UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 AT LOS ANGELES
 
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 Half leather, gilt top 1.75 
 
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 G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS, NEW YORK AND LONDON.
 
 ftales of ti?e Tberoic' 
 
 SIEGFRIED 
 
 The Hero of the North 
 
 AND 
 
 BEOWULF 
 
 The Hero of the Anglo-Saxons 
 
 BY 
 
 ZENAI'DE A. RAGOZIN 
 
 Member of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and 
 
 Ireland ; of the American Oriental Society, etc. 
 
 Author of " Chaldea," " Vedic India," etc. 
 
 I Iff I 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY GEORGE T. TOBIN 
 Sixth Impression 
 
 G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 
 
 NEW YORK & LONDON 
 
 Che -Knickerbocker press 
 
 1903 
 
 JAN 1905
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1898 
 
 BY 
 
 G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 
 Entered at Stationers' Hall, London 
 
 ftiUcherbocfcer presa, ew
 
 PREFACE 
 
 A STRANGE thing happened last 
 winter in New York, strange even 
 for New York. It was reported, with the 
 names and addresses, in all the papers ; and 
 personal investigation proved the facts to 
 be true. 
 
 It happened in the family of a respecta- 
 ble and well-to-do German artisan couple. 
 Both husband and wife had come from 
 the old country very young, and prospered, 
 as honest industry will, when coupled with 
 intelligence and a moderate share of luck. 
 They had profited, perhaps to an excep- 
 tional degree, by the educational advan- 
 tages which Germany provides for her 
 poorest children ; but, unfortunately, their 
 minds and their moral sense ran in a 
 groove. They loved truth above all things, 
 but truth in a narrow, absolute sense. They
 
 iv Preface 
 
 read in their leisure hours, but only what 
 was literally true. All fiction, all poetry 
 was tabooed, branded uncompromisingly 
 as "lies," and abominated accordingly. 
 In a word, the worthy couple were speci- 
 mens of a very rare genus : human beings 
 utterly devoid of imagination. 
 
 Strictly on these lines they brought up 
 their little daughter, a pretty, blue-eyed 
 fairy of a child, their idol and their joy. 
 They would give to her a first-class educa- 
 tion. They could afford it, for their sav- 
 ings-bank account kept growing and had 
 reached the sum of $1400.00. But the 
 parents the mother especially watched 
 her studies and recreations keenly, and so 
 successfully that little Gertrude at twelve 
 years of age had never heard a fairy-tale, 
 never seen a story-book or a Mother Goose 
 picture, and had never suspected that there 
 were any other intellectual meadows to 
 browse on than mathematics, spelling, and 
 geography. 
 
 Now, by a perversity in which fate 
 delights, this sober, truth-telling couple 
 had brought into the world a being
 
 Preface v 
 
 from another sphere imaginative, dreamy, 
 ardent-souled, artistic. Cherished as she 
 was, little Gertrude could not be anything 
 but happy, nor was she conscious of any 
 unsatisfied want. But she threw her whole 
 unconscious passion into music and showed 
 such talent as to delight her elders and 
 inspire them with the proudest hopes for 
 her future career. 
 
 One day she heard her mother say to 
 a neighbour : " Gertrude shall be another 
 Paderewsky. She shall play at the White 
 House before the President. What a 
 fortune she will make ! " The child said 
 nothing, but began to think. " I was so 
 glad," she said afterwards ; " I thought it 
 had already happened." Soon after, she 
 went with her parents to the dedication 
 of Grant's tomb. It was the first pageant 
 she had ever witnessed, and she saw the 
 President in his landau. She heard that 
 he and his wife were staying at the 
 Windsor. 
 
 Three days later Gertrude, returning 
 from school, burst into the family room 
 with an astounding piece of news : Mrs.
 
 vi Preface 
 
 McKinley had visited her school, had 
 heard her play and recite, and would 
 return next day with the President. Ger- 
 trude was to visit them at their hotel. 
 Great was the parents' joy. The day 
 following, the little girl was equipped 
 from head to foot with new garments and 
 sent off on her supposed visit. She came 
 home at seven o'clock in an ecstasy of joy : 
 " Mrs. McKinley will adopt me. I am 
 to call her 'mamma.' She will pay for 
 my music lessons. And Mr. McKinley will 
 give papa a place in Washington." They 
 believed it all. But Gertrude had some- 
 thing else to tell, and came out with it 
 the next day : " Poor Mrs. McKinley has 
 no money ; she does not want to ask her 
 husband till pay-day. I wish I could lend 
 it her." 
 
 The father went to the bank and re- 
 turned with a hundred dollars, which he 
 gave to Gertrude to take at once to 
 " Mamma McKinley." Very soon she 
 was back: "Mamma McKinley thanks 
 you ever so much. She would come to 
 see you, but of course she cannot come
 
 Preface vii 
 
 to a tenement." Whereupon, incredible 
 as it may seem, the good people moved 
 to an "apartment" in a good location 
 and proportionately high as to rent. 
 
 Gertrude hastened to inform her illus- 
 trious friends of the change, and came 
 home with another woful tale : " Mr. Mc- 
 Kinley asks papa to lend him a hundred 
 dollars until he goes back to Washington. 
 He has cheques, but does not like to 
 pay his hotel bills in cheques." The hun- 
 dred dollars went. This time the child 
 came home with an armful of costly flowers. 
 The President had sent the roses, his wife 
 the lilies of the valley, and the violets 
 came from the German Ambassador. 
 
 After this Gertrude became a regular 
 visitor at the President's, but almost every 
 time she had to have money, to lend 
 either to him, or to his wife, or to spend in 
 largesses to the servants, in presents to 
 the secretaries or attendants, and each time 
 she returned laden with flowers and even 
 stranger gifts, which she distributed to the 
 members of her family ; there were, among 
 other things, a black-and-tan dog, a canary
 
 viii Preface 
 
 bird, and, later on, jewelry, even to a 
 diamond ring. At the same time the child 
 conversed on all current political topics as 
 one who got her information at headquar- 
 ters, and gave so many and positive par- 
 ticulars about the position in store for her 
 father, the salary, the work, etc., that the 
 poor man actually returned work he had 
 contracted for, to take a short rest before 
 the ist of December, on which day the 
 summons to Washington was to come. 
 
 The $1400.00 were gone. But where 
 was the harm, since they would be repaid 
 with interest, not to speak of a $5000.00 
 salary ! 
 
 Then the crash came. 
 
 On Thanksgiving Day, Gertrude pre- 
 pared to go to school, as usual. " Is your 
 school open to-day ? " asked her father, 
 wonderingly. ''It is always open for the 
 President," she replied, promptly enough, 
 still not without a little gasp at her blunder. 
 " I will go with you," said the father,quietly. 
 It had just dawned on him for the first 
 time that there was something queer some- 
 where. The schoolhouse was locked, of
 
 Preface ix 
 
 course. She did not yet lose heart. " Mrs. 
 McKinley must have come and gone away 
 disappointed. I '11 run over to the hotel." 
 " I'll go with you," again said the father, 
 who had taken her to the door more than 
 once. But this time he questioned the 
 janitor. He learned that the President 
 had left in April, that the little girl who 
 came in at one door used to walk through 
 the hall and out at another door. 
 
 How the good man got home, he never 
 knew. Gertrude broke down completely 
 and made a full confession. All the time 
 she was away from home she spent at a 
 neighbour's. She had a drawer there 
 where she kept the money she did not 
 spend and all the things she did not take 
 home. She made presents lavishly, took 
 her friend on long drives, but could not 
 account for the enormous sum she had 
 squandered. The neighbour sent home to 
 her parents a variety of articles she had 
 kept in storage for the child. It was a 
 queer collection : there were, among other 
 things, two bicycles, a camera, plaster casts 
 of musicians, and to the mother's great-
 
 Xll 
 
 Preface 
 
 nothing can ever take the place of the uni- 
 versal treasury of nursery fairy tales, the 
 ever young, the ever dear, harmless ow- 
 ing to the glaring extravagance of their 
 impossibilities, educational from the moral 
 purity and profound wisdom which per- 
 vade them. 1 
 
 Fortunately we have, ready to our hand, 
 for the next age say from ten to sixteen 
 another vast treasury of fiction, which to 
 the same qualities adds high literary worth, 
 besides historical value, as the source from 
 which all the poetry, drama, romance of 
 the world have flowed through all but un- 
 numbered ages the mytho-heroical epic 
 fiction of the ancient nations. Once we 
 admit the necessity of recreative fiction- 
 reading for the young, why not plunge into 
 this treasure and bring out its pearls and 
 rubies in generous handfuls, and pour them 
 into our children's laps to make them rich 
 
 1 This cannot be said of such works as Jules Verne's famous 
 books. Their semi-scientific plausibility is a snare to the 
 young mind, which does not possess sufficient knowledge to 
 discriminate between the truth and the fiction they contain, so 
 that all its ideas get misled, confused, and blurred. A lie in 
 the garb of truth ! Can anything be more pernicious?
 
 Preface xiii 
 
 for life with the heirloom which is theirs 
 by right of birth ? 
 
 There are two reasons why a well se- 
 lected and carefully adapted course of high- 
 class poetic fiction must rank before the 
 host of modern story-books well meant 
 and well done as many of them are which 
 crowd the Christmas counters : First, the 
 positive standard value of such literature, 
 the noble beauty it breathes ; the high 
 lessons of unselfish heroic endeavour which 
 pervade it, and which it instils without ever 
 pointing a moral; the gallery of masterly 
 characters which impress themselves on 
 the mind forever by a few simple strokes ; 
 the vivid presentation of the life, man- 
 ners, and spirit, in bygone ages, of the dif- 
 ferent peoples, with the universally human 
 element never absent or distorted. Second, 
 all study of history, with many of its at- 
 tendant branches, is based, according to 
 the modern methods of comparative re- 
 search and reconstruction, on that of the 
 myths and heroic legends of the ancient 
 world. In becoming familiar with them 
 for pleasure and amusement, therefore, the
 
 XIV 
 
 Preface 
 
 youthful mind will be storing up the ma- 
 terials for future serious work, nay, when 
 the college days come, it will find much of 
 the work actually done. 
 
 Not that these ideas are new at all. 
 They have been propounded and acted 
 upon a hundred times. To them we owe 
 such admirable gems as Hawthorne's and 
 Kingsley's tales of the Greek gods and 
 heroes and, while on a lower plane, 
 Church's attractive selections from Homer, 
 Virgil, and Herodotus, not to speak of 
 numberless other attempts in the same 
 field. Aye, there 's the trouble : it is al- 
 ways the same field, the everlasting so- 
 called " classic " field, while we have long 
 ago discovered that it is but one of many, 
 quite as rich in sterling treasure, quite as 
 attractive with brilliant and fragrant, if ex- 
 otic, flowers. Truly, these Graeco-Roman 
 stories seem worn pretty threadbare by 
 overmuch handling, while the vast mine of 
 the East and the North has been left 
 either hardly touched or quite untouched. 
 Surely there is more than room on the 
 book-market for a series embracing the
 
 Preface xv 
 
 Northern and Oriental epics. To repre- 
 sent the North we have the Anglo-Saxon 
 Beowulf, the Swedish Frithjof, the Ger- 
 man Lay of the Nibelungs, the Franco-Ger- 
 man Lay of Roland, the Finnic Kalewala, 
 all of them national epics. In the East 
 we have the two great epics of India, the 
 Mahdbhdrata and the Rdmdyana, and that 
 of Persia, the Shah-Nameh (" Book of 
 Kings "). The Slavic race indeed has no 
 rounded, finished literary epic poem, its 
 leisure having been broken in upon by the 
 inexorable demands of an iron age, which 
 compelled it, in self-defence, to go about 
 its practical historical work. But the ma- 
 terials are there in bewildering abundance, 
 in the form of separate blocks of legends, 
 grouped around an heroic central figure, 
 as those of the Round Table around Brit- 
 ish Arthur. Of these blocks, moreover, 
 chips enough have flown off, in the form 
 of popular folk-tales and fairy tales,' to yield 
 a fascinating little volume of the kind of 
 Grimm's Hausmarchen. 
 
 And now about the treatment of the 
 national poems.
 
 xvi Preface 
 
 It should be simple and epical ; faith- 
 fully following the main lines, bringing 
 out also the characteristic details, the 
 poetical beauties, picturesque traits, and 
 original dialogue, as much as may be con- 
 sistent with necessary condensation and, 
 frequently, with elimination. It should be 
 a consecutive, lively narrative, with the 
 necessary elucidating explanations incor- 
 porated in the text and with the fewest and 
 briefest possible footnotes, while it should 
 contain absolutely no critical or mytholog- 
 ical digressions. For, should such digres- 
 sions be indulged in, the work would bear 
 to the epic in hand the same relation as, 
 say, Keightley's Graco-Roman Mythology 
 to the Iliad and Odyssey. 
 
 Let me with a single example be a little 
 more explicit. 
 
 The "Lay of the Nibelungs" ("Das 
 Nibelungenlied") would necessarily be 
 one of the most important contributions to 
 such a series as is here planned. It is the 
 national epic of Germany, and has not yet 
 been presented in this manner. Yet the 
 names of the chief actors Siegfried,
 
 Preface xvii 
 
 Kriemhilde, Brunhilde, Hagen and the 
 principal incidents of the poem have within 
 the last few years (mainly owing to Wag- 
 ner's tetralogy of operas), become as fa- 
 miliar as those of Homer's heroes, so that, 
 at first sight, a new treatment of what is 
 seemingly the same subject may appear 
 superfluous, in view of the considerable 
 group of books treating of Northern myths 
 which has lately been put on the market. 
 But all, or nearly all, of these books were 
 written with an especial view to the themes 
 of Wagner's operas, which takes from 
 them scholarly authority and lowers them 
 to the level of mere books of the play. 
 Meanwhile the great story of the epic has 
 not been re-told. 
 
 To make the matter clear by a parallel 
 hypothetic case : take the whole mass of- 
 myth and tradition which makes up the 
 bulk of Hellenic mythology, heroic and 
 legendary history, the heroes and kings 
 representing the later transformations of 
 the gods. Suppose now that a great 
 modern genius had thoroughly mastered 
 the immense material and written a series
 
 XV111 
 
 Preface 
 
 of operas on themes taken from it, a tril- 
 ogy on the fates of the doomed House of 
 the Atridae, a tragic opera on the advent- 
 ures of Perseus and Andromeda, etc. The 
 operas become very popular and the 
 fashion, but they are too erudite to be 
 generally intelligible. Then there come 
 men who tell the stories of these myths 
 and heroic legends with the special object 
 of making the operas intelligible and the 
 subjects of them familiar. The result is a 
 sort of course of classic mythology, not 
 told spontaneously and methodically, not 
 similar let us say again to a text-book 
 mythology, but biassed and bent to the 
 main object of popularising the operas 
 a running commentary on them at the 
 same time showing the connection and 
 transformation between the older (divine- 
 mythical) and the later (heroic-mythical) 
 cycles, and bringing in the interpretative 
 methods of modern comparative mythol- 
 ogy. Useful and instructive work of its 
 kind. But where, in all this, are the Iliad 
 and Odyssey? 
 
 This work has been well and amply
 
 Preface xix 
 
 done with the myths and heroic legends 
 of the North. But where, in it all, is the 
 " Lay of the Nibelungs " a complete, 
 rounded piece of literary art, in itself a 
 gallery of characters, working out a per- 
 fect plot in a series of well conceived and 
 finely rendered situations? What we 
 want, in telling it to the young, is to take 
 the epic just as it is, condensing and ex- 
 purgating, but not changing ; rendering 
 the characters, scenes, situations with the 
 faithfulness and reverence due to the 
 masterpiece of a race ; using, as much as 
 possible, especially in the dialogue, the 
 words of the original. Whether Siegfried 
 is the young smith of the Edda, and Brun- 
 hilde is the Valkyrie, Odin's daughter, 
 and Hagen a reflection of Loki, and 
 whether the whole is the myth of Sun, 
 Earth, and Winter, preserved in the vari- 
 ous nursery tales of the Sleeping Beauty 
 all these things we have no business 
 with at all. 
 
 This, of course, is the way to treat the 
 Eastern epics as well ; to which we would 
 add a few of the Hindu dramas, such as
 
 xx Preface 
 
 Kalidasa's Sakuntala and Urvasi, the 
 stories of which could be told after the 
 manner of the Lambs' Tales from Shake- 
 speare. 
 
 This series being intended as parallel 
 reading to history and planned to illustrate 
 history, it might very properly include 
 standard historical novels, ancient and me- 
 diaeval, duly condensed and adapted ; such 
 works as Felix Dahn's A Fight for Rome 
 (" Ein Kampf um Rom "), some of Ebers's 
 Egyptian and Roman stories, Flaubert's 
 Salammbo, Gautier's Le Roman de la 
 Momie, and even English romances like 
 Zenobia, Reade's Cloister and Hearth, Bul- 
 wer's Last of the Barons, and others. Of 
 course, there are great difficulties in the 
 way, none so great as in handling such a 
 book as Salammbo, Flaubert's Carthaginian 
 novel, for youthful reading that marvel- 
 lous work of gorgeous imagination and 
 scholarly reconstruction. At first sight, 
 it seems impossible to fit it for young 
 readers without disfiguring it ; yet it can 
 be done. The book has been read aloud, 
 with the necessary cuts, to classes of girls,
 
 Preface xxi 
 
 with the best results, both as to amuse- 
 ment and instruction. It requires some 
 tact and lightness of touch, together with 
 great reverence for your subject, entering 
 into the spirit of it thoroughly, and work 
 that 's all. 
 
 A word now on the language. It should 
 be simple, though not untinged with quaint- 
 ness, and even in places a certain degree 
 of archaism, bearing in mind, above all, 
 Kingsley's strictures on "long words" 
 (words of five syllables he wants fined). 
 This does not exclude the use of what 
 may be called good literary words, i. e., 
 words not in use in commonplace conver- 
 sation but quite at home in good literature, 
 especially if they belong to the Anglo- 
 Saxon side of the language. It is no mat- 
 ter that such words may sound at first 
 unfamiliar to young readers ; they cannot 
 too soon be made familiar, for it is so 
 much done towards the comprehension of 
 the higher class of literature ; and besides, 
 we cannot begin too soon to enrich the 
 young people's vocabulary, the poverty of 
 which, even among persons of average
 
 XX11 
 
 Preface 
 
 culture, is among the most distressing re- 
 sults of a mere public-school education. 
 
 But great changes are coming over the 
 schools as well as over other branches of 
 public life ; changes in the right direction, 
 which may shortly amount to a revolution, 
 when there will be no reason why these 
 Tales of the Heroic Ages should not, 
 although addressed to young people at 
 large, find a place, if not in the school 
 curriculum, at least in the wide margin of 
 so-called " Supplementary Reading." It 
 is with this expectation that each of the 
 tales will be followed by a brief historical 
 and critical notice for the especial use of 
 public-school teachers and instructors 
 generally. 
 
 May they prove acceptable, not alone 
 to the young, to whom they are specially 
 addressed, but also, as has been felicitously 
 said, to " the old with young tastes " ! 
 
 Z. A. RAGOZIN. 
 ORANGE, N. J., 
 
 June, 1898.
 
