Abstrakt
The Middle English versions of the romances grouped under the heading of the Matter of England have long been recognized as transcending the narrow definition of their genre by reflecting a special concern with proper governance and organization of a large (national) polity; indeed, as Turville-Petre maintains with regard to the romances of the Auchinleck MS, "[they] are to be understood, not just as entertainments but as sources of historical knowledge".
The paper proposes to reverse the direction of enquiry and examine how romance (or romance-type) narrative may be used to further the emplotment of chronicle account, the most pertinent case in point being Geoffrey Gaimar's introducing the Havelok story, employed to provide a rationale for the Danish conquest of England in the late 10th - early 11th century.
Conversely, some of the motifs used in the romances (specifically those that pertain to the portrayal of good rule) can be traced to a distinct history/chronicle tradition. Taking into account both directions of transmission, the paper also reexamines the overall drift of the Auchinleck MS towards history/romance in the light of its choice of texts and their presentation.