaf is that the one 
 form is Anglo-Saxon, the other Danish. Practically, 
 this is the case. There is no evidence, however, 
 that, at the time of the Anlafs, the name Olaf had a 
 concurrent existence ; since, the Scandinavian notices 
 are one and all more than a century and a half later 
 than that of the fuller and stronger form in N. Hence, 
 it is probable that the two forms differed from 
 another as older and newer, rather than as English 
 and Norse. If so, the Anlafs, Norsemen as they 
 were, may have called themselves what they were 
 called by the English. 
 
 3. The difference between the date of Anlaf as a 
 king in the British Isles, and the date of the con- 
 fusion of names is necessary to be attended to, lest 
 we attribute the transformation to a condition rather 
 
PERIOD OF CONFUSION. 75 
 
 than to its direct and efficient cause. The direct and 
 efficient cause was the uncritical and imperfect know- 
 ledge of the writers of the twelfth century ; and the 
 existence of the Anlafs of Ireland and Northumber- 
 land was merely the condition which made such 
 errors possible. The same applies to Olaf Kyrre. 
 It was through him that the form Cuaran took birth. 
 It was the inaccuracy of the age that transferred it 
 to some one else ; and, then, not satisfied with doing 
 this, made two different kings out of the two quasi- 
 synonymous translations of it. Olaf Kyrre is the 
 contemporary of William the Conqueror ; Anlaf, of 
 Athelstan and his two successors. During the in- 
 terval, no such name as Amblaibh, Olaf, or Havelok 
 occurs. They all belong to the twelfth century, 
 and all crop out within a few years of both one 
 another and other names indicative of similar confu- 
 sion. They are all connected with the same system. 
 Nevertheless, the deduction of Cuaran from Olaf 
 Kyrre is not absolutely necessary to the argument ; 
 it only accounts for the confusion. But, whether 
 accounted for or not, the confusion still exists. 
 
 A similar remark applies to another metamor- 
 phosis; viz. — that of the " Ha^ieloke that wedded 
 Goldesburge," and the Ha^elocke^* who was cotem- 
 porary with Conelocke. Here Havelok the Dane is 
 held to pass into Anlaf Cwiran. By assuming, however, 
 a little more confusion, the process may be reversed ; 
 in which it is out of Anlaf Cwiran that Havelok the 
 Dane is evolved. In either case, however, the con- 
 
 " See pp. 33, 34. See also, for the extent to which Havelok the 
 Dane has, actually, been identified with Anlaf Cwiran, Sir Frederick 
 Maddens Introduction to his edition of the Romances of that 
 name. 
 
76 PERIOD OF CONFUSION. 
 
 fusion remains ; and for the purpose of the present 
 work, which is mainly an investigation of the rules 
 by which Saxo Grammaticus should be read, it 
 matters little which view we take. In a question as 
 to Lincolnshire legends, and the relation of Havelok 
 to the town of Grimsby, the difference is, undoub- 
 tedly, important. But this is not the question now 
 under notice. 
 
 Within .... years after the death of Olaf 
 Kyrre comes his biography, and here, for the first 
 time, the word Olaf in the place of Anlaf, and the 
 word Kyrre for the first time presents itself; but the 
 full fountain of error and confusion is opened with 
 its great gush of complex blunders ; blunders which 
 give us (1) Snorro's Huhleikr, with a history incom- 
 patible with either history or uniform fiction ; (2) 
 Saxo's Irish Hugletus, also in disguise ; (3) the at- 
 tachment of the legend of Rolf the Walker to the 
 bones of Hiuglauc ; and, above all (4) Havelok the 
 Dane, whether as Havelok pure and simple, or as 
 Havelok Cuaran, with a history which, whatever it 
 may be, is neither that of Higelac or Chochilaicus, 
 nor yet that of Anlaf. 
 
 Nor is this all. I have hitherto spoken of the 
 two Amlethi of the two different Books of Saxo, as 
 ivholly distinct ; and, practically, or in rough way, 
 they are so. At any rate it is only the first of the 
 two that is Shakespear's 'Hamlet;' and it is only 
 he who agrees with the three Offas in a temporary 
 show of insanity. This, perhaps, is a sufficient cha- 
 racteristic. But, then, it is only to Uffo and the two 
 Offas, as Crown Princes or young men, that the in- 
 sanity or imbecility applies. All three, when grow^n 
 
PERIOD OF CONFUSION. 77 
 
 up, are strong, and wise, and heroic. Hence, then, 
 the Oifas are divided into two ; and it is only with one 
 of them that Shakespear's ' Hamlet ' coincides. But 
 in the Amlethus of the Fourth Book (the Amlethus 
 that is Higelac, etc.), there is an Off a element ; for 
 Higelac has apparently conjugal relations with a 
 lady whom Thorpe treats as his wife, while Kemble 
 says she belongs to OfFa. But then this is not OfFa 
 the Crown Prince, not the OfFa whom we make out 
 to be Shakespear's ' Hamlet ' ; so that, though there is 
 an OiFa element in both the Amlethi, it is not an in- 
 termixture of the same OfFa. The formula, then, is 
 this. There are two OfFas and two Hamlets ; and 
 one OfFa coincides to a preponderating extent with 
 the Amlethus, and the other with the other. The 
 Hamlet of the Third Book has no wife ; one of the 
 OfFas has a good wife, the other has a bad one. 
 Havelok the Dane, also, has a good wife. Mean- 
 while, the Hamlet of the Fourth Book has two wives, 
 one good, and one bad ; and the name of the bad 
 one is Hermen^r?^^*^, while the bad one of the second 
 OfFa is named Lrida^ or Qw^n-drida. iVnd here I 
 leave the maze ; chiefly because I think that enough 
 has been said for the purpose of the argument; 
 partly from the trifling character of the manipulation 
 of the changes that this mixture of method and 
 confusion bring about; and, partly, from sheer 
 fatigue. 
 
 All this confusion, however, we get within eighty 
 years of Olaf Kyrre's death ; though it is the name 
 " Olaf Kyrre' which has been put prominently forward 
 as its main condition. It is a manifest objection that 
 the interval is too short for its development. Be it so. 
 
78 PERIOD OF CONFUSION. 
 
 There is, however, an error of the same kind as one 
 of the details of one of the very compositions under 
 notice where the progress of error is quicker still. The 
 name of the Danish King of whom the pure and simple 
 Havelok of the English, (with the HaveloJc Cuaran of 
 French Eomance),is the son, is BirJc?ibeyn. The Danish 
 king, of whom Havelok Cuaran is the son, is Birk- 
 heyn. Now, even if Havelok (Cuaran) be confounded 
 with Anlaf (Quiran), this name of Birkbeyn is a very 
 late one. The date for Anlaf, of the Anglo-Saxon 
 Saxon Chronicle, is a.D. 9 . . , so that he could 
 scarcely be the son of a father whose name appears, 
 for the first time, a.d. 1173, for such is the case with 
 Birlcbeyn, And, even then, it is not the proper name 
 of an individual. It was the nickname for a poli- 
 tical faction, half military, and half predatory, that 
 supporting the pretensions to a man called Ey stein, 
 who gave himself out as the son King Eystein 
 Haraldsson, having been defeated in the open field, 
 took refuge in the forests, and when their clothes 
 were worn out wound the bark of the birch-tree 
 round their legs, and were thus called Birkeheins^ or 
 Birkbeiners, Birch-bones, or Birch-legs. Their oppo- 
 nents were the Baglers ; and the time of the Baglers 
 and the Birkbeyns was the time of Snorro Sturleson; 
 so that it is under the full light of history that this 
 name first presents itself Of course there may have 
 been Birkebeiners before ; but, unless we assume 
 their existence, the date of the French Havelok is 
 the last quarter of the twelfth century at the 
 earliest. 
 
 Hitherto the criticism has been so variable in its 
 direction that it is difficult to say to what part of the 
 
SHAKESPERIAN CRITICISM. 79 
 
 general subject it has most especially applied. Pro- 
 bably the largest amount of it bears upon the cha- 
 racter of the early logography of Denmark. The 
 poem, however, of Beowulf, along with the English 
 and French versions of the Eomance of Havelok, 
 the Dane, has also an ample share of it. So has 
 that part of the Heimskringla which bears upon the 
 history of Olaf Kyrre. It is likely, however, that, 
 notwithstanding all this, the Hamlet of Shakespear yA / 
 is the only point which many of my readers have 
 cared about ; and I may add, that before the subject 
 is done with it will be the Hamlet of Shakespear 
 which, first and last, shall have commanded the most 
 attention on the part of the writer. To this the 
 future discussions, which will henceforth run in a 
 narrower and more direct channel, are now about to 
 be exclusively directed. It cannot be said that much 
 of what has hitherto been written comes clearly and 
 definitely under the head of Shakespearian criticism : 
 however much the names of Shakespear and Hamlet 
 may be associated, and, however much it may be the 
 case that it is mainly as a creation of Shakespear 
 that Hamlet interests the nation at large. That the 
 simple question of his existence or his non-existence 
 as a personal and historical individual is one which 
 has an interest of some kind or other, is what most of 
 us are ready to admit. The discussion of it, how- 
 ever, with most of us passes for one of the curiosities 
 in the byeways of literature rather than one for 
 which there is any special call. It will be seen, 
 however, in the sequel, that such a view as this does 
 scant justice to the value of these investigations; for 
 it is not in their bearings upon the text of Shakes- 
 
80 SHAKESPERIAN CRITICISM. 
 
 pear that their merits or demerits exclusively or 
 even especially consist. "What," let us now ask, 
 " can we claim in the way of personality of Hamlet ; 
 and what comes of such personality as we can get 1 " 
 Very little indeed. In the first j^lace the personality 
 is no true personality at all : inasmuch as there are 
 two Hamlets, and Shakespear's is not the real one. 
 Shakespear's Hamlet, as far as he is any one at all, 
 is Offa ; but the personality of Oifa himself, so far as 
 he is Hamlet, is of a very equivocal character. His 
 is made up of the odds and ends of tralaticious 
 absurdities, of general, rather than particular appro- 
 priation ; so that the bearer of it is a lay-figure rather 
 than a real man in the flesh. Out of this and 
 the like come ^/-personalities, and s^mi-personalities 
 which, after all, end in mere qicasi'ioersonalities ; 
 and a ^?/«5Z-personality is all that be claimed for 
 Shakespear's Hamlet, or the Amlethus of the Third 
 Book. The Amlethus of the Fourth Book, the 
 Hamlet who is Chochilaicus, can do more. He may 
 pronounce himself the representative of a genuine 
 hero. It is possible, however, that, by the mere force 
 of genius, the equivocal Hamlet who is identified 
 with Shakespear has in the hearts and the imagina- 
 tions of men the most reality. Guarding, however, 
 against sentiment and tall talk, let us ask what comes 
 of the Shakespearian Hamlet as the writer leaves and 
 as the reader finds him % 
 
 Thus much does the present dissertation suggest to 
 us. 1. The hopelessness of expecting to find within 
 the four corners of the English translation of Bellay's 
 French translation of Saxo's Latin narrative, either 
 the whole or the half of the antecedents of the 
 
SHAKESPERIAN CRITICISM. 81 
 
 Shakespearian drama ; and (2) a caution against over- 
 refining upon the nature of Hamlet's madness. The 
 more we isolate the narrative of Saxo, and limit our 
 notions of his hero by the single account of him in 
 the Historia Danica, the more freedom and latitude 
 we allow both ourselves and the dramatist in the 
 estimate of his character. The more, however, 
 we recognize additional sources for his history, and 
 the more we find that the evidence of these is uniform 
 as to the nature of his mental ailment, the more we 
 are constrained to treat him as a Dramatis Persona 
 whose character has come to us, to a certain extent, 
 ready-made ; and, as such, one which is not to be 
 either tampered with or refined upon gratuitously. 
 Common sense tells us this, and the old Iloratian 
 rule reminds us of it. We are not to make Medea 
 mild; nor Ino cheerful; nor Ixion an honest man ; 
 nor lo domestic; nor Orestes jovial: neither must 
 Achilles be gentle and forgiving ; but, on the con- 
 trary, passionate, vindictive, and inexorable — the 
 moral of which is that we must think twice before, 
 in the way of either will or intellect, we invest the 
 weakness of Hamlet with actual or even approximate 
 reality. The pretendedness of Hamlet's malady is 
 as genuine as the reality of that of Orestes ; and, for 
 reasons upon which I will enlarge hereafter, I am 
 inclined to think that long before it came under the 
 cognizance of Shakespear his dramatic character was 
 as strongly stamped and stereotyped as that of any 
 one of the heroes or heroines in the Horatian list. 
 This is how it came to Shakespear. Whether he took 
 it as it came, or refined upon it, is another question ; 
 and upon this anything which relates to the form 
 
 G 
 
82 SHAKESPEAR IN GERMANY. 
 
 taken by the story of the pr[e-Shakesperiaii Hamlet has 
 a patent and definite bearing. 
 
 With this view I shall lay before the reader the 
 result of my investigations upon what we may con- 
 veniently call the " German Hamlet ; " though, as we 
 shall soon see, the actual title of the play is somewhat 
 different. 
 
 A connection, of more than ordinary closeness, 
 between the German and English theatres, towards 
 the end of the sixteenth and at the beginning of the 
 seventeenth centuries, has long been recognized. The 
 interest, hoAvever, which was created by the earlier 
 notices of it, slackened ; until, in the first quarter of 
 the present century it was revived. With Gotsched, 
 the most influential of the earlier critics, and his 
 cotemporaries, it was rather a question of Shake- 
 spear's influence in Germany, than that of Germany 
 upon England. Tieck, in 1817, reversed this view, 
 and showed how one play, at least, illustrated Shake- 
 spear. This was the " Fair Sidea," or, " Die schone 
 Sidea," a play which had a common element with the 
 Tempest. 
 
 In like manner '' Much Ado About Nothing " and 
 The "Two Gentlemen of Verona " are partially illus- 
 trated by the " Schone Phenicia " and '' Julio and 
 IlipiJolito " respectively. 
 
 This gives us three plays ; to which we may add, 
 as a fourth, " Bomios and Jhdetta " — " Eomeo and 
 Juliet," of which the exact relations to England, on 
 one side, and to Germany, on the other, require 
 examination. 
 
 The fifth and sixth, by which Cohn's collection is 
 completed, are the " Fratricide's Tragedy," or, " Der 
 hestrafte Brudermord,'' and " Titus Andronicus," and 
 
SHAKESPEAR IN GERMANY. 83 
 
 the play under notice. These derive their compara- 
 tively high importance from the extent to which, 
 while they agree in their general character with one 
 another, they comhine, as compared with the English 
 drama, difference with likeness, and likeness with 
 difference, in a manner so remarkable as to make their 
 exact relations obscure. They are neither wholly 
 independent dramas, like the first three, nor mere 
 reproductions, like " Bomios and Jiidefta.'' Indeed 
 what they actually are in respect to their origin 
 remains, at least in the opinion of the present writer, 
 to be considered. 
 
 The whole six plays are now very accessible, for 
 they may be found not only in the German, but in 
 an English translation, in Cohn's " Shakespear in 
 Germany," of which the preface, or introduction, is 
 as well worthy of a careful study as the texts which 
 it illustrates; the information it supplies being re- 
 ferable to both the writers and the actors of the 
 German stage. 
 
 Of the former, Jacob Ayrer is, upon the whole, the 
 most important. He followed upon the model of 
 Hans Sachs, and like him, addressed the populace at 
 large. In common with the dramatists of the century, 
 he was, as compared with his general influence, a 
 man of whom we know, personally, but little. He 
 died A.D. 1605; in 1593 he received the freedom of 
 the city of Nuremberg, where he became proctor 
 and notary to the Town Court. Between these two 
 dates lie those of all his numerous compositions, so 
 far as they are known to us. The general collection 
 of his works, like that of Shakespear's, is post- 
 humous ; the Ojyus Theatricum being published in 
 
 G 2 
 
84 GER.AIAN COTE:\irORARIES 
 
 1618. This contains thirty tragedies and thirty-six 
 Shrovetide plays, with a promise of forty more. 
 Towards this number of a hundred and six in full, 
 only three additions have since been made. The 
 search, however, lias led to the opinion that out of 
 the sixty-six plays of the Opus Theatrkum no less 
 than twenty-two were composed between '95 and '98. 
 Two Song-plaf/s {Singenspiele — operas) were composed 
 in two days — a day for each. 
 
