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Hollander: Jómsv. saga. 217
Now, in those days there lived in Saxland an earl who had
his lands in fief of Charlemagne. He and Gorm were good
friends and had been vikings together. The earl had a
beautiful sister, but he loved her more than was right and
had a child with her. This child they concealed, however,
and had him taken away by trusty servants. They were
bidden not to leave the child before learning what became
of him. These men arrived in Denmark, and when they
came to a forest they became aware that king Gorm was
in the greenwood with his men. They carried the babe
beneath a tree and then concealed themselves. At evening
the king returned home and all his followers, except two
brothers, Hallvard and Håvard. They lingered behind; and
as they went toward the sea, they heard the cry of a child
and followed it up. They found a man-child under a tree
and a great knot tied in the branches above it. The child
was swathed in garments of precious stuff and had a silken
fillet about his head wherein there was gold (a ring?) weigh-
ing a third of an ounce. They took up the child and
had him home with them. And when they came to the
king’s hall, they found the king there, drinking with his
company, and told him what they had found and showed
him the boy-child. The king was pleased with him and
said: this boy may well be the son of noble parents, and it
is better than not that he has been found. He had him
sprinkled with water and called him Knút (Canute) because
the gold was fastened to his brow and called him his son
and loved him much. And when king Gorm is grown old
he gives his kingdom over to his foster child, and then dies
king Gorm.
Clearly, we have to deal here with an eponymous
saga. The name of Canute challenged an explanation and
this was furnished ad hoc by some cleric or other learned
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