Waltharius781English

5th single combat: Walther slays Hadawart, after an exchange of insults (781–845)

Deceived by his inflated spirit, Hadaward,
The fifth, claimed Walter’s shield from Gunther for himself.
He gave his comrades, as he left, his spear to hold,
A bold man vainly trusting in his sword alone.
Seeing scattered corpses having blocked the path completely,	785
Nor could his horse pass through, dismounting, he prepared
To go on foot. There, fierce in arms, stood Walter, and
He praised the man who offered him an equal chance
In fighting. Hadaward at that point said to him:
“You serpent versed in tricks and skillful in deceit:	790
Accustomed to conceal your limbs with scaly hide
And coiled into a single spiral like a snake,
You dodge so many shots without the slightest wound,
Defiantly eluding even poisoned arrows!
By craft you think this blow will be avoided which	795
The right hand of a man delivers close by with
Sure aim? This spear and wound are not from such a man.
Take my advice; lay down your painted shield. My lot
Claims this as mine. The king’s pledge guarantees it too.
I don’t want you to hurt it; it delights my eyes.	800
If not, and you should rob me of the gracious light,
My many friends and relatives are present who,
Though you assume the form and feathers of a bird,
Still never will allow you to escape unharmed.”
In turn, the warrior whom nothing frightened answered,	805
“The rest I do not mention; I wish to defend
My shield. I owe it much, believe me, for good service,
For often it was wont to set itself against
My foes, and suffered blows that would have wounded me.
You see how useful I find it today; were it	810
Not here, you might not be conversing now with Walter.
With all your strength strive to repel this enemy,
Right hand; prevent the theft of your defending bulwark!
You, left hand, strive to grip the handle of the shield,
Wrap fingers stuck like glue around the ivory.	815
Do not put down the burden here that you have borne
So great a distance from the Huns’ high citadels!”
Then he: “If you resist, you’ll act against your good.
You will return not just the shield, but horse and girl
And gold, and then will suffer punishment for crimes.”	820
He says these words and then unsheathes his trusty blade.
The two men born in different lands attack each other.
The Vosges was astonished by the sparks and blows.
Distinguished by their courage and their mighty weapons,
One trusts his sword; the other, fierce and hard, his spear.	825
With fearsome force, they traded blows between themselves.
The crash of ax blades on a dark oak tree resounds
Less loudly than the ringing of their shields and helmets.
The Franks were stunned that Walter, to whom neither rest
Nor respite had been given, did not grow exhausted.	830
The man from Worms, believing he was safe, sprang forward
And with his blade raised high stood up impulsively,
Believing that with this stroke he would end the fight.
As it was striking, though, the cautious youth held out
His spear and blocked it, forcing his unwary foe	835
To lose his sword, which glittered back from distant brambles.
When he saw that he had been stripped of his dear sword,
He wished to speed his flight and reach the underbrush;
Relying on his feet and fresh youth, Alphere’s son
Pursued: “Where do you flee?” he called; “Pick up your shield!” 840
Then quickly raised his spear in both his hands and struck.
The other fell, his great shield crashing down on him.
Without delay, the youth stepped on his neck, removed
His shield, and with his spear then pinned him to the ground.
He rolled his eyes, breathed out his life into the breeze.	845