 How far the German Theatre advanced under 
 Ayrer is not very plain. It is only safe to say that 
 he was not an innovator ; that he agreed with his 
 predecessors more than his successors ; that he 
 carried forward and promulgated what Hans Sachs 
 has bequeathed to him ; though, as we expect before- 
 hand, with a difference of degree. 
 
 Henry Julius, Duke of Brunswick, was hofh patron 
 and dramatist. His life was nearly parallel with that 
 of Shakespear. He was born a year before the 
 English poet— /.^., in 1563; and, in 1613, he died 
 two years before him. Ten pieces have come down 
 to us ; not exactly bearing his name, but the enig- 
 matic anagram of HIBELDEHA, meaning ^enricus 
 Julius j^runsvicensis, Et Xuneburgensis Dux, ^pisco- 
 patus ^alberstadensis .4ntistes. The dates of the 
 puhJicafion of all these dramas lie within the years 
 1593 and 1594. At what previous date they were 
 composed has yet to be ascertained. 
 
 As a patron, the Duke of Brunswick by no means 
 stood alone. Maurice, the Landgrave of Hesse, was 
 a patron also ; and, though not a critic, a musician. 
 
 The main part, however, of Cohn's introduction 
 relates to the actors rather than the composers, and 
 
OF SHAKE8PEAR. 85 
 
 of these the history is, to a great extent, English. 
 Whatever may be the difficulties in accounting for it 
 (and more than one conjecture has been hazarded on 
 the question), the fact that there was at this time 
 more than one company of English actors in Ger- 
 many, and that these carried with them the repre- 
 s*entation of English plays, is undoubted. How they 
 managed with the language we cannot well see. 
 How far they undertook German plays by writers 
 exclusively German, or how far they limited them- 
 selves to the compositions with which they had 
 become familiar in England, we do not know. We 
 only know that they were numerous and influential, 
 and that they carried with them English plays — more, 
 probably, in manuscript, than as printed and published 
 texts. We know, moreover, that some of them, at 
 least, returned from Germany to England early enough 
 to make a name on the London boards, at the time 
 when the best plays of Shakespear were exhibited ; 
 and two of these we know by name. Let us also 
 remember that though contemporaries of Shakespear, 
 they are what we may call his older contemporaries. 
 They need not have been younger men. They need 
 only have engaged in their profession earlier. 
 
 The bearing of this diffusion of actors over a 
 country like Germany, of the return to England on 
 the part of many of them, and of the action and re- 
 action thus established between the theatres of the 
 two countries, is by no means one of an ordinary 
 character. When 'plays are imported or translated 
 the influence of the country from which they are 
 introduced is plain and patent. There is, in most 
 cases, a text to appeal to ; perhaps one with the date 
 
86 THE OLDER " HAMLET." 
 
 of the publication and the name of the author ; 
 perhaps one with additional pieces of information 
 more or less illustrative of the history of the drama. 
 There is, in short, something like documentary 
 evidence, much or little as the case may be. When, 
 however, an actor returns with his experience the 
 case is widely different. Pie talks over what he has 
 learnt. He may communicate a piece of professional 
 information to one friend which he conceals from 
 another. He may give the character of a play in 
 which he has taken a part by instalments ; or his own 
 Tole^ with the full amount of detail (perhaps word for 
 word) from first to last; but of the roles of others 
 only a general view. He may speak of an incident 
 or a scene as having been effective on such or such 
 an occasion, without giving the wdiole of the circum- 
 stances which made it so ; and such an incident may 
 thus get transplanted or inserted into a drama wdth 
 which it had originally no connection. Finally, a 
 state of things like that which we have just described 
 would leave posterity much to learn. There might 
 be any amount of borrowing, reproduction, or adapta- 
 tion, the evidence of which would rest not on definite 
 texts, either in print or manuscripts, but on imperfect 
 biographical notices, uncertain inferences, or tradi- 
 tions, of which the value was unknown. 
 
 Such was the stage in Germany. 
 
 Let us now turn to England, with a special view 
 to the date and authorship of the earliest English 
 drama on the story of Hamlet ; and, moreover, with a 
 clear understanding that the first English play of 
 Hamlet is not necessarily a play by Shakespear. It 
 may be so or it may not, and upon this point there is 
 room for a great difference of opinion. 
 
THE OLDER " HAMLET." 87 
 
 Of a "Hamlet," undoubtedly Shakespearian, and as a 
 printed play, the earliest date is a.d. 1603. Of this 
 edition only two copies are knoAvn — one in the library 
 of the Duke of Devonshire, and one in the Britisli 
 Museum. As, however, there is a reprint of it in 
 Hall well's, and another in the Cambridge edition of 
 Shakespear, we have four means of comparing with 
 the later texts. From these it differs notablv, and 
 that on the side of defectiveness. 
 
 Then follow^s the fuller, and probably more au- 
 thentic edition of the following year — the Quarto 
 of A.D. 1604. 
 
 Here, then, are not only two editions of a "Hamlet," 
 but two editions of a " Hamlet " of undoubted Shake- 
 spearian authorship. With the composition which 
 now comes under notice, and which is really the 
 oldest recorded drama on the subject of the Prince of 
 Denmark, the case is widely different. The work 
 itself has long been known — only however by name ; 
 inasmuch as no copy of the play, either in print or 
 manuscript, has come down to us, nor have any frag- 
 ments of it been preserved. Indeed there is no evi- 
 dence that it was ever printed. We know, however, 
 that it contained a ghost^ — perhaps we should say 
 the ghost. There is nothing which connects it with 
 the name of Shakespear, nothing which assigns it to 
 any one else. We know, however, the date — a.d. 
 1589 ; so that if written by Shakespear it would have 
 been written by him in his twenty-third year. This 
 calculation we must check by an enquiry as to Shake- 
 spear's life during this interval, and we shall do 
 well in beginning earlier than the important year 
 1589. To know what he was doing then we must 
 
88 shakespear's early career. 
 
 know what he had been doing before. There is not 
 much that is very clear for this period. He was 
 baptized April 26, 1564, and there are fair reasons 
 for believing that his baptism was only a few days 
 later than his birth ; so that we may safely say that 
 '64 was the date of his birth and baptism. 
 
 By '84 he was the father of a daughter, and two 
 sons (twins) who were born in Stratford. He was 
 now in his twentieth year. 
 
 What he did immediately after this is uncertain, 
 and by '90 {anno cetatis, 26) he was not only in 
 London, but the joint manager of the theatre at the 
 Blackfriars. He began as an actor, but he was pro- 
 bably this and something more — a writer who put 
 the older and ruder dramas submitted to his judgment 
 into a more modern and less uncouth form and 
 style. He did this (as he also acted) for some time 
 and afterwards. At any rate, he was in 1589 an 
 actor and manager, rather than a single-handed dra- 
 matist. How early he began to be this is uncertain ; 
 probably soon after the time of leaving Stratford, 
 which was soon after the birth of the twins. 
 
 In '91 was published Spenser's " Tears of the 
 Muses," in which there is a supposed allusion to 
 Shakespear ; in which he is believed to be indicated 
 by the name Willy. 
 
 In '92 Eobert Greene died. Now Robert Greene 
 was one of what we should now call a clique, of which 
 Marlow (who was born in the same year as Shake- 
 spear), Peele (somewhat older), and Nash were mem- 
 bers. Greene was a clergyman, and with less poetry 
 or rhetoric than his fellows, was, from his miscel- 
 laneous and discursive reading, a very useful man 
 
shakespear's early career. 89 
 
 in the coterie. He wrote poems and plays. But he 
 was, also, a translator, among other languages, from 
 the Spanish. As the romances thus translated often 
 gave the plot to plays, such a man is prominent in 
 the history of dramatic literature. He had lived, with 
 his companions (one of whom was the unhappy 
 genius Marlow), a dissolute life, and in his last days 
 left to the world a sort of legacy in the shape of a 
 warning. His '' Groat's Worth of Eest Purchased 
 by a Million of Kepentance " is addressed to his fellow- 
 workmen. Let them mend their ways: let them 
 eschew, among others, one " Johannes Factotum," 
 one who has a " tiger's heart in a player's hide ; " 
 one who, plagiarist as he was, and enriched by the 
 work of other men, thought himself the only Shake- 
 scene in the company. The import of this puerile 
 quibble is manifest ; or should any doubt of its 
 application remain, a publication of the next year 
 dispels it. 
 
 Greene's work was posthumous. Its editor was 
 Chettle. Now in '93 Chettle makes, in his " Kind- 
 hart's Dream," amends or apology to Shakespear. 
 Greene was a friend of Marlow's, and Marlow's 
 dissipation and religion had shocked him (Chettle). 
 
 From this we learn that, in his twenty-ninth year, 
 Shakespear had become of sufficient prominence to 
 be sneered at by one of his older contemporaries — 
 the Vorschule or Forescliool, as it is called in Germany, 
 of Shakespear. 
 
 In the same year with Chettle's "Kind-hart's 
 Dream " is published Shakespear's " Venus and 
 Adonis," a 7^07^-dramatic poem. This he dedicates to 
 the Earl of Southampton as the " first heir of in- 
 
90 EAULY CAREER 
 
 vention." In an ordinary subject, and in ordinary 
 times, these words would make the " Venus and 
 Adonis " Shakespear's first work. But ^^dth a manager 
 of a theatre a great deal of unrecognized work, in the 
 way of the modification, the adoption, and the im- 
 provement of other men's dramas, may have to be 
 done; and in this way, doubtless, Shakespear had 
 done much. 
 
 In '94 his " Rape of Lucrece " is published. Still 
 there is nothing in the shape of a separate substantive 
 drama connected with the name of Shakespear ; and 
 this is five years after the date of the " Hamlet " to 
 which Nash alludes. In this year Spenser, in his 
 " Colin Clout's Come Home Again," alludes to Shake- 
 spear unambiguously. 
 
 By the end of '97 (Shakespear is now 33) "Richard 
 II.," " Richard III.," and " Romeo and Juliet " are 
 published. 
 
 Before the end of '98, not less than fifteen plays 
 may be assigned to Shakespear. From Ames' list 
 we get the " Two Gentlemen of Verona," " Love's 
 Labour Lost," " Love's Labour Won " (which, as first 
 suggested by Dr. Farmer, seems to have the original 
 title of " All's Well that Ends Well "), " Midsummer 
 Night's Dream," " Merchant of Venice," " Richard 
 IL," "Richard III.," "Henry IV.," "King John," 
 "Titus Andronicus," and "Romeo and Juliet." The 
 evidence of the identity of " All's Well that Ends 
 Well " with " Love's Labour Won " is capable of 
 being improved ; indeed, it is merely a guess, though 
 a probable and ingenious one. '' Henry IV.'' is pre- 
 sumed to mean the two parts. If so, the number in 
 Ames is twelve, a number which coincides very closely 
 
OF SHAKESPEAR. 91 
 
 with the list which we should have got from other 
 quarters — such as allusions to the " Comedy of 
 Errors," and the actual publication of " Eomeo and 
 Juliet " and the two " Richards." The only drama, 
 indeed, which, on the strength of evidence aliunde^ can 
 be added to the enumeration is Henry VI. ;" which, 
 with its three parts, brings up the number to fifteen. 
 Nevertheless, Ames' dramas look like selected ex- 
 amples, or specimens of Shakespear's best works, 
 rather than as a list of the whole of them. In any 
 case, however, the omission of " Hamlet," if it were 
 then in existence, and known to be a work of Shake- 
 spear's, is remarkable. 
 
 In 1599 he published the non-dramatic poem 
 entitled " The Passionate Pilgrim ; " and this brings 
 us as near the date of the Hamlet of 1603 as we can 
 be brought. 
 
 I now submit that, though the "Hamlet" of 1598 
 may have no existence vei^hatim et literatim in its 
 original language, it may be either wholly or partially 
 preserved, or at least adequately represented, by a 
 translation in another language ; that language being 
 the German, and the text that of the JBestrafte 
 Brudermord. 
 
 This is at variance with the general, and, as I 
 believe, the universal opinion, and the reasons in 
 favour of the view, so far as they are independent of 
 text, to which the reader is referred, I will now 
 produce. In respect to the external form of the 
 play the differences are very considerable ; though as 
 far as the sequence of the scenes are concerned, and 
 the general character of the framework of the 
 dialogue, the agreement is of the closest. 
 
92 THE GEEMAN "HAMLET," 
 
 There is a Prologue, in which Night addresses the 
 Three Fairies. It is in verse, the body of the play 
 being in prose. Herein Night tells the Sisters that 
 while she is speaking a great crime is going on — viz., 
 the wicked and incestuous marriage of the murderous, 
 adulterous, and usurping brother of Hamlet's father. 
 In this Prologue one of the German commentators 
 sees a nearer approach to poetry than is to be found 
 elsewhere ; and so far as it is poetical, it is, or may 
 be, Shakespearian. 
 
 • Then come the Dramatis Personee. Here the 
 order is more ancient than modern, the males and 
 females being mixed together, instead of the females 
 being arranged by themselves at the end of the list ; 
 and the order being less regulated by the rank of the 
 interlocutors than by the order in which they appear 
 on the stao-e ; thous^h this is not adhered to with the 
 strictness of the classical drama. 
 
 The names, too, are different, and Polonius and 
 Reynaldo are Corambus and Montalto, as in the 
 " Hamlet " of a.d. 1603. More remarkable still are the 
 names of Hamlet's mother and uncle. The mother 
 is called Signe — evidently a name of Scandinavian 
 origin, the most famous Norse love-tale being that of 
 Signe^^ and Hagbart ; whose sad fate made their 
 names household words to eveij youth and maiden 
 of the North. The story is alluded to in the most 
 popular Swedish poem of our own day ; for it is pre- 
 eminently the subject which an old minstrel would 
 be supposed to take up when he changed his hand 
 from records of savagery and heroism to those con- 
 nected with the more tender passions : — 
 
 A minstrel sat beside the throne, he sang Ms best that day,, 
 ^° I write Signe for Sigrie meo periculo. 
 
ITS DRAMATIS PERSON.!E. 93 
 
 And told a tale of tenderness, an old Norwegian lay ; 
 
 Of Hacbart^s fate and Signers love — his voice was sweet and 
 
 low, 
 That iron hearts began to melt, and tears were seen to flow. 
 
 Frithiof's Saga, xvii. 
 
 The uncle's name is Eric. This has undoubtedly 
 at the first view as Scandinavian a look as Signe ; but 
 it is English as well. In the tale already noticed, of 
 Argentile and Curan, the hero has a Avicked uncle, 
 and, just as it is in the present play, Eric is his name. 
 But in both the romances from which the poem 
 seems most especially to be taken no such name is 
 found ; the usurper there being .... Without 
 enlarging upon the extent to which this connects 
 Warner's (Havelok) Cuaran Avith Shakespear's 
 "Hamlet," we may fairly infer that some lost tradition 
 or some unknown record is the common foundation 
 for the two names. Individually, I go further, and 
 think either it may have had a Latin title — Gesfa 
 Erici (or Eorici) Begis ; or, that out of confusion 
 both of title and subject the actual Chronicon Keqis 
 Erici may have been so called. The assumed con- 
 fusion, however, goes farther, until Gesta Begis ends 
 in the King's Jester, and Eric becomes YoricJc, It 
 is only, however, in Shakespear that the Jester's 
 name appears ; indeed, in the German " Hamlet," the 
 whole scene of the grave-diggers is conspicuous for 
 its absence. 
 
