been modernized from their originals, or preserved by simple
transliteration, and have set them back in what seems to have been their
first form. Gunther, William, and Bertram, for instance, seem to be
modernized from Gunnar, Withelm, and perhaps Berthun; while Sykar,
Aunger, and Gryme are but alternative English spellings of the northern
Sigurd, Arngeir, and Grim.

The device on Havelok's banner in chapter xxi. is exactly copied from
the ancient seal of the Corporation of Grimsby,[1]
which is of the date of Edward the First. The existence of this is
perhaps the best proof that the story of Grim and Havelok is more than a
romance. Certainly the Norse "Heimskringla" record claims an older
northern origin for the town than that of the Danish invasion of
Alfred's time; and the historic freedom of its ships from toll in the
port of Elsinore has always been held to date from the days of its founder.

The strange and mysterious "blue stones" of Grimsby and Louth are yet in
evidence, and those of the former town are connected by legend with
Grim. Certainly they have some very ancient if long-forgotten
associations, and it is more than likely that they have been brought as
"palladia" with the earliest northern settlers. A similar stone exists
in the centre of the little East Anglian town of Harleston, with a
definite legend of settlement attached to it; and there may be others.
The Coronation Stone of Westminster and the stone in Kingston-on-Thames
are well-known proofs of the ancient sanctity that surrounded such
objects for original reasons that are now lost.

The final battle at Tetford, with its details, are from the Norman poem.
The later English account is rounded off with the disgrace and burning
alive of the false guardian; but for many reasons the earlier seems to