 CONTENTS 
 SIEGFRIED 
 
 PACK 
 
 PREFACE . . iii 
 
 I. SIEGFRIED'S BOYHOOD AND YOUTH . . 3 
 
 II. SIEGFRIED GOES A-WooiNG 10 
 
 III. FRIENDSHIP 18 
 
 IV. BOUND FOR ICELAND 31 
 
 V. GUNTHER'S WOOING 39 
 
 VI. THE DEPARTURE 50 
 
 VII. BETROTHED 55 
 
 VIII. THE WEDDING 61 
 
 IX. THE INVITATION 70 
 
 X. THE VISIT 76 
 
 XI. THE QUARREL 80 
 
 XII. TREASON 91 
 
 XIII. SIEGFRIED'S DEATH 96 
 
 XIV. SIEGFRIED'S FUNERAL 106 
 
 XV. KRIEMHILDE'S WIDOWHOOD. . . .114 
 
 XVI. KING ETZEL'S WOOING 124 
 
 XVII. IN HUNLAND 136 
 
 XVIII. THE JOURNEY 144 
 
 XIX. THE ARRIVAL . . . ... 152 
 
 XX. ON GUARD 158 
 
 XXI. KRIEMHILDE'S REVENGE .... 169 
 
 NOTE ON THE " NIBELUNGENLIED" . . . . 200 
 xxiii
 
 xxiv Contents 
 
 BEOWULF 
 
 PAGE 
 
 PROLOGUE 213 
 
 LA Y I.GRENDEL 
 
 I. HEOROT 219 
 
 II. GRENDEL ,222 
 
 III. A FRIEND IN NEED 226 
 
 IV. THE WARDEN 228 
 
 V. THE ARRIVAL 231 
 
 VI. THE RECEPTION AND THE PLEDGE. . . 234 
 
 VII. THE FEAST 237 
 
 VIII. THE COMBAT 244 
 
 IX. REJOICINGS AND THANKSGIVINGS . . . 249 
 
 X. HEOROT RESTORED FEASTING AND GIFTS . 253 
 
 LAY II. GRENDEL 'S MOTHER 
 
 I. THE AVENGER 259 
 
 II. THE MERE 263 
 
 III. UNDER THE WATERS 267 
 
 IV. THE RETURN 272 
 
 V. LAST WORDS 275 
 
 VI. HOMEWARD BOUND 283 
 
 VII. AT HOME 287 
 
 LAY III. THE DRAGON 
 
 I. THE TREASURE 294 
 
 II. THE ATTACK 299 
 
 III. WIGLAF 
 
 304 
 
 IV. VICTORY AND DEATH 307 
 
 V. WIGLAF'S REBUKE DISMAY AND TEARS . 313 
 
 VI. THE OBSEQUIES 318 
 
 NOTE ON THE " BEOWULF " ... . . .323
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 THE DEATH OF BEOWULF, Frontispiece 
 SIEGFRIED AND KRIEMHILDE MEET . 26 
 
 BRUNHILDE RECEIVES THE BURGUN- 
 
 DIANS . ... 42 
 
 DEATH OF SIEGFRIED . . .102 
 DANKWART BRINGS EVIL TIDINGS . 1 76 
 THE LANDING OF BEOWULF . . 228 
 
 QUEEN WEALHTHEOW PLEDGES BEO- 
 WULF . . . . . 242 
 
 BEOWULF AND THE OLD WIFE OF 
 
 THE MERE 268
 
 SIEGFRIED 
 
 THE HERO OF THE NORTH 
 
 AND 
 KRIEMHILDE'S GREAT REVENGE 
 
 *' The Lay of the Nibelungs" 
 " Das Nibelungenlied "
 
 f California at Los 
 
 University 
 
 SIEGFRIED'S BOYHOOD AND YOUTH 
 
 ONCE upon a time, there lived in the 
 Netherlands, in Xante, a mighty 
 castle by the River Rhine, a powerful king 
 and queen, Siegmund and Sieglinde. Far 
 and wide spread their fame, but it was as 
 nothing to that which their glorious son, 
 the hero Siegfried, won. Even as a boy 
 and beardless youth, he performed deeds 
 of might, such and so many that his name 
 became familiar in all the German lands. 
 Of his early adventures, two were so won- 
 derful that they made him immortal in 
 song and story for all times. 
 
 Of these adventures, one was the slay- 
 ing, in single combat, of a dreadful 
 monster known as the " Dragon of the 
 Linden-Tree," because he made his home
 
 4 Siegfried 
 
 in the thick foliage of a huge linden, these 
 trees often growing in Germany to almost 
 as great a size and age as the lordly oak. 
 All the country around was kept in dread 
 by the fierce and murderous " Linden- 
 Dragon." But nobody was brave enough 
 to go into the forest and fight him. So 
 young Siegfried did his people a great 
 service by his daring in seeking out the 
 Dragon and killing him ; and it was no 
 wonder they praised him and loved him, 
 and boasted of him to their neighbours. 
 But he was to reap some good for him- 
 self too from his brave deed. He noticed 
 that wherever the Dragon's blood had 
 touched his flesh the skin had become 
 hard and unfeeling. So he bathed his 
 whole body in the blood, face and all, and 
 became as though coated with a thin cas- 
 ing of horn, which made him invulner- 
 able, that is, not to be hurt by the cut 
 or thrust of any weapon whatever. 
 
 Young Siegfried's other adventure 
 brought him even greater glory, besides 
 such wealth and power as never were 
 man's before or after him ; yet, in the end,
 
 Boyhood and Youth 5 
 
 in far remote later days and through 
 many strange happenings, it was also to 
 bring sorrow and destruction on himself 
 and many brave men, both true and false. 
 Siegfried loved to ride out alone, hunt- 
 ing, or simply to see the world, and take 
 any chance to display his great strength 
 and daring. Once, when he had ridden 
 farther than usual, he found himself in 
 the land of the^Nibelungs, where lived 
 wizards, and giants, and dwarfs, and 
 things were generally queer and uncanny. 
 When Siegfried arrived, the old king had 
 just died, and he found the king's two sons 
 quarrelling over the division of his treas- 
 ure. It was an ancient and a mighty 
 hoard ; not a hundred farm waggons could 
 have carried all the gold and jewels. And 
 it had this wonderful property : that no 
 matter how much was taken from it, the 
 hoard never grew less. But a curse had 
 been laid on it in olden times, that it 
 should work nought but harm to whom- 
 soever was the owner of it. Wherefore 
 the old Nibelung king had had it hid 
 away from sight and use in a deep mount-
 
 6 Siegfried 
 
 ain cave. Now it had been brought 
 forth, and lay spread out in glittering 
 heaps before the two heirs and their 
 knights. They haggled and wrangled, 
 and could not come to an understand- 
 ing. So when Siegfried suddenly stood 
 before them, they were glad, and asked 
 him to divide the treasure between them ; 
 and, to show how thankful they would be, 
 they at once presented him with their 
 father's own good sword, named Balmung. 
 But Siegfried, try as he would, could not 
 get them to agree, they were so greedy 
 and unreasonable ; and when he spoke to 
 them sternly, they grew angry, and their 
 people began to threaten him. Then 
 Siegfried's blood was up. Grasping his 
 new prize, Balmung, he attacked that 
 armed band single-handed. 
 
 Now there was magic power in the 
 sword, which had been forged in olden 
 times by a wizard with many a strong 
 spell. And magic work it did in the 
 young hero's hand, laying low twelve 
 chosen knights and many of the Nibe- 
 lung men, and lastly the two young kings
 
 Boyhood and Youth 7 
 
 themselves. After that the warriors were 
 cowed into submission, and gave up to 
 Siegfried the treasure and the whole 
 country, with all its castles. Only the 
 faithful dwarf, Alberich L still fought furi- 
 ously, bent on avenging his young mas- 
 ters. It was like a mouse fighting a great 
 lion, and would have been laughable but 
 for the poor dwarf's devotion, which made 
 him forgetful of his own life. Siegfried 
 admired him heartily, and not only spared 
 him, but askecTTTirn if he would not like 
 to take service with himself. The dwarf 
 replied that, now his masters were dead, 
 there was no hero he would as lief serve as 
 Siegfried, for none was worthier. Then 
 Siegfried, after binding him with many 
 strong oaths, made him his Keeper of the 
 Hoard, which was forthwith taken back 
 to the cave in the mountain. Alberich 
 wore the famous tarn-cape the cloak 
 which makes the wearer invisible and 
 Siegfried took it from him and carried it 
 home, together with the good sword Bal- 
 mung, as proud trophies of his ride into 
 the land of the Nibelungs. Ah me, little
 
 8 Siegfried 
 
 he thought what grievous harm was to 
 come of that fateful ride ! 
 
 At length young Siegfried arrived at the 
 age of manhood, when noble youths are 
 wont to be solemnly girded with the sword 
 and to take their place among the warrior 
 worthies of their country. Then King 
 Siegmund sent forth heralds through his 
 own lands and those of his neighbour 
 kings, to give notice of the great festival 
 to be held at his court, and to invite all 
 the high-born youths of the same age as 
 Siegfried to come and receive the sword 
 of manhood together with him. Four hun- 
 dred young heroes prepared to answer the 
 King's call. And many a fair maiden and 
 grave matron bent for many a day over 
 loom and broidering-frame, that the youths 
 might bear themselves bravely at feast and 
 dance in richest robes and mantles glitter- 
 ing with cunning work in gold and flashing 
 with gems. Their fathers saw to their 
 steeds and armour, and never had so gal- 
 lant a troop gathered to do honour to so 
 young a prince. 
 
 Seven days there was high feasting, and
 
 Boyhood and Youth 9 
 
 there were knightly games and tourna- 
 ments, that the young warriors might dis- 
 play their grace and prowess ; and gifts and 
 praise were showered on winners and losers 
 alike, for all did well. And the memory 
 of Siegfried's knighting lived long in the 
 land.
 
 
 II 
 
 SIEGFRIED GOES A-WOOING 
 
 ABOUT this time it came to pass that 
 a rumour reached the Netherlands, of 
 the most beauteous royal maid Kriemhilde, 
 only sister of the three wealthy kings of 
 Burgundy, the brothers Gunther, Gernot, 
 and young Giselher. So wondrous fair 
 was she said to be, that not a month went 
 by but some noble or princely suitor rode 
 to Worms on the Rhine, to ask her in 
 marriage of her brothers, the kings. But 
 each and all rode away disappointed, for 
 the right suitor had not come yet, and 
 Kriemhilde would not wed unless she 
 loved. - 
 
 Siegfried grew thoughtful as he listened 
 to the tales of the lady's beauty and her 
 pride, till one day he declared to his father,
 
 Siegfried Goes A-Wooing n 
 
 "This maiden I will wed, or none." King 
 Siegmund was sorely grieved and tried 
 hard to make him change his mind, " for," 
 he said, "both Gunther and his brother 
 Gernot are haughty men ; I have known 
 them long. And so are their knights, and 
 first among them Hagen, fiercest and 
 haughtiest of them all. I fear me much 
 that evil may come of this wooing." 
 
 "What's the odds?" Siegfried replied. 
 " If I may not win the maid in kindness, 
 my strong right arm shall help me to my 
 bride, aye, and to her brothers' lands." 
 
 " Nay, speak not so," King Siegmund 
 warned ; " for should such words be carried 
 across the Rhine, never shouldst thou ride 
 into King Gunther's land. The maiden 
 is not to be had by force. But if thou 
 must e'en take thine own way, I will send 
 to all our friends, that they may provide 
 thee with a seemly following." 
 
 " Not so ! " cried Siegfried ; " I will do 
 my wooing myself. Twelve knights, no 
 more, twelve trusty comrades, I will take. 
 These, father, give me, and thy blessing." 
 
 Tearfully, and sore oppressed at heart
 
 12 Siegfried 
 
 the King and Queen bade their dear son 
 Godspeed. But he comforted them with 
 words of loving cheer : 
 
 " Ye shall not weep for me, nor fear for 
 my life. Good tidings shall ye hear, of 
 how we did you honour in the land of the 
 Burgundians." 
 
 On the seventh morning of their journey 
 the little band rode into Worms by the 
 Rhine. All silk and gold their raiment, 
 silk and gold their horses' bridles and 
 breast-gear ; their burnished shields and 
 helmets flashing in the sun, their long 
 swords clanking against their spurs, thus 
 they made their entrance into King Gun- 
 ther's city. All the folks ran out into the 
 streets to gaze at them. 
 
 Soon they were met by knights and 
 squires from the palace, who bade them 
 welcome to their master's land and courte- 
 ously offered to relieve them of their 
 shields and take their chargers' bridles. 
 But Siegfried curtly bade them let the 
 horses stand and not carry away the 
 shields, but take word to the King that a 
 strange knight would fain have speech 
 of him.
 
 Siegfried Goes A- Wooing 13 
 
 King Gunther was even now standing 
 with his most trusted peers at a window 
 of his palace, and looking out on the no- 
 ble guests, as they stood by their steeds, 
 watchful and observant. Not one of the 
 Burgundians could tell who they were or 
 from what country, except only Hagen, 
 Lord of Tronje, the wise and crafty ; he 
 at once knew Siegfried, though he had 
 never seen him, by his matchless beauty 
 and right royal mien. He told of the 
 battle with the Dragon and the adventure 
 with the Nibelungs, and gave it as his 
 advice that the young hero should be re- 
 ceived well and honourably, and great 
 care taken not to provoke him to anger. 
 
 " We will go down to meet him," said 
 the King. 
 
 " You may well do that," said Hagen, 
 " for he comes of a noble race, and is the 
 son of a powerful king. And, from his 
 looks, methinks it is no idle errand which 
 brings him to us. " 
 
 Then King Gunther, his brothers, and 
 his peers went down into the palace yard 
 where Siegfried stood on guard, and 
 greeted him most courteously.
 
 14 Siegfried 
 
 " Whence, noble Siegfried, came you to 
 our land ? " the royal host kindly asked, 
 " and what seek you here at Worms by the 
 Rhine ? " 
 
 " That," spoke the guest, " shall not be 
 kept from you. I have heard it said in 
 my father's land, that at your court were 
 found the boldest champions ever king 
 won for his own : that is what brings me 
 hither. And of yourself I hear great 
 praise for manly worth ; folks say no king 
 so brave was ever seen in all these lands. 
 I cannot rest until I find out the truth. 
 I, too, am bold and brave, and am, some 
 day, to wear a crown. Fain would I have 
 men say of me that I am fit to rule my 
 life and honour on the venture. There- 
 fore, if so be you are all that rumour tells, 
 I challenge you to combat, my inheritance 
 against your land and castles." 
 
 The King was dumb with wonder, and 
 so were all his men it was so strange 
 and unforeseen. But the knights began 
 to show signs of anger and could hardly 
 be held back while Gunther and Gernot 
 spoke mild and reasonable words, wishing
 
 Siegfried Goes A- Wooing 15 
 
 to turn Siegfried's perverse mood. But 
 the Lord Ortewein, of Metz, the King's 
 marshal and Hagen's nephew, spoiled all 
 by a rash and insulting speech, which met 
 with a quick retort, when there were calls 
 to arms and the uproar became so violent 
 that Gernot's sternest command did not 
 for a while avail to lay it. 
 
 " No rashness, on your lives ! " he cried, 
 when he at last gained a hearing. " The 
 noble Siegfried has done us no wrong as 
 yet, nor will he do us any, I feel sure ; we 
 shall, I trust, win him for our friend yet." 
 
 " Most princely hero," said young Gisel- 
 her, King Gunther's youngest brother, 
 gentle and winsome in looks and manner, 
 now speaking for the first time, " you shall 
 be our right welcome guest ; so shall your - 
 trusty comrades. We would gladly serve J^ 
 you in all things, my friends and I." 
 
 And as he spoke, cupbearers appeared 
 and King Gunther's noblest wine was < 
 handed around. And the royal host was 
 first to pledge the strangers. 
 
 " All that is ours, so you ask for it in 
 courtesy, shall be yours as well ; we will
 
 1 6 Siegfried 
 
 share with you freely our blood and 
 goods." 
 
 Siegfried could not but feel shamed at 
 so much forbearance and gentleness. Be- 
 sides, he thought of the fair maiden he 
 came to woo, and, falling into a milder 
 mood, suffered himself and his knights to 
 be led into the palace. There they stayed 
 week after week, and the time sped away 
 unheeded, in feasts, athletic games, and 
 knightly exercises. In these Siegfried 
 showed himself skilful far beyond not only 
 his own comrades, but the most famed 
 champions among the Burgundians. The 
 ladies of the court often graced the ring 
 where the youths held their friendly con- 
 tests, and when one or other would ask, 
 " Who is the knight so noble of presence, 
 so rich of garb ? " somebody would be 
 sure to answer, " That is young Siegfried, 
 the hero from the Netherlands." 
 
 Siegfried was always ready for anything 
 that was proposed, be it ride or hunt or 
 joust ; but he often fretted in his heart 
 because he had never been thrown in 
 the Lady Kriemhilde's way yet, and felt
 
 Siegfried Goes A- Wooing 17 
 
 too bashful to ask plainly for an intro- 
 duction. 
 
 So a whole year passed away, and the 
 hero had as yet had no glimpse of the 
 maiden from whom so much joy and so 
 much woe were to come to him.
 
 Ill 
 
 FRIENDSHIP 
 
 AND now it came to pass that strange 
 tidings stirred men's minds in Bur- 
 gundy. Messengers came with words of 
 anger and defiance from Ludeger, King 
 of the Saxons, and his brother Lude' 
 gast, King of the Danes. Not without 
 trembling did they declare their errand 
 when they were brought before King 
 Gunther, for he was known to have a 
 violent temper. They brought a formal 
 challenge and declaration of war. Within 
 twelve weeks the two kings would pitch 
 their tents before Worms by the Rhine ; 
 let King Gunther look to his crown. 
 
 With a heavy heart the King called his 
 friends together and asked their advice. 
 His brother Gernot took the news lightly : 
 
 18
 
 Friendship 19 
 
 " We have our good swords," he said, 
 "and we must all die some day. Let 
 us then not forget what is due to our 
 honour and give the foe a hearty wel- 
 come." 
 
 But Hagen the wary looked on the mat- 
 ter more soberly : 
 
 " I am sorry for this," he said. " Lude- 
 gast and Ludeger are overbearing men 
 and very powerful. We cannot get ready 
 in so short a time. Better call in Sieg- 
 fried and tell him the news," he added, 
 after a moment's thought. 
 
 This advice pleased Gunther greatly. 
 He went himself to seek Siegfried, who 
 quickly cheered him with words of com- 
 fort and friendship. 
 
 " Let not your hearts be troubled," 
 the young hero said, "but leave the mat- 
 ter to me. I will engage that the foe 
 shall never even see your country. Let 
 them come thirty thousand strong, I will 
 be a match for them with one thousand. 
 That thousand you must give me of 
 your men, since I have only twelve of 
 my own ; and let Hagen come with me,
 
 20 Siegfried 
 
 his brother Dankwart, and his nephew 
 Ortewein ; also worthy Folker, to bear 
 the banner." 
 
 King Gunther now sent for the messen- 
 gers, and thus spoke to them : 
 
 " Tell your kings to think twice before 
 they start on this venture, or they may 
 rue the day, unless, indeed, all my friends 
 run away from me." 
 
