King Horn (Romance)

King Horn is a Middle English chivalric romance dating back to the middle of the thirteenth century. It survives in three manuscripts: MS. Harley 2253 at the British Library, London; MS. Laud. Misc 108 at the Bodleian Library, Oxford; and MS. Gg. iv. 27. 2 at the Cambridge University Library. It is also presumably based on the Anglo-Norman story Romance of Horn (1170). The story was retold in later romances and ballads, and is considered part of the Matter of England. The poem is currently believed to be the oldest extant romance in Middle English.

The hero, named Horn, is the son of King Murry of Suddene and Queen Godhild. Suddene lies by sea, and is ruled by King Murry until he is killed by Saracen invaders. The throne eventually passes to Murry's son Horn, who after many adventures in other lands returns and defeats the Saracen occupiers with the aid of an army of Irish knights.

The father of the fifteen-year-old Horn is killed when their country is invaded by Saracens, and Horn is captured along with his band of companions, including his two dearest friends, Athulf and Fikenhild. His newly widowed mother flees to a solitary cave. The emir of the Saracens, impressed by the beauty of Horn, sets him and his companions adrift in a boat. In time, they reach the land of Westernesse, where they are taken in by King Ailmar. Upon reaching adulthood, Horn and the king's daughter, Rymenhild, fall in love and become betrothed; Sir Athelbrus, the castle steward is entrusted by the princess as her go-between. The princess gives Horn a ring as a token of their betrothal. Having been made a knight, Sir Horn defends the land of Westernesse from the Saracens. Fikenhild, secretly eaten up with envy of Horn, discovers the betrothal, and informs the king, saying that Horn was seeking to usurp the throne. Horn is exiled on pain of death. Before he leaves he tells his beloved that should he not return in seven years she should feel free to marry another. He sails for Ireland where he takes service with King Thurston under a false name, becoming the sworn brother to the king's two sons. Here he encounters once more the Saracens responsible for his father's death, and defeats them in battle. The two princes are both slain in the fight. King Thurston, having lost both his heirs, offers to make Horn his heir, granting him the hand of his daughter, Reynild, in marriage. Horn, however, refuses to make an immediate decision. He requests instead that, after the end of seven years, if he should request his daughter the king would not refuse him, and the king agreed.

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