Waltharius256

Walther reveals to Hildegund his plans for escaping with Attila’s treasure (256–286)

Addidit has imo virguncula corde loquelas:		Virguncula: the diminutive seems to be used merely metri causa.	Aeneid 5.842: funditque has ore loquelas. ‘He pours these accents from his lips.’		DSSDDS
Vestrum velle meum, solis his aestuo rebus.		Velle equiv. to voluntas, cf. Persius 5.53.			SDSSDS
Praecipiat dominus, seu prospera sive sinistra					DDSDDS
Eius amore pati toto sum pectore praesto.'			Aeneid 7.356: animus toto percepit pectore flammam. ‘And her soul has not yet caught the flame throughout her breast.’		DDSSDS
Waltharius tandem sic virginis inquit in aurem:	260		Aeneid 5.547: fidam sic fatur ad aurem. ‘Thus he speaks into his faithful ear.’		DSSDDS	inquit in aurem i.e. “whisper”; cf. Horace, Sermo 1.9.9-10: “in aurem / dicere nescio quid puero” (“to whisper I know not what to the boy”). SB
Publica custodem rebus te nempe potestas					DSSSDS
Fecerat, idcirco memor haec mea verba notato:			Ovid, Metamorphoses 14.813: nam memoro memori animo pia verba notavi. ‘For I treasured up thy gracious words in retentive mind, and now recall them to thee.’		DSDDDS
Primis galeam regis tunicamque, trilicem			Aeneid 3.467: loricam consertam hamis auroque trilicem. ‘A breatplate triple-woven with hooks of gold.’ 5.259: levibus huic hamis consertam auroque trilicem. ‘A coat of mail, linked with polished hooks of triple gold.’ 7.639-640.: clipeumque auroque trilicem/ loricam induitur. ‘He dons his shield and coat of mail, triple-linked with gold.’		SDSDDS	263-65 Cf. 334-339, where Walter’s actual arms and armor are described in greater detail: “Imposuit capiti rubras cum casside cristas / Ingentesque ocreis suras complectitur aureis / Et laevum femur ancipiti praecinxerat ense / Atque alio dextrum pro ritu Pannoniarum: / Is tamen ex una tantum dat vulnera parte. Tunc hastam dextra rapiens clipeumque sinistra” (“Then places on his head a crimson-crested helmet / And wraps his massive calves in greaves of gold; he girds / A two-edged sword on his left thigh; and following / The manner of the Huns, another on his right: / This one, however, will wound only from one edge. / His right hand grasps a spear; his left hand grasps a shield.” Kratz). Here, by contrast, Walter asks only for armor from Hildegund, i.e. defensive gear, not offensive weapons. This may be of significance, as his departure is presented by Ospirin, at 376-377, as the ruin of what upheld and defended the Huns: “En hodie imperii vestri cecidisse column / Noscitur en robur procul ivit et inclitsa virtus” (“Behold, today, the column of your empire is known from afair to have fallen; behold its bulwark and its famous courage have gone.” Not Kratz). It is especially significant, and symbolic, that Walter is asking for the king’s own armor. The gear requested is the king’s galea, “helmet,” and tunica, “byrnie,” which is described as a trilix lorica, “three-fold cuirass” that “bears the mark of smiths.” See Althof for the significance of smith-work in so-called Germanic culture. Ziolkowski 2008 discusses the physical nature of some of these arms in an early medieval context. SB
Assero loricam fabrorum insigne ferentem,		Assero: “I mean” (specifying the tunica as the lorica)			DSSSDS Elision: fabrorum insigne	assero perhaps simply “I mean” as the Kratz 1984 translation suggests, i.e. clarifying which tunica exactly ought to be taken (“I mean the three-fold cuirass…”), but assero may have a more symbolic meaning here. It was originally a technical term for the liberation of a slave, but it came to mean an act of appropriation or a claim of ownership (Thesaurus Linguae Latinae). In line with the fact that Walter is taking the king’s own armor, this technical or juridical sense of the verb may be significant, i.e. he is asserting his right to the king’s personal defense, since he himself is that defense. This undergirds Ospirin’s fears that Walter’s departure means the loss of the Hunnish bulwark (376-77). SB