 With this he dismissed them, to their 
 great joy, with a safe-conduct and many 
 rich gifts. And when they returned to 
 Denmark and reported to King Ludegast 
 how they had sped on their errand, they 
 told him that Gunther had many a bold 
 champion at his court. " Towering among 
 the others," they said, "was one who stood 
 nearest before the King ; people said his 
 name was Siegfried, the hero from the 
 Netherlands." 
 
 Then Ludegast was sorry he had sent 
 so rude a message. But what was done 
 could not be undone, let him regret it ever 
 so much, and the only sensible thing now 
 was to hasten and strengthen the prepara- 
 tions. When the two kings joined forces,
 
 Friendship 21 
 
 they found themselves at the head of forty 
 thousand men, and they did not tarry a 
 day on the march to Burgundy. 
 
 But Siegfried was even quicker. He 
 had promised Gunther the enemy should 
 not see his country, and he was as good 
 as his word. He made such good speed 
 with Gunther's army that he surprised 
 the two kings before they could ride forth 
 out of Saxony. He had the good fortune 
 to meet King Ludegast of Denmark in 
 the very first battle, and took him prisoner, 
 sorely wounded, with his own hand, him- 
 self untouched, for every blow fell harm- 
 less on his broad burnished shield. 
 
 King Ludegast was taken to the rear 
 of the Burgundian army. There Sieg- 
 fried hurriedly commended him to Hagen's 
 care, but would not tarry a moment him- 
 self for rest. 
 
 " I have much more to do before night," 
 he cried, " so life and limb be safe. Many 
 a maid and matron will mourn this day 
 in Saxony." 
 
 And he rushed back into the fray, the 
 princes of Burgundy close at his side.
 
 22 Siegfried 
 
 The Saxons now had joined the Danes, 
 and both stood their ground bravely, 
 giving blow for blow. Three times Sieg- 
 fried with his own twelve knights had cut 
 his way into the Saxon ranks, and had 
 been repulsed as many times, before they 
 caught sight of King Ludeger and were 
 seen by him. 
 
 But when the Saxon did perceive the 
 hero from the Netherlands, with his match- 
 less sword Balmung swung high above his 
 head, he was filled with rage. The two 
 champions rode at each other with such 
 a furious shock that both the armies 
 fell back, leaving the field free for them 
 and their chosen knights. Ludeger plied 
 his sword so well that Siegfried's horse 
 fell under him ; but it rose to its feet the 
 next moment. Again and again the two 
 rode at each other, and all around them 
 spears flew, swords clashed and clanged 
 in mortal strife. Many a shield was bent, 
 many a helmet cleft, and knight after 
 knight dropped headlong from the saddle. 
 At last King Ludeger stayed his hand and 
 called aloud to his men :
 
 Friendship 23 
 
 " Cease from the strife, my liegemen 
 all ! King Siegmund's son, the mighty 
 Siegfried, is against us it was an evil 
 wind that blew him hither." 
 
 He commanded the banners to be low- 
 ered, and sued for peace. His prayer was 
 granted, but Siegfried ordered him to fol- 
 low him as hostage to Burgundy. Five 
 hundred captives went with the kings. 
 The Danes, shamed and crestfallen, re- 
 turned home to Denmark. 
 
 Siegfried and Gernot sent fleet mes- 
 sengers to Worms with the glad tidings 
 and to bid King Gunther prepare for their 
 coming. There was much wondering and 
 questioning, and the women could not 
 hear enough of the glorious tale. 
 
 One of the messengers was secretly 
 taken to the Lady Kriemhilde, for there 
 was one to whom she had silently given 
 her heart and of whom she would fain 
 hear more, unwatched and at her ease. 
 She asked who of all the princes and the 
 knights had borne himself best in the 
 great battle. 
 
 " Noble lady," answered the messenger,
 
 24 Siegfried 
 
 " all did well ; but if I may speak the 
 whole truth, no one compared with the 
 noble stranger from the Netherlands. 
 What our knights achieved, Dankwart 
 and Hagen, and all the King's liegemen, 
 was but as wind to the prowess of Sieg- 
 fried, King Siegmund's son. The great- 
 est battle ever seen was fought by him 
 against the two kings, Ludegast and Lu- 
 deger. Both were made captive by his 
 strong hand and will rue it to the end of 
 their days that they sought to quarrel 
 with our kings. Never yet so many pris- 
 oners came to this country as he is bring- 
 ing even now. Five hundred and more, 
 sound of limb, and at least eighty sorely 
 wounded, on stretchers, that is mostly 
 Siegfried's work. And so those who 
 challenged us out of sheer arrogance are 
 coming as captives to King Gunther's 
 land." 
 
 As the Lady Kriemhilde heard the won- 
 drous tale, she blushed rosy red, and 
 spoke graciously to the messenger : 
 
 " Thou hast brought me joyful news, 
 indeed. For thy guerdon I shall send
 
 Friendship 25 
 
 thee handsome garments and ten marks 
 
 1 1 
 in gold. 
 
 When King Gunther asked how many 
 ' had fallen in the field, it was found that he 
 had lost only sixty men, none among them 
 of great note. In his joy he bade that the 
 wounded be cared for by his most skilful 
 surgeons, friends and captive foes alike. 
 A great court festival with tournaments 
 was announced and the term fixed six 
 weeks from date, so all might have time 
 for proper rest and healing, and those who 
 so wished might go to their homes to be 
 tended. 
 
 Then Siegfried would have taken his 
 leave. But King Gunther prayed him 
 most lovingly to tarry yet a while. He 
 could not offer to reward him his guest 
 was too great for that ; but in all friend- 
 ship and honour he and his brothers 
 showed their sense of his services, and 
 so did their peers. Now Siegfried had 
 not been bent in earnest on departing, for 
 thoughts of the maiden filled his heart, 
 and so he was fain to stay. 
 
 And Gernot, who may have guessed
 
 26 Siegfried 
 
 what was in his inmost thoughts and what 
 would please him best, spoke secretly to 
 the King : 
 
 " Gunther, my dear brother, we owe 
 the hero who has so freely done us such 
 great service a token of regard that will 
 make him proud before all the other 
 knights. Let us take him to our sister. 
 Let her, who never yet received knight 
 in her bower, give him kindly greeting, 
 that we may win him for our friend for- 
 ever." 
 
 When the message was given young 
 Siegfried, he was so overcome with joy 
 that he could hardly master it enough to 
 bear himself with proper dignity. And 
 when he actually stood before Kriemhilde 
 and heard her sweet voice bid him " Wel- 
 come, Lord Siegfried, noblest of knights ! " 
 he could only bow low and look with 
 speechless longing in her lovely, blushing 
 face. He had seen her before from a dis- 
 tance, when she walked from the palace 
 to the ladies' seats to view the tourna- 
 ments, with her mother, Queen Ute, and 
 with her kinswomen and attendants, and

 
 Friendship 27 
 
 he had thought then that she shone forth 
 among them as the dawn from among 
 sad-coloured clouds. But it was a very 
 different thing to stand before her as her 
 special, much-honoured guest, and be al- 
 lowed to touch her delicate hand. He 
 thought that in all the years to come no 
 summer day or May morning ever could 
 yield him half the delight that filled 
 him now. They made so fair a sight as 
 they thus stood in the middle of the hall, 
 that of all the gathered guests not one 
 had eyes for any but the stately pair. 
 But when the maiden, at her brother's 
 bidding, granted the hero whom they 
 wished to honour the sweet greeting of 
 her lips, King Ludegast broke into the 
 bitter words : 
 
 " To win the noble Siegfried so high a 
 favour, many a brave man had to take 
 death or wounds at his hands. The Lord 
 keep him from ever again coming near 
 the Danish lands ! " 
 
 But now the ushers called out to make 
 way for the Princess, that she might 
 proceed to the minster, to hear high
 
 28 Siegfried * 
 
 mass, and Siegfried fell back among the 
 other guests, who followed in stately pro- 
 cession. 
 
 But after mass he was again bidden to 
 attend the Princess ; and now they found 
 the courage to have some talk together. 
 Kriemhilde began : 
 
 " The Lord repay you, Sir Knight, for 
 your generous service, for which my 
 brothers and our friends will be faithfully 
 beholden to you unto death." 
 
 Siegfried looked in the beautiful face as 
 he replied : 
 
 " Ever will I serve them, nor lay my head 
 down to rest unless they bid me, now and 
 as long as I live. This will I do, Lady 
 Kriemhilde, for the love of you." 
 
 Through all the twelve days of the great 
 festival Siegfried was the royal maiden's 
 chosen squire : by her side at the banquet, 
 her partner in the dance, her knight in the 
 games. 
 
 Meanwhile the two kings, Ludegast 
 and Ludeger, being now well of their 
 wounds, prayed King Gunther to name 
 their ransom and the conditions of an hon-
 
 Friendship 29 
 
 curable peace, so they might ride home and 
 be free. It had now grown into a fixed 
 habit with the Burgundian to take his 
 guest's advice on every matter of any im- 
 portance, so he sought out Siegfried and 
 forthwith laid the case before him. 
 
 " Our guests," he said, "would fain de- 
 part to-morrow, and would know on what 
 terms we are willing to let them go, and 
 let peace be between our countries. So 
 now, friend, advise me what to do. What 
 they offer I will tell thee : gold, as much 
 as five hundred mares can carry. This 
 they deem a ransom fair and meet." 
 
 But Siegfried shook his head. 
 
 " Not so. Let the noble brothers de- 
 part in peace, so they pledge themselves 
 not again to bear arms against thy land, 
 and give thee their hand on it." 
 
 " So let it be," spoke the King, and 
 parted in brotherly friendship from those 
 who but so lately were his sworn foes. 
 
 Then once again Siegfried spoke of 
 taking his leave, for he was a timid wooer 
 and dared not speak the desire of his 
 , heart, lest it should be refused him. The
 
 30 Siegfried 
 
 King was grieved ; but young Giselher 
 well knew how to win him to stay. 
 
 " Whither," he pleaded, " whither, noble 
 Siegfried, would you ride away ? Hear 
 my prayer : stay here with King Gunther 
 and our friends. Here are many fair la- 
 dies, and they will make you welcome, be 
 assured." 
 
 And once again the doughty Siegfried 
 spoke : 
 
 " Then let the horses stand in their 
 comfortable stalls, and put away the 
 shields. I did mean to ride home, but 
 young Giselher's loving-kindness holds 
 me, a willing bondsman." 
 
 So the hero stayed, to please his friend. 
 And things were so ordered that scarce a 
 day went by without his seeing the Lady 
 Kriemhilde and having speech of her.
 
 IV 
 
 BOUND FOR ICELAND 
 
 SOON after these things had happened 
 by the Rhine, it began to be rumoured 
 that King Guntherwas thinking of taking 
 to himself a wife ; wherefore there was great 
 joy in Burgundy. But his mind did not 
 incline to any of the daughters of the 
 land. 
 
 There lived a maiden queen on an is- 
 land beyond the sea ; so beautiful, yet so 
 strange in her ways, there was no other 
 like her in the whole wide world. She 
 was stronger than most men and better 
 skilled than most in warlike exercises. 
 Few could have matched her in throwing 
 the spear. But her favourite feat, wherein 
 she had no equal, was this : she would 
 hurl a heavy stone disk to a great distance 
 31
 
 32 Siegfried 
 
 arid give at the same time such a mighty 
 leap that she would land on her feet by 
 the very spot whereon the disk had just 
 fallen. She had published far and wide 
 that she would wed no man but one who 
 should win three athletic games against 
 her. Any man was welcome to try, but 
 if he lost, the forfeit was his head. Many 
 a noble suitor had gone to Iceland to woo 
 Queen Brunhilde, and had never been 
 seen again. And the Queen was still 
 unwedded. 
 
 One day King Gunther sat taking his 
 ease among his friends. Somehow they 
 came to talk about his marrying, and each 
 had some noble maiden or other to pro-^ 
 pose. The King listened for some time 
 in silence, then suddenly declared : 
 
 " I will sail across the sea and woo 
 Queen Brunhilde. I will chance my life 
 on the venture, for I care not to live un- 
 less I win her for my wife." 
 
 " That I would not advise," Siegfried 
 broke in ; " the Queen is fierce of tem- 
 per ; the cost is too high. Cast out all 
 thought of her, I pray."
 
 Bound for Iceland 33 
 
 " The woman is not born," Gimther 
 retorted, " let her be ever so strong and 
 bold, whom I cannot master easily, single- 
 handed." 
 
 " Speak not of what you know nothing 
 about," Siegfried warned again. " Four 
 such as you could not stand against her 
 anger. Wherefore, out of my love, I 
 pray you, attempt not so mad a thing ; 
 let Brunhilde alone." 
 
 '" Be she never so fierce and strong," 
 spoke Gunther, now thoroughly aroused, 
 " I go. To win so rare a creature, some- 
 thing may well be risked. Who can say 
 but I may win, and she may follow us to 
 the Rhine?" 
 
 "Then let me advise," began Hagen, 
 who had not spoken yet, " that you beg 
 Siegfried to share the venture with you. 
 It is the wisest thing you can do, since he 
 alone knows so much about Brunhilde." 
 
 The King at once turned to his guest : 
 
 " Most noble Siegfried, wilt thou help 
 me woo and win the lady ? Do so, and I 
 will be beholden to thee forever, with love 
 and life and honour."
 
 34 Siegfried 
 
 Then answered Siegfried, King Sieg- 
 mund's son : 
 
 " I will, so thou promises! me thy sister 
 as my guerdon, Kriemhilde, the fair royal 
 maiden. No other meed do I desire, no 
 other will I take." 
 
 " I promise," spoke Gunther joyfully, 
 " and here is my hand on it." 
 
 The friends joined hands and swore to 
 stand by each other. Then they at once 
 began to consult about the best way to 
 carry out the undertaking. Gunther pro- 
 posed to take over an army of thirty 
 thousand men. But Siegfried would not 
 hear of it. 
 
 " Let us," he said, " do this thing after 
 the fashion of true knight-errantry. We 
 will go, just the two of us, and two more 
 Hagen, I should say, and his brother 
 Dankwart, brave men both, and I will 
 dare any thousand men to stand in our 
 way." 
 
 King Gunther was greatly taken with 
 the idea. And now they began forthwith 
 to consider the question of clothes, most 
 important for heroes bound on such an
 
 Bound for Iceland 35 
 
 errand. Gunther was for asking his lady 
 mother to prqvide them with a proper 
 wardrobe, in which they might appear 
 with dignity and to advantage before 
 Brunhilde and her ladies. But sly Hagen 
 advised him to ask his sister instead ; she 
 would know better what would be becom- 
 ing and after the latest fashion ; the young 
 understand one another best on such an 
 occasion. 
 
 So Gunther and Siegfried sought Kriem- 
 hilde in her apartments;' and the three had 
 a long consultation, which ended in her 
 promising to have ready twelve suits for 
 each of the four companions, to be worn 
 during four days, three for each day, 
 such as they need not be ashamed to be 
 seen in at Brunhilde's or any other queen's 
 court, provided she was supplied with 
 enough gold, silver, seed pearls, and 
 precious stones ; of stuffs and embroidery 
 silks she had sufficient store. 
 
 As soon as the two friends had taken 
 their leave, Kriemhilde called to her thirty 
 young maids, her companions, all skilled 
 in finest needlework. They took silk
 
 36 Siegfried 
 
 stuff of Arabia, white as snow, and velvet 
 green as clover, and embroidered them 
 lavishly with gold and many-coloured 
 stones. Kriemhilde cut the garments with 
 her own hand. They also took skins of 
 rarest fishes and made pouches thereof, 
 working them with silks, to carry gold in ; 
 the effect against the light-coloured gar- 
 ments was most striking. There was no 
 stint of silk stuffs from Morocco, and 
 from Libya too, such as only royal youths 
 were wont to wear ; neither did Kriemhilde 
 spare her own store of ermine pelts, to 
 provide the knights with rich and stately 
 mantles. In seven weeks' time the work 
 was done and a messenger sent to bid the 
 knights, who, in the meantime, had been 
 busy building and equipping their ship, 
 come and survey their new wardrobe and 
 try the garments on, for any alterations 
 that might be needed. But nothing more 
 perfect in fit and workmanship had ever 
 been seen, so everybody declared ; and 
 when the heroes, after giving the noble 
 maids due thanks in courtly words, began to 
 say farewell, many a tear-dimmed eye was
 
 Bound for Iceland 37 
 
 bent on them where they stood, so hand- 
 some and so brave. And suddenly Kriem- 
 hilde threw her arms around her brother's 
 necl^. 
 
 " Oh, dearest brother mine," she said 
 with breaking voice, "go not from me, 
 from thy land and thy friends ! There be 
 women enough nearer home, and nobly 
 born, to be wooed and won without vent- 
 uring life and limb." 
 
 Her tears fell fast, and dimmed the 
 gold chain on her breast, for something 
 in her boding heart told her darkly of the 
 evil that was to come to them all from 
 this fateful wooing. But quickly control- 
 ling herself, she turned to the royal guest 
 from the Netherlands : 
 
 " Noble Siegfried, to your true and 
 loyal care do I commend my dearest 
 brother : keep him from harm in Brun- 
 hilde's land,!" 
 
 The hero held out his hand : 
 
 " So long as breath is in me, you may, 
 noble lady, rest free from care. I will 
 bring him back to you unharmed, here, 
 to the Rhine. My life on it."
 
 38 Siegfried 
 
 Eleven days and nights the royal suitor 
 and his three friends were carried smoothly 
 before the wind, towards Iceland's shores. 
 On the twelfth morning they beheld the 
 green and prosperous isle, studded with 
 strong castles, among which towered one, 
 grander and more splendid than the rest, 
 beetling almost over the water's edge. 
 
 " This," spoke Siegfried, to whom alone 
 the land was known, " this is Isenstein, 
 Queen Brunhilde's own residence and 
 stronghold. Keep your wits together, so 
 you are not dazzled with the bevy of fair 
 women whom you will see assembled 
 there. And hark : one word of advice be- 
 fore we land. When we are asked our 
 names and errand, we will all hold to the 
 one tale : that Gunther is my liege lord, 
 and I am his vassal. It is best so. All 
 this mislikes me, sore," he added, when 
 they had promised to do as he bade them ; 
 "nor would I embark on it, Gunther, 
 merely for love of thee. But thy sister, 
 the lovely maid, is as my life to me, my 
 very soul, and I would fain win her for 
 my wife."
 
 GUNTHER'S WOOING 
 
 AN WHILE the ship was nearing 
 the strand. It passed so close un- 
 der the castle that the friends could see 
 the beautiful ladies who were crowding the 
 windows and peering curiously at the new- 
 comers. Siegfried pointed them out to 
 the King. 
 
 "Take a look at them," he said, "and 
 tell me which would be your choice at the 
 first glance." 
 
 " I see one at yonder casement," Gun- 
 ther replied quickly, " in snowy gown ; 
 she is so stately and graceful : she would 
 be my choice if my eyes were the only 
 umpires." 
 
 Said Siegfried : 
 
 44 Your eyes have not misled you ; yon 
 
 39
 
 40 Siegfried 
 
 beauteous maiden is indeed Queen Brun- 
 hilde." 
 
