Amlethus - Parallels in Britain and Ireland

Parallels in Britain and Ireland

Despite the fact that Shakespeare set his story in Denmark, and his actors even visited Kronborg in 1586 and seem to have brought details back used by Shakespeare, some theorists have tried to tie Hamlet primarily to Ireland. More likely, however, some of the additional facts not in the Scandinavian legend may have come from these sources.

The argument is that there are close parallels between the tale of Hamlet and the English romances of Havelok, King Horn and Bevis of Hampton -- tales from the Middle Ages that followed years of rule by Danes and other Vikings.. Thus a similar name also occurs in the Irish Annals of the Four Masters -- compiled in the 1600s—in a stanza attributed to the Irish Queen Gormflaith, who laments the death of her husband, Niall Glundubh, at the hands of Amhlaide in 919 at the battle of Ath-Cliath. The slayer of Niall Glundubh is by other authorities stated to have been Sigtrygg Caech. Sigtrygg was the father of that Olaf Cuaran (also known as Anlaf) who was the prototype of the English Havelok, but nowhere else does he receive the nickname of Amhlaide. If Amhlaide may really be identified with Sigtrygg, who first went to Dublin in 888, the relations between the tales of Havelok and Hamlet show other ways that stories paralleled each other. But, whoever the historic Hamlet may have been, it is quite certain that much was added that was extraneous to Scandinavian tradition and some details may have made their way into Shakespeare's final play.

Hugh Kenner has attempted to argue that the Hamlet name originated because the first literate people the Danes encountered were the Irish. The Gaelic alphabet, then, as now, contained 18 letters, so even simple sounds required many letters. According to Kenner, Amhl=owl and aoi=ay and bh=v, so Amhlaoibh = Olaf, but it got copied out in Latin as Amlethus and Shakespeare inherited Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Thus Kenner claims that "Amleth" or "Amblett" of Saxo also likely derived from this transliteration from Gaelic to Latin.

The theory is however contradicted by archeological finds in Denmark, where the name Amlet is recorded on runic artifacts dated ca. 700, before Danes made significant incursions into Ireland. Moreover, Vikings not only visited Ireland and England but ruled both before all of these tales were first written. The tale of Havelok, in fact, is called, "Havelok the Dane"—even indicating its own possible Scandinavian origins.