Waltharius914English

7th single combat: Walther slays Gerwitus (914–940)

Then Gerwit, vowing to avenge this man, advanced,
And borne upon his robust steed, vaulted all the carnage	915
Which, lying in the way, had blocked the narrow path;
And as the warlike man cut through the corpse’s neck,
He came and swung a double-bladed ax straight at
His face (The Franks in those days had this kind of weapon).
The agile man staved off this blow by holding up	920
His shield, then jumping back he grabbed his trusty spear
And dropped his bloody sword there on the blooming sedge.
Here then indeed you would see heroes’ fearsome struggles.
There was no talking while their warring weapons clashed;
Their minds were utterly absorbed in single combat.	925
One rages to atone for fallen friends by vengeance;
One strives with all his effort to defend his life,
And to retain, if luck allows, the palm of triumph.
Attack and parry: one advances, one retreats;
There chance and courage mingle into one endeavor.	930
The long spear, nonetheless, repelled the man armed with
The shorter weapon; but he wheeled his horse around
Attempting to deceive the man who had grown tired.
Now Walter, more and more oppressed by the weight of
His wrath, cut through the lower part of Gerwit’s shield;	935
The weapon, piercing Gerwit’s groin, lodged in his thigh:
He gasped a gloomy sound as he fell back and mourned
His death while with his heels he beat upon the earth.
And Walter left him, too, a trunk, its head cut off.
That same trunk once had been, in lands near Worms, a count.	940

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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.