 While they were conversing, the Queen 
 bade the maidens retire from the win- 
 dows ; she deemed it unseemly for ladies 
 to take note of the doings of strange men. 
 But they had had time to see how the 
 four stepped ashore, how Siegfried led 
 forth from the ship a handsome charger, 
 and held the bridle while Gunther mount- 
 ed ; not often before had the noble youth 
 done such squire's service to living man. 
 He soon forgot it ; but Brunhilde never. 
 
 Siegfried and Gunther were both clad* 
 in spotless white ; their shields silver, and 
 milk-white their steeds, as like as though 
 they had been tw^ins. Hagen and Dank- 
 wart, on the contrary, were clothed in 
 sable from head to foot, and mounted on 
 chargers black as night. 
 
 They found the gates of the great cas- 
 tle, with- its eighty-six towers, wide open. 
 Brunhilde's men hastened to meet the 
 guests as they rode into the castle yard, 
 to take their horses and their shields. 
 They were also requested to yield up their
 
 Gunther's Wooing 41 
 
 swords and cuirasses. Hagen at first an- 
 grily refused, but Siegfried explained that 
 such was the law of the land, and that no 
 guest might enter the presence of the 
 Queen except unarmed. 
 
 When the knights had taken due rest 
 and refreshment, they were ushered into 
 the great reception-hall, the walls of which 
 were cased with priceless green marble, 
 and soon Brunhilde entered, attended by 
 one hundred maidens in gay and rich ap- 
 parel, and by five hundred of Iceland's 
 bravest warriors, sword in hand. The 
 sight was not pleasing to the four. 
 
 As Siegfried was the only one known 
 to Brunhilde, she addressed her welcome 
 to him, and of him inquired the object of 
 their voyage. 
 
 " I thank you humbly, Lady Brun- 
 hilde," he replied, " that you deign to 
 greet me before this noble knight ; the 
 honour, in truth, belongs to him, for he 
 is my liege lord. His name is Gunther, 
 King of Burgundy by the Rhine. For 
 love of you he has made the long voyage, 
 for he "desires to wed with you. I came
 
 42 Siegfried 
 
 because I am his vassal, and he bade me. 
 Else most certainly had I stayed away." 
 
 " If such be his desire," the Queen re- 
 plied, " he must play against me the games 
 which I shall propose. If he wins the 
 match, I will be his wife. If he loses, the 
 forfeit is his life and that of all his com- 
 panions. And with your lives you lose 
 your knightly honour as well. Therefore 
 pause and reflect betimes." 
 
 Siegfried quickly went up to Gunther 
 and whispered in his ear : 
 
 " Speak to the Queen freely and fear- 
 lessly, and let nothing trouble you : I 
 will guard you and help you out with 
 certain wiles known to me." 
 
 Thus encouraged, Gunther answered, 
 nothing daunted : 
 
 " Most noble Queen, I accept the chal- 
 lenge and the conditions. Life is worth- 
 less to me if I cannot win thee for my 
 wife." 
 
 Forthwith the Queen retired to arm 
 her for the game. Hagen and Dankwart 
 stood apart the while, silent and sullen. 
 The thought of both was, " In an evil
 
 Gunther's Wooing 43 
 
 hour we embarked on this quest " ; but 
 they would not utter it. 
 
 Siegfried meanwhile quietly slipped 
 away and hurried to the ship, where he 
 had left the tarn-cape that wonderful 
 cloak which not only makes the wearer 
 invisible, but increases his natural strength 
 twelvefold. When he returned to the 
 hall, he could mix with the crowd and 
 observe all that was done and said, him- 
 self unseen. A vast circle had been 
 drawn, and around it pressed over seven 
 hundred warriors, in full armour. 
 
 When Brunhilde re-entered the hall, 
 she looked as though she were going to 
 fight for the lands of all the kings on earth. 
 Over her silken tunic she wore mail ar- 
 mour of finest golden wire: The shield 
 that was brought her was of polished gold, 
 but under the gold there was hard steel 
 of great thickness. Four men carried it 
 with effort, but she slung it with ease over 
 her shoulder by a broad baldrick, richly 
 worked in emeralds. Then three attend- 
 ants brought her the spear which she was 
 wont to throw, a most grim and grewsome
 
 44 Siegfried 
 
 weapon, with its .double-edged head, to 
 the making of which had gone a hundred 
 pounds of iron. 
 
 As Gunther looked, his brow grew 
 darker and darker. "What is all this?" 
 he thought. " The Devil himself could not 
 stand against her. Were I but safe and 
 sound at home by the Rhine, long might 
 she live and prosper, unwooed of me." 
 
 Hagen and his brother Dankwart whis- 
 pered together in helpless rage. "Had 
 we but our swords," they said, " the beauti- 
 ful fiend should die before harm came to 
 our dear lord, though we had sworn a 
 hundred oaths to keep the peace." 
 
 Brunhilde heard them, and looked at 
 them smilingly over her shoulder. 
 
 " Since they think themselves so 
 mighty," she said to her attendants, 
 "bring them their armour, and give them 
 back their swords. I do not care whether 
 they are in full armour or bare to the skin. 
 I never yet met the man whose strength I 
 need dread. I do not think King Gunther 
 will be the first." 
 
 Last of all the disk was brought in. It
 
 Gunther' s Wooing 45 
 
 was so large and heavy that twelve men 
 could hardly carry it. Yet they were 
 valiant men and strong in battle. Then 
 a great fear came over the Burgundians : 
 " What manner of woman is this our King 
 would woo ? " Hagen spoke out loud. 
 " Would she were down below, the Devil's 
 own bride ! " 
 
 And now she rolled her sleeves up her 
 snowy arms, took her stand, holding the 
 shield with her left, and with her right 
 swung high the spear : that was the signal 
 to begin. Gunther shuddered at the 
 sight. But suddenly he felt a hand touch 
 his own, and Siegfried's voice spoke low in 
 his ear : 
 
 "It is I, thy comrade. Have no fear 
 whatever. Let go the shield, I will hold 
 it. And keep in mind what I now say : 
 make thou the motions ; I will do the 
 work. But never let the Queen know of 
 these my wiles, or she will surely be re- 
 venged on thee." 
 
 Never had Gunther heard more welcome 
 words. Just at this moment Brunhilde 
 hurled the spear with such force and such
 
 46 Siegfried 
 
 perfect aim that it pierced through the 
 centre of the shield which Siegfried held 
 before the King, striking sparks, frorji the 
 steel, and both men were thrown off their 
 feet by the shock and the weight. But 
 > > .- for the taTn-cape"f hey had both been surely 
 killed. 
 
 Siegfried pulled the spear out of the 
 shield, and thinking, " I will not slay the 
 v- maiden ; it were a pity, she is so fair," 
 turned it and hurled the shaft end against 
 her armour, bringing her to the ground. 
 She sprang to her feet in an instant and 
 cried : " I thank thee, noble Gunther, for 
 thy courtesy ! " She gave him all the 
 credit, little dreaming that she had been 
 thrown by one far mightier than he. 
 
 She was on her mettle now, and as she 
 took up the heavy disk, put forth all her 
 strength. Never had she thrown it so 
 far, or leaped so lightly, her golden armour 
 clanging as she landed on her feet. The 
 disk had fallen fully twenty fathoms away, 
 and she had leaped beyond that mark. 
 Gunther, with unseen Siegfried by his 
 side, ran to where lay the monster stone.
 
 Gunther's Wooing 47 
 
 He went through all the motions of 
 weighing, balancing, and throwing it, while 
 Siegfried performed the act. Both throw 
 and leap left Brunhilde's mark far behind 
 a great wonder, when one thinks that, 
 in leaping, he carried Gunther along. As 
 they stood by the disk Gunther alone was 
 seen. 
 
 Brunhilde's lovely face flushed dark 
 with anger, for Siegfried had saved the 
 King from death. When she saw him 
 standing safe and sound at the very end 
 of the circle, she turned to the crowd and 
 spoke : 
 
 " Ye all, my friends and liegemen, step 
 near : from henceforth ye are King Gun- 
 ther's subjects." 
 
 Then all laid down their swords and 
 did homage at the feet of Gunther, the 
 wealthy King of Burgundy. With courtly 
 grace he greeted them as he took their 
 Queen's right hand. 
 
 Suddenly Siegfried appeared with most 
 unconscious mien, and, walking up to the 
 King, asked him why he tarried so long 
 with the games, as it were well the mat-
 
 48 Siegfried 
 
 ter were decided. He acted ignorance to 
 perfection. 
 
 " What ! " cried the Queen, " is it possi- 
 ble, Lord Siegfried, you did not see the 
 games which King Gunther won ? Where 
 could you have been ? " 
 
 Hagen, as usual, was ready with an an- 
 swer : 
 
 " Our noble Siegfried had gone to look 
 after the ship ; that is why he saw nothing 
 of the games to his loss and our grief." 
 
 " This is joyful news indeed, fair lady," 
 cried blunt-spoken Siegfried, " that there 
 is an end of your overbearing ways, and 
 that one is found fit to be your mate and 
 master. And now, noble Queen, you will 
 follow us to the Rhine." 
 
 He had better have left such words un- 
 spoken. Brunhilde was not one to forget 
 them, though now she answered mildly 
 enough : 
 
 " That may not be yet a while. I can- 
 not leave my kingdom on such short no- 
 tice. My kinsmen and vassals must be 
 sent for first." 
 
 Messengers were sent out, and in a few
 
 Gunther's Wooing 49 
 
 days troops of warriors, both knights and 
 squires, well armed, well mounted, began 
 to arrive. This made the friends some- 
 what uncomfortable, and Hagen, who was 
 prudent and given to see the dark side of 
 things, gave voice to the feeling : 
 
 " Woe is us, what have we done ? Who 
 can tell what the Queen is scheming? 
 What if she be wroth with us ? " 
 
 But Siegfried was undaunted. 
 
 " Be not troubled for so little," he said ; 
 " I will go and bring you help, a thou- 
 sand choice men. Ask me not who they 
 are or whence they come ; and when I am 
 gone, make no sign. I shall be back be- 
 fore I am missed." 
 
 There was much comfort in these words. 
 " Only," spoke the King, " stay not away 
 too long. We may need help." 
 
 "In a very few days ye shall see me 
 again," Siegfried assured him. " If the 
 Queen asks for me, say you sent me on 
 an errand."
 
 VI 
 
 THE DEPARTURE 
 
 '"THOSE who happened to look out on 
 * the sea the next morning, at dawn, 
 beheld a sight which made them rub their 
 eyes in wonder and doubt : they saw a 
 ship, with all sails set, rapidly driving be- 
 fore the wind, from the harbour into the 
 open sea, without a sailor on deck or a 
 pilot at the rudder. It was the ship of 
 the Burgundians, and Siegfried, made in- 
 visible by his tarn-cape, was steering it. 
 One day and night of fair weather and 
 favourable wind brought him to the land 
 of the Nibelungs, where the great treasure 
 lay hidden and well guarded. 
 
 As he made fast the ship in a sheltered 
 
 cove, it occurred to him to test the loyalty 
 
 of his men. He walked to the castle gate 
 
 and, with his features concealed by the 
 
 50
 
 The Departure 5 1 
 
 visor of his helmet, disguising his voice, 
 asked for admission as any wayfarer 
 might. The warder, seeing a knight of 
 tremendous size, in full armour, refused, 
 and fought with all his might when the 
 stranger broke open the gate. Sooth to 
 say, Siegfried had to put forth his great 
 strength to throw the man and bind him. 
 This was good service, and he vowed in 
 his heart he would not forget it. 
 
 The noise of the fighting had been 
 heard in the mountains by the dwarfs 
 who guarded the hoard, and Alberich, the 
 keeper, hastily donning armour, came 
 running to the castle, where he attacked 
 Siegfried with the only weapon he could 
 use with any effect, on account of his size : 
 a heavy whip with golden handle and 
 seven lashes ending in hard knobs. With 
 this he belaboured the stranger till his 
 shield was all out of shape. Siegfried 
 would not hurt the faithful dwarf, so he 
 just pulled his beard and bound him as he 
 had bound the giant warder, then stopped 
 to recover his breath and rest his badly 
 bruised limbs.
 
 52 Siegfried 
 
 " Who are you ? " gasped the dwarf. 
 ' Had I not pledged my service to the 
 greatest hero in the world, I would will- 
 ingly serve you till I die." 
 
 Siegfried uncovered his face. 
 
 " I am Siegfried. Methinks you might 
 have known me. And now," he said as 
 he untied the dwarf, " run to the mount- 
 ains and bring me here in shortest time 
 one thousand Nibelung warriors, the pick 
 of the host." 
 
 Three thousand came. But Siegfried 
 would have no more than one thousand, 
 and these he equipped most gorgeously, 
 filling their pouches with gold and silver. 
 Nor did it take long to provide ships and 
 all necessary supplies. Was not the treas- 
 ure there which never grew less, no mat- 
 ter how much was taken from it ? 
 
 Great was the wonder in Iceland when 
 a large fleet, with swelling, snowy sails, was 
 seen to glide along the sunlit waters, mak- 
 ing for the harbour. 
 
 " That is my military 7 escort," King 
 Gunther explained to Brunhilde ; " I left 
 it not far from here, and now have sent
 
 The Departure 53 
 
 for it. See Siegfried standing on the 
 prow of the foremost ship. I wish you to 
 go down to meet them in the castle yard 
 and give them courteous greeting, so they 
 may know you are glad to see them." 
 
 And now the Burgundians began to 
 hurry Brunhilde, for they did not feel at 
 ease in her country and were anxious to 
 get home. They hardly left her time to 
 set matters in order and dispose of her 
 treasure, her rich wardrobe, and great store 
 of precious things. She gave away much ; 
 the rest mostly silks, gold, and jewelry 
 was packed in twenty large chests and 
 stowed on board the royal ship. Her Isle 
 of Iceland she placed under the rule and 
 care of her own uncle, until such time as 
 the new lord, her husband, should send a 
 governor of his own choice. For her 
 escort, to match the thousand Nibelung 
 warriors, she selected two thousand men 
 of the best. She also took along eighty- 
 six ladies and a hundred maidens, all young 
 and fair, that she might have a court and 
 attendance of her own in the strange new 
 land.
 
 54 Siegfried 
 
 Many tears were shed, by those who left 
 and those who stayed, there on Iceland's 
 rocky strand, when the hour of parting 
 came. Full lovingly the royal maid bade 
 farewell to her people and her country. 
 She was to see both nevermore.
 
 VII 
 
 BETROTHED 
 
 THE voyage was prosperous and gay, 
 with smooth waters and gentle, fa- 
 vourable breezes, and there was music and 
 singing on the ships. But on the ninth 
 day Hagen sought Gunther and reminded 
 him that it was high time to send off a 
 messenger to Worms with the joyful 
 tidings. 
 
 " Right, friend Hagen," assented the 
 King ; " and no messenger could be 
 more welcome than yourself. Therefore 
 hasten home at once^nd tell them we are 
 coming." 
 
 But that did not suit Hagen's plans. 
 
 " Not so, my dear lord," he replied ; 
 " I should make but a poor messenger ; 
 that is not my line. Let me be treasurer 
 
 55
 
 56 Siegfried 
 
 and chamberlain. I will remain with the 
 ships and look after the women's safety 
 and comfort. Send Siegfried instead. 
 And should he refuse, then beg him for 
 love of your sister to do you this one 
 more service. He will not say nay to 
 that." 
 
 It all happened as the crafty Burgun- 
 dian had foreseen. Siegfried did not like 
 the idea of being sent on errands like a 
 mere retainer ; but the name of Kriem- 
 hilde, the hope of iseeing her several days 
 sooner, and the thought of the pleasure 
 liis news would bring her and of the bright 
 looks she would give him for his pains, 
 overcame his pride, and he said " yes " to 
 all. Then Gunther proceeded to give him 
 most detailed instructions : 
 
 " Tell my mother, Queen Ute, that I 
 am happy beyond words. To my brothers 
 and all our friends say how we have pros- 
 pered in this wooing. Bid Ortewein, my 
 loving cousin, see that a great stand is 
 built by the landing-place on the Rhine, 
 for our friends and liegemen ; he must 
 send them word betimes. And tell Kriem-
 
 Betrothed 57 
 
 hilde I trust she will, of her sisterly kind- 
 ness, receive my dear bride with all love 
 and courtesy, for which I shall be beholden 
 to her all the days of my life." 
 
 There was great wailing in Worms when 
 Siegfried was seen to enter the city with 
 four-and-twenty knights and nothing was 
 seen of Gunther. As they dismounted in 
 the castle yard, the King's brothers rushed 
 to meet them, and when Siegfried had laid 
 their fears at rest with his good news, they 
 at once escorted him to the Queen's apart- 
 ments, where he was eagerly admitted. 
 Kriemhilde scarcely took the time to greet 
 him. 
 
 " Welcome," she said, " Lord Siegfried, 
 peerless knight. But tell us, where is 
 King Gunther, my noble brother? How 
 is it with him ? I fear me much Brun- 
 hilde's strength overpowered him, and 
 now he is lost to us. Oh, woe is me, poor 
 maid ! why was I ever born ! " 
 
 Spoke Siegfried with smiling face : 
 
 " Fair ladies both, ye weep for no rea- 
 son that I know. With one word I will 
 make you glad : he is safe of limb and
 
 58 Siegfried 
 
 happy in mind, and I am here to tell you, 
 with his most duteous love, that he and 
 his bride are within a short distance of 
 this city. He commends her to your 
 kindness and hopes you will both meet 
 them at the landing, whither all his friends 
 are bidden." 
 
 Queen Ute heard the tidings with com- 
 posed and dignified mien and gave thanks 
 for them in gracious but measured words. 
 But the maiden was too young to have 
 her feelings under such control ; the sud- 
 den passage from sorrow and fear to great 
 joy unmanned her, and she found no words 
 at first, but dried her streaming eyes with 
 her snow-white robe. At last she bade 
 the hero sit. 
 
 " I would not grudge all my gold in 
 payment for this news," she said. " But 
 you are too high-born for that. So I must 
 e'en be content to pay you with poor 
 thanks." 
 
 " Were thirty crowns mine," he cried, 
 " I would take a gift from your hand." 
 
 Castle and city now vied in busy pre- 
 paration. Both were thronged with guests
 
 Betrothed 59 
 
 from as far as they could come on such 
 short notice. Kriemhilde bade her maids 
 take out of chests and closets their very 
 richest attire. Ermine and sable were 
 as plentiful as silks and velvets ; shapely 
 waists and arms were encircled with girdles 
 and bracelets of gold and rarest gems. 
 Such, too, were the trappings of the wo- 
 men's palfreys. And those who saw Kriem- 
 hilde of Burgundy ride forth that day from 
 the castle, down to the Rhine, with her 
 following of nigh on two hundred ladies 
 and maidens, the fairest and stateliest of 
 the land, beheld a sight which none for- 
 got to their dying day. Siegfried was 
 allowed the privilege of riding at her 
 bridle-rein, to do her knightly service, 
 while Ortewein, the Marshal of the Court, 
 had charge of the Queen-mother, Ute. 
 
 Many a lance was broken in play while 
 waiting for the ships. Then when they 
 approached the landing, and the warriors 
 from Iceland and Siegfried's Nibelungs 
 had landed and formed in line on the 
 shore, there was sky-rending shouting and 
 much clanking of shields as King Gunther
 
 60 Siegfried 
 
 stepped on his own Burgundian soil, hand 
 in hand with his hardly won Queen. 
 