 How this name originated is probably to be found 
 in the history of Anlaf Cwiran, and notices of him in 
 the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.^*^ When Anlaf was driven 
 out of his kingdom, the Northumbrians chose Eric, 
 the son of Harald, in his stead ; Harold meaning 
 either Harald Ilaarfager or Harold Bluetooth. 
 
 ^^ See page 34. 
 
94 THE GERMAN 
 
 The scene changes whenever a new speaker enters. 
 
 Here we may turn to " Titus Anclronicus." It has 
 no Prologue ; neither are there Scenes, or rather the 
 scenes, to the amount of ten, are called Acts. 
 
 The Dramatis Personse in the English Play are : — 
 
 Saturninus, son to the late Emperor of Rome. 
 
 Bassianus, hrother to Saturninus. 
 
 Titus Andronicus^ a noble Roman. 
 
 Marcus Andronicus, brother to Titus. 
 
 Lucius, ^ 
 
 QuiNTus, y ^^^^^ ^^ rp-^^g Andronicus. 
 
 Martius, 
 
 MUTIUS, 
 
 Young Lucius, a hoy, son to Lucius. 
 PuBLicis, son to Marcus, the Tribune. 
 ^MiLius, a nohle Roman. 
 Alarbus, 1 
 
 Chiron, ) sons to Tamora. 
 
 Demetrius, j 
 Aaron, a Moor. 
 
 A Captain, Tribune, Messenger and Clown. 
 ■ Goths and Romans. 
 Tamora, Queen of the Goths. 
 Lavinia, daughter to Titus Andronicus. 
 A Nurse and a Black Child. 
 Kinsmen 0/ Titus, Senators, Tribunes. 
 Soldiers and Attendants. 
 
 In the German " Titus Andronicus : " — 
 
 Vespasian. 
 
 The Roman Keyser. 
 
 Titus Andronicus. 
 
 Andronica. 
 
TITUS ANDRONICUS. 95 
 
 ^THioPESSA^ Queen o/^tliiopia. 
 MoEiAN (^.e., Aaron the Moor). 
 HELiCATEg^ eldest son of ^tliiopessa. 
 Consort of Anclronicus. 
 
 YlCTONADES. 
 
 Messengers, White Guards. 
 
 With the exception of " Titus Andronicus," all the 
 six plays in Cohn's valuahle work are provided with 
 a preliminary notice ; telling us what is known about 
 the date of their representation. Of Andronicus w^e 
 are merely informed that it was acted about a.d. 
 1600, and that it was printed a.d. 1620, and reprinted 
 A.D. 1624. Now^ A.D. 1600 is very early for a play of 
 Shakespear's to reappear in Germany; though it 
 must be added that, from a well-know^n passage from 
 Aleres, w^e learn not only that a play with such a 
 title was acted in England, but also attributed to 
 Shakespear. The time, then, is not too short for a 
 simple transfer. It is very short, however, for such 
 a transformation of Dramatis Personse, and such a 
 change in the character of the scenes, as the German 
 play presents. Natural degradation, corruption, or 
 w hatever Ave choose to call it, is well-nigh out of the 
 question. If the change be real it must be referred 
 to a process of conscious adaptation ; and of this 
 there is a notable sign in the name of " The Roman 
 Keyser," and in one of his speeches. In the stage 
 directions he is described as the " Keyser w^ho is not 
 yet Keyser ; " w^hich is very nearly, in Latin, for 
 the '' Cyesar who is not Augustus." But in the 
 dialogue he salutes Andronicus as Emperor — i.e.^ in 
 German, as Keyser ; and again, says " Shall I, who 
 am Csesar, not be Emperor.'' This is German to all 
 
96 THE THREE POINTS. 
 
 intents and purposes. Adaptation, however, is not 
 the only process which accounts for it. The play 
 may have been German from the beginning. 
 
 The other complications, how^ever, which arise from 
 the agreement between the German "Hamlet" and the 
 German " Titus Andronicus," are too numerous to be 
 allow^ed to detain us. The reason for alluding to the 
 present one lies in the argument it supplies against 
 the doctrine of the difference betw^een the nobler 
 English texts and the more ignoble German ones 
 being due to wear and tear, to time, to degradation, 
 to vulgarization, and the like ; though betw^een the 
 two " Titi Andronici " the difference between the 
 better and the worse is of the smallest ; not to men- 
 tion the doubts as to the shares which Shakespear 
 had in the English one. 
 
 These are arguments derived from the general 
 character of the play in respect to its outward form. 
 The special points of detail that supply any are the 
 following three : — 
 
 1. The blunder about Eoscius. 
 
 2. The allusion of Juvenal. 
 
 3. The reference to Portugal. 
 
 This last is of more weight than the other two 
 two combined. 
 
 1. The Blunder about Eoscius. 
 
 From the English Hamlet. 
 
 Polonius. — My lord, I have news to tell you. 
 Hamlet — My lord, I have news to tell you. When Roscius 
 was an actor in Rome — 
 
THE WRONG ROSCIUS. 97 
 
 Polonius. The actors are coming hither, my lord. 
 Hamlet. Buz, Buz ! 
 Polonius. Upon mine honour — 
 Hamlet. " Then came each actor on his ass " — 
 Polonius. The best actors in the world, either for tragedy, 
 comedy, history, &c. — Act ii. Scene ii. 
 
 Froin the German Hamlet. 
 
 Goramlms. News, news ! my lord. I have news to tell 
 you. The actors are come, my lord. 
 
 Hamlet. When Marius Roscms was an actor at Rome, 
 what fine times those were. 
 
 Coramhus. Ha, ha, ha ! How you always do laugh at me, 
 my lord ! 
 
 Hamlet. ! Jephthah, Jephthah ! what a fair daughter 
 hast thou ! 
 
 Coramhus. Why, my lord, you are still harping on my 
 daughter. 
 
 Hamlet. Well, well, old greybeard, let the master of the 
 actors come in. 
 
 Coramhus. I will, my lord. — Act ii. Scene vi. 
 
 This is from the translation. In the original Ger- 
 man Marius Eoscius is MariisBussig. Boscius, however, 
 is doubtless the true word. But what means Marus I 
 It is submitted that it means Amerinus. Now there 
 were two Boscii., and Cicero delivered an oration 
 in defence of both. One was Roscius the actor; 
 the other, Sextus Roscius Amerinits^ who was no 
 actor at all. This, however, is the Roscius of 
 Coramhus. Now this is a blunder that requires as 
 much scholarship to achieve as to avoid ; being one 
 that a learned man might make from inadvertency 
 whereas an unlearned one could not make it at all. 
 It was certainly not made by Shakespear. This we 
 
 H 
 
98 THE ALLUSION TO JUVENAL. 
 
 know from his text, where Boschis stands alone. It 
 could scarcely have been made by the supposed 
 adapters who came after him. 
 
 2. The Allusion to Juvenal. 
 
 This is in the same predicament with the pre- 
 ceding. It is more classical than the text of the 
 supposed original. 
 
 From the English Hamlet. 
 
 Osric. Sweet lord^ if your friendship were at leisure^ I 
 should impart a thing to you from his Majesty. 
 
 Hamlet. I will receive it with all diligence of spirit; put 
 your bonnet to its right use ; ^tis for the head. 
 
 Osric. I thank your lordship^ ^tis very hot. 
 
 Hamlet. No, believe me, ^tis very cold; the wind is 
 northerly. 
 
 Osric. It is indifferent cold, my lord, indeed. 
 
 Hamlet. Methinks it is very sultry, and hot, for my com- 
 plexion. 
 
 Osric. Exceedingly, my lord ; it is very sultry — as 't were 
 — I cannot tell how, etc. — Act v. Scene ii. 
 
 From the German Hamlet, 
 
 Hamlet. Look, Horatio, this fool is infinitely dearer to 
 the King than my poor person. Let^s hear what he has to 
 say. 
 
 Pliantasmo. Welcome to home. Prince Hamlet ! Have 
 you heard the last news ? The King has laid a wager on 
 you and young Leonardo. You are to measure your skill 
 at fencing, and he who gives his opponent the first two 
 thrusts is to win a white Neapolitan horse. 
 
 Hamlet. Are you sure of what you say ? 
 
THE ALLUSION TO JUVENAL. 99 
 
 Phantasmo. Ay, ay, so it is, as I say. 
 
 Hamlet. Horatio, what may this mean ? I and Leonardo 
 to fight. They have been imposing on this poor fool, for 
 one can make him believe what one likes. Observe ; Signer 
 Phantasmo, 'tis horribly cold. 
 
 Phantasmo, Ay, ay, 'tis horribly cold. 
 
 [His teeth chattering with cold, 
 
 Hamlet, Now it is no more cold. 
 
 Phantasmo. You're right, my lord, just the happy 
 medium. 
 
 Hamlet. But now it is very hot. 
 
 [ Wiping h is face . 
 
 Phantasmo. what a dreadful heat ! 
 
 [_Also wiping away the perspiration, 
 
 Hamlet. It seems to me 'tis neither very cold nor very 
 warm. 
 
 Phantasmo. Yes, now it is just temperate. 
 
 Hamlet. Do you see, Horatio, one can make him believe 
 what one will. Phantasmo, go, get thee to the King, and 
 say I'll wait upon him instantly. 
 
 With this compare — 
 
 Natio comasda est. Rides ? Meliore cachinno 
 Concutitur ; flet si lacrymas conspexit amici, 
 Nee dolet ; igniculum brumse si tempore poscas, 
 Accipit endromidenj si dixeris "^stuo," sudat. 
 
 Juv. Sat. iii. v. 100—103. 
 
 This is what the satirist says of the Greek para 
 site. In the German text there is, to say the least, 
 a similarity sufficient to suggest a comparison. The 
 English text has never suggested anything ; not even 
 to Johnson, who had paraphrased the satire. 
 
 The Reference to Portugal. 
 
 From the English Hamlet. 
 Hamlet. How long hast thou been a grave-maker ? 
 
100 THE REFERENCE TO PORTUGAL. 
 
 First Clown. Of all the days in the year^ I came to it that 
 day that our last King Hamlet overcame Fortinbras. 
 
 Hamlet. How long is that since ? 
 
 First Clown. Cannot you tell that ? Every fool can tell 
 that. It was the very day that young Hamlet was born — he 
 that was mad and sent into England ? 
 
 Ewnilet. Ay, marry, why was he sent into England. 
 
 First Clown. Why, because he was mad. He shall recover 
 his wits there ; or, if he do not, it^s no great matter there. 
 
 Hamlet. Why? 
 
 First Clown. ''Twill not be seen there in him ; there are 
 men as .mad as he. — Act v. Scene i. 
 
 From the German Hamlet. 
 
 King. We have determined to send you to England, 
 because the crown is friendly to our own, as if to refresh 
 vourself there for a time, because the air is wholesomer, and 
 may better promote your recovery. We will give you some 
 of our own attendants, who shall accompany you, and serve 
 you faithfully. 
 
 Hamlet. Ay, ay. King, send me off to Portugal, that I 
 may never come hack again, that is the best plan. 
 
 King, No, not to Portugal hut to England, and those two 
 shall accompany you on the journey. But when you arrive 
 in England, you shall have more attendants. — iii. 10. 
 
 Now if the older Hamlet (or the Hamlet with the 
 older allusion) were connected with any other date 
 but that of the year 1598, I should account for 
 the text by supposing that it applied to the King of 
 that country, Don Sebastian ; whose unfortunate ex- 
 pedition into Africa ended with the Battle of Alcazar. 
 Here he was thoroughly defeated by Abdelmelek, 
 King of Morocco ; but, as his body was not found on 
 the field, and as he never afterwards appeared alive, 
 
THE REFERENCE TO PORTUGAL. 101 
 
 his fate has remained a mystery from that time to 
 this. His subjects, to the very last, expected his re- 
 appearance, and long after the natural date of his 
 death there were sanguine Portuguese who believed 
 that, like Arthur in Avalon, he was sleeping a long, 
 perhaps an endless, sleep in the Canary Islands ; a 
 belief which is said to be not even now wholly 
 extinct. 
 
 The fate of Don Sebastian affected the imagination 
 of men all over Europe, and nowhere more than in 
 England ; and in England it gave birth to a play by 
 Peele — " The Battle of Alcazar." An historical event 
 will keep longer than a passing allusion. It also 
 crops out again in the reign of King James I. ; but 
 this was under circumstances well exhibited by Colonel 
 Cunningham in his remarks of Massinger's play, 
 " Believe as you List." It was acted about the time 
 of the negotiations of the famous Spanish marriage ; 
 and as allusions to the fate of Don Sebastian were 
 unpleasant to the Spanish Court, an allusion in Mas- 
 singer's play (or one reasonably supposed to be such) 
 is forbidden by the dramatic censor of the time. 
 
 Still the allusion is a possible one, just as the 
 stanzas of the present Laureate on the " Balaclava 
 Charge " might be written in the present year. The 
 subject, however, in either case would be an old one. 
 In 1598, however, the converse was the case. Indeed 
 the most plausible objection to that date is the pos- 
 sible one of its being too new ; for it falls within the 
 very year to which the older Hamlet, as its latest 
 date. As Peele wrote on both expeditions — Don 
 Sebastian's and the one under notice, we find, as we 
 expect from the high character of the editor, ample 
 
102 THE EEFERENCE TO PORTUGAL. 
 
 information as to each of them, in Mr. Dyce's edition 
 of that poet's works, from which the following notice 
 is an extract; — 
 
 " In 1589, while the public exultation at the defeat of the 
 Spanish Armada had not yet subsided^ a band of gallant 
 adventurers (chiefly excited by the desire of gain or glory) 
 fitted out, almost entirely at their own expense, a fleet for 
 an expedition into Portugal, for the declared purpose of 
 setting on the throne of that country the bastard Don 
 Antonio, who had taken refuge in England. On the 18th 
 of Apinl the armament set sail from Plymouth, consisting of 
 180 vessels and 21,000 men under the command of Sir 
 Francis Drake and Sir John Nonns. A minute detail of 
 the disasters . that ensued would here be out of place. 
 Suffice it to say that about eleven thousand persons perished 
 in this expedition, and of the eleven hundred gentlemen 
 who accompanied it, only three hundred and fifty returned 
 to their native country. — Worlcs of T. Peele, edited hij J. 
 Dijce, p. 540. 
 
 Peele's works on the two expeditions are three in 
 number : tivo being on this. The " Farewell " comes at 
 the beginning ; the " Eclogue Gratulatory " at the 
 conclusion of it. To the '' Farewell " is annexed " A 
 Tale of Troy,'' written as stimulus to his country- 
 men that they " may march in equipage of honour 
 and arms with their glorious and renowned pre- 
 decessors, the Trojans." Here we get the following 
 allusion to the hero of Alcazar — it may be added, 
 the hero of Peele's own play on that event : — 
 
 Bid theatres and proud tragedians. 
 Bid Mahomet, Scipio, and mighty Tambarlaine, 
 King Charlemagne, Tom 8tukehj, and the rest, 
 Adieu. 
 
 The " Eclogue Gratulatoiy " is dedicated to the 
 
THE REFERENCE TO PORTUGAL. 103 
 
 Earl of Essex, who had jomed the expedition, and 
 was, moreover, one of the few who came back from it. 
 
 Eclogue Gratidatory. 
 
 Tiers. 
 Certes, sir shepherd, comen he is from far. 
 From wrath of deepest seas and storm of war. 
 Safe is he come. 0, swell, my pipe, with joy. 
 To the old buildings of new-reared Troy. 
 
 lo, io, paean ! 
 
 From sea, from shore, where he with swink and sweat. 
 Felt foeman's rage and summer^s parching heat. 
 Safe is he come, laden with honour^ s spoil, 
 0, swell, my pipe, with joy, and break the while. 
 
 Io, io, paean ! 
 Palinode. 
 Thou foolish swain that thus art overjoyM, 
 How soon may here thy courage be accoyM ! 
 If he be one come new from western coast, 
 Small cause has he, or those, for him to boast. 
 
