Waltharius1280English

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)

He spoke, then with a leap swung from his horse’s back;	1280
Next Gunther; and the hero Walter was not slow
To do the same—all three prepared to fight on foot.
Each stood there warily preparing for the blows
To come; behind their shields the warriors’ limbs were trembling.
It was the second hour when these three men clashed:	1285
The arms of two unite against a single foe.
Now that the peace was broken, Hagen was the first
To hurl his baleful spear with all his strength. But Walter,
When he saw he could not withstand the shaft, which hissed
And flew with vicious twisting force, deflected it	1290
Adroitly with the cover of his tilted shield.
For speeding on and glancing from the shield as from
Smooth marble, it then roughly stabbed the hill, sunk in
The ground up to its socket. With a mighty heart
But little strength, at that point haughty Gunther hurled	1295
His ash-wood shaft, which, flying, became stuck low down
In Walter’s shield. As soon as he had shaken it,
The sluggish spear dropped from the fissure in the wood.
The Franks, confused in heart and saddened by this omen,
At once unsheathed their blades—their sorrow turned to wrath—	1300
And covered by their shields they vied in charging Walter.
But still that robust man repelled them with spear-thrusts,
With glare and weapons terrifying his attackers.
King Gunther here was thinking up a foolish venture—
To wit, approaching silently, to grab by stealth	1305
The spear which, cast in vain, had fallen on the ground
(Discarded, it was lying at the hero’s feet).
Because they were armed with the shorter blades of swords,
They could not venture close enough to that man who
Was stabbing spear thrusts out so far; he motioned with	1310
His eyes, thus signalling his vassal to advance
So he, with his protection, could perform the deed.
Advancing quickly, Hagen challenges his foe
While Gunther now has placed his jewelled sword in its sheath,
Thus freeing his right hand to make the theft at once.	1315
In short, he stooped, then reached his hand out for the spear
And once he had it drew it slowly back to him,
But thereby asked too much of luck. The best of heroes,
Because he always kept alert enough in battle—
And very cautious too, except for one brief instant—	1320
Saw Gunther bending down. Perceiving his plan, he
Does not allow it, but at once repelling Hagen—
Though in the way, he jumped back from the threatened blow—
He leaps and slams his foot down on the stolen shaft.
So fiercely did he taunt the king, caught in the theft,	1325
The coward’s knees began to shake beneath the spear.
Him too he would have sent straightway to hungry Orcus
If Hagen, strong in arms, had not rushed in to help
And used his shield to guard his lord while jabbing with
The naked edge of his cruel blade at Walter’s face.	1330
While Walter warded off the blow, the king arose,
And stood, afraid and senseless, barely saved from death.
No pause or rest, the bitter fighting is resumed.
They press the man, now both at once, now each in turn.
While he is fiercely occupied with one attacker,	1335
One charges from another side and checks the blow.
Not otherwise when a Numidian bear is hunted,
It stands, surrounded by the hounds, and bares its claws,
And lowering its head it growls, and grabs the dogs
That come too near and makes them yelp in misery.	1340
Here, there, on every side the raging hounds are barking,
But fear to move in to attack the awful beast.
Just so the battle wavered into the ninth hour.
Threefold distress oppresses all three men—the fear
Of death, the task of fighting, and the burning sun.	1345

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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.