 Kriemhilde was the first to come for- 
 ward and meet the stranger ; she greeted 
 her with warm yet modest words ; the two 
 embraced and kissed in most sisterly fash- 
 ion ; then Queen Ute came up and wel- 
 comed her new daughter with a kiss upon 
 her rosy lips. It was some time before all 
 the greetings had been spoken, and as the 
 three royal ladies stood alone in the middle 
 of the wide space kept free around them, 
 all eyes were bent on them, and all the 
 thousands of men and women could gaze 
 on them at their leisure. Years after, men 
 recalled the picture they made ; but while 
 they would speak with praise of Queen 
 Brunhilde's beauty, they would, for maid- 
 enly loveliness and delicate bloom, award 
 the prize to their own home-grown flower, 
 the gentle Kriemhilde.
 
 VIII 
 
 THE WEDDING 
 
 THAT evening in the castle, before 
 King Gunther entered the banquet- 
 hall, Siegfried came to him and summoned 
 him, in his usual blunt way, to redeem 
 the pledge he had given him before they 
 started for Iceland. The King took the 
 reminder with smiling face : 
 
 "What you ask for is but your right. 
 I have not forgotten the oath I swore 
 with lip and hand. I will help you to the 
 best of my power." 
 
 And he forthwith sent for his sister. 
 When she came, with many fair attendants, 
 young Giselher met her at the head of 
 the stairs and begged her to send them 
 away, as the King wished to speak to her 
 alone. 
 
 61
 
 62 Siegfried 
 
 They led Kriemhilde to where Gunther 
 stood, and round him in a circle noble 
 knights from many lands. Brunhilde was 
 just passing, with her following, on to the 
 banquet-hall ; she stopped, to look and hear. 
 
 The King turned smilingly to those 
 around him. 
 
 " Friends and liegemen all," he said, 
 " will you help me entreat my sister that 
 she may take Siegfried for her wedded 
 lord?" 
 
 In one voice they replied, " That were 
 most meetly don ! " 
 
 Again the King spoke : 
 
 " Noble maiden, sister mine, I pray thee, 
 of thy goodness and thy duty, redeem the 
 pledge I gave. I swore that thou shouldst 
 wed Siegfried the hero, and if thou dost 
 take him, thou wilt do me right sisterly 
 service." 
 
 The maid replied with seemly modesty : 
 
 " Dearest brother mine, you have not 
 need to beg. Right willingly I will obey 
 you and wed the man you have chosen 
 for me ; I am in all things yours to com- 
 mand."
 
 The Wedding 63 
 
 Siegfried's handsome face flushed with 
 joy and pride as he proffered his lifelong 
 service to the lady. She stood with down- 
 cast eyes, shy and blushing, as is maidens' 
 wont, but he took her in his arms and 
 gave her the kiss of betrothal before all 
 the court. 
 
 That evening at the banquet, King 
 Gunther sat by Brunhilde, but the place 
 of honour was given to Siegfried and his 
 lovely bride, and his Nibelung knights sat 
 to the right and to the left of them. This 
 was so sore a sight in Brunhilde's eyes 
 that she could not hide her vexation, and 
 tear after tear rolled down her cheek. 
 The King quickly took alarm : 
 
 " What is the trouble, lady mine, that 
 thus early bedews and dims my love's 
 bright eyes ? You should laugh and be 
 glad, for you are queen over all my broad 
 lands, my wealthy cities and strong castles, 
 and many thousands of brave men are 
 waiting on your will." 
 
 " Nay, but rather should you weep," 
 she retorted pettishly. " My heart aches 
 for your sister, to see her sitting by a
 
 64 Siegfried 
 
 common liegeman of yours. I must weep, 
 I cannot help myself, that she should be 
 thus lowered." 
 
 To this King Gunther replied some- 
 what sternly : 
 
 " Speak not of what you do not under- 
 stand. When time and leisure serve, I 
 will explain why my sister weds Siegfried. 
 May she live long with him in joy and 
 peace ! " 
 
 But she insisted : 
 
 " The. pity of it ! Such beauty as hers, 
 such gentleness, thrown thus away ! Had 
 I my will, I could fly away from here. 
 But this I tell you, my lord King : not a 
 word will I speak to you in friendship or 
 in wifely duty till I know the reason why 
 Kriemhilde must be Siegfried's bride." 
 
 " Thus much," replied the King, " I may 
 tell you even now, and you may believe 
 my word : Siegfried is himself a king, has 
 lands and castles as many as I have my- 
 self ; therefore, peerless as I hold my 
 sister, I hold him her worthy mate." 
 
 But nothing that the King could say 
 availed to dispel the gloom which had
 
 The Wedding 65 
 
 settled on Brunhilde ; she sat with lower- 
 ing brow and thoughts intent on mischief. 
 
 That night, when the feast was over 
 and the guests had gone to their rest, she 
 kept her word and met the King's most 
 loving attentions with the same sullen 
 silence. In vain he pleaded for a word, a 
 look ; all she answered was, " Not till I 
 know what I asked you." At last the 
 King grew angry and changetl from ten- 
 derness to more masterful language. Then 
 Brunhilde, forgetting that she was no 
 longer the free maid of Iceland, gave way 
 to her temper and laid violent hands on 
 her lord. As it was no^he who had con- 
 quered her, he could do nothing against 
 her, once she chose to put forth all her 
 strength, and she soon had him bound 
 hand and foot with her long silk girdle, 
 then tied him fast to a nail in the wall, 
 and so left him for the night, ordering him, 
 as she retired to her own room, not to 
 disturb her rest by moaning or speaking. 
 As for her, she slept soundly till morning. 
 
 It was quite early yet when she unbound 
 him and bade him with surly words take
 
 66 Siegfried 
 
 a morning nap. She did not wish to dis- 
 grace him before his court, but would not 
 make friends with him herself. Poor 
 Gunther was naturally very crestfallen, 
 and could not quite command his face ; 
 so that everybody noticed the dejected 
 air which he wore at church, where both 
 the newly wedded pairs went in solemn 
 state to hear high mass, and afterwards at 
 the royal table, and at the games which 
 followed. 
 
 Siegfried saw it all and was much con- 
 cerned. He stole to the King's side at a 
 moment when no one looked, -and asked 
 softly, " Is anything wrong ?" 
 
 Then Gunther told of his mishap. 
 
 " See," he ended, " see my hands, how 
 swollen they are. She squeezed them so, 
 the blood almost spurted from under the 
 nails. I was as a child in her hands ; I 
 surely thought my end had come. Truly," 
 he cried, in bitterness of spirit, " I have 
 taken to my home with this woman shame 
 and disgrace." 
 
 " There must be an end of her pranks," 
 Siegfried declared with determined mien.
 
 The Wedding 67 
 
 " I will- undertake to bring her to reason. 
 To-night, when you are escorted in state 
 to your apartments, I shall join the pro- 
 cession, but I shall wear my tarn-cape, so 
 no one will see me. I shall blow out the 
 light in the hand of one of your link- 
 bearers, as a token to you. You shall 
 have no more trouble, with your wife." 
 
 " So you do not kill her," the King re- 
 plied, " I care not how severely you 
 punish her. She is a terrible woman." . 
 
 That night, just as the King and Queen 
 were entering their apartments, the light 
 suddenly went out in the hands of one of 
 the attendants. By that token Gunther 
 knew Siegfried was there. He immedi- 
 ately dismissed everybody and bolted the 
 door. There was but one light, in a dis- 
 tant corner of the room, and that was 
 shaded, so it was quite dark. And now 
 began a strange performance. 
 
 Siegfried approached Brunhilde and, 
 without saying a word, took hold of her 
 arms. She, thinking of course it was 
 Gunther, shook him off, bidding him be- 
 ware how he angered her again, unless
 
 68 Siegfried 
 
 he wanted to pass anQther night like the 
 last. Then he gradually began to put 
 forth more and more strength, and so did 
 she, and they wrestled. So evenly were 
 they matched that it was long before he 
 could gain the slightest advantage over 
 her. In their wrestling they upset chairs 
 and .tables 'and stools, and swayed so 
 violently from side to side that Gunther 
 had more than once to run out of their 
 way and crouch in corners. Once Brun- 
 hildehad Siegfried pinned to the floor and 
 he was but just in time to snatch the 
 girdle out of her hand. After this he 
 gained steadily, for his endurance proved 
 greater than hers, and at last he had her 
 at his mercy and was just going to bind 
 her, when she began to plead with broken 
 voice : 
 
 " Noble King, forbear. Take not my 
 life. I will henceforth be thy dutiful wife, 
 nor again do aught to anger thee. I ac- 
 knowledge thee as my lord and master." 
 
 Then Siegfried quietly unbolted the 
 door and stole out, carrying away with 
 him Brunhilde's girdle and a little gold
 
 The Wedding $9 
 
 ring which he had taken from her finger 
 without her noticing it. 
 
 The next day both Gunther and Brun- 
 hilde showed happy and loving faces. 
 She was to him ever after as kind a wife 
 as man need have; and all might have 
 been well, had not Siegfried, in a freak of 
 boastful recklessness, given the girdle and 
 ring to Kriemhilde, whom he loved more 
 every day. A piece of thoughtlessness 
 which was to cost many and many a brave 
 man his life. 
 
 A fortnight longer lasted the bridal fes- 
 tivities. Then all the guests dispersed, 
 well pleased with their entertainment and 
 bearing away rich gifts. Siegfried and 
 his lovely wife also took an affectionate 
 leave of their friends and kinsfolk by the 
 Rhine, and, escorted by the thousand 
 Nibelungs, started on their way to Xajite, 
 in the Netherlands, where they were anx- 
 iously expected.
 
 IX :| 
 
 THE INVITATION 
 
 TEN years flew past. Both royal house- 
 holds prospered and lived happy. 
 Kriemhilde made herself greatly beloved 
 of King Siegmund and Queen Sieglinde, 
 and also of the people of the Netherlands. 
 Even the wild Nibelungs became devoted 
 to their gentle Queen. And soon after 
 Siegfried's return to his own land, when 
 Queen Sieglinde died, the old King sol- 
 emnly made over to him the crown and 
 government, declaring that he himself 
 had well earned some few years of happy 
 rest and would enjoy the freedom from 
 the care and toil of state and war. Sieg- 
 fried and Gunther never met in all these 
 years, but their friendship was kept up by 
 frequent kind messages and loving gifts.
 
 The Invitation 71 
 
 And when a boy was born to each, each 
 named his own for his friend ; so Sieg- 
 fried's boy was Gunther and Gunther's 
 was Siegfried. 
 
 But Brunhilde had never forgotten the 
 grudge she had taken upon her wedding- 
 day, and moreover insisted on regarding 
 Siegfried as her husband's vassal and sub- 
 ject. And so,- when she had been mar- 
 ried ten years, she began to think to 
 herself : " I wonder what makes Kriem- 
 hilde bear herself so arrogantly. Her 
 husband is nothing but a liegeman of ours, 
 yet he has done us no service in all these 
 years." 
 
 She did not speak her mind out openly, 
 but tried crooked ways to get round to 
 her ends. She began to talk to the King 
 of her great desire to see Kriemhilde 
 again, and at last asked if he would not 
 send for her and her husband. 
 
 " How can you talk so ?" the King re- 
 plied, reprovingly. " They live too far 
 away ; it were too much to ask of them." 
 
 " I don't see that," she retorted ; " no 
 matter how powerful a vassal may be, it
 
 72 Siegfried 
 
 is his duty to wait on his liege lord's com- 
 mands." 
 
 Gunther could not but smile at his 
 wife's overbearing manner. He wished 
 in his heart to see Siegfried again, but 
 duty or service had little to do with the 
 wish. But she insisted ; only now she 
 coaxed. 
 
 " Dear my lord," she said, " if so be you 
 still have some little love for me, do find 
 some way to get your sister to come to 
 visit us. You could not do anything that 
 would give me more pleasure. She is so 
 gentle, of such sweet and noble bearing, 
 that the very thought of her does me good. 
 I mind me well how we used to sit to- 
 gether when you and I were first married. 
 And right noble was her choice when she 
 took the doughty Siegfried for her lord." 
 
 She begged and pleaded till the King 
 at last said : 
 
 " Well, then, know there are no guests 
 I would rather see ; so you have an easy 
 task of it when you strive to win me over. 
 Be it so I will send messengers to them." 
 
 So thirty knights were chosen a goodly
 
 The Invitation 73 
 
 embassy. They carried greetings and 
 most loving messages from Gunther and 
 , Brunhilde, and Gernot and young Gisel- 
 her, and from their mother, Queen Ute, 
 with entreaties that Siegfried and Kriem- 
 hilde might come to Worms on a long 
 visit, to see their affectionate relations, 
 when a great court gathering and tourna- 
 ment should be held in their honour. To 
 make the invitation still more pressing 
 and pleasing, a kinsman of the ,Burgun- 
 dian royal house and Siegfried's warm 
 friend, Margrave Gere, was placed at the 
 head of the embassy. 
 
 Siegfried had, for the last "few years, 
 been residing in Norway, the Land of the 
 Nibelungs, being fonder of it than of the 
 Netherlands, and thither his brother-in- 
 law's envoys travelled to seek him. It 
 was a long journey and took them three 
 weeks. They were very weary when they 
 arrived, but the welcome which they re- 
 ceived, the rest and good cheer, soon re- 
 stored their strength. It was some time 
 before they could tell the real object of 
 their coming, they had to answer so many
 
 74 Siegfried 
 
 eager questions. But when at last Mar- 
 grave Gere proffered the invitation in due 
 form, it was joyfully accepted, one thou- 
 sand Nibelung warriors volunteering to 
 escort their King and Queen as a guard 
 of honour. Even old King Siegmund de- 
 clared his intention of going with them, 
 taking his own following of one hundred 
 knights, for he wished to become person- 
 ally acquainted with his son's Burgundian 
 relatives. Now that it was decided, they 
 were all impatient to get off, and when 
 they dismissed the envoys they promised 
 to follow in twelve days. 
 
 When Margrave Gere and his com- 
 panions arrived at Worms, they rode 
 straight to the palace, and, as they dis- 
 mounted, everybody ran to meet them, 
 deafening them with shouts of greeting 
 and with questions ; everybody wanted to 
 know how they had sped on their errand, 
 so that Gere had to chide : " When I have 
 told the King," he said, "you shall know 
 too," and passed on to the King's apart- 
 ments. 
 
 Gunther sprang from his chair when he
 
 The Invitation 75 
 
 saw him enter ; Brunhilde rose to greet 
 him. 
 
 " How fares my noble Siegfried, my 
 loving friend?" asked the King. 
 
 " Tell me quick, is Kriemhilde com- 
 ing ?" broke in the Queen. " And is her 
 beauty still as perfect as before she left 
 us?" 
 
 " Is my daughter in good health and 
 spirits?" Queen Ute inquired. 
 
 Gere managed to answer all these ques- 
 tions at once : 
 
 " They are both well. They are both 
 coming. And many knights with them." 
 
 Then he had to tell in detail all that be- 
 fel him and his companions on their jour- 
 ney and at Siegfried's court ; and all the 
 gifts were displayed which had gladdened 
 every one of the envoys. 
 
 " Well may he give with both hands," 
 sullen Hagen was heard to mutter. " He 
 holds a treasure which he could never 
 spend, though he lived a thousand years. 
 Ah, would that the hoard could be brought 
 over here to Burgundy ! "
 
 THE VISIT 
 
 SIEGFRIED and Kriemhilde were so 
 diligent in their preparations that 
 they were ready to start at the appointed 
 time. They had no thought but of pleas- 
 ure ; never did lighter hearts speed on 
 more fatal journey. The only thing that 
 damped their spirits at the last moment 
 was that they had to leave their little son 
 behind. But he was under good and 
 trusty care, and as he bade father and 
 mother good-bye, he never dreamed that 
 he was seeing the last of them for all time. 
 Messengers sent on betimes announced 
 their coming. As soon as King Gunther 
 heard that they were within a day's travel 
 from Worms, he sought Brunhilde in her 
 apartment, and, sitting down by her, said :
 
 The Visit 77 
 
 " Do you remember how my sister re- 
 ceived you when you first came to this 
 country ? You will now, to please me, 
 so receive Siegfried's wife as she then 
 received my bride." 
 
 " That will I," she replied heartily, 
 " right gladly ; to please you, and to please 
 myself too, for I love her well." 
 
 "They will be here to-morrow morning," 
 he went on ; " so do not loiter, that they 
 may not come upon us unawares. It has 
 not often been given me to welcome 
 guests so dear." 
 
 The meeting was most joyful and affec- 
 tionate. The queens, having embraced 
 and kissed, looked at each other long, and 
 walked away with their arms around each 
 other, while Gernot and young Giselher 
 took possession of Siegfried, and Gunther 
 gave respectful greeting to the aged Sieg- 
 mund, whose coming such a distance he 
 rightly took as a great compliment. H agen 
 of Tronje, too, and his nephew, Marshal 
 Ortewein of Metz, showed themselves 
 courtly hosts an unwonted effort for 
 Hagen.
 
 7* Siegfried 
 
 The guests were hardly given time to 
 rest before the festivities began, so great 
 was the desire to see them. The days 
 were taken up with Jousts, sham battles, 
 and all knightly exercises ; the evenings 
 with feasting and with dancing. Again 
 Siegfried sat in the seat of honour, with 
 his thousand Nibelungs to the right and 
 to the left of him. And again Brunhilde 
 wondered that one who was her husband's 
 liegeman should make such a display of 
 wealth and power and bear himself so inde- 
 pendently. 
 
 Each morning hosts and guests went 
 in to hear high mass in peace and harmony. 
 Gunther and Siegfried walked together 
 to the minster, when the bells called to 
 mass, and so did the two queens, under 
 a canopy, surmounted with a royal crown. 
 Then they walked out of church in the 
 same order and proceeded to the palace 
 and to the banquet-hall. Things went 
 on thus peacefully and pleasantly for ten 
 days, for Brunhilde as yet had no unkind 
 feelings towards her guests. She only 
 kept thinking to herself : " I cannot bear
 
 The Visit 79 
 
 this much longer. In some way or other 
 I must get Kriemhilde to tell me how it 
 is that her husband, in all these years, 
 has neither done us any service nor paid 
 us any tribute : for, after all, he is our 
 vassal." 
 
 She bided her time, waiting for a chance. 
 And the evil enemy of mankind, who is 
 ever on the watch to do harm and mis- 
 chief among men, took care to bring 
 about the chance she looked for, though 
 not in the way she might have wished.
 
 XI 
 
 'THE QUARREL 
 s, 
 
 IT was afternoon on th.e eleventh day of 
 the visit. Tilting and lance-breaking 
 were going on in the castle yard just before 
 vespers, and many of the ladies, not a few 
 men also, were looking orf from the win- 
 dows. The two queens sat together at 
 one of them, interested and amused, when 
 something, in an evil hour, prompted 
 Kriemhilde to remark : 
 
 "If everybody had their deserts, all 
 these lands should be my husband's." 
 
 "How could that be?" replied Brun- 
 hilde. "If no one else of the family were 
 alive but you and he, these lands might 
 be his ; but not so long as Gunther lives." 
 
