Havelok's Age, Take Two

Til he [Godard] was biforn hauelok brouth,

Þat he haue[de] ful wo wrowht,

Boþe with hungre and with cold,

Or he [Havelok] were twel winter old,

(ll. 2452-55)

So, my previous theory was that Havelok might have been as young as seven when Godard handed him over to Grim, and thus 19 when his work ethic kicked in.

While seven is certainly before 12, I'm thinking we have to adjust Havelok's age upward, to 10 or 11, for a more natural reading. If so, he'd be 22 or 23 when it finally occurred to him to pitch in to help the family.