 I see no palm, I see no laurel boughs 
 
 Circle his temples or adorn his brows ; 
 
 I hear no triumph for this late return. 
 
 But many a herdsman more disposed to mourn. 
 
 The scene from which this Notice of Portugal is 
 taken, is one where the dialogue is between Hamlet 
 and his father, in the middle of the play, the re- 
 mark upon the madness of the English being towards 
 the end of it ; the grave-diggers and the name of 
 Yorick being wholly non-existent in the German, 
 
 In respect to the allusion to Juvenal, it is probable 
 that the " wiping of the face " re-appears in the 
 handkerchief which his mother lends him during 
 the fencino^ match. 
 
101 THE REFERENCE TO PORTUGAL. 
 
 Taking these three special points as we find them, 
 it is submitted that the third is in favour of the 
 German Hamlet dating from the year in question, 
 and the other two are more against than in favour of 
 Shakespear having been the author of the play. The 
 remainder of the argument is less open to isolated 
 points of evidence. It lies in the text itself, upon 
 which the reader must form his own judgment. 
 
ON THE DOUBLE PERSONALITY OF THE HAMLET 
 OF SAXO GRAMMATICUS— THE HAMLET OF 
 SHAKESPEAR— ITS RELATION TO THE GER- 
 MAN HAMLET. 
 
 BY DR. R. G. LATHAM, M.A._, M.D._, ETC. 
 
 PAET II. 
 
 In the following translation there is no attempt 
 whatever at anything like a reproduction of the 
 language of Shakespear's time ; still less is there any 
 use of Shakespear's own language. With the ver- 
 sion in Cohn's " Shakespear in Germany," which 
 may be read, side by side, with the original, the 
 translator has acted differently ; and where a German 
 word is, without much violence, capable of being 
 rendered by the corresponding word in Shakespear 
 he has so rendered it. Thus, in a well-known line the 
 German runs " our memory is yet fresh ffrischejr 
 Shakespear has"^r^^n." So has the translator; and, 
 from his point of view, viz : — that the German 
 play was founded on the English, the licence is 
 legitimate. From a point of view, however, dia- 
 metrically opposite, no such licence is allowed ; 
 indeed, there is no temptation to indulge in it. 
 
 In the way of language, the German of the text 
 seems to be the German of the time of the last owner 
 but one of the manuscript, rather than that of the 
 date of the original translation. An allusion, also, 
 
106 FRATRICIDE AVENGED, OR 
 
 to certain actresses (in Act ii. — Scene vii.) seems to 
 have been " foisted in by the players," and the 
 gallantries of the King of Saxony to be alluded 
 to. So far, then, as these two points are concerned, 
 the principle (otherwise sound) that " nothing is 
 older than its newest part " must be abated. The 
 numerous Gallicisms which help us to fix the date of 
 the language are inserted between parentheses and 
 italicized. 
 
 TRAGCEDIA. 
 
 DEE BESTRAFTE BEUDERMORD 
 
 ODEE 
 
 PEINZ HAMLET AUS * DANNEMAEK. 
 
 PERSONS REPRESENTED. 
 
 1. — In the Prologue. 
 
 Night, in a car covered with stars. 
 
 Alecto. 
 
 Thisiphone. 
 
 Megaea. 
 
 2. — Li the Tragedy. 
 
 Ghost of the old King of Denmarh, 
 fEEico, brother to the King. 
 Hamlet, Prince {son) of the murdered King. 
 
 * The date of the MS. is October, 1710. It came into the posses- 
 sion of Conrad Ekhof, of Gotha, who died June 16, 1778. In 1781 
 the full text is found in the periodical Olla Podrida. Berlin. Part IL, 
 pp. 18-68. This is the text of Cohn's impression. This applies to 
 the date of the text only. For the date of the earlier representations, 
 see pp. 147, 148. 
 
 t See p. 145. 
 
PRINCE HAMLET OF DENMARK. 107 
 
 SiGRiE^ {sic, ? Signe) the Queen, Hamlefs mother. 
 
 Horatio^ a jiohle friend of the Prince. 
 
 CoRAMBUS, Royal Ghamherlain. 
 
 Leonhardus, his son. 
 
 Ophelia, his daughter. 
 
 Phantasmo, the Court fool. 
 
 Francisco, Officer of the Guard. 
 
 Jens, a clown. 
 
 Carl, the principal of the Actors. 
 
 Corporal of the Guard. 
 
 Tivo speaking Buffians [Zwei redende Banditen). 
 
 Tioo Sentinels. 
 
 Life Guards, 
 
 Servants of the Court, ^ Mute (stumme). 
 
 Two Actors, 
 
 rt, I 
 
 Prologue. 
 
 1 am the dim Night which sends all things to sleep, 
 
 I am the wife of Morpheus, the time for vicious pastime, 
 
 I am the guardian of the thieves, and the protection of those 
 
 in love; 
 I am the dim Night and have it in my power 
 To practice evil, to sadden men. 
 My mantle covers the shame and rest of the harlot. 
 Before Phoebus shall shine I will begin a game. 
 You, children of my breast, and daughters of my lust, 
 You, Furies, up — up, forward, show yourselves ! 
 Come, listen attentively, as to what will soon take place. 
 
 Alecto. 
 
 What says the dim Night, the queen of silence ; 
 What new work does she propose^ — what is her will and 
 pleasure ? 
 
 Megdra. 
 
 From Acheron's dark pit come I, Magera, hither. 
 From thee, thou mother of evil, to hear thy desire. 
 
 I 2 
 
108 FRATRICIDE AVENGED, OR 
 
 Tisijphone. 
 
 And I, Tisiplione,, — wliat you have to say, say : 
 Thou black Hecate, whether I can serve thee. 
 
 Night. 
 
 Listen, ye Furies all three, ye children of darkness and 
 bearers of misfortune ; listen to your happy-crowned Queen 
 of the Night, the patroness of thieves and robbers, the 
 friend and light of the incendiary, the lover of stolen goods, 
 the Goddess dear above all others to the adulterous, — how 
 often are my altars honoured by them ! During this night 
 and the coming morrow must ye stand by me, for it is the 
 King of this land that burns with love of his brother's 
 wife, and has for her sake, murdered him, that he may 
 possess both her and the kingdom. Now is the time that 
 they lie together. I will throw my mantle over them so that 
 neither may see their sin. Therefore be ready to sow the 
 seeds of disunion, mingle poison with their marriage, and 
 jealousy with their hearts' blood. Kindle a fire of revenge, 
 and let the sparks fly over the whole realm ; confound the 
 blood of kinsmen in the net of crime, and comfort Hell, 
 whereby those who swim in the sea of murder may soon 
 drown. Fly, speed, fulfil my commands. 
 
 Thisiphone. 
 
 I have already heard enough, and will soon make good 
 More than the dim Night can of herself imagine. 
 
 Megdra. 
 
 Pluto's own self shall not put into my mind 
 So much as, within a short time, ye shall experience from 
 me. 
 
 Aledo. 
 
 I fan thf) sparks and make the fire burn ; 
 
 I will, be Tore it first dawns, break to bits the whole game. 
 
PRINCE HAMLET OF DENMARK. 109 
 
 Night. 
 
 cendi 
 
 [Ascends. Music. 
 
 Hasten^ then, and, while I am ascending, make good your 
 * course. 
 
 ACT I. 
 
 SCENE I. 
 
 Sentinels. 
 
 First Sentinel. Who's there ? 
 
 Secoivd Sentinel. A friend. 
 
 First Sentinel. What friend ? 
 
 Second Sentinel. Sentinel. 
 
 First Sentinel. ho, comrade ! — you're come to relieve 
 me, I wish the time may not be so long to you as it has 
 been to me. 
 
 Second Sentinel. Oh, comrade, it is not so cold now. 
 
 First Sentinel. Cold or not, Fve a Hell's own sweat. 
 
 Second Sentinel. Why so timoursome ? — that's not suit- 
 able to a soldier. He must fear neither friend nor foe ; nor 
 even the Devil himself, 
 
 * The following lines, which give the opening speech of Night in 
 the original, may serve as a specimen of the metre. Night's second 
 speech is in prose. 
 
 Ich bin die dunkle Nacht, die alles schlafend macht, 
 Ich bin des Morpheus Weib, der Laster Zeitvertreib, 
 Ich bin der Diebe Schutz, und der Verliebten Trutz, 
 Ich bin die dunkle Nacht, und hab' in meiner Macht, 
 Die Bosheit auszutiben, die Menschen zu betriiben, 
 Mein Mantel decket zu der Huren Schand' und Euh', 
 Eh' Phobus noch wird prangen, will ich ein Spiel anfangen. 
 Ihr Kinder meiner Brust, ihr Tochter meiner Lust, 
 Ihr Furien, auf ! auf ! hervor und lasst euch sehen, 
 Kommt, horet fleissig zu, was kurzens soil geschehen. 
 
110 FRATRICIDE AVENGED, OR 
 
 First Sentinel. It's all very well ; but let him once catcli 
 you behind, and you'll be taught to sing Miserere Domine. 
 
 Second Sentinel. What, then, is it that has really 
 frightened you ? 
 
 First Sentinel. I'll tell you. I've seen a ghost in the 
 front of the castle, and he has twice tried to pitch me down 
 from the bastion. 
 
 Second Sentinel. Shut up you fool. Dead dogs don't 
 bite. I'll see whether a ghost that has neither flesh nor 
 blood can hurt me. 
 
 First Sentijiel. Well ; if he do shew himself, see what he 
 will be like, and whether or no he gives you trouble. I'll to 
 the watch-house. Adieu. 
 
 Second Sentinel. Only be ofi"; perhaps you were born on 
 a Sunday, and can see ghosts of all sorts. I'll now mount 
 guard. 
 
 [Healths, to the sound of trumpets within. 
 
 Second Sentinel. Our new King makes merry. They are 
 drinking healths. 
 
 SCENE II. 
 
 {Ghost of the King, steps, approaches the Sentinel, and 
 frightens him). 
 
 Second Sentinel. ! Saint Anthony of Padua, stand by 
 me. Now I do see what my comrade told me. 
 0, Saint Velten ; if only my first round were over I'd run 
 away like a rogue. 
 
 [Trumpets and drums luithin. 
 Second Sentinel. I wish I'd a draught of wine from the 
 King's table. 
 
 [Ghost from behind gives him a box on 
 the ear, and he drops his musket. 
 Second Sentinel. There's the Devil himself on the game. 
 I'm so frightened that I cannot move from the spot. 
 
PRINCE HAMLET OF DENMARK. Ill 
 
 , SCENE III. 
 
 Horatio, Soldiers. 
 
 Second Sentinel. Who's there ? 
 
 Horatio. The Rounds. 
 
 Second Senti7iel. Which, 
 
 Horatio. Main Round. 
 
 Second Sentinel. Stand Watch. Corporal forward. 
 Shoulder arms. 
 
 \_Francisco and Watch come out and 
 give the word from the other side* 
 
 Horatio. Sentinel, look well to your post ; the Prince him- 
 self may, perhaps, go the rounds {patrolUren) . Be caught 
 sleeping and it may cost you your head. 
 
 Second Sentinel. 1 wish the whole company were here. 
 l^ot a man of them would go to sleep ; and I must either be 
 relieved, or run away, and then, to-morrow, be hanged on 
 tlie highest gallows. 
 
 Horatio. Why? 
 
 Second Sentinel. Oh, my lord, there's a ghost here, which 
 appears every quarter of an hour ; it has so put me out of 
 sorts that I could fancy myself a live man in Purgatory. 
 
 Francisco. This is just what the sentinel last relieved has 
 told me. 
 
 Second Sentinel. Aye, aye ; only stop a bit. It won't keep 
 away long. 
 
 [Ghost passes across the stage. 
 
 Horatio. On my life it is a ghost, and looks just like the 
 late King of Denmark. 
 
 Francisco. He bears himself sadly, and seems as if he 
 would fain say something. 
 
 Horatio. There is some mystery in this. 
 
 SCENE IV. 
 
 Hamlet. 
 
 Second Sentinel. Who's there ? 
 Hamlet. Hush ! 
 
112 FRATRICIDE AVENGED, OR 
 
 Second Sentinel. Who's there ? 
 
 Hamlet. Hush ! 
 
 Second Sentinel. Answer^ or I'll teach you better manners. 
 
 Hamlet. A friend. 
 
 Second Sentinel. What friend ? 
 
 Hamlet. Friend to the kingdom. 
 
 Francisco. By my life it is the Prince. 
 
 Horatio. Your Highness^ — is it you or not ? 
 
 Hamlet. What ! you here, Horatio ? What brings you ? 
 
 Horatio. Your Highness, I have gone the rounds to see 
 that every one is at his post. 
 
 Hamlet. That's like an honest soldier ; for on you rests 
 the safety of the King and kingdom. 
 
 Horatio. Your Highness, a strange thing has happened. 
 Regularly every quarter of an hour a ghost appears ; and, 
 to my mind, he is very like the late King — your father. He 
 frightens the sentinels terribly. 
 
 Hamlet. I hope not, for the souls of the good rest quietly 
 till the time of their resurrection. 
 
 Horatio. Yet, so it is. I've seen it myself. 
 
 Francisco. And he has frightened me. Your Highness. 
 
 Second Sentinel. And he has given me a good box on the 
 ear. 
 
 Hamlet. What is the time ? 
 
 Francisco. Midnight. 
 
 Hamlet. Good ! — it is just the time when ghosts, when 
 they do walk, show themselves. 
 
 [Healths again. 
 
 Hamlet. Holloa ! — what is this"? 
 
 Horatio. I fancy it is the Court, still at the health- 
 drinking. 
 
 Hamlet. Right, Horatio ! My Lord and father and uncle 
 makes himself merry with his followers [adhcerenten) . Alas, 
 Horatio ! I know not how it is that since my father's death 
 I am always so sick at heart ; while my royal mother has 
 already forgotten him, and the King still sooner ; for while 
 I was in Germany he had himself crowned with all haste in 
 
PRINCE HAMLET OF DENMARK. 113 
 
 Denmark. But for some sort of show of riglit lie lias made 
 over to me the Crown of Norway, and appealed to the will 
 of the States. 
 
 SCENE V. 
 
 Ghost and others. 
 
 Second Sentinel. 0, dear ! — here^s the ghost again. 
 
 Horatio. Does Your Highness see now ? 
 
 Francisco. Don^t be frightened_, Tour Highness. 
 
 [Ghost crosses the stage and beckons to Hamlet. 
 
 Hamlet. The Ghost beckons me. Gentlemen, stand aside 
 awhile. Horatio, do not go far away from here. I will follow 
 the ghost and know what he wants. 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 Horatio. Gentlemen ! let ns follow him to see that he 
 take no harm. 
 
 [Ea^eunt, 
 
 [Ghost beckons Hamlet to the middle of the 
 
 stage and opens his jaws several times. 
 
 Hamlet. Speak ! say who thon art, and what thou desirest. 
 
 Ghost. Hamlet. 
 
 Hamlet. Sir. 
 
 Ghost. Hamlet. 
 
 Hamlet. What desirest thou ? 
 
 Ghost. Hear me, Hamlet, for the time approaches when I 
 must give myself back to the place whence I have come. 
 Hear and give heed to what I shall relate. 
 
 Hamlet. Speak, thou departed shade of my royal Lord 
 and father. 
 
 Ghost. Then hear. Son Hamlet, what I have to tell you is 
 thy father's unnatural death. 
 
 Hamlet. What ! unnatural death ! 
 
 Ghost. Ay ! unnatural death ! Know that I had the 
 habit to which nature had accustomed me to go in my royal 
 pleasure-garden every day after my noontide meal, and 
 there to take an hour's rest. One day when I did this came 
 
114 FRATRICIDE AVENGED, OR 
 
 my brother^ thirsting for my crown, and had with him the 
 subtile [subtilen) juice of ebenon [ebeno). This oil, or juice, 
 has the following effect : — As soon as a few drops of it mix 
 with the blood of a man, they, immediate, clog the passages 
 of life [Lebensadern) and destroy life. This juice did he, 
 while I was sleeping, pour into my ear ; and as soon as ever 
 it reached my head, I could not but die at once ; whereupon 
 it was given out that I had died of a violent apoplexy. So 
 was I of my kingdom, my wife, and my life robbed by this 
 tyrant. 
 