 " See there ! " cried Kriemhilde, point- 
 ing down, " see where he moves about so 
 so
 
 arrel Si 
 
 lordly amidst n knights, as the full 
 
 moon amidst I!K J pt'iig stars! It glad- 
 dens my hear: \ i ry time I see him thus." 
 
 " However lordly be your husband," 
 Brunhilde again replied, " however hand- 
 some and stalwart, he is not the equal of 
 Gunther, your noble brother and my lord. 
 You must know that Gunther is greater 
 than all the kings that live." ' 
 
 " Nay, so worthy is my husband," re- 
 torted Kriemhilde, waxing warm, "that 
 what I say of -him is far from idle praise. 
 In many ways has he achieved high hon- 
 ours. Believe me, Brunhilde, he is fully 
 Gunther's equal." 
 
 " Hardly that," replied Brunhilde, still 
 good-naturedly. " You must not take it 
 ill of me, because I am not speaking with- 
 out good reason. When I first saw them 
 both in Iceland, that time King Gunther 
 played against me and won my hand in 
 such heroic guise, I heard Siegfried him- 
 self call himself the King's liegeman. I 
 heard, I say, and therefore it is I have 
 always counted him our vassal." 
 
 " If that were so," the fair Kriemhilde
 
 82 Siegfried 
 
 retorted, " evil had been my plight. How 
 could my noble brothers have wooed so 
 ill for me, as to mate me with a subject ? 
 No, no, Brunhilde, if you love me, leave 
 such words unspoken in future." 
 
 To which the Queen made answer : 
 
 " I cannot and never will. Am I to 
 renounce our right to every knight whose 
 sword is pledged to our service ?" 
 
 Kriemhilde now was thoroughly an- 
 gered. 
 
 "You will have to renounce all claim 
 to one, anyhow," she said, " for he will do 
 you no service, take my word for it 
 never in the world. He is a hero worth- 
 ier than even my brother Gunther, that 
 blameless knight. So prithee, spare me 
 such unseemly words. And besides, how 
 comes it, if so be he is your liegeman and 
 you hold such, great power over us both, 
 that he has.withheld his duty from you so 
 long? Enough of this, I say. I am sick 
 of your overbearing ways." 
 
 " You forget yourself," said the Queen, 
 haughtily. " Enough words, say I too. 
 This very day shall show whether you
 
 The Quarrel $3 
 
 are in truth held in as high honour as I 
 am myself." 
 
 Then Kriemhilde spoke again, and by 
 this time both the women were panting 
 with rage : 
 
 " Be it so. Since you have dared to 
 call my Siegfried your man, the knights 
 of both the kings shall see, when I walk 
 into the church, whether I am not entitled 
 to take precedence of the Queen of Bur- 
 gundy. I will let you see that I am nobly 
 born and free, and that my husband is 
 worthier far than yours. For I will not 
 brook the slur on my own name. This 
 very day shall you see your liegewoman 
 walk before you in the presence of all the 
 knights of Burgundy. I will take my 
 stand higher than any daughter of royal 
 blood that ever wore a crown. Come, 
 ye maidens, 't is vesper time ; array your- 
 selves for church. And if any one of you 
 have some piece.of. .jich and rare apparel 
 that she treasured against some great oc- 
 casion, let her don it now : this day shall 
 decide whether I may stay here any 
 longer, free from blame and shame."
 
 84 Siegfried 
 
 Not many minutes passed before 
 Kriemhilde descended the stairs attended 
 by her forty-three maidens, in such rich 
 attire as would have befitted a coronation 
 feast. In the palace yard they found 
 Siegfried's men awaiting them. Brun- 
 hilde, with her women, also in their brav- 
 est finery, were joined by Gunther's 
 knights. Thus two separate processions 
 formed and advanced towards the minster 
 at which the townsfolk marvelled much, 
 V__ as they stood gazing and agape. 
 
 The two queens met before the min- 
 ster's wide-open doors. Here Brunhilde, 
 with frowning mien, in angry tones, loudly 
 commanded Siegfried's wife to stop. " It 
 is not meet," she cried, "that a liege- 
 woman should pass before the Queen." 
 
 Kriemhilde's retort came quick and 
 bitter : 
 
 " It had been better for thee hadst thou 
 held thy peace. But since thou wilt have 
 it, I ask, Can she who has been a man's 
 bondswoman ever be a queen ? " 
 
 "Whom dost thou mean?" Brunhilde 
 cried, aghast.
 
 The Quarrel 85 
 
 " I mean thee. Siegfried, my beloved 
 husband, wrestled with thee and mastered 
 thee, laying thee prostrate, at his mercy, 
 on the ground. By rights, that made thee 
 bond to him. My brother Gunther was 
 not the man to COJDC with thy untamed 
 strength. How, then, canst thou claim 
 Siegfried for thy liegeman ? " 
 
 Brunhilde was speechless with horror 
 and amazement. She could only mur- 
 mur, " I will ask Gunther," and broke into 
 tears. When Kriemhilde, with her fol- 
 lowing, swept before her into the church, 
 she did not attempt to hinder her. But 
 she did not follow. She stood all through 
 the service, outside on the porch, sur- 
 rounded by her own women and knights. 
 She did not speak a word, but kept turn- 
 ing thoughts of hatred and vengeance 
 over and over in her mind. 
 
 At last the service was over, and Kriem- 
 hilde, with all her following, came out of the 
 minster. Brunhilde met her face to face. 
 
 " Stay ! " she commanded, " one moment 
 more .! I have heard words now give me 
 proofs."
 
 86 Siegfried 
 
 Kriemhilde showed the little gold ring 
 on her finger. 
 
 " This ring," she said, " Siegfried took 
 from you and brought to me. Again I 
 tell you, you had better let me pass." 
 
 " Oh ! " cried Brunhilde, " that ring was 
 stolen from me ; I have missed it for 
 years ; now I see who was the thief ! " 
 
 And she cast a withering look on Kriem- 
 hilde. But Kriemhilde had not yet done. 
 
 " You shall not call me thief," she said. 
 " You will not hold your peace : then take 
 the consequences. Do you see this gir- 
 dle that I have here, wound around my 
 waist ? That also Siegfried brought me 
 with the ring." 
 
 When she saw the girdle, Brunhilde 
 broke down, and, between tears and sobs, 
 sent for King Gunther in haste. He 
 came at once, and asked, with great con- 
 cern, what had happened to distress her 
 so. When she had told him, he frowned 
 heavily and sent for Siegfried. 
 
 Great was Siegfried's amazement at the 
 scene he found. He looked from one to 
 the other, and asked, wonderingly :
 
 The Quarrel 87 
 
 " What are the women crying for, and 
 what is it all about ? " 
 
 Gunther eyed him gravely : 
 
 " I find much serious matter here. 
 Your wife, my sister Kriemhilde, has 
 grievously insulted the Lady Brunhilde, 
 my Queen : she has called her your bonds- 
 woman before all these witnesses. Did 
 you ever make such boast ? " 
 
 " Never," said Siegfried ; " if she has 
 said any such thing, she shall be made to 
 rue it. And I will clear myself by oath, 
 with hand and lip, before your whole 
 army : I never made such boast." 
 
 Then the Burgundians- were made to 
 stand in a circle and Siegfried stretched 
 out his right hand. Gunther declared 
 himself satisfied, and they parted seem- 
 ingly as good friends as ever. 
 
 But the mischief was done. Siegfried 
 could not have acted differently. For the 
 good of all concerned he had to clear 
 himself by oath when the matter came to 
 the test, but he bitterly repented in his 
 heart his weakness in letting so dread a 
 secret out of his own keeping and in giv-
 
 8$ Siegfried 
 
 ing the ring and girdle to his bride of a 
 day. Gunther, on the other hand, for 
 the same reasons, had to show himself 
 content and dismiss the whole matter 
 lightly, as a piece of gossip between two 
 angry women. But he knew right well 
 that Siegfried must have told his wife, 
 since she could not possibly have known 
 in any other way. Still, so strong was 
 the friendship between the two men, and 
 so deep Gunther's sense of Siegfried's 
 services, that even this cloud, heavy as it 
 was, would have passed away in time, but 
 for Brunhilde's vindictiveness and Hagen's 
 malicious promptings. 
 
 He had sought the Queen immediately 
 after the quarrel and vowed to avenge 
 her on Siegfried's person. Gernot and 
 Ortewein, the Marshal, came in also, and 
 straightway began to devise ways of put- 
 ting him to death. Only Giselher, the 
 youngest of the three brothers and Sieg- 
 fried's staunch friend always, tried to pour 
 oil on the angry spirits : 
 
 " Alas ! my friends, why nurse such evil 
 thoughts ? Siegfried has done nothing to
 
 The Quarrel 89 
 
 deserve such hatred, nothing that should 
 make his life forfeit. And women, we all 
 know, will quarrel about many things." 
 
 The King himself spoke in this sense : 
 
 "He never did us aught but good. 
 Let him live in peace. Why should I 
 hate him ? He has been our willing, loyal 
 friend through all." 
 
 But all the others were set against 
 Siegfried, though with no reason at all. 
 Still no one dared to act directly against 
 the King's command. But Hagen kept 
 repeating to him day after day how that, 
 if Siegfried were no more, many a land 
 would become subject to him. Then 
 Gunther fell into a deep, brooding melan- 
 choly ; he resisted more feebly, till once 
 he said to Hagen ; 
 
 " Oh, do cast off all' such murderous 
 thoughts. He never did us harm, but al- 
 ways good. Besides, know. you not that 
 he is of such wondrous might, that the 
 man is not born who could overcome him 
 in fair combat ? " 
 
 Now Hagen had Gunther where he 
 wanted him.
 
 90 Siegfried 
 
 " Let not that trouble you," he said reas- 
 suringly. " Everything shall be carefully 
 prepared. But Brunhilde's tears shall be 
 brought home to him. When he slan- 
 dered the Queen, he did not count on 
 Hagen." 
 
 " But how can the thing be done ? " 
 Gunther asked weakly. 
 
 " Nothing can be easier. We will get 
 sham messengers to come to Worms, 
 men whom nobody knows, and they shall 
 make us a declaration of war. As soon 
 as Siegfried hears of it, he will want to 
 help you and offer to take the field with 
 you. Then we shall have an easy task. 
 Only there is something I must find out 
 first from hi? wife." 
 
 So persistent was the evil counsellor 
 that the King at last gave way, and the 
 two now discussed together the unholy 
 plan.
 
 XII 
 
 TREASON 
 
 EVERYTHING happened as Hagen 
 had planned. The sham messengers 
 came, pretending to be sent by Burgundy's 
 old foes, the kings of Saxony and Den- 
 mark, Ludeger and Ludegast. 
 
 Siegfried was noble and honest to the 
 core, and therefore easy to deceive. He 
 was so indignant when he was told that 
 the two kings intended to break the peace 
 they had solemnly sworn when he so 
 generously obtained their release free of 
 ransom, that he entreated Gunther to let 
 him make this quarrel his own and fight 
 it out with only his own men. He would 
 not hear of Gunther stirring from Worms, 
 only asking him to look after Kriemhilde 
 and keep his aged father Siegmund in 
 9*
 
 92 Siegfried 
 
 good health and spirits. Things could 
 not have favoured the traitors more. 
 Many among the King's men knew of 
 what was going on and were ashamed, 
 but did not dare openly to disapprove. 
 
 While Siegfried was busy looking after 
 the horses, and arms, and supplies for 
 his troop, Hagen went to seek Kriemhilde, 
 as though to take his leave of her, and 
 was received by her with cousinly kind- 
 ness. She was bright and hopeful. 
 
 " I am proud to think," she said, "that 
 I have brought into the family a man 
 who can save my brothers so much trouble. 
 And now, friend Hagen, I hope you re- 
 member that I have always taken pleasure 
 in serving you where I could, and that 
 I never in any way offended you. Let 
 that plead for my dear husband : do not 
 bear him any ill-feeling for what I did to 
 Brunhilde. I have long regretted it. 
 Besides, he has punished me so severely 
 for having grieved the Queen, that my 
 body has borne the marks this many a 
 day, so she may surely be content." 
 
 " You ladies will make friends again in
 
 Treason 93 
 
 a day or two," Hagen replied, lightly. 
 " And now, Kriemhilde, dear cousin and 
 lady mine, tell me how I may best serve 
 Siegfried your lord, and I will do so most 
 willingly." 
 
 "You are my kinsman," she said, "and 
 I will confide in you. You know that 
 when he slew the dreadful Linden-Dragon, 
 he bathed in the monster's blood, and 
 that made him proof against all weapons. 
 Yet when he is away from me, I am in 
 mortal fear, because I know there is one 
 spot on his body where he can be wounded, 
 and how can I say that a random spear 
 or arrow will not hit that spot ? For 
 while the blood was spurting hot from 
 the Dragon's wounds and he was bending 
 down to bathe in it, a leaf from the linden- 
 tree fluttered down and settled between 
 his shoulders. That spot was not touched 
 by the blood and therefore can be pierced. 
 I will sew a little cross with fine silk on 
 his coat just where the leaf fell, and, 
 Hagen, dear friend, you must promise 
 me always to be near him and cover him 
 with your shield, so that no foeman's
 
 94 Siegfried 
 
 weapon can hit him from behind. I place 
 my dear lord in your loyal safeguard, and 
 thereby place in your hands more than 
 my life. Fail me not, and you may rest 
 assured that I will be your loving and 
 much beholden cousin as long as we both 
 live." 
 
 " Dear lady mine, I will do my best," 
 was all Hagen said and forthwith sought 
 out Gunther, full of unholy joy : 
 
 " I know now what I went to learn. Let 
 us dispose of those messengers and order 
 the hunt." 
 
 Thus Siegfried's own devoted wife, out 
 of the fulness of her love, betrayed him to 
 his death ! 
 
 Early the next morning the hero cheer- 
 ily rode forth, eager to do another good 
 service to his friends. Hagen rode behind 
 him, so close that he could plainly see on 
 his back the little cross in silk. Then he 
 fell back and secretly sent off two of his 
 men to court. They were to pretend that 
 they came from Ludegast and Ludeger, 
 who had changed their mind and wished to 
 remain on friendly terms with Burgundy.
 
 Treason 95 
 
 As soon as the false embassy was re- 
 ceived, a messenger* was despatched post- 
 haste to recall Siegfried, who was inclined 
 to grumble at having such brave sport 
 spoiled. But he regained his temper and 
 his spirits when Gunther proposed a great 
 hunting expedition into the mountains of 
 Odenwald, which teemed with bears and 
 boars, with deer and other big game. He 
 only staid to see his wife before they 
 started, for they were to be away several 
 days, perhaps weeks. 
 
 During his absence Hagen told the 
 King what he had learned and exactly 
 how he meant to manage. Never was 
 blacker plot hatched by blacker soul. 
 Gernot and Giselher refused to go ; they 
 would have no part in it. But they did 
 not warn the hero, and so shared the 
 guilt, and had to pay for it with the rest, 
 in due time.
 
 XIII 
 SIEGFRIED'S DEATH 
 
 WHILE Hagen and Gunther gave 
 their orders for the chase in which 
 nobler game than bears and boars was to 
 be hunted down, and the pack-horses with 
 provisions and other necessaries were 
 starting for the forest, Siegfried was tar- 
 rying with Kriemhilde, whose heart was 
 heavy and boded evil. He soothed her 
 and talked to her, and many times kissed 
 her rosy lips. 
 
 " Dear heart," he said, " why these 
 tears? God will grant that I find thee 
 safe and well, and keep me so for love of 
 thee. In the meantime, while away the 
 hours with good friends. I shall not be 
 long gone." 
 
 But she was thinking of what she had 
 9 6
 
 Siegfried's Death 97 
 
 told Hagen, only did not dare to speak of 
 it. And she wept and wept, and would 
 not be comforted. 
 
 " Oh, let this hunt be," she begged. " I 
 had such a bad dream ! Two wild boars 
 were chasing thee across the heath, and 
 on their track the flowers were dyed red. 
 Ah me, but I am afraid ! treason may be 
 dogging thee. One never knows whom 
 one may have offended unawares, and 
 hatred is watchful and dangerous. Stay 
 here with me, dear my lord ; 't is love that 
 bids thee." 
 
 " Why, dear one," he said, " I shall be 
 back in a short time. I know of nobody 
 here who could bear me hatred or envy. 
 Thy friends are all well disposed towards 
 me, and surely I have well earned thy 
 brothers' love." 
 
 " Alas, my Siegfried," she still wailed, 
 " I fear some evil thing may befall thee. 
 And I had another dream : two mount- 
 ains fell on thee in a valley, and hid thee 
 from my sight. If thou goest from me, I 
 shall wear myself to death." 
 
 He took her in his arms, and kissed and
 
 98 Siegfried 
 
 petted her, then left her quickly and was 
 gone. But she stood long just where he 
 left her and could not control her grief. 
 For she bethought her of still another 
 dream which she had dreamed years ago, 
 long before she ever saw him. 
 
 She dreamt she had reared a falcon. 
 It grew up handsome, strong, and wild, 
 and she loved the bird dearly. Then two 
 eagles attacked it and killed it before her 
 eyes. Nothing ever had grieved her so. 
 And when she awoke, she told her mother 
 of the dream. Queen Ute read it thus : 
 " The falcon," she said, " is a noble lover. 
 God pity and save him, or it will go ill 
 with him." She laughed lightly, and 
 boasted she never would love or wed as 
 maidens will. But now the dream came 
 home to her ; she knew her falcon had 
 gone from her and nothing could bring 
 him back. 
 
 Meanwhile the great chase had begun. 
 The hunters separated in many parties, 
 with their several packs of hounds, hav- 
 ing first agreed on the meeting-place, 
 where the attendants were to wait for
 
 Siegfried's Death 99 
 
 them with tents and provisions. Soon 
 the mountains and the forest resounded 
 with the blast of horns and the baying of 
 hounds on the scent. Boughs broke 
 crackling and dry leaves rustled as the 
 scared game rushed wildly in all direc- 
 tions. And when, at a signal from the 
 King's horn, the noble hunters met at the 
 appointed place, a beautiful grassy glade 
 on a sunlit mountain-side, each had some- 
 thing to tell and something to show for 
 his morning's work. But Siegfried cast 
 down in the midst of the gathering a live 
 bound bear, which he had captured with 
 the help of his favourite dog and flung 
 across his horse. There was much shout- 
 ing and laughing at the joke ; but when 
 he cut the thongs that tied the bear's feet 
 and snout, and the furious beast made a 
 rush through the throng, to the rear, 
 where the meal was cooking, upsetting at- 
 tendants and kettles, scattering the fire, 
 and scaring the horses, the laughter 
 changed to shrieks of fright, until the 
 bear was seen to make, on a run, for the 
 wood, with the hounds after him in full
 
 ioo Siegfried 
 
 cry. Siegfried gave him a considerable 
 advance, then started in pursuit. Several 
 others started with him, but soon lagged 
 behind ; there was only one man fleet of 
 foot enough for such a race. All clapped 
 and shouted in wonder and praise when 
 the hero of the Netherlands, bounding up 
 to the fleeing beast, despatched him with 
 one thrust of the sword, then returned, 
 calm and smiling, with breath unspent, to 
 \ where his comrades stood. 
 
