Drogo the sheriff: a neglected lost romance tradition and Anglo-Norwegian relations in the twelfth century

Abstract

The 1148 entry in the fourteenth century Chronicon Angliae Petriburgense includes the story of one Drogo, sheriff of Lincoln. Outlawed for abuse of office, he headed for Norway, fought for the kingdom, married the king's daughter and became his heir. Of course, this episode never happened, but it is first suggested here that it is based on a historical individual and its separate twelfth-century historical and fourteenth-century literary contexts are then explored. Contemporary Anglo-Norwegian connections are shown to have been much more significant than is generally allowed, while the story's unique characteristics make it a useful addition to the corpus and interpretation of medieval English romance.