 Hamlet. Just heavens ! if this be true I swear to revenge 
 you. 
 
 Ghost. I cannot rest until my unnatural murder be re- 
 venged. 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 Hamlet. I swear that I will not rest until I have had my 
 revenge on this fratricide. 
 
 SCENE VI. 
 
 Horatio, Hamlet, Francisco. 
 
 Horatio. How is it with Your Highness ? Why so terror- 
 stricken ? Hast thou perchance been disturbed {alterirt) ? 
 
 Hamlet. Yes, verily ; beyond all measure. 
 
 Horatio. Has Your Highness seen the Ghost ? 
 
 Hamlet. Aye ! truly — seen and spoken to it. 
 
 Horatio. 0, Heavens ! this bodes something strange. 
 
 Hamlet. He has revealed to me a horrible thing ; there- 
 fore I pray you, gentlemen, stand by me in a matter that 
 calls for vengeance. 
 
 Horatio. You are surely convinced of my faithfulness, only 
 tell me. 
 
 Francisco. Your Highness cannot doubt as to my help. 
 
 Hamlet. Gentlemen, before I reveal the matter you must 
 swear an oath on your truth and honour. 
 
 Francisco. Your Highness knows the love I bear you. I 
 will willingly risk my life if only you can have your revenge. 
 
PRINCE HAMLET OF DENMARK. 115 
 
 Horatio. Put thou the oath to us, and we will stand by 
 you as true men. 
 
 Hamlet. Then, lay your finger on my sword.—" We 
 swear." 
 
 Horatio and Francisco. We swear. 
 
 Ghost [within). We swear. 
 
 Hamlet. Holla ! — what is this ? Swear again. 
 
 Horatio and Francisco. We swear. 
 
 Ghost. We swear. 
 
 Hamlet. This means something strange. Come, once 
 more, and let us go to the other side. We swear. 
 
 Horatio and Francisco. We swear. 
 
 Ghost. We swear. 
 
 Hamlet. What is this ? It is an echo which sends back to 
 the rebound of our own words. Come, we will go to another 
 spot. We swear. 
 
 Hamlet. ! I now hear what this means. It seems that 
 the Ghost of my father is displeased at my making the 
 matter known. Gentlemen, I pray you, leave me ; to- 
 morrow I will reveal everything. 
 
 Horatio and Francisco. Farewell, Your Highness. 
 
 \_Exit Francisco. 
 
 Hamlet. Horatio come hither. 
 , Horatio. What is Your Highness' will ? 
 
 Hamlet. Has the other gone ? 
 
 Horatio. He has. 
 
 Hamlet. I know, Horatio, that thou hast at all times been 
 true to me, so I will reveal to you what the Ghost has told 
 me, namely : — that my father died a violent death. My 
 father, he who is now my father, has murdered him. 
 
 Horatio. heaven ! what do I hear ? 
 
 Hamlet. Thou knowest, Horatio, that my dear de- 
 parted father was wont every day after his noontide meal to 
 sleep an hour in his summer-house. The villain, knowing 
 this, comes to my father and pours into his ear, whilst he is 
 asleep, the juice of ebenon, under which poison my father 
 gave up the ghost. This the accursed dog did in order to 
 
116 FRATRICIDE AVENGED, OR 
 
 obtain tlie crown ; but from tbis moment I will put on an 
 affected madness^ and in my affectation so skilfully play my 
 part tbat I shall find an opportunity to avenge my father's 
 death. 
 
 Horatio. If so it is to be_, I pledge myself to be true to 
 Your Highness. 
 
 Hamlet. Horatio, I will so avenge myself on this ambi- 
 tious and adulterous murderer that posterity shall speak of 
 it till eternity. I will now go and dissemble and bide my 
 time until I find an opportunity to effect my revenge. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE VII. 
 
 {King, Queen, Hamlet, Corambus, and Court). 
 
 King. Although our royal brother's death is still fresh in 
 the memory of us all, and it befits us to suspend all state- 
 shows, we must, nevertheless, change our mourning suits 
 into crimson, purple, and scarlet, since my late departed 
 brother's relic has now become our dearest consort. Let, 
 then, every one shew himself cheerful, and make himself a 
 sharer of our mirth. But do you. Prince Hamlet, do the 
 like. See how your Lady mother is grieved and troubled at 
 your melancholy. We have heard, too, that you have deter- 
 mined to go to Wittenberg. Stay for your mother's sake. 
 Stay here, for we love and like to see you, and are unwilling 
 that any harm should happen to you. Stay with us at Court ; 
 or, if not, betake yourself to your kingdom. 
 
 Queen. My much beloved son, Prince Hamlet, it greatly 
 astonishes me that you have chosen to leave us here, and to 
 betake yourself to Wittenberg. Thou knowest well that 
 your royal father is but lately dead, and that we are grieved 
 at heart to have lost him, and that, if you leave us, our grief 
 will be the greater. Dearest son, then, remain here ; and 
 you shall have without restraint whatsoever may please and 
 delight you. 
 
 Hamlet. I will obey J0\^. with all my heart, and instead of 
 going will stay here. 
 
PKLNCE HAMLET OF DENMARK. 117 
 
 King. Do so^ dearest Prince. But say, Corambus, how is 
 it with your son Leonardus ? Has he already set out for 
 France. 
 
 Cor ambus. Aye_, my gracious lord and King, he has gone 
 already. 
 
 King. But is this with your consent [Gonsens] ? 
 
 Corambus. Aye — Upper Consent, Middle Consent, and 
 Lower Consent. 0, Your Highness, he has got an extra- 
 ordinary, noble, excellent, and glorious Consent [Gonsens) 
 from me. 
 
 King. As he has your Consent, so may it go well with me, 
 and may bring him safe back again to us. We have, how- 
 ever, determined to hold a carouse {Garisell), whereby our 
 dearest spouse may forget her melancholy. But you, Prince 
 Hamlet, and other nobles like you, must shew yourselves 
 cheerful. For the present, however, we must make an end of 
 our festivities, for the day is coming on to put to flight the 
 black night. Thee, however, my dearest consort, I must 
 follow to your bed-chamber. 
 
 Come, let us, hand in hand, and arm and arm embrace ; 
 Let us enjoy the sweet pledge of love and quiet. 
 
 The metre of the original : — 
 
 Kommt, lasst uns Hand in Hand, und Arm in Arm 
 
 einschliessen ; 
 Lasst uns das siisse Pfand der Lieb und Kuh geniessen. 
 
 ACT IL 
 
 SCENE J. 
 
 King, Queen. 
 
 King. Dearest consort, how comes it that you are so sad ? 
 You are our Queen. We love you, and all that the kingdom 
 is worth is yours. What is it that troubles you ? 
 
118 FRATRICIDE AVENGED, OR 
 
 Queen. My King^ I am greatly troubled at the melanclioly 
 of my son Hamlet. He is my only prince : and this it is 
 that pains me. 
 
 King. How ! is he melancholy ? We will call-in all the 
 excellent doctors and physician of our realm that they may 
 relieve him. 
 
 SCENE II. 
 
 Coramhus [to the preceding). 
 
 Corambus. News_, my gracious Lord and King. 
 
 King. What news ? 
 
 Coramhus. Prince Hamlet is mad ; mad as ever the Greek 
 madman. 
 
 King. And why is he mad ? 
 
 Corambios. Because he has lost his wits {Ver stand). 
 
 King. Where has he lost his wits ? 
 
 Coramhus. That^s more than I know. He that has found 
 them may perhaps know. 
 
 SCENE III. 
 
 Ojphelia. 
 
 Ophelia. Alas ! father, protect me. 
 
 Corambus. What is it, my child ? 
 
 Ophelia. Alas ! father, it is Prince Hamlet that plagues 
 (plagt) me. He lets me have no peace. 
 
 Coramhus. Make yourself easy, my daughter. He has 
 not done anything else, has he ? ! now I know why 
 Prince Hamlet is mad. He is certainly in love with my 
 daughter ? 
 
 King. Can love then make a man mad ? 
 
 Coramhus. No doubt, my gracious Lord and King, love is 
 full strong enough to make a man mad. I remember my- 
 selt when I was young how it plagued me — it made me as 
 mad as a March hare [Marzhaaseii) . But I take no note of 
 it. I like better to sit by my fireplace, and count-out my 
 red coins, and drink Your Majesty's health. 
 
PRINCE HAMLET OF DENMARK. 119 
 
 King. But cannot one see with one's own eyes his raving 
 and madness ? 
 
 Gorambus. Yes, your Majesty. We will just move a little 
 aside^ and my daughter shall shew him the jewel of which 
 he has made her a present, and then your Majesty can 
 see his madness. [T^^y hide. 
 
 SCENE IV. 
 
 Hamlet, Ophelia. 
 
 Ophelia. I pray your Highness to take back the jewel 
 with which you presented me. 
 
 Hamlet. What, girl ! dost thou want a husband. Get 
 thee away from me — no, come back. Hear, girl ; you 
 young women do nothing but lead the young men astray. 
 Your beauty you buy of the apothecaries and pedlars. 
 Listen : I will tell you a story. There was once on a time 
 a knight in Anion, who fell in love with a lady, who, to look 
 at, was the Goddess Yenus. However, when the bedtime 
 came, the bride went first and began to undress herself. So 
 first she took out an eye which had been fixed in very cun- 
 ningly ; then her front teeth, made of ivory, so well that the 
 like were not to be seen ; then she washed herself, and away 
 went all the paint she had daubed herself with. And now, 
 when the husband came at last, to embrace her, the moment 
 he saw her he shrank back, for he thought he had seen a 
 spectre. And so it is that such as you take-in the young 
 fellows .So listen to me. But stay, girl ! No — -go ! but not 
 to a nunnery where two pair of slippers be at the bedside. 
 
 {Exit. 
 
 Gorambus. Is he not perfectly and veritably mad (perfect 
 und veritabel toll), my gracious Lord and King ? 
 
 King. Gorambus, leave us. When we have need of thee 
 we will send for thee. [Exit Gorambus.'] We have seen 
 this madness and raving of the Prince's with wonder. But 
 it seems to us that this is not genuine madness, but rather 
 an afi'ectation of it. We must contrive that he on his part 
 must be got rid off : or else harm may come of it. 
 
120 FRATRICIDE AVENGED, OR 
 
 SCENE V. 
 
 Hamlet J Horatio. 
 
 Hamlet. My excellent friend Horatio^ it is througli this 
 pretended madness that I hope to get the opportunity of 
 revenging my father's death. You know, however, that my 
 father {Vater= stejpfatlier) is always surrounded by guards 
 {Trahanten) . So it may miscarry. Should you chance to 
 find my dead body, let let it be honorably buried : for at the 
 first occasion that ofi'ers itself I will match myself against 
 him. 
 
 Horatio. I entreat your Highness to do no such thing. It 
 may be that the Ghost has deceived you. 
 
 Hamlet. no ! his words were too plain. I cannot but 
 believe him. But what news is the fool bringing now ? 
 
 SCENE VI. 
 
 Coramhus, Hamlet. 
 
 Coramhus. News, my gracious lord ! the actors are come. 
 
 Hamlet. When *Marus Russig was an actor in Rome, that 
 was a fine time. 
 
 Coramhus. Ha ! ha ! ha ! Your Highness is always teas- 
 ing me. 
 
 Hamlet. ! Jeptha, Jeptha, what a fair daughter thou 
 haddest ! 
 
 Coramhus. Your Highness always will be bringing-in my 
 daughter. 
 
 Hamlet. Well, old man ; let the master of company come 
 in. 
 
 Coramhus. It shall be so. [Exit. 
 
 Hamlet. These actors come just in time. I will use them 
 to test the Ghost ; whether he has told the truth or not. I 
 have seen a tragedy acted wherein one brother kills another 
 in a garden; and this they shall now act. If the king 
 change colour he has done what the Ghost says. 
 - See pp. 96-7. 
 
PRINCE HAMLET OF DENMARK. 121 
 
 SCENE VII. 
 
 Actors. Garl, the princl'pal actor. 
 
 Carl. May the Gods ever bestow on your Highness bless- 
 ings^ luckj and health. 
 
 Hamlet. Thanks, my friend ! What can I do for you ? 
 
 Garl. With leave, your Highness, we are foreign High 
 German actors. Our wish was to have had the privilege of 
 acting at his Majesty^ s wedding. But Fortune turned her 
 back, and contrary winds their face, towards us. So we 
 now ask of your Highness leave to represent a story, so that 
 our long journey shall not have been made in vain. 
 
 Hamlet. Were you not, some years ago, at the University 
 of Wittenberg. I think I saw you act there. 
 
 Carl. Yes, your Highness. We are the same company. 
 
 Hamlet. Have you still got the whole company ? 
 
 Carl. We are not so strong ; since some students took 
 appointments in Hamburg. Still we are enough for many 
 pleasant Comedies and Tragedies. 
 
 Hamlet. Can you give us a play this very night ? 
 
 Carl. Yes, your Highness, we are strong enough and in 
 practice enough for that. 
 
 Hamlet. Have you still the three actresses with you? 
 They used to act well. 
 
 Carl. No, only two. One stayed behind with her husband 
 at the Court of Saxony. 
 
 Hamlet. When you were at Wittenberg you acted good 
 Comedies : only you had some fellows among you who had 
 good clothes but dirty shirts, and some who had boots but 
 no spurs. 
 
 Carl. Your Highness, it is generally a hard matter to get 
 everything. Perhaps, they thought they would not have to 
 ride. 
 
 Hamlet. Still it is better to have everything correct {ac- 
 cural) : so listen a little longer, and excuse me : for it is not 
 often that you can hear at first hand what the lookers-on 
 think of you. There were others among you who had silk 
 
 K 
 
122 FRATRICIDE AVENGED, OR 
 
 stockings and white shoes, bnt with black hats on their 
 heads : and with about as many feathers below as above. I 
 think they must have gone to bed with them as nightcaps. 
 That^s bad, and is easily altered. You may, too, as well tell 
 some of them that when they act the part of a king or a 
 prince they should not leer when they pay compliments to 
 ladies, and not be such peacock-strutting Hidalgos (Sixi- 
 nischer Pfauentritte) and put on such bravado airs {Fechter- 
 mienen). A man of rank laughs at such things. Natural 
 ease is the best. He who plays a king must fancy that, dur- 
 ing the play he is a king ; and a peasant must be a peasant. 
 
 Carl. I take your Highness^ correction with humble 
 respect, and we will try to do better for the future. 
 
 Hmnlet. I am a great lover of your art and only speak to 
 you for the best ; for it is a mirror in which one may see 
 one's own failings. Listen. You acted at Wittenberg a 
 piece about King Pir-, Pir-, — it pirred so. 
 
 Carl. Ah ! it was perhaps one about the great King 
 Pyrrhus.^ 
 
 Hamlet. Methinks it was ; but I am not quite sure. 
 
 Carl. Would your Highness name a character in it, or 
 say what it was about ? 
 
 Hamlet. It was about one brother murdering another in a 
 garden. 
 
 Carl. That's the piece. Did not the King's brother pour 
 oil into the King's ear ? 
 
 Hamlet. He did. That's it. Can you play that piece 
 this evening ? 
 
 Carl. 0, Yes ! Easily enough, for there are not many 
 characters. 
 
 Hamlet. Well, then, get the stage ready in the great hall. 
 If you want any timber get them of the architect ; if any- 
 thing from the armoury, or anything in the way of clothes, 
 ask the Master of the Robes or the Steward. We wish you 
 to have whatever is wanted. 
 
 Carl. We humbly thank your Highness for these favours ; 
 and will set about it at once. Farewell. [Exit. 
 
 ' Vide Note 1, p. 144. 
 