 It was no town-bred hunger with which 
 the hunters sat down to the ample feast 
 provided for them. Not less hearty was 
 their thirst. Great, therefore, was the 
 disappointment when it was found that 
 this part of the refreshments had been 
 forgotten ; not one cask of wine or mead 
 had been sent up. Gunther and Hagen 
 alone knew that the mishap was not due 
 to chance. Both played their parts well. 
 Gunther chid his cousin, and Hagen ex- 
 cused himself by saying that the drink 
 had, by mistake, been sent to the wrong 
 place. 
 
 " But," he said, " I know the loveliest,
 
 Siegfried's Death 101 
 
 coolest spring, not far from here, at the 
 foot of a large linden-tree. Let us go there." 
 
 And when all arose, eager for the 
 water, he added, with wily intent : 
 
 " I have always heard it said that no 
 one can win a race from Kriemhilde's 
 lord, when he is in earnest. I wish we 
 could see one !." 
 
 " So you shall," cried Siegfried, who 
 was in boyish spirits that day ; " let us race 
 to the spring ! And I shall wear all my 
 hunting-gear, while you may run in your 
 shirts." 
 
 He quickly belted on his sword, good 
 Balmung, took up his shield and spear 
 and bow, and threw his quiver over his 
 shoulder. Hagen and Gunther, instead, 
 cast off all their clothing, except only 
 their long white linen shirts, in which 
 they stood side by side as the signal was 
 given, when they started through the 
 clover like two wild panthers. But Sieg- 
 fried stood by the spring long before they 
 arrived. 
 
 They willingly confessed themselves 
 beaten, and he quickly threw off his 
 
 Unirersity of California at Los *^ v
 
 102 Siegfried 
 
 quiver, leaned his spear against the linden- 
 tree, and laid down on the grass Balmung, 
 his shield, and the panther skin which 
 hung down his back. Thus he stood 
 in his tight-fitting black hunting-coat, a 
 right royal, noble figure, beneath the 
 wide-spreading, shady tree, by the clear, 
 cool forest spring, and courteously signed 
 to Gunther to drink first. The King took 
 a long draught, and as he rose to his feet 
 Siegfried stepped up and prepared to do 
 likewise, looking neither to the right nor 
 to the left. At this instant Hagen, with 
 swift and stealthy motion, took away the 
 bow and sword, and grasping the spear, 
 drove it with all his strength between the 
 hero's shoulders as he bent over the water, 
 into the very spot marked by the little 
 silk cross, so that his warm heart's blood 
 spurted forth and crimsoned the murder- 
 er's white linen shirt. He did not stop to 
 draw out the spear, but ran ran as never 
 man ran before. 
 
 Siegfried bounded to his feet and 
 reached out for his sword or bow, but, 
 finding neither, picked up his shield and
 
 Siegfried's Death 103 
 
 ran in pursuit of Hagen. So great was 
 his strength that, hurt to death as he 
 was, he reached him, and closed with him, 
 and battered him with the shield .till it 
 bent and nearly broke in twain, and the 
 precious stones with which it was studded 
 started out of their settings and rolled to 
 the ground. 
 
 A moment more and Hagen must have 
 fallen under the shower of mighty blows. 
 But the wounded man's strength suddenly 
 gave out : his cheek and lips blanched, he 
 swayed on his feet and sank down among 
 the wild flowers, and they were dyed red 
 in his blood. 
 
 " Oh, ye cravens ! " he spoke with voice 
 still strong and clear " is this the reward 
 for all my love and service ? This day's 
 work will shame many yet unborn, and as 
 for you, the living, it parts you from the 
 company of all good men forever ! " 
 
 The knights crowded around him where 
 he lay ; to many this was an accursed day. 
 Whoever knows what honour is, and truth, 
 has wept for him. 
 
 The King of the Burgundians also bent
 
 io4 Siegfried 
 
 over him, and began to wail and lament. 
 But the dying man chid him bitterly : 
 
 " Where is the sense of the doer bewail- 
 ing his own deed ? Better have left it 
 undone." 
 
 Hagen also chid the King in his own 
 brutal way : 
 
 " I know not what you should regret. 
 
 Let us rather rejoice that we are rid of 
 
 his excessive might. For there are not 
 
 many left now who could stand up against 
 
 us." 
 
 The dying hero heard, and once again 
 he spoke : 
 
 " You may well boast, as things have 
 turned out. Had I but suspected the 
 murderous blackness of your heart, you 
 should have little to boast of. Yet noth- 
 ing in the world grieves my soul, but only 
 the thought of Kriemhilde, my wife. She 
 is your sister, Gunther : let that plead for 
 her. And if you are still capable of loy- 
 alty to any human being, let me commend 
 my dearest love to your pity and favour." 
 
 He paused, and stirred uneasily in 
 cruel pain ; then, with his last breath,
 
 Siegfried's Death 1,05 
 
 came, low and broken, the prophetic 
 words : 
 
 " The time is coming when you shall 
 rue this day's work. Believe me, I speak 
 the truth ; in dealing death to me, ye 
 have dealt it to yourselves." 
 
 The breath had fled, and still the flowers 
 drank the flowing blood. 
 
 There was a long silence. Then they 
 laid him on his golden shield, and began 
 to consult in whispers what they should 
 say, so it might not become known that 
 Hagen had done the deed. They agreed 
 upon a tale of Siegfried having ridden off 
 too far into the forest alone, and having 
 been attacked by outlaws. But Hagen 
 would not have it so. 
 
 " I shall take him home myself," he 
 said. " I care no whit if she hears the 
 truth, she who could so cruelly wound our 
 Queen's feelings. Whether she weeps or 
 not, or whatever she does, matters very 
 little to me."
 
 XIV 
 
 SIEGFRIED'S FUNERAL 
 
 THEY waited till the evening, then 
 turned towards home and recrossed 
 the Rhine. Never was more disastrous 
 hunt. For the game that was slain that 
 day many a woman's tears were yet to 
 flow. 
 
 Hagen seemed possessed with a fiend 
 of wickedness and revenge. He had the 
 dead hero taken quietly to the palace and 
 laid before Kriemhilde's own door. 
 
 By daybreak the cathedral bells began 
 to ring, and Kriemhilde, who never missed 
 early mass, waked her maidens, and called 
 for a light. The chamberlain who brought 
 it stumbled against the body, saw the red, 
 blood-soaked clothing, and, without paus- 
 ing to look who it was, rushed into Kriem- 
 hilde's presence, crying : 
 1 06
 
 Siegfried's Funeral 107 
 
 " Lady, stay within ! there is a knight 
 lying dead before your door." 
 
 Her heart misgave her at once. In a 
 flash she thought of what she had told 
 Hagen, and she knew the worst. She 
 sank to the floor without a word, in a 
 faint ; but wheri she was aroused, she 
 gave a cry so piercing, it was heard through 
 the palace. 
 
 Her attendants kept repeating, " It 
 may be a stranger." 
 
 " No," she replied, " it is Siegfried, my 
 beloved lord. Brunhilde planned the 
 deed, and Hagen did it." 
 
 She bade them take her where the hero 
 lay. She raised his head with her own 
 white hand. 
 
 " Oh, woe is me ! " she cried, " that thou 
 shouldst fall, not in the noble fray, but by 
 a vile assassin's hand ! Let me but know 
 the doer, and my whole life shall be given 
 to avenge thee." 
 
 Loud and bitterly the Queen's attend- 
 ants wept and wailed with her. But she 
 sent some to call Siegfried's men, and 
 others to wake King Siegmund.
 
 io8 Siegfried 
 
 The aged King would not at first be- 
 lieve the tidings and chid the messengers 
 for making sport of him. They bade him 
 listen, and he would hear the women's 
 wailing. Then, trembling and dazed, he 
 hastened to Kriemhilde's room, followed 
 by all the Nibelungs. He took his dead 
 son in his arms, and cried over and over 
 again, " Oh ! accursed journey ! accursed 
 land ! " So loud was the wailing of this 
 great crowd, that not only the palace re- 
 sounded with it, but the castle, and all 
 Worms, the city by the Rhine. And the 
 warriors from Nibelung swore a great 
 oath : to avenge him at any time or 
 place. Then they hurried away to arm 
 themselves as for war. 
 
 But Kriemhilde would not let them do 
 anything rash. She feared they all might 
 meet death at the hands of her brothers' 
 men. She rushed about among the naked, 
 uplifted swords, begging and command- 
 ing, reasoning and restraining. At last 
 she appealed to Siegmund's authority. 
 
 " My lord King," she said, " keep them 
 back till we know more. My husband
 
 Siegfried's Funeral 109 
 
 shall be avenged, and I will help you. 
 Only let me have proofs, and the doer 
 shall get his deserts some time. But let 
 me advise you not to seek a 'quarrel, for 
 the people here by the Rhine are fierce 
 and violent, and there would be thirty of 
 them to every one of you. Stay here in 
 the house with me, and help me mourn 
 and bury my dead ; that is our first duty." 
 
 Siegmund and the warriors answered : 
 " Dear lady, it shall be as you will." 
 
 All that day noble knights 'and ladies, 
 and citizens of note, came pouring to the 
 palace, to view the hero on his bier. All 
 mourned with the widow, and were sin- 
 cere in. their words of sorrow, for no one 
 had ever seen Siegfried but did love him, 
 and no one could think what the city's 
 favourite had done, to forfeit his life at the 
 hands of his nearest and dearest. And 
 many a plain burgher's good wife wept 
 with the Queen and her ladies. 
 
 The next morning, at daybreak, Kriem- 
 hilde had her dead love borne to the min- 
 ster, there to lie in state, in his coffin 
 of gold and silver, bound with strong
 
 no Siegfried 
 
 steel, to the knell of all the bells in the 
 city, and the funeral chanting of countless 
 priests and monks ; when, lo ! King Gun- 
 ther joined her with his following. Grim 
 Hagen too was with him, who should, for 
 very shame, have stayed away. 
 
 " Dear sister," began the King, " I am 
 sorely grieved at thy great sorrow. I 
 would give much could this be undone. 
 We all must ever mourn Siegfried's 
 death." 
 
 " You have no cause," she replied, 
 coldly, " or this would not have befallen. 
 You never thought of me when you took 
 my husband from me. Would you had 
 taken me instead ! " 
 
 Gunther persisted in denying that he 
 had any share in Siegfried's death. But 
 Kriemhilde spoke aloud so as to be heard 
 by all : 
 
 "Those who protest their innocence 
 may prove it very easily : only let them 
 approach the bier, here before the people. 
 The truth will be manifest at once." 
 
 It is a wonder often beheld that when 
 the slayer approaches him whom he has
 
 Siegfried's Funeral in 
 
 slain, the wounds will bleed afresh. And 
 this was seen by all, that time Hagen 
 stood by the bier : the ruddy blood began 
 to flow as freely as when the wound was 
 made. A shout of horror went up to the 
 minster's roof. But Gunther still denied. 
 
 " Hear me," he cried ; " hear the truth. 
 He was killed by outlaws. Hagen never 
 did it." 
 
 " I know these outlaws well," she re- 
 plied ; " Gunther and Hagen, you it was 
 who did it and may God requite you as 
 you deserve ! " 
 
 At the word, Siegfried's men would 
 have rushed on the Burgundians ; but 
 Kriemhilde once more restrained them. 
 And just then her two other brothers 
 came, Gernot and young Giselher ; they 
 grieved from their hearts for the dead and 
 for their sister, and she received their 
 kindness willingly, for she did not suspect 
 that they had known of the plot, and now, 
 in sooth, they were sorrowful enough ; the 
 blinding tears stood in their eyes. They 
 spoke to her words of brotherly comfort 
 and cheer.
 
 1 1 2 Siegfried 
 
 But comfort nor cheer could reach the 
 aching heart. Only, when the funeral 
 mass was sung, and the lid was fastened 
 on the coffin, she ordered her chamber- 
 lains to give from Siegfried's store, with 
 full hands, to all that came. For three 
 days they gave and gave ; and many that 
 came poor beggars, widows, orphans 
 went home rich for many a day to come. 
 Monasteries, too, and churches were lav- 
 ishly remembered, and more than a hun- 
 dred masses were read in those days for 
 the departed hero's soul. 
 
 On the third morning, not only the 
 cathedral but the vast churchyard around 
 it was crowded to overflowing with sor- 
 rowing men and weeping women. As 
 men lifted the coffin to carry it to the 
 grave, the loving, faithful wife was so 
 overcome that she fell to the ground as 
 one stricken unto death. They poured 
 water on her from the well, but so long 
 without effect that many wondered that 
 she came back to life at all ; and when she 
 did at last, and found the coffin gone, she 
 rushed to the grave into which they were
 
 Siegfried's Funeral 113 
 
 about to lower it, and clung to it and 
 cried : 
 
 " Oh ye, my Siegfried's liegemen, one 
 boon I crave of your merciful hearts, one 
 little boon in all my endless misery ; let 
 me look but once again, for one brief mo- 
 ment, on his beautiful face ! " 
 
 She begged so long and movingly that 
 not the hardest heart could have with- 
 stood her. So the strongly welded coffin 
 was broken open, and the Queen was led 
 to it. As she raised the comely head and 
 kissed the brow and lips, a great wonder 
 was seen : her eyes shed tears of blood. 
 A miserable parting ! She was borne 
 thence, a fair, unconscious burden. All 
 that day and night she passed from one 
 fainting fit into another, and nothing that 
 anybody spoke reached her dull and dead- 
 ened senses, nor did any food or drink so 
 much as touch her lips.
 
 XV 
 
 KRIEMHILDE'S WIDOWHOOD 
 
 OLD King Siegmund was very ill ; al- 
 most as broken by his great sorrow 
 as was Kriemhilde herself. H is first words, 
 when he could rouse himself to think and 
 act, were, " We will ride home. This is 
 no place for us." He never doubted but 
 that Kriemhilde would go with him, and 
 such was at first her intention. But her 
 mother, Queen Ute, and her favourite 
 brother, young Giselher, besought her not 
 to return to a country where, Siegfried 
 being dead, she would be among strangers. 
 Gernot came and also begged her to stay. 
 They promised her that she should never 
 be forced to meet Hagen or anyone whom 
 she held to be her foe, that they would 
 care for her and make good her loss as 
 far as they could by their loving kindness. 
 114
 
 Kriemhilde's Widowhood 115 
 
 So when King Siegmund came to her 
 again and begged her to make haste, as 
 all was ready and he was loath to tarry an- 
 other hour among the Burgundians, she 
 said, sadly but firmly : 
 
 " My lord King, I cannot go with you. 
 I have no kindred of my blood in your 
 country, while here, whatever betide, there 
 are at least a few who will help me 
 mourn." 
 
 King Siegmund was sorely grieved and 
 tried to move her from her resolve. 
 
 " Not so," he said ; " you shall wear 
 the crown and our friends will hold you 
 in as high honour as when Siegfried lived. 
 And, daughter, think of your son : would 
 you have him grow up an orphan with a 
 living mother ? Return to him ; he will 
 comfort you, and all our liegemen shall 
 serve you with their swords." 
 
 But she was not to be moved. 
 
 " Go," she said, " in the Lord's good 
 keeping. You shall be well escorted. As 
 to my boy, I commend him to your care 
 and to the love of all your noble friends." 
 
 When Siegfried's Nibelungs were told
 
 u6 Siegfried 
 
 that they would have to return without 
 their Queen, they raised a wail as for an- 
 other dead. Both they and Siegmund 
 knew it was a parting for all time, and as 
 he kissed her cheek, the tears ran down 
 his own. But she was stern and cold, 
 and seemed glad when they left her to 
 herself and to her grief. She even sent 
 all her women home. But among Sieg- 
 fried's friends there was one who refused 
 to leave her : it was Margrave Eckewart. 
 He stayed, with his own men, and swore 
 to serve her unto death. 
 
 Young Giselher escorted the King and 
 his men all the way to the Netherlands, 
 then returned to Worms and Kriemhilde 
 always said that no one ever gave her any 
 comfort in her grief save only her boy 
 brother, he was so good and true. As 
 to Brunhilde, what did she care whether 
 Kriemhilde wept or not ? She lived on in 
 her arrogance, never thinking that her day 
 for grieving was coming on too, slowly 
 but surely. 
 
 And now began the dreary round of 
 Kriemhilde's widowhood. She spent a
 
 Kriemhilde's Widowhood 117 
 
 portion of each day alone at her Sieg- 
 fried's grave. The rest of the time she 
 stayed with her mother, Queen Ute, and 
 her women, but scarcely seemed to heed 
 the anxious kindness with which they 
 waited on her, or to hear the wise and lov- 
 ing words with which they strove to com- 
 fort her. No one could win from her a 
 smile, hardly a word, save only her brother 
 Giselher. Four years went by, and she 
 had not spoken once to Gunther ; nor had 
 she once met Hagen, her bitterest foe. 
 
 Then one day Hagen spoke to the 
 King: 
 
 "If you could make friends again with 
 your sister, we might bring over here the 
 treasure of the Nibelungs. It would pay 
 you to do a little coaxing." 
 
 " We might try," Gunther agreed ; 
 " Gernot and Giselher shall speak for me." 
 
 Gernot was the first to try. 
 
 " Sister," he said to Kriemhilde the next 
 time he visited her, " you mourn too long 
 for Siegfried's death. The King would 
 show you that he did not kill him if you 
 would but grant him a hearing."
 
 n8 Siegfried 
 
 " Nobody ever said he did," she replied. 
 " It was Hagen. For did I not myself make 
 known to him in what spot Siegfried could 
 be wounded ? Therefore I can never cease 
 to mourn, nor will I ever meet in kindness 
 those who did or knew of so foul a thing." 
 
 Then Giselher began to plead, and him 
 she had not the heart to refuse. 
 
 " Very well," she said ; " I will speak 
 to the King, since you insist. But you do 
 me a cruel wrong. Gunther has undone 
 me, his own sister, who never did him any 
 harm. My lips may speak forgiveness, 
 but my heart knows nothing of it." 
 
 " That will come in time," all her friends 
 encouraged her. 
 
 The moment Gunther heard Giselher's 
 report, he went to her with his best friends. 
 Hagen did not dare to present himself. 
 
 They met. They spoke. Kriemhilde 
 even was persuaded to suffer the King to 
 kiss her, and many tears were shed. She 
 forgave all, except only the one man. 
 
 Not long afterwards they got her con- 
 sent to bring over the great treasure from 
 the land of the Nibelungs. It was Sieg-
 
 Kriemhilde's Widowhood 119 
 
 fried's wedding gift to her, and so her own 
 dower now, to do with as she would. 
 
 Giselher and Gernot went for the hoard, 
 with eight thousand men and many ships. 
 They took Kriemhilde's order to the 
 keeper, Alberich the Dwarf, to deliver it 
 up, and he dared not refuse, for it was 
 her right. 
 
 It took twelve large hay-waggons four 
 days and nights to cart the treasure from 
 the mountain cave to the ships, mak- 
 ing three trips a day. There was nothing 
 but gold and precious stones, and in the 
 middle of the heap was hidden the golden 
 wishing-rod, which would have made any- 
 one who knew the use of it master over 
 the whole wide earth and all that it holds, 
 and every man on it. Many Nibelungs 
 went as escort to the treasure, for land 
 and castles and men are all subject to 
 whoever owns it. 
 
