Ok so I was just checking out Anthony Hopkin's wiki when I came across his role in Beowulf; he plays the legendary king 'http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hrothgar#In_film' and in Skyrim, the temple 'High Hrothgar' is where the greybeards reside on the throat of the world.

Has anybody else noticed any other references to real-world history, legends or Myths? Would be cool to see how many we can find...

There is a skeletal hand holding a random sword sticking out of a smal pool of water near Whiterun... I think it's a reference to the Lady of the Lake in the legend of King Arthur