PRINCE HAMLET OF DENMARK. 123 
 
 Hamlet. These actors come most opportunely. Horatio, 
 keep an eye on the king and see whether he turn pale 
 or change colour : for if he do he has done the deed. These 
 players with their feigned stories often put on the truth. 
 Fll tell you a pretty tale. There was a pretty case in Ger- 
 many near Strasburg. A wife had murdered her husband by 
 piercing him through the heart with a shoemaker^ s awl; and 
 then, with the help of her paramour, buried him under the 
 doorstep. So matters stood for as long as nine years : when 
 certain actors came that way and acted a tragedy containing 
 a similar incident. The wife, who was sitting with her 
 paramour at the play, was touched in her conscience, and, 
 began to cry aloud and to shriek " Woe is me ! that touches 
 me ! So it was that I killed my husband.^' She tore her 
 hair, ran out of the theatre to the judge, confest, of her own 
 accord, the murder, and as this was found to be true, she in 
 deep repentance for her crime, received the consolations of 
 a priest, and, in true contrition gave up her body to the 
 executioner, and commended her soul to Heaven. Oh that 
 my uncle and father would thus take his crime upon himself, 
 if he be guilty. Come, Horatio, we will go and await the 
 King. Pray, however, take note of everything, for I must 
 feign. 
 
 Horatio. Your Highness I will bid my eyes look out 
 sharply. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE VIII. 
 
 King, Queen, Hamlet, Horatio, Gorambus, Courtiers. 
 
 King. My dearest consort, I hope that now you will 
 banish your melancholy, and let it give place to joy; for 
 there is to be, before supper, a comedy by some German 
 actors, and after supper, a ballet (ballet) by our own people. 
 
 Queen. I shall be glad to witness such mirth : but I doubt 
 whether my heart will be at ease, for I know not how it is, 
 but some approaching mischief disturbs my spirit. 
 
 King. Be easy. Prince Hamlet, we understand that some 
 
 K 2 
 
124 FRATRTCIDE AVENGED, OR 
 
 actors have arrived and that tliey will act a comedy tliis 
 evening. Tell us : Is it so ? 
 
 Hamlet. Aye, my father, it is. They have asked a favour 
 and I have given them permission. I hope it is approved 
 by Your Majesty. 
 
 King. What is the plot ? There is nothing in it offensive 
 or rude ? 
 
 Hamlet. It is a good plot. We who have good con- 
 sciences are not touched by it. 
 
 King. What are they waiting for ? Let them begin. We 
 would see what these Germans can do. 
 
 Hamlet. Marshall, see that they get ready : tell them to 
 begin. 
 
 Goramhus. Holla you Comedians ! Where are you ! You 
 are to begin at once. Ah ! here they come. 
 
 \_Dumb 8how. The King with Ids Queen. He will 
 lie clotun to sleep. The Queen prevents him. He 
 lies cloivii nevertheless. The Queen hisses Jdm and 
 takes her leave. The Kimfs brother comes with a 
 phial and pours something into his ear. 
 
 Hamlet. That is King Pyrrhus who goes to sleep in the 
 garden. The Queen begs him not to do so ; however he lies 
 down. The poor wife goes away. Then, see, the King^s 
 brother comes with the juice of eben and pours it into the 
 King's ear, which, as soon as ever it mixes with the blood 
 of man, destroys the body. 
 
 King. Torches ! lanterns ! the play displeases us. 
 
 Cor ambus. Pages, lackies (pagen, lackey en), light the 
 torches. The King is going away. Quick. Light-up. The 
 players have made a mess of it. 
 
 [^Exeunt King, Queen, Cor ambus. Courtiers. 
 
 Hamlet. ^'Torches, the play displeases us.'' Seest thou 
 not that Ghost has not deceived us ? Actors ! go and take 
 this from me, that though the matter be not brought to an 
 end and the King be displeased, I am well satisfied, and, in 
 my behalf, Horatio shall satisfy you. 
 
 Carl. We thank you; and, further ask the favour of a 
 pass-port. 
 
PRINCE HAMLET OF DENMARK. 125 
 
 Hamlet. You shall have one. \_Exeimt actors']. Now can 
 I go on boldly with my revenge. Sawest thou how the 
 King changed colour when he saw the play ? 
 
 Horatio. I did, your Highness ; that^s certain. 
 
 Hamlet. Even so : my father was done to death just as it 
 was in the play. But I will pay the murderer off for the 
 evil deed. 
 
 SCENE IX. 
 
 Enter Goramhus. 
 
 Coramhus. The actors will get but a sorry recompense, 
 for their action has sorely displeased the King. 
 
 Hamlet. What sayest thou, old man ; will tliey get a 
 sorry recompense ? The worse they are rewarded by the 
 King the better they will be rewarded by Heaven. 
 
 Goramhis. Can, your Highness ! actors really get into 
 Heaven ? 
 
 Hamlet. What, you old fool, do you fancy that they won't 
 find room there ? Be off, and treat them well. 
 
 Coramhus. Aye, aye. I'll treat them as they deserve. 
 
 Hamlet. Treat them, I say, well : for there is no greater 
 credit to be got than through actors, since they travel both 
 far and wide. If they be treated well in one play, they can- 
 not crack too much of it in another ; for their Theatrum is 
 a little world wherein they represent nearly all that takes 
 place in the great world. They revive the old forgotten 
 histories, and set before us good examples ; they publish 
 abroad the justice and praiseworthy government of princes ; 
 they punish vice and exalt virtue ; they praise the good ; 
 and show how tyranny is punished. Therefore should you 
 treat them well. 
 
 Coramhus. Well, they shall have their reward as they are 
 such great people. Farewell, Your Highness. \^Exit. 
 
 Hamlet. Come, Horatio, I am going ; and from this hour, 
 all my thoughts are bent on finding the King alone, that I 
 may take his life as he has taken my father's. 
 
126 FRATRICIDE AVENGED, OR 
 
 Horatio. Pray, Your Highness^ be prudent, lest you your- 
 self come to harm. 
 
 Hamlet. I shall, I must, I will revenge myself on the 
 
 murderer ; 
 If I cannot do it by stratagem, I will break-out in 
 
 violence. 
 
 The metre of tlie original. 
 Icli soil, ich muss, icb will mich an den Morder rachen, 
 Kann icli mit List niclits tbun, will icli mit Macht durcb- 
 
 brechen. 
 
 ACT III. 
 
 SCENE I. 
 
 Here is presented an Altar in a Tem,2^Ie. 
 {Hier prdsentirt sich im Tempel ein Altar.) 
 
 King [alone). Now begins my conscience to awaken ; the 
 remorse for my treachery to prick me sharply. It is time 
 that I turn to repentance, and confess to Heaven my perpe- 
 trated crime. I fear my guilt is so great that they never 
 can forgive me. Nevertheless I will pray to the Gods from 
 the bottom of my heart that they will forgive my grievous 
 sins. [Kneels before the altar. 
 
 SCENE II. 
 
 Hamlet, ivith a naked sword. 
 
 Thus long have I followed the damned dog, and now I 
 have found him. Now is the time^ when he is alone. I 
 
 will take his life while [Is about to stab him.'] But no. 
 
 I will first let him finish his prayer. But now, when I think 
 of it, he did not give my father time for a prayer, but sent 
 him to Hell sleeping and, perhaps, in his sins. Therefore 
 will I send him to the same place [will again run him 
 through from behind']. But hold, Hamlet ! Why shouldest 
 
PRINCE HAMLET OF DENMARK. 127 
 
 thou take his sins upon thee ? I will let him end his prayer, 
 and escape this time^, and give him his life : but at some 
 other time I will have my full revenge. [Exit. 
 
 King. My conscience is somewhat lightened ; but still 
 the dog lies gnawing at my heart. Now will I go hence, 
 and with fastings, and alms, and fervent praj^ers, reconcile 
 the Highest. Cursed ambition, to what hast thou brought 
 me ! [Exit. 
 
 SCENE III. 
 
 Queen, G or ambus. 
 
 Queen. Corambus, say how is it with my son. Prince 
 Hamlet. Does his madness abate at all, or will his raving 
 never end. 
 
 Coramhus. Ah, no. Your Majesty, he is just as mad as 
 ever. 
 
 SCENE IV. 
 
 Horatio. 
 
 Horatio. Most gracious Queen, Prince Hamlet is in the 
 antechamber, and craves a private audience {Audienz). 
 
 Qiiee7i. He is very dear to us; so let him come in at 
 once. 
 
 Horatio. It shall be done. Your Majesty. \_Exit. 
 
 Queen. Corambus, hide yourself behind the tapestry, till 
 we call you. 
 
 Corambus. Ay, ay, your Majesty, I will. [Hides himself, 
 
 SCENE V. 
 
 Hamlet, Queen. 
 
 Hamlet. Mother ! did you know your late husband well ? 
 
 Queen. Ah ! remind me not of my former grief. I can- 
 not but weep when I think of it. 
 
 Hamlet: Weep ! Leave-off weeping. They are but 
 crocodile's tears. But see. Yonder in that gallery hangs 
 
128 FRATRICIDE AVENGED, OR 
 
 the counterfeit {Gonterfait) of your first husband^ aud there 
 hangs the counterfeit of your present. What thinkest thou ? 
 Which is the comelier of the two ? Is not the first a majestic 
 nobleman {niajestdtischer Herr) ? 
 
 Queen. He is indeed. That is true. 
 
 Hamlet. And yet thou hast so soon forgotten him. Fie, 
 for shame ! You have had almost on the same day the 
 burial and the betrothal. But, hush, are all the doors 
 closed ? 
 
 Queen. Why do you ask ? 
 
 [Goramhiis coughs behind the tapestry. 
 
 Hamlet. Who is that who is listening to us ? [_8tahs him. 
 
 Corambus. Woe is me, Prince. What hast thou done ? 
 I am dying. 
 
 Queen. Heavens, my son, what are you doing ? It is 
 Corambus, the Chamberlain. 
 
 SCENE VI. 
 
 Ghost passes across the stage. [Thunder and lightning.'] 
 
 Hamlet. Ah, noble spirit of my father, stay. What 
 would' st thou ? Criest thou for vengeance ? Thou shalt 
 have it at the right time. 
 
 Queen. What are you about ? Wlio are you talking to ? 
 
 Hamlet. Seest thou not the spirit of thy departed hus- 
 band ? See, he beckons as if he would speak to you. 
 
 Queen. How ? I see nothing. 
 
 Hamlet. I believe you. You do see nothing ; for you are 
 no longer worthy to look on his form. Fie, for shame! 
 Not one word more will I say to you. [Exit. 
 
 Queen {alone) . God ! how has this melancholy brought 
 upon the Prince this raving ? Alas, my own son has wholly 
 lost his senses. And, alas ! alas ! I am much to blame. 
 Had I not wedded my brother-in-law, my first husband's 
 brother, I had not robbed my son of the Crown of Denmark. 
 But when a thing is done what can we ? Nothing. Matters 
 must stand as they are. If the Pope had not allowed the 
 
PRINCE HAMLET OF DENMARK. 129 
 
 marriage it would never have taken place. I will go hence, 
 and do my best to restore my son to his former sense and 
 health. 
 
 SCENE VII. 
 
 Jens, alone. 
 
 Jens. It is long since I went to Court to pay my taxes. 
 I am afraid that, go where I may, I shall be put into jail. 
 I wish I could only find some good friend who would speak 
 a good word for me, so that I might get-off. 
 
 SCENE VIII. 
 
 Phantasmo. 
 
 Phantasmo. There are strange goings-on at Court. 
 Prince Hamlet is mad, and Ophelia is mad too. In short 
 (m Summa) things go on so very queerly that I have 
 half a mind to run away. 
 
 Jens. By all that's holy, there is my good old friend 
 Phantasmo. No better man could I hit upon. I will ask 
 him to say a good word for me. Holla ! Master Phan- 
 tasmo ! 
 
 Phantasmo. Thanks ! What can I do for you, Mister 
 Bumpkin ? 
 
 Jens. Ah, my good Master Phantasmo. 'Tis a long time 
 since I was at Court, and I am a long way behind-hand. 
 Put in a good word for me and I will reward you with 
 a good cheese. 
 
 Phantasmo. What! Dost thou think. Master Clown, 
 that at Court I get nothing to eat ? 
 
 SCENE IX. 
 
 Ophelia mad. 
 
 Ophelia. I run and run and cannot find my sweetheart. 
 He has sent to me to come to him. We are to be married ; 
 
130 FRATRICIDE AVENGED, OR 
 
 and I am dressed for it already. But there he is^ my Love ! 
 Oh, my lambkin, I have sought you everywhere ; every- 
 where have I sought you. But think, the tailor has spoilt 
 my cotton [cattuner) gown. See, there is a pretty flower 
 for you, my Heart ! 
 
 Phantasmo. Oh, the Devil ! I wish she were away. She 
 fancies I am her sweetheart. 
 
 Ophelia. What sayest thou, my Love ! We will go to 
 bed together. I will wash you quite clean. 
 
 Phantamio. Aye, aye; 1^11 soap you, and wash you out 
 too. 
 
 Ophelia. Hark, my Love, hast thou already put on your 
 fine new suit ? Aye. That is well made ; quite according 
 to the new fashion [die neue Mode). 
 
 Phantasmo. I know that without — 
 
 Ophelia. Oh, Lord, I had nearly forgotten. The King 
 has invited me to supper and I must make haste. My 
 coach ! my coach ! [Exit. 
 
 Phantasmo. Hecate, thou Queen of witches, how glad 
 I am that mad thing is off. If she had stayed any longer 
 I should have been mad myself. I must get away before 
 the foolish woman comes again. 
 
 Jens. kind Master Phantasmo ! Pray do not forget 
 me. 
 
 Phantasmo. Come along. Bumpkin. We^ll see what 
 we can do. [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE X. 
 
 King, Hamlet, Horatio, Two Attendants. 
 
 King. Where is the body of Corambus ! Has it not yet 
 been removed ? 
 
 Horatio. It is still lying in the place where it was stuck 
 through. 
 
 King. It grieves us that he has lost his life so suddenly. 
 Go, let it be taken away. We wish it to be honorably 
 buried. Oh, Prince Hamlet, what hast thou done to stab 
 
PRINCE HAMLET OF DENMARK. 131 
 
 an old and harmless man ! It grieves us to our heart ; but 
 as it has been done unwittingly, this murder is in some 
 degree excusable. I fear, however, that when it gets 
 known among the nobility they will raise a rebellion among 
 my subjects ; and, then, they may revenge his death on 
 you. However, in our fatherlike care for you, we have 
 devised a plan to ward off this danger from you. 
 
 Hamlet. I am sorry for it, my Lord Uncle and Father. 
 I had wished to say something in private to the Queen, 
 when he lay in wait for me as a spy. I did not, however, 
 know that it was this fool. But how would your Majesty 
 have us proceed (procediren) ? 
 
 King. We have resolved to send you to England because 
 the English Crown is friendly to our own. You can there 
 refresh yourself for a while, since the air there is better 
 than ours and may promote your recovery. We will give 
 you some of our own attendants, who shall accompany you 
 and serve you faithfully. 
 
 Hamlet. Ay, ay. King, send me off to * Portugal so that 
 I may never come back again. That's the better plan. 
 
 King. No, not to Portugal, but to England, and those 
 two shall accompany you on the journey. But when you 
 arrive in England you shall have more attendants. 
 
 Hamlet. Those are the lackeys {Laguaien), are they ? 
 Nice fellows ! 
 
 King [apart to the two attendants]. Listen, you two. As 
 soon as you have reached England do as I have ordered 
 jT-ou. Get a sword or a pistol each and take his life. But 
 should this attempt miscarry, take this letter and present 
 it along with the Prince to the place for which it is ad- 
 dressed. There he will be so well looked to that he will 
 never come back from England again. But in this point be 
 cautious. Reveal your business to no man. You shall re- 
 ceive your reward as soon as ever you return. 
 
 Hamlet. Well, your Majesty, who are they, then, that are 
 to bear me company ? 
 