Diripe, bina dehinc mediocria scrinia tolle.	265				DDDDDS	scrinia these are presumably large casks. In medieval Latin scrinium often described the cases in which books or papers were held, and by extension, "archives" and later government "offices" (Thesaurus Linguae Latinae, Niermeyer; though also "reliquaries"). Our ability to visualize these carrying cases is assisted somewhat by 269, where one is described as a vas, “vessel” but also “pack,” “kit,” and 330 where Walter attaches them, in the manner of panniers, to the horse: “Scrinia plena gazae lateri suspendit utrique” (“On either side he hangs the coffers filled with treasure.” Kratz). Whether the poet imagines these to be bags, boxes, or circular casks, however, is hard to say. We know they must be relatively large (despite mediocria), since Walter commands Hildegund to fill them till she can scarcely lift them: "His armillarum tantum da Pannonicarum / Donec vix unum releves ad pectoris imum" ("fill these with so many arm-rings of the Huns / That you can scarcely lift one just up to your breast," 266-267, Kratz). But their shape and appearance remain mysterious. Inconveniently, although Isidore of Seville (d. 636) does include "scrinium" in Etymologies 20.ix (De vasis repositoriis, on storage containers), this is one of those words (like "stuprum" and "texere") that Isidore never got around to etymologizing. It appears between coffer (mozicia) and bag (saccus), but all that is said is the word "scrinium." Modern etymologists concur that the earliest form of the word referred specifically to a container for papers or books (M. de Vaan, Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden, 2008, 547; A Ernout et Antoine Meillet, Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue latine, 4th edn, Paris, 1959, 605). It would be interesting to pursue the notion that the poet is implying that the "riches" are allegorical for some sort of books (or some sort of literature - pagan? Germanic?), but since "scrinium" can be a container of any sort perhaps this is unlikely. SB.
His armillarum tantum da Pannonicarum,		Armillarum: “arm-rings” of gold or silver, such as were worn by Germanic warriors. Here they are a valuable treasure with an important role in the plot.			SSSSDS	armillarum “arm bands”; rings of precious metal were a common currency for the remuneration of warriors in early medieval kingship. See J. R. Maddicott “Power and Prosperity in the Age of Bede and Beowulf,” Proceedings of the British Academy 117 (2002), 49-71 for some of the intricacies of supporting Germanic kingship on a material level. Compare also Alfred the Great’s translation of Boethius (late ninth century): “In the case of the king, the resources and tools with which to rule are that he must have his land fully manned: he must have praying men, fighting men, and working men. You know also that without these tools no king may make his ability known…[and] he must have the means of support for his tools, the three classes of men. These, then, are their means of support: land to live on, gifts, weapons, food, ale, clothing, and whatever else is necessary…” in Simon Keynes and Michael Lapidge, Asser’s Life of King Alfred and other contemporary sources (London, 1983), 132. See Ziolkowski 2008 for discussion of the arm bands within this matrix of early medieval kingship. On a more literary level, the strife that these armbands will cause is foreshadowed by the heavy spondaic feel of both this line and the preceding line (SSSSDS), in the same way that Aen. 4.124 "speluncam Dido dux et Troianus eandem" foreshadows the fateful consequences of the flight of Dido and Aeneas to the cave in which they consummate their union. SB
Donec vix unum releves ad pectoris imum.					SSDSDS
de quater binum mihi fac de more coturnum,		Quater binum…coturnum: i.e., “four pairs of shoes.”	Aeneid 1.318: de more. . . ‘According to custom. . .’		DSDSDS	coturnum the word coturnus or cothurnus is originally the name of a high boot or buskin used to increase the height of a tragic actor in ancient Greek drama, and consequently the word can also refer to a tragic actor himself (Thesaurus Linguae Latinae). Presumably such shoes are not what the poet has in mind. It is possible that tragic or heroic undertones are being summoned here, but unlikely. What sort of shoes these are envisioned as by the poet is probably lost to us, and it is hard to say whether de more refers to a common way of making shoes or whether it is being suggested that Hildegund often makes shoes (a fact of some anthropological interest if the poet is also suggesting that shoe-making is a gendered activity). SB.
