Plot Summary According To Gaimar
This plot summary is based on the translation of Hardy and Martin.
King Adelbrit is a Dane ruling Norfolk under Constantine, King Arthur's nephew, along with a part of Denmark (71-74). King Edelsie is a Briton and King of Lincoln and Lindsey. His sister Orwain marries Adelbrit, and their child is Argentille. Orwain and Adelbrit die at much the same time (lines 1-94). When Adelbrit dies, Edelsie marries his niece to a serving lad called Cuheran in order to clear the way for taking over Adelbrit's kingdom himself (93-104, 165-80).
Cuheran is handsome, magnanimous and the freemen and nobles of the household would have given him anything he wanted if only he weren't so humble that he asks for nothing (95-154). In something of a blind motif which does, however, serve to suggest Cuheran's boorishness, it takes a few nights for Cuheran to get round to having sex with Argentille (177-94). Argentille has a crazy prophetic dream (195-240). Argentille awakes to find Cuheran sleeping on his back, with a flame burning at his mouth; she wakes Cuheran up and he explains the dream as a prophecy of the feast he will be cooking the next day and adds that he doesn't know why a flame burns at his mouth when he sleeps (241-310). Argentille decides she would rather live with Cuheran's family than in shame with her uncle (301-28). Cuheran believes he has two brothers (who are in fact not his brothers, 155-60) and a sister Kelloc, and that they are all the sons of a fisherman and salt-seller called Grim (330-34) and his wife Sebrug (369-70). But Kelloc and her husband Alger, a fisherman (331) and a merchant (455-62, 481-84), resolve to tell Cuheran that he is actually called Havelock and is the son of King Gunter of Denmark and Queen Alvive daughter of King Gaifer; Kelloc and her brothers are in fact the children of Alvive by one of her retainers, Grim. Gunter was killed by King Arthur; Alvive fled with Grim, their children, and Havelock/Cuheran, but was herself killed by pirates on the way (426-40, 582-85). Kelloc's husband trades with Denmark and reckons that the people would be happy if Havelock came to claim his inheritance (334-468). Havelock and Argentille sail to Denmark with the merchants (469-504).
Denmark is ruled by the evil King Odulf/Edulf, brother of King Aschis, one of Arthur's knights (510-28). On arrival, Havelock is attacked and Argentille seized; Havelock defeats the attackers but he and Argentille then have to flee to a church tower where they defend themselves (533-54). Fortunately, Sigar Estalre, Gunter's one-time steward, sees Havelock's resemblance to Gunter, and rescues him from his predicament (505-9, 555-70). Sigar hears Havelock's story and checks its veracity by looking for the flame when he sleeps (571-645), and then by getting Havelock to sound a horn which only the rightful heir of Denmark can sound, whereupon everyone takes Havelock as their lord (646-734). Havelock defeats Edulf in battle (735-758) and then Edelsie (by the tactic, taught to him by Argentille, of propping up the corpses of his army to make it look like he has more men than he does); moreover, Edelsie dies a few days later, allowing Havelock and Argentille to inherit both Edelsie's and Adelbrit's old lands. Havelock rules for twenty years (735-818).
Read more about this topic: Havelok The Dane
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