 * See pp. 100 103. 
 
132 FRATRICIDE AVENGED, OR 
 
 King. These two. The Gods be with you ; and give you 
 a fair wind for the place and spot you are going to. 
 
 Hamlet. Now Adieu, my Lady Mother. {Nun Adieu, 
 Frail Mutter.) 
 
 King. How is this, Prince ? why do you call me Mother ? 
 
 Hamlet. Man and wife are one flesh. Father or Mother 
 — it is all the same to me. 
 
 King. Well ! Fare thee well. Heaven bless you. 
 
 [E.dt. 
 
 Hamlet. Now, you noble sneaks {Quantschen) , are you to 
 be my companions ? 
 
 Both. We are, my Lord. 
 
 Hamlet. Come, then, my noble {nohlen) comrades, let us 
 be ofi", off for England. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 SCENE XI. 
 
 Phantasmo, Oplielia. 
 
 Pliantasmo. Going or standing, that high-flying maiden, 
 that Ophelia is after me at every corner. I can get no 
 peace. She says I am her lover; and I am not. If I 
 could but hide myself somewhere where she could not 
 find. 
 
 Ophelia. Where is my sweetheart. The rogue will not 
 stay with me. Ever away — but, see, there he is. Listen, 
 my Love, I have been with the priest, and he will join 
 {copuliren) us this very day. I have made all ready for the 
 wedding — chicken, hares, • meat, butter, and cheese — all 
 bought. There is nothing now wanting but the musicians 
 {Musikanten) to play us to bed. 
 
 Phantasmo. I can only say. Yes. Come, then, let^s go 
 to bed together. 
 
 Ophelia. No, no, my puppet, we must first go with one 
 another to Church, and then weTl eat and drink and dance ; 
 that we will. We will be right merry ! 
 
 Phantasmo. Aye, aye, right merry ; three eating out of 
 one dish. 
 
PRINCE HAMLET OF DENMARK. 133 
 
 Ophelia. What do you say ? If you won^t have me^ I'll 
 not have you [strikes him] . Look yonder ! That's my 
 Love there. He is making signs to me. See what a fine 
 suit of clothes he has. See, he is enticing me to him. He 
 will throw me a lily and a rose. He will take me in his 
 arms. He is making signs to me. I am coming ; I am 
 coming. 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 Phantasmo. At close quarters she's barely sensible, and 
 at a fair distance she's downright mad. I wish she were 
 hanged, and then the carrion could not run after me so. 
 
 [Exit 
 
 ACT IV. 
 
 Hamlet, Two Ruffians {Banditan). 
 
 Hamlet. There's a pleasant place here on this island. 
 We'll bide here awhile, and dine. There's a pleasant wood, 
 and cool stream of water. So bring me of the best from the 
 ship ; for here we'll enjoy ourselves. 
 
 First Ruffian. My Lord and Grace, this is no time for 
 eating ; for from this island you will never depart. Here is 
 the spot which is chosen for your churchyard. 
 
 Hamlet. What sayest thou, base slave ? Knowest thou 
 whom I am ? Would you pass jests on a Prince Royal ? 
 However, for this time, I forgive you. 
 
 Second Ruffian. It is no jest. It is downright earnest. 
 
 Hamlet. Why this ? What injury have I ever done you ? 
 For my part I can think of none. Why, then, such bad 
 thoughts ? 
 
 First Ruffian. It is our orders, from the King, as soon 
 we get Your Highness on this island, we are to take your 
 life. 
 
 Hamlet. My dear friends, spare my life. Say that you 
 have done your work ; and so long as I live I will never 
 come in sight of the King. Think well whether you do 
 
134 FRATRICIDE AVENGED, OR 
 
 yourselves good by having on your liands the blood of an 
 innocent Prince ? Will you stain your consciences with my 
 sins ? Alas^ that in an evil hour like this I have no 
 weapon ? If I had but something in my hands — 
 
 [HXciAvjs an attempt to seize a stvord. 
 
 Second Ruffian. Holla, Comrade ? Look out for your 
 weajDon. 
 
 First Biffian. Vl\ look-out. Now, Prince, prepare your- 
 self. We have no time to lose. 
 
 Hamlet. Since it cannot be otherwise, and I must die at 
 your hands at the bidding of a tyrannical King, I must 
 submit, although innocent. And you, driven to the deed 
 by poverty, I willingly forgive. My blood, however, must 
 be answered for by the fratricide and parricide at the great 
 day of Judgement. 
 
 First Rvffian. What have we to do with the great day ? 
 To-day is the day for our business. 
 
 Second Ruffian . True brother ! Let us set to. Let us 
 fire ; you from one side and I on the other. 
 
 Hamlet. Hear me but for one word. Even the very worst 
 of criminals would not be denied a time to repent in. I 
 pray you, then, an innocent Prince as I am, to let me 
 address to my Maker an earnest prayer; after this I am 
 ready to die. But I will make a sign. I will turn my hands 
 towards Heaven, and the moment I stretch out my arms 
 you can fire. One of you aim on one side, and the other 
 on the other j and when I say " Fire " give me what I 
 need. Be sure to hit me so that I shall not be long in tor- 
 ment. 
 
 Second Ruffian. Well, we may do as much as this for 
 you ; so go on. 
 
 Hamlet [separates his hands from one another']. Fire. 
 [Throws himself forward between the two, who shoot one 
 another]. just Heaven, I thank you for this heavenly 
 idea, and I will always reverence the guardian angel who 
 through this happy thought has saved my life. For these 
 rascals, however, the recompense has been suitable to the 
 
PRINCE HAMLET OF DENMAKK. 135 
 
 deed. But the dog still moves; they have shot one another. 
 However^ I give the last stroke to my revenge, and make 
 sure: else one of the rogues may escape \_stabs one of them with 
 his own sword'] . Now will I see whether they have any secret 
 with them. This one has nothing. On the murderer^ how- 
 ever^ 1 find a letter ; which I will make free to read. This 
 letter is written to the arch- murderer in England, that, in 
 case this attempt fail, they should just make me over to 
 him, and he would just blow out the light of my life. 
 However, the Gods stand by the upright man. Now will I 
 return to the terror of my father. But I will not trust 
 any longer to water, for who knows but what the ship^s 
 captain is a villain. I will go to the first station and take 
 post. The sailors I will order {commandiren) back to Den- 
 mark. This rascal, however, I will throw into the water. 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 SCENE II. 
 
 King, with Attendants. 
 
 King. We wish to find out how it goes with our 
 son. Prince Hamlet, and whether the men whom we sent 
 with him fellow-travellers have dealt honorably with him, 
 even as we commanded. 
 
 SCENE III. 
 
 Phantasmo, King. 
 
 Phantasmo. News, Mister {Monsieur) King ! Brand-new 
 news ! 
 
 King. What is it, Phantasmo ? 
 
 Phantasmo. Leonhardus has come home from France, 
 
 King. That pleases us. Let him present himself. 
 
 SCENE IV. 
 
 Leonhardus, King. 
 Leonhardus. My gracious Lord and King, I demand of 
 
136 FKATRICIDE AVENGED, OR 
 
 your Majesty either my father or revenge for his lament- 
 able murder. If this be not forthcoming I shall forget that 
 you are King, and myself take my own vengeance on the 
 murderer. 
 
 King. Leonhardus, be satisfied that we are guiltless of 
 your father^s death. Prince Hamlet has unaware run him 
 through behind the hangings, but we will see that he is 
 punished for it. 
 
 Leonardus. As your Majesty is guiltless of my father's 
 death, 1 fall on my knees and beg for pardon. My anger 
 as well as my filial affection had so overcome me that I 
 knew not what I did. 
 
 King. You are forgiven. We can easily believe that it 
 touches you nearly to have lost your father so miserably. 
 But rest satisfied — you shall find a father in ourselves. 
 
 Leonardus. I thank you for this great act of royal kind- 
 ness. 
 
 SCENE V. 
 
 Phantasmo. 
 
 Phantasmo. Uncle, King, more news still ! 
 
 King. What is your new news ? 
 
 Phantasmo. Prince Hamlet has come back. 
 
 King. The Devil you mean, not Prince Hamlet. 
 
 Phantasmo. I mean Prince Hamlet, not the Devil. 
 
 King. Leonhardus, hear ! Now you can avenge your 
 fither's death, since the Prince has returned : but you must 
 promise on your oath not to reveal it to any one. 
 
 Phantasmo. Doubt me not, your Majesty. Whatsoever 
 your Majesty may reveal shall be kept as silent as if it had 
 been spoken to a stone. 
 
 King. We will get-up a fencing- match between you and 
 him. You shall fence with foils. The one who make the 
 first three hits wins a Neapolitan horse. In the middle, 
 however, of the fencing you shall let your foil drop, and 
 take-up instead of it an unblunted weapon, which shall 
 be made exactly like the foil, and be ready to your hand. 
 
PRINCE HAMLET OF DENMARK. 137 
 
 This you anoint with a strong poison : and as soon as you 
 shall have wounded him he will die. So will you win both 
 the prize and the king^s favour. 
 
 Leonhardus. Your Majesty must excuse me. The Prince 
 is so good a fencer that he might turn my own weapon 
 against me. 
 
 King. Leonhardus, don^t hesitate to do it ; whether it be 
 to please your King or to revenge your father. As your 
 father^s murderer the Prince deserves such a death. We, 
 however, cannot enforce the law against him, for he has his 
 lady mother to back him, and my subjects love him much. 
 Hence, if we openly avenged ourselves, there might easily 
 be a rebellion. To shun him both as stepson and kinsman 
 is only an act of righteous justice ; for he is murderous and 
 he is beside himself, and we must for the future, even on 
 our account, be afraid of such a wicked man. Do then what 
 we desire, and you will relieve your King of his fears, and 
 yourself take, without being discovered, a revenge for your 
 fa therms murder. 
 
 Leonhardus. It is a hard matter and one which I scarcely 
 like : for should the matter get abroad it would certainly 
 cost me my life. 
 
 King. Do not hesitate. Should this fail we have thought 
 of another trick. We will have an eastern diamond pow- 
 dered fine, and when he is heated present it to him in a 
 beaker mixed with wine and sugar. So shall he drink his 
 death to our healths. 
 
 Leonhardus. Well then. Your Majesty, under this safe- 
 guard, ni do the deed. 
 
 SCENE VI. 
 
 Queen. 
 
 Queen. Gracious Lord and King, dearest husband, I bring 
 you bad news. 
 
 King. What is it, my dearest soul ? 
 
 Queen. My favorite maid-of- honour, Ophelia, runs up and 
 
 L 
 
138 FRATRICIDE AVENGED, OR 
 
 down^ and cries^ and screams, and eats nothing, and drinks 
 nothing. They say she has quite lost her wits. 
 
 King. Alas ! one hears nothing but thoroughly sad and 
 unhappy tidings. 
 
 SCENE VII. 
 
 Ophelia, with floicers. 
 
 Ophelia. See ! there ! you have a flower ; and you ; and 
 you. \_Gives each a flower.'] But what, odds bodikins ! 
 what had I all but forgotten ? I must run quick. I have 
 forgotten my ornaments. Ah, my diadem [Front). I must 
 go at once to the Court Jeweller, and ask what new fashions 
 (neue Moden) he has got. So, so ; lay out the table quickly. 
 I shall soon be back. [Runs off. 
 
 Leonhardus. Am I, then, born to miseries of all sorts ! 
 My father is dead ; my sister is robbed of her wits. My 
 heart well nigh bursts for grief. 
 
 King. Leonhardus, be satisfied : you shall live alone in 
 our favour. But do you, dearest Queen, be pleased to walk 
 Avithin with us, for we have something secret to reveal to 
 you. Leonhardus do not forget what we have said to you. 
 
 Queen. My King, we must think of something by which 
 this unfortunate maiden may be restoied to her senses. 
 
 King. Let the case be laid before our own physician. 
 But do you, Leonhardus, follow us. 
 
 ACT V. 
 
 SCENE I. 
 
 Hamlet. 
 
 Hamlet. Unfortunate Prince ! how much longer shalt 
 thou remain restless ? How long will you, righteous 
 Nemesis, before you have sharpened your just sword of ven- 
 geance for my fratricide uncle ? Hither have I come again. 
 
PRINCE HAMLET OF DENMARK. 139 
 
 yet I cannot obtain my revenge. The fratricide is sur- 
 rounded by so many retainers. But I swear that, before 
 the sun has made his journey from east to west, I will re- 
 venge myself on him. 
 
 SCENE II, 
 
 Horatio. 
 
 Horatio. It rejoices me to see your Highness back and in 
 good health. Prythee, however, tell me wh}^ you have re- 
 turned so soon. 
 
 Hamlet. Ah, Horatio, you have nearly missed never see- 
 ing me again alive ; for my life has been at stake ; only the 
 Almighty power has specially protected me. 
 
 Horatio. What says Your Highness? How was it ? 
 
 Hamlet. Thou knowest that the King had given me a 
 couple of fellow-travellers as attendants and companions. 
 Now it so happened that, for two days, we had contrary 
 (contraire'n) winds. So we had to anchor on an island near 
 Dover. I went with my two companions from the ship to 
 get a little fresh air. Then came the cursed rascals and 
 would have had my life, and said that the King had bribed 
 them to it, I begged hard for my life, and promised them 
 a handsome reward, and that, if they reported me to the 
 King as dead, I would never go near the court again. But 
 there was no compassion in them. At last, the Gods put 
 something into my head : and I begged them that, befoi'e 
 my death, I might make a prayer, and that when I cried 
 "Fire" they would fire. But, even as I gave the word, I 
 fell on the ground, and they shot one another. It is thus 
 that I have this time escaped with my life. My arrival, 
 however, will be no good news to the King. 
 
 Horatio. Oh ! unheard-of treachery ! 
 
 SCENE III. 
 
 Pliant asmo. 
 Hamlet. Look, Horatio, the fool is far dearer to the 
 King- tlian I. 
 
140 FRATRICIDE AVENGED, OR 
 
 Phantasmo. Welcome home, Prince Hamlet ! Knowest 
 thou the news ? The King has laid a wager on you and the 
 young Leonhardus. You are to fight with foils ; and he who 
 makes the first two hits is to win a white Neapolitan horse. 
 
 Hamlet. It is certain that this is the case ? 
 
 Phantasmo. It is certainly no other than as I say. 
 
 Hamlet. Horatio, what can this mean ? I and Leonhar- 
 dus to fight one another ? I fancy they have told this fool 
 something wonderful, for one can make him believe what 
 one will. Look now, Signor« {sic) Phantasmo, it is terribly 
 cold. 
 
 Phantasmo. Aye, it is terribly cold. 
 
 [Shivers, with chattering teeth. 
 
 Hamlet. And now it is not so cold. 
 
 Phantasmo. Aye aye, it is just the happy medium. 
 
 Hamlet. But now it is very hot. [Wipes his face. 
 
 Phantasmo. Oh, what a terribly heat ! 
 
 [Wipes away the perspiration."^ 
 
 Hamlet. And now it is neither hot nor cold. 
 
 Phantasmo. Yes ! it is now just temperate [recht tem- 
 perirt) . 
 
 Hamlet. You see, Horatio, one can just make him believe 
 what one will. Phantasmo, go to the King and say that I 
 will soon wait on him. [Exit Phantasmo. 
 
 Hamt^^t. Come now, Horatio, I will go at once and pre- 
 sent myself to the King, But what ? What means this ? 
 My nose bleeds, and my whole body is ashake. [Swoons. 
 
 Horatio. Most serene Prince. Heavens ! what means this ? 
 Be yourself again, my Lord. What ails you, my Lord ? 
 
 Hamlet. I know not, Horatio. Wben the thought struck 
 me of returning to the Court, a sudden faintness came over 
 me. What this means the Gods only know. 
 
 Horatio. Ah, Heaven grant that this omen {omen) be no 
 unlucky one. 
 
 Hamlet. Be it what it may, I'll to the Court, even though 
 it cost me my life. [Exit. 
 