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Prologue Introduction: the Huns (1–12) The Huns (13–418) The Franks under Gibich surrender to Attila, giving Hagen as a hostage (13–33) The Burgundians under Hereric surrender to Attila, giving Hildegund as a hostage (34–74) The Aquitainians under Alphere surrender to Attila, giving Walther as a hostage (75–92) Experience of the hostages at Attila’s court (93–115) Death of Gibich, flight of Hagen (116–122) Attila’s queen Ospirin advises her husband to ensure Walther’s loyalty by arranging a marriage (123–141) Walther rejects Attila’s offer of a bride (142–169) Walther leads the army of the Huns to victory in battle (170–214) The Escape (215–418) Walther returns from battle and encounters Hildegund (215–255) Walther reveals to Hildegund his plans for escaping with Attila’s treasure (256–286) Walther hosts a luxurious banquet for Attila’s court; eventually all his intoxicated guests fall asleep (287–323) Flight of Walther and Hildegund from Attila’s court (324–357) The following day, the escape of Walther and Hildegund is discovered by Ospirin (358–379) Attila is infuriated and vows revenge on Walther, but can find no one willing to dare to pursue him, even for a large reward (380–418) The Single Combats (419–1061) Diplomacy (419–639) Flight of Walther and Hildegund to the area of Worms (419–435) Gunther, King of the Franks, learns of Walther’s presence on his territory and, despite Hagen’s warnings, decides to pursue him for his treasure (436–488) Walther makes his camp in a mountainous area and goes to sleep (489–512) Gunther and his companions approach Walther’s camp; Hagen unsuccessfully tries to dissuade the king from attacking it (513–531) Hildegund sees the Franks approaching and wakes Walther, who calms her fears and prepares for battle; he recognizes Hagen from a distance (532–571) Hagen persuades Gunther to try diplomacy before using force (571–580) Camalo is sent as a messenger to Walther, who offers to make Gunther a gift in return for allowing his passage (581–616) Hagen counsels Gunther to accept the offer, but Gunther rejects this advice, calling him a coward. Insulted, Hagen goes off to a nearby hill (617–639) Combat (640–1061) 1st single combat: Camalo is sent back to Walther, who slays him (640–685) 2nd single combat: Walther slays Kimo/Scaramund, Camalo’s nephew (686–719) Gunther encourages his men (720–724) 3rd single combat: Walther slays Werinhard, a descendant of the Trojan Pandarus (725–753) 4th single combat: Walther slays the Saxon Ekivrid, after an exchange of insults (754–780) 5th single combat: Walther slays Hadawart, after an exchange of insults (781–845) Hagen sees his nephew Patavrid going off to fight Walther and laments the evil wreaked on mankind by greed (846–877) 6th single combat: after trying to dissuade him from fighting, Walther slays Patavrid (878–913) 7th single combat: Walther slays Gerwitus (914–940) Gunther again encourages his men, giving Walther some time to rest (941–961) 8th single combat: Walther is shorn of his hair by Randolf, whom he then slays (962–981) Walther is attacked by Eleuthir/Helmnot, assisted by Trogus, Tanastus, and Gunther; he slays all but Gunther (981–1061) The Final Combat (1062–1452) Gunther tries to persuade Hagen to help him to defeat Waltharius; remembering his wounded honor, Hagen refuses (1062–1088) Hagen changes his mind and agrees to help Gunther, but advises that they must lie low wait until Walther comes down from the mountains into open ground (1089–1129) Walther decides to spend the night in the mountains. He rematches the severed heads with the bodies of his victims, prays for their souls, then sleeps (1130–1187) The following day, Walther and Hildegund set out from the mountains, taking the horses and arms of the defeated warriors (1188–1207) Hildegund perceives Gunther and Hagen approaching to attack; the king addresses Walther (1208–1236) Walther ignores Gunther and pleads with Hagen to remember the bond of their childhood friendship; Hagen counters that Walther has already broken their faith by slaying Patavrid (1237–1279) The fight begins and continues for seven hours; Gunther foolishly tries to retrieve a thrown spear from the ground near Walther and is only saved from death by Hagen’s brave intervention (1280–1345) Walther challenges Hagen; he severs Gunther’s leg, but Hagen again saves the king’s life (1346–1375) Hagen cuts off Walther’s right hand; Walther gouges out one of Hagen’s eyes and, cutting open his cheek, knocks out four teeth (1376–1395) Having wounded each other, the warriors end the battle, drink together, and engage in a friendly exchange of humorous taunt (1396–1442) The warriors return to their respective homes; Walther marries Hildegund and eventually becomes king of the Aquitainians (1443–1452) Epilogue (1453–1456)

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Latin

Note: this English text is identical to that found in Waltharius and Ruodlieb, edited and translated by Dennis M. Kratz. The Garland library of medieval literature, Series A, vol. 14. New York: Garland Pub., 1984.