Tantundemque tibi patrans imponito vasis:		Patrans: perfect in meaning Vasis equiv. to scriniis			SDSSDS
Sic fors ad summum complentur scrinia labrum.	270				SSSSDS	note the heavy, spondaic meter. Perhaps the poet means to emphasize the fateful nature of greed. SB.
super a fabris hamos clam posce retortos:					DSSSDS
Nostra viatica sint pisces simul atque volucres,					DDSDDS
Ipse ego piscator, sed et auceps esse coartor.		Coartor equiv. to cogar			DSDSDS Elision: ipse ego	Again, Walter does not ask for any weapons in his instructions to Hildegund, not even for proper hunting. Instead, he requests fishing gear. Fishing in the middle ages carries a strong Christian resonance. Important apostles were of course fishermen to begin with. Christ summons his apostles Simon Peter and Andrew (both fishermen) to become “fishers of men” (Mark 1.17, Matthew 4.18). Nor is this the only section of the bible in which Christ and fishing are linked (see also Luke 9.13-16, Matthew 14.16-21, Matthew 15.34-38, John 21.5-6, and Luke 5.5-6, inter alia). Cassiodorus recommended fishing to his monks at Vivarium. In the later middle ages, canonical writers deemed it proper for a cleric or monk to fish, but improper for one to hunt. Any straightforward Christian messages here are complicated by auceps, however. SB
Haec intra ebdomadam caute per singula comple.		Ebdomadam: “week”	Aeneid 8.618: oculos per singula volvit. ‘He moves his eyes from piece to piece.’		SDSSDS Elision: intra ebdomadam
Audistis, quid habere vianti forte necesse est.	275				SDDSDS Elision: necesse est
Nunc quo more fugam valeamus inire, recludo:			Aeneid 4.115-116.: nunc qua ratione quod instat/ confiere possit. . . ‘Now in what way the present purpose can be achieved. . .’ 8.49: nunc qua ratione quod instat/ expedias victor. . . ‘Now in what way you can make your way triumphant. . .’		SDDDDS	the "flight" is mirrored by a quick, dactyl-filled meter. SB.
Postquam septenos Phoebus remeaverit orbes,			Aeneid 5.64-65.: si nona diem mortalibus almum/ Aurora extulerit. . .'Teucris ponam certamina classis. ‘Should the ninth Dawn lift her kindly light for mortals. . .I will ordain contests for the Trojans.’		SSSDDS
Regi ac reginae satrapis ducibus famulisque			Liber Hester 1.3: fecit grande convivium cunctis principibus et pueris suis fortissimis Persarum et Medorum inclitis et praefectis provinciarum coram se. ‘He made a great feast for all the princes, and for his servants, for the most mighty of the Persians, and the nobles of the Medes, and the governors of the provinces in his sight.’		SSDDDS Elision: regi ac	satrapis here evidently referring to some high level of the nobility. The poet occasionally uses it to describe a king as well. The term is used to describe royal officials in the Book of Esther (3.12), an important parallel for this section of the poem. SB.
Sumptu permagno convivia laeta parabo					SSSDDS
Atque omni ingenio potu sepelire studebo,	280		Aeneid 2.265: invadunt urbem somno vinoque sepultam. ‘They storm the city, buried in sleep and wine.’ 3.630: vinoque sepultus. . . ‘Drowned in wine. . .’		SDSDDS Elision: atque omni; omni ingenio	omni ingenio cf. Isidore, Synonyma 1.24: "Omni ope, omni vi, omni ingenio, omni virtute, omni arte, omni ratione, omni consilio, omni instantia sume luctamen contra corporales molestias" ("With all your effort, all your strength, all your wit, all your art, all your reason, all your counsel, all your concentration take up the struggle against bodily troubles"). SB.
Donec nullus erit, qui sentiat hoc, quod agendum est.					SDSDDS Apheresis: agendum est
Tu tamen interea mediocriter utere vino			Aeneid 9.422: tu tamen interea. . . ‘You, meanwhile. . .’		DDDDDS
Atque sitim vix ad mensam restinguere cura.		Ad mensam: “at table,” i.e., during the meal.	Eclogue 5.47: sitim restinguere rivo. . . ‘The slaking of thirst in a rill. . .’ Aeneid 2.686: restinguere fontibus ignis . . . ‘To quench with water the fires. . .’		DSSSDS
Cum reliqui surgant, ad opuscula nota recurre.					DSDDDS
Ast ubi iam cunctos superat violentia potus,	285				DSDDDS	violentia potus violentia as opposed to vis underscores the moral irresponsibility of the king’s court in its drunkenness. Cf. the “excessive drink” which prompts Xerxes to act irresponsibly in Esther 1.10. SB.
Tum simul occiduas properemus quaerere partes.'					DDDSDS	occiduas…partes occiduus is a common adjective for such scenes in Statius (Thebaid 1.200, 3.33, 4.283, 5.477, 5.538, and 10.84) and in early medieval authors (e.g. the Gesta Berengarii) who admired him. SB

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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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