 ^ See pp. 98-9. 
 
PRINCE HAMLET OF DENMARK. 141 
 
 SCENE IV. 
 
 King, Leonhardus, Phantasmo. 
 
 King. Leonhardus^ get ready^ for Prince Hamlet will soon 
 be here. 
 
 Leonhardus. I am, Your Majesty, already prepared, and I 
 will, at least, do my best. 
 
 King. Look well to it ! Here comes the Prince 
 
 SCENE V. 
 
 Hamlet. Horatio. 
 
 Hamlet. All health and happiness to your Majesty ! 
 
 King. We thank you. Prince ! We are greatly rejoiced 
 that the melancholy has in some degree left you. Where- 
 fore we have appointed a friendly contest between your- 
 self and the young Leonhardus. You are to fight with 
 foils, and the one who makes the first three hits shall have 
 won a white Neapolitan horse, with saddle-cloths and trap- 
 pings to match. 
 
 Hamlet. Your Majesty must pardon me ; for I have had 
 but little practice in foil ; Leonhardus, however, has just 
 come from France, so that he is doubtless in good practice. 
 I pray, then, that for this reason you may excuse me. 
 
 King. Do it. Prince Hamlet, to gratify us ; for we are 
 desirous of knowing what sort of feints there are in Ger- 
 many and France. 
 
 SCENE VI. 
 
 Queen. 
 Queen. My gracious Lord and King, I have a sad 
 calamity to tell you. 
 
 King. Heaven forbid ! What is it ? 
 
 Queen. Ophelia has gone to the top of a high hill, and 
 has thrown herself down, and has killed ^ herself. 
 
 Leonhardus. Unfortunate Leonhardus ! Thou hast lost 
 within a short space of time both a father and a sister 
 2 See Note, p. 145. , 
 
142 FRATRICIDE AVENGED, OR 
 
 Whither will misfortune lead you ! I could myself die of 
 weariness. 
 
 King. Be comforted^ Leonardus. We are gracious to 
 you. Only begin the contest. Phantasmo, bring the foils. 
 Horatio, you shall be umpire. 
 
 Phantasmo. Here is the warm beer. 
 
 Hamlet, Come on, Leonhardus ; and let us to see which 
 of us is to fit the other with the fool's cap [vjer dem andern 
 die Schellen wird anhdngen). Should I, however, go wrong 
 (einer exces begeheyi) pray excuse {excusiren) me, for it is 
 long since I have tried the foils. 
 
 Leonhardus. I am your Highness' servant : but you are 
 only jesting. 
 
 [The first bout they fight fair. Leonhardus is hit. 
 
 Hamlet. That's one, Leonhardus ! 
 
 LeonJuirdus. True, your Highness, Now for my revenge 
 {Revange). [He drops his foil, and takes up tlie poisoned 
 sivord which lies ready to his Itand {par at), and gives the 
 Prince a thrust in carte in tlte arm. Hamlet parfies on 
 Leonhardus, so that they both drop their weapons ; and each, 
 runs to pick one up. Hamlet gets the poisoned, one and 
 wounds Leonhardus mortally.'] 
 
 Leonhardus. Woe is me ! I have had a mortal thrust. 
 I have been paid in my own coin. Heaven have mercy on 
 me ! 
 
 Hamlet. What the Devil is this, Leonhardus ? Have I 
 wounded you with the foil ? How can this be ? 
 
 King. Go quick, and get my royal goblet with some wine, 
 so that the combatants may recruit themselves a little. Go, 
 Phantasmo, and fetch it. [Descends from the throne. Aside.] 
 I hope that when they both drink of the wine they may 
 both die ; and, then, no one will know of the plot. 
 
 Ha^nlet. Tell me, Leonhardus ! how did all this come 
 about ? 
 
 Leonardus. Alas, Prince, I have been seduced into this 
 misfortune by the King ! See what it is that you have in 
 your hand ! It is a poisoned sword. 
 
PRINCE HAMLET OF DENMARK. 143 
 
 Hamlet. O heaven ! what is this ? Save me from it. 
 
 Leonliardus. I was to have wounded you with it, for it is 
 so strongly poisoned that the man who takes from it even 
 a scratch, must forthwith die. 
 
 King. Ho, gentlemen ! pause for a minute and drink. 
 [fVJiile the King is rising from his chair and speaking these 
 vjords, the Queen takes the cup out of Phantasmo's hand, and 
 drinks. The King cries out.] Ho ! where is the goblet ? 
 Alas, best of wives, what art thou doing ? Its contents are 
 deadly poison ? Alas, alas, what hast thou done ? 
 
 Queen. Alas, I am dying ! 
 
 Hamlet. And thou, tyrant, shall accompany her in her 
 death. [Stabs him from behind. 
 
 King. Woe is me ! I am receiving my bad recompense. 
 
 Leonliardus. Adieu [sic) Prince Hamlet ! Adieu, world ! 
 I am dying also. Prince, pardon me ! 
 
 Hamlet. May Heaven receive thy soul ; for thou art guilt- 
 less. But as to this tyrant — let him wash himself of his 
 black sins in Hell. Ah ! Horatio, now is my spirit at rest, 
 for now have I revenged myself on my enemies. I, too, 
 have taken a hit on my arm ; but I hope it is no importance. 
 I grieve that I have hit Leonhardus ; though I don^t know 
 how I got the sword into my hand. But as is the work so 
 are the wages. He has received his reward. Nothing 
 afflicts me more than my Lady mother. Still, she has de- 
 served this death for her sins. But tell me, who gave her 
 the cup that has poisoned her ? 
 
 Phantasmo. I, Prince. I also brought the poisoned sword; 
 but the poisoned wine was to be drunk by no one but your- 
 self. 
 
 Hamlet. Hast thou also been an instrument in all this 
 misery ? There ! That is your reward. 
 
 [Stabs him mortally. 
 
 Phantasmo. Stab away ; and may the blade hurt you. 
 
 Hamlet. Alas^ Horatio, I fear that with all my revenge it 
 will cost me my life ; for I am badly wounded in the arm. 
 I am getting faint, my limbs become weak, my legs will not 
 
144 NOTES. 
 
 bear me ; my voice fails ; I feel the poison in all my limbs. 
 I pray you_, dear Horatio, to carry my crown to Norway, to 
 my cousin, the Duke Fortempras {sic) so that the kingdom 
 may not fall into other hands. Alas ! I am dying. 
 
 Horatio. Alas, most noble Prince, thou may still look for 
 aid ! O Heaven, he is going-ofi' in my arms ! What has 
 this kingdom, for a length of time, not undergone from hard 
 wars ? Scarcely is there Peace, but internal disturbance, 
 ambition, faction, and murder fill the land. In no age of 
 the world could this lamentable tragedy have been enacted 
 as it has now, alas ! been played at this Court. I will, with 
 the help of the faithful councillors, make all preparations 
 that these three high personages {personen) shall be interred 
 according to their rank. Then will I at once [cito) make 
 for Norway with the crown, and deliver it as this unfortunate 
 Prince has commanded. 
 
 So is it when a Prince forces himself to the crown with 
 
 cunning ; 
 And by treachery obtains the same ; 
 He himself experiences nothing but mere mockery and 
 
 scorn ; 
 For even as the labour so is the reward. 
 
 So gehts wenn ein Regent mit List zur Kron sich dringet, 
 Und durch Yerratherey diesselbe an sich bringet, 
 Derselb* erlebet nichts, als lauter Spott und Hohn, 
 Denn wie die Arbeit ist, so folget auch der Lohn. 
 
 Note 1. 
 
 This Pyrrhus is the king of Epirus. Here he is 
 the murdered man. In Shakespear he is the son of 
 Achilles, and the hero of the passage by which Ham- 
 let tries the Player. But he is not this purely and 
 
NOTES. 145 
 
 simply. In Shakespear he is mainly the Neoptole- 
 mus of the second ^neid of Virgil. But he is this, 
 not so much as a Pyrrhus of Shakspear's own making 
 as the Pyrrhus of play on the subject of Dido, Queen 
 of Carthage. Of this play we believe that we have 
 the full text in Marlowe's drama so named. Here, 
 however, we hnd the following lines : 
 
 At which the frantic queen leaped on his face ; 
 And in his eyelids hanging by the nails 
 A little while prolonged her husband's life. 
 
 Act ii., Scene i. 
 It is submitted that the Pyrrhus here is the Pyr- 
 rhus of the Hecuba of Euripides, and that, moreover, 
 he is confounded with Polymnestor. If so, there is 
 the probability in favour of the " Hecuba " having 
 been acted in* England before the time of Marlowe ; 
 and, if this be the case, we see our way towards the 
 origin of the Ghost : for the Ghost of Hamlet's father 
 is, mutatis mutandis, the Ghost of Polydorus. 
 
 Note 2, 
 
 As there is no burial of Ophelia there is no scene 
 in the churchyard, no Gravediggers, no Yoric. Name 
 for name the " YoricJc " of Shakespear seems to be 
 the " Eric " of the present play. If so, the King is 
 his own Jester. Be it so. A Chronicon Erici Beqis 
 actually exists. A Gesta Erici Begis may have 
 existed. Hence, by a confusion of which we only 
 get a general notion, out of " Gesta Erici Regis " 
 may have come " Yorick the King'' s Jester.'' In Argen- 
 tile and Curan Eric, as here, is the name of the 
 wicked uncle. This manifestly points to some source 
 
146 NOTES. 
 
 or sources for the story of Hamlet beyond the four 
 corners of Saxo's narrative. 
 
 Ophelia's madness consists chiefly in the mistake 
 of one man for another. In the " Two Noble Kins- 
 men " it is closely interwoven wdth the plot. In 
 Shakespear we only find it in the snatch beginning : 
 
 ^^ And how should I your truelove know/^ &c. 
 
 This is in favour of the madness of both the 
 
 Ophelia of Shakespear and the Jailer's Daughter of 
 
 Fletcher having been drawn from a common source — 
 
 possibly the present play. This, however, we can 
 
 scarcely assume without knowing more than we do 
 
 of the old play of " Palamon and Arcite." 
 
 ***** 
 
 Such is the likeness and such the difference. 
 The amount of each is left to decision of the reader. 
 It is not too much to say, and it is hoped that it may 
 be said, without discourtesy, that, in nine cases out 
 of ten, the decision will not be w^holly unbiassed. 
 Possibly, in the case of any dramatist but Shakespear, 
 the allusion to Portugal would be allowed to settle the 
 question. Less than this has, certainly, settled many 
 similar ones. But, even about the construction of the 
 plot, theories without number have been invented : 
 theories that many influential commentators can 
 scarcely be expected to abandon. Still, as much as 
 possible, the two texts are left to speak for them- 
 selves ; at the same time there are a few points upon 
 which the present writer would scarcely do justice to 
 his doctrine if he left them unnoticed. 
 
 In the first place the dramatic exposition of an 
 action or a situation is one thing : the mere state- 
 
CONCLUSION. 147 
 
 ment that such an action or situation occurred, 
 another. It is one thing to describe in a good 
 business-like prosaic manner the way in which the 
 elder Hamlet was poisoned ; it is another thing to 
 describe the poisoning as Shakespear does. The 
 same applies to the situation of Hamlet with his 
 drawn sword, and the wicked uncle at prayer. The 
 idea of sparing the murderer until he is certain of 
 eternal condemnation, though sufficiently devilish, is 
 poetic or prosaic according to the mode of exhibit- 
 ing it. 
 
 Secondly, we must not only note what we find 
 in the German play, but what we miss. Thus — 
 
 a. Of instances of realistic imagery such as, " not 
 a mouse stirring," we find none. 
 
 b. Of ironical bits of cynicism, such as, 
 
 '^ We would obey her were she ten times our mothei'," 
 not one. 
 
 G, Of the soliloquies not one. 
 
 Of hypotheses by which the difference may be 
 accounted for, I know but one ; and to the notice of 
 this I limit myself. It is, as has been already stated, 
 that the German play is the play of Shakespear 
 corrupted, attenuated, shorn of its great nobility, 
 distorted, degraded, vulgarized. But was the German 
 stage thus much below the English? or even if it 
 were so, how do we reconcile the recognition of the 
 poetical element (such as it is) as shown by the Pro- 
 logue, with the eschewal of it as manifested by the 
 elimination of the soliloquies I 
 
 Again, it is not denied that, what with the 
 existence of imperfect texts, and what with "stuff" 
 sometimes " foisted in," and sometimes omitted, by 
 
148 CONCLUSION. 
 
 the players much may be achieved. But time is an 
 element in such a process as this : and here we have 
 something like tangible data to go by ; or, at any rate, 
 there are certain limits within which we must confine 
 the effects of what we may call the wear-and-tear of 
 time, and, there are also, criteria by which we may 
 measure the inferiority (real or imaginary) of the 
 German stage to the English. In neither case have 
 we much latitude. 
 
 " Hamlet," by no means, stands alone. 
 
 The note in page 106 gives us the date of the 
 MS. from which the text is taken. That of the first 
 representation of the play is, of course, a wholly 
 different matter. Neither, however, can be got at 
 absolutely. Nevertheless, the piece was acted twice, 
 at least, before 1778; by the Weltheim Company in 
 1665, and in 1626 at Dresden. Thus early, then, do 
 we know it to have been acted, and it may have been 
 acted earlier. How the text stood in either 1778 or 
 1665 we have no means of knowing. 
 
 " Titus Andronicus " we can trace farther back. 
 It was acted in 1600 ; printed 1620 ; re-printed 
 1626. Here the doctrine of anything like gradual 
 degradation is out of the question, since the time is 
 too short for it ; though for an intentional alteration 
 it is amply sufficient. The instance, however, of 
 '' Titus Andronicus " is of little practical value. 
 Whatever we may say about our openness to con- 
 viction, it is certain we shall not apply the same rule 
 of evidence to the two questions. With " Hamlet " 
 we shall claim for Shakespear the maximum of author- 
 ship ; with " Titus Andronicus " the vnnimum. The 
 reader, however, who finds himself thus playing fast- 
 
CONCLUSION. 149 
 
 and-loose with his data^ should distrust his judg- 
 ment. 
 
 "Titus Andronicus," however, is not the only 
 play that bears upon the question. In the " Taming 
 of the Shrew '' we have what the " Bestrafte Bruder- 
 mord " is supposed to be ; viz., an actual accommoda- 
 tion of a Shakespearian play to a German audience. 
 How is this effected % Not on the principle of 
 omitting the best passages of the play, but on that of 
 adding to them, developing them, or, in the opinion of 
 the adapter, improving them. Thus, in the place of the 
 Induction we have a Prologue spoken by the Patient 
 Job. Then the names of the Dramatis Personse, are 
 Germanized; Katherine being called Jungfer Catharma 
 Hurleputz^ Bianca^ Ju7igfer Sabina^ S'dsmaulchen^ and 
 so on throughout the list. Then there is a musical 
 scene, Singenspiel. Finally, though the play is mani- 
 festly Shakespearian, tlje^ author does not even know 
 that it is English. 
 
 And this anticipates an objection. It may be 
 asked, whether it is likely that, after the establish- 
 ment of Shakespear's reputation, bad copies, and 
 rough drafts, would be preferred to dramas which 
 he had put in the best form of which they were 
 susceptible ; or whether the compositions by so con- 
 spicuous a dramatist could be mistaken for those of 
 an obscure one. The answer is clear. Whatever 
 may be the presumptions to the contrary, in the case 
 of the " Taming of the Shrew " such an error of 
 judgment actually occurs. <^ 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 Page 8. Note ; after " Scriptores " add " Eerum Danicarum." 
 
 „ 76. *' Within .... years " Jill up ** a hundred and twenty." 
 
 „ 77. " Within .... years " Jill up " a hundred and twenty.' 
 
 „ 78. "In A.D. 9 . ." Jill up "950." 
 
 „ 89. For " Eest " read " Wit." 
 
 „ 90. For " Ames " read " Meres." 
 
 „ 93. " The ursurper then being . . ."Jill up " Godard." 
 
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