 When the hoard was brought to Bur- 
 gundy and unshipped, it was delivered 
 over to Kriemhilde, who had it carted to 
 the palace, where it filled many chambers 
 and turrets, of which she took the keys.
 
 1 20 Siegfried 
 
 And yet, had the great treasure been 
 greater a thousandfold, and Siegfried 
 could have been called back to life, and 
 the choice given her, she would never so 
 much as have looked at it, and would 
 have gone to him in her smock. Never 
 hero, of a truth, had so faithful wife. 
 
 As it was, she did not herself greatly care 
 for the gold, but she had good use for 
 it. She began to give. She gave to rich 
 and poor, to strangers too : to the poor 
 from kindness, and for the good of her 
 Siegfried's soul ; to the rich because she 
 wanted friends devoted to herself, and 
 ready to work her will in due time ; that 
 was why brave but needy knights from 
 foreign lands, whom her bounty drew to 
 Worms, and kept there, were especially 
 favoured. She was quietly making a fol- 
 lowing for herself. 
 
 No one interfered with her or seemed 
 to notice her actions. Hagen alone was 
 ever watching her suspiciously. He un- 
 derstood her better than any of the others. 
 He knew that only one thing could have 
 kept her in Burgundy, alone, almost a
 
 Kriemhilde's Widowhood 121 
 
 prisoner, among kinsmen the very sight 
 of whom must be hateful to her, away 
 from her own child and the land where 
 she would have reigned, a queen, among 
 her husband's friends, and that thing 
 was the hope and purpose of revenge. 
 Therefore, he distrusted everything she 
 did or said, no matter how quiet she kept. 
 And now he tried to arouse Gunther's 
 suspicions also. 
 
 " If you let her go on like this a while 
 longer," he said to the King, " she will 
 have so many men in her pay that we 
 shall be in her power." 
 
 " Let her alone," Gunther replied, wea- 
 rily ; " the treasure is her own. What 
 right have I to meddle with it or what 
 she does with it ? I had enough to do to 
 get her to make friends with me ; now I 
 am not going to pry and spy on her and 
 what she does with her own." 
 
 " No prudent man will leave such wealth 
 in a woman's hands," Hagen insisted. " If 
 you do not check her lavishness, we Bur- 
 gundians will yet suffer from it." 
 
 " I have sworn an oath," Gunther de-
 
 122 
 
 Siegfried 
 
 clared, " never again to do her any harm, 
 or grieve her in any way, and I will keep 
 it. After all, she is my sister." 
 
 " You need do nothing," said Hagen ; 
 "leave it all to me." 
 
 He knew Gunther's moral cowardice, 
 and was not afraid of displeasing him 
 by anything he did by himself. So he 
 watched his chance and stole the keys ; 
 then, once when all the three brothers were 
 absent on an expedition, he had the whole 
 treasure carried away and sunk into a deep 
 hole at the bottom of the Rhine. Giselher 
 had once said in a moment of vexation : 
 " I wish the hoard were at the bottom 
 of the Rhine. Then it would belong 
 to nobody and work no more mischief in 
 the world." And now it was done ; and 
 Hagen bound those who helped him in 
 the work by a strong oath, so long as 
 any of them lived never to tell of the 
 place. 
 
 The brothers were very angry when 
 they came back ; Gernot and Giselher 
 really and truly, and Gunther had to pre- 
 tend he was. Everybody at the court
 
 Kriemhilde's Widowhood 123 
 
 declared it was an outrage, and Hagen 
 thought it best to keep away for a while, 
 the feeling was so strong against him. 
 
 Kriemhilde bore the wrong and the loss 
 in silence. She knew complaints would 
 be but a waste of breath. She lived with 
 her mother, even more quietly than before ; 
 and when thirteen years had gone by after 
 Siegfried's death, Queen Ute persuaded 
 her to retire with her to a rich abbey which 
 she had founded and endowed, and where 
 both now thought to end their days in 
 peace and godliness. Only Kriemhilde 
 refused to be separated from him who was 
 her beloved husband dead as he had 
 been alive. So she had his remains re- 
 moved, with great honour and solemn cere- 
 monies, to Queen Ute's abbey, whither 
 she would have followed immediately her- 
 self, but that strange tidings came from 
 far Eastern lands.
 
 XVI 
 
 KING ETZEL'S WOOING 
 
 IT was about that time that Etzel, the 
 powerful King of the Huns, lost Queen 
 Helke, his well-beloved wife. He mourned 
 her as was seemly ; then his friends en- 
 treated him to wed again, and advised 
 him to woo the proud widow, Kriemhilde 
 of Burgundy. 
 
 " How could that be ? objected the 
 King ; " I am a heathen, and she is a 
 Christian ! She will never hear of it. 
 Only a miracle can bring her here." 
 
 "Who knows? "they replied. "Your 
 fame is very great ; she may be tempted 
 by that, and by the wealth which is known 
 to be yours. You should try your luck 
 with her, for in sooth she is a noble lady, 
 124
 
 King Etzel's Wooing 125 
 
 and should wed with the noblest of all 
 kings." 
 
 " Is there anyone among you all," asked 
 Etzel, " who knows the Rhine, the country 
 and the people ? " 
 
 Then Rudiger, the brave Margrave of 
 Bechlaren, stepped forward and stood be- 
 fore the King : 
 
 " I have known from boyhood the three 
 noble kings, Gunther and Gernot, and 
 Giselher, the youngest. Their name is 
 held in high honour and so was that of 
 their father and all their ancestors. 
 
 " Friend," King Etzel asked again, 
 " now tell me truly, is she worthy of wear- 
 ing my crown ? Is her beauty really as 
 great as it is said to be ? " 
 
 " In beauty," Rudiger replied, "she is 
 fully the equal of my late lady, Queen 
 H elke. I n the whole wide world no queen 
 can call herself fairer. The man who wins 
 her may well be accounted fortunate." 
 
 " Then, Rudiger," cried the King, " woo 
 and win her for me if thou lovest me ! 
 Bring her here, and I will reward you 
 richly from my own treasure. And now
 
 126 Siegfried 
 
 you shall take of horses, and splendid gar- 
 ments, and coined gold as much as will 
 keep you and your comrades in plenty 
 and merry living on the long journey to 
 the Rhine." 
 
 " Not so," Rudiger replied ; " it would 
 ill befit me to take aught from your royal 
 store. I shall gladly go as your messenger, 
 but at my own cost. I am well able to 
 bear it, and all I own I have from you." 
 
 " And when do you think to start ? " 
 asked the King. 
 
 Rudiger reflected : 
 
 " We must provide ourselves with arms 
 and clothing ; and I intend to take with 
 me five hundred knights. The Burgun- 
 dians shall confess that no king ever yet 
 sent so well equipped an embassy so far 
 from his own land. And I must see my 
 dear wife, Gotelinde, and order my house- 
 hold. In twenty-four days we shall be 
 ready to start." 
 
 And so it came to pass that just as 
 Kriemhilde was making ready to join her 
 mother in the abbey, Rudiger stood before 
 her brother Gunther and asked for her
 
 King Etzel's Wooing 127 
 
 hand in the name of his famous master, 
 Etzel, King of the Huns. 
 
 He had been well pleased with his re- 
 ception so far, had met several old friends, 
 of the times when they were all young 
 together, and found right willing ears when 
 he delivered his message. Gunther at 
 once replied : 
 
 "If my word has any weight with her, 
 she shall not say your master nay. I will 
 let you know in three days from now." 
 
 When Rudiger and his companions had 
 been taken to comfortable quarters and 
 provided for with hospitable care, the 
 princes held a secret council with their 
 most trusted friends. All, to a man, 
 thought it would be a good thing that 
 Kriemhilde should wed King Etzel. Ha- 
 gen alone thought differently. 
 
 "If you are wise," he said to Gunther, 
 "you will take care what you do, and even 
 if she should want to go, you will not let 
 her." 
 
 " Why should I not ? " the King asked 
 wonderingly. " Whatever may betide the 
 Queen that is for her good, I shall be only
 
 128 Siegfried 
 
 too glad : she is my own sister, and it is 
 for us to look after and care for her." 
 
 " You speak but foolishly," Hagen still 
 persisted ; " if you knew Etzel and his 
 power as I do, you would not let her 
 make a friend of him, lest you be the first 
 to rue it." 
 
 " I cannot see that," replied the King ; 
 " it lies with me never to go near him, 
 and then he cannot injure me, were he 
 ten times her husband." 
 
 But Hagen still repeated, '" It is un- 
 wise." Gernot and Giselher were very 
 wroth with him for his ill-natured stub- 
 bornness, and rebuked him with bitter 
 words. 
 
 " Truly," they said to him, " you have 
 done her such grievous wrong, it is but 
 what you deserve, if she hates you. And 
 if you had a spark of conscience, you 
 would not grudge her a little late happi- 
 ness." 
 
 Hagen saw that he was entirely alone 
 of his opinion. But he had the last word : 
 
 " I do not deny it. But I will say to 
 the last that if the noble Kriemhilde
 
 King Etzel's Wooing 129 
 
 wears Helke's crown, she will do us hurt 
 and harm wherever she can. And it be- 
 hoves you, her brothers, to have a care." 
 
 After this, he spoke no more, but sat 
 by, sullen and gloomy ; and it was re- 
 solved that Kriemhilde should be told of 
 King Etzel's offer and advised to accept it. 
 
 Yet, and though all were against Ha- 
 gen, things very nearly shaped themselves 
 to please him. For Kriemhilde would 
 not hear of wooing or wedding, and 
 at first was inclined to look on her broth- 
 ers' urging as a mockery. At last she 
 consented to receive Rudiger and not to 
 insult so great a king as Etzel by sending 
 back his messenger unheard. 
 
 " Send him to me to-morrow morning," 
 she said, " and I will give him my answer 
 myself. I think highly of Margrave 
 Rudiger. Had it been any other mes- 
 senger, he should never have had speech 
 of me." 
 
 And so next morning she received him 
 and the eleven knights who came with 
 him with great friendliness and courtesy. 
 But she wore her everyday dress, without
 
 130 Siegfried 
 
 an ornament, although her women were 
 arrayed in their best, to do the envoy 
 honour. She heard him out patiently, 
 but her answer was ready : 
 
 " Margrave Rudiger, if any man living 
 could measure the sorrow which I bear 
 ever within my heart, he would not ad- 
 vise me to wed another man. I lost the 
 best husband woman ever had." 
 
 " And what greater comforter can we 
 have in sorrow," the wily envoy retorted, 
 " than friendship and sweet love ? And if 
 you deign to accept my noble master's 
 love, know that twelve wealthy crowns 
 will be yours, and for your dower he will 
 give you the lands of thirty princes whom 
 his mighty hand has conquered. And you 
 shall rule over many a worthy knight and 
 many a fair maiden of princely race, who 
 were Queen Helke's own attendants, and 
 all King Etzel's subjects shall be yours, 
 and power imperial, unlimited, this he 
 bade me tell you." 
 
 Kriemhilde grew thoughtful as she list- 
 ened, then spoke with noble dignity : 
 
 " Enough. Press me no more to-day.
 
 King Etzel's Wooing 131 
 
 Return to-morrow morning, and I will 
 give you my final answer." 
 
 She sent for her mother and for her 
 favourite brother, Giselher. She listened 
 to their reasons, then dismissed them 
 without a decisive word, and spent the 
 night alone, in doubt and tearful prayer. 
 Early in the morning, before mass, her 
 brothers visited her, all three, and took 
 her by the hand and lovingly entreated her. 
 Then the Huns were once more intro- 
 duced. They entered, grave and some- 
 what stern, for they had come to take 
 their leave unless she changed her mind. 
 
 Rudiger, with courtly words, besought 
 the Queen to declare what answer he 
 should take to King Etzel and his people. 
 The answer came, low but clear : 
 
 " I never again can love or wed." 
 
 From this no words or entreaties could 
 move her. Then Rudiger craved a secret 
 audience of the Queen. They stood apart 
 where none could hear the low-breathed 
 words : 
 
 " Cease from weeping. Had you no one 
 in the land of the Huns but myself alone,
 
 132 Siegfried 
 
 my vassals and my friends, we should make 
 anyone pay dear who ever had offended 
 you." 
 
 She looked up at that, and there was 
 life in her eye. 
 
 " Will you swear to me, Rudiger," she 
 said, " that whoever may do me a wrong 
 you will be the first to avenge me ? " 
 
 " That will I," he answered readily, and 
 swore the oath and gave his hand on it. 
 She, meanwhile, was thinking in her heart. 
 " If I can win so many devoted friends, I 
 do not care what people may think of my 
 wedding again, for then I can hope at last 
 to avenge my Siegfried's death. If Etzel 
 has so many liegemen, and I am given 
 power over them, then I can do anything 
 I please. And he has treasure enough. 
 I can give without stint." She made a 
 last objection : 
 
 " Had I not been informed that he is a 
 heathen, I might possibly think of accept- 
 ing King Etzel's offer." 
 
 " He is not quite a heathen," Rudiger 
 quickly replied ; " he has been baptised 
 you may believe my word but he relapsed
 
 King Etzel's Wooing 133 
 
 into paganism. He has as many Christian 
 as heathen subjects, and if he had a Christ- 
 ian wife, who knows but she might incline 
 his heart again to God." 
 
 They returned to where her brothers 
 stood and all three urged her again and 
 again, till she sorrowfully gave her consent 
 and held out her hand to Rudiger. 
 
 The Margrave was so delighted, he 
 would have liked to carry her away that 
 very day, and would scarcely allow her 
 time for her preparations and farewells. 
 As she was herself anxious to go, now she 
 had made up her mind, it took her less than 
 a week to get herself and her attendants 
 ready. The faithful Margrave Eckewart 
 declared that he would follow her with 
 his five hundred men, so she should not 
 come to the land of the Huns without 
 a royal retinue. He had sworn to her 
 allegiance until death, he said, and only 
 death should part them. A hundred fair 
 maidens of noble birth were chosen to 
 attend her, and the loading of the pack- 
 horses had already begun, when Hagen, 
 with unmannerly insolence, forbade Kriem*
 
 134 Siegfried 
 
 Hilda's people to take away her treasure. 
 It was a portion of the Nibelung hoard 
 which she had kept in her own apartments, 
 and therefore he had been unable to lay 
 his hands on it. Though but a small 
 remnant of the whole, there was still 
 enough to load sixty mules. 
 
 " Kriemhilde," he said, " will never for- 
 give me, and I were a fool to leave such 
 wealth in my mortal foe's hands. I know 
 well enough what she would do with it ; 
 she would use it all to hire men against 
 me. I will take care of it you may tell 
 her so from me." 
 
 The Queen was angered beyond words, 
 and her brothers were indignant. They 
 would have interfered, but Rudiger would 
 not let them. 
 
 "Most royal lady," he said to Kriemhilde, 
 " would you shed tears for the bit of gold ? 
 Let King Etzel but lay eyes on you, and 
 he will pour such wealth into your lap that 
 you could never spend it. Were all the 
 treasure still yours that ever was brought 
 from Nibelung, neither your hand nor mine 
 should touch it. Of mine own store I
 
 King Etzel's Wooing 135 
 
 brought so much from home, that we have 
 more than enough for twice the journey." 
 
 The parting was not without many tears. 
 Mother and daughter well knew that they 
 were seeing the last of each other ; but her 
 sorest grief was parting from her favourite 
 brother, Giselher. Nor did she refuse a 
 sisterly kiss to Gunther and Gernot, and 
 when at last the well-mounted troop 
 wended its way eastward toward the 
 River Danube, there remained behind 
 many a heavy heart and many a tearful 
 eye. But Gernot and Giselher insisted 
 on escorting her part of the way with one 
 thousand of their bravest knights. Nor 
 did they take leave of her until they stood 
 on the very bank of the Danube, which 
 parts the German lands from those of the 
 Huns. She clung pitifully to her brother 
 Giselher, as he whispered to her : " Sister 
 mine, should you ever have need of me, or 
 should any danger threaten you, send me 
 word, and I will ride forthwith to help 
 you, straight to King Etzel's land." 
 
 Then the Burgundians rode away, back 
 to the Rhine.
 
 XVII 
 
 IN HUNLAND 
 
 FOR thirteen years Kriemhilde had been 
 Queen of the Huns. Never had 
 King Etzel loved Queen Helke as he now 
 loved his wife from Burgundy. Her 
 power over him was unlimited. And when 
 a son was born to them, she found no dif- 
 ficulty in getting the delighted father's 
 consent to have the child baptised and 
 brought up a Christian. She was not less 
 beloved by the country at large ; the 
 Huns all declared they never had had so 
 kind and gracious a queen. For she was 
 gracious by nature, and had made it her 
 special object to win her new people's 
 love. She appeared to be happy and, 
 contented, and no one suspected that her 
 whole heart lived in the past with the 
 
 136
 
 In Hunland 137 
 
 dead, that life in the strange land was 
 hateful to her, that her only thought and 
 hope, morning, noon, and night, was that 
 of revenge. She was homesick and longed 
 to see her brothers again, Gernot, and 
 especially Giselher, and her old true 
 friends, but she had not forgiven Gunther 
 even though she had given him the kiss 
 of peace, and as for Hagen, she could 
 scarcely wait until she should have him in 
 her power. She was sick with her long- 
 deferred hope and craving, but waited 
 patiently and made no move, until she felt 
 herself so firmly anchored in the love of 
 her husband and people that she could 
 carry through anything she set her mind 
 to. Thirteen years she waited ; then she 
 felt that her time had come. And so one 
 evening, when King Etzel had been par- 
 ticularly good-natured and affectionate, 
 Kriemhilde spoke at last of what had 
 never been out of her mind : 
 
 " My loving lord, if I have found favour 
 in your eyes, I would this day ask you for 
 a token. It grieves me that none of my 
 people have visited me in this long time.
 
 138 Siegfried 
 
 Your people here must think I have no 
 friends." 
 
 King Etzel answered as she knew he 
 would : 
 
 " Sweet wife, if it is not too long a 
 journey for them, I would willingly ask 
 them all here, as many as you would like 
 to see. You will not be more glad to see 
 them than I shall. I have sorrowed more 
 than once that they should keep aloof 
 from us." 
 
 Two messengers, with a sufficient es- 
 cort, were quickly equipped. The King 
 himself gave them their instructions, to 
 which the Queen privately added some of 
 her own. They were never to betray to 
 anyone at her old home that she had ever 
 been seen sad or thoughtful ; they were to 
 let her mother, Queen Ute, know how 
 highly she was honoured among the 
 Huns ; her brother Giselher they were 
 to tell that her eyes ached for a sight of 
 him ; and they were especially to see that 
 Hagen did not stay behind, because, she 
 explained, he alone among the Burgund- 
 ians knew all the roads to Hunland and
 
 In Hunland , 139 
 
 was familiar with the country. Gifts and 
 greetings there were for all, even for 
 Brunhilde. 
 
 Great was the wonder and turmoil in 
 Burgundy as King Etzel's envoys rode 
 through the land. The rumour of their 
 coming reached Worms much before them 
 and the royal family was anxious to learn 
 what they brought. The invitation was 
 a great surprise to all. The brothers were 
 delighted to hear from their sister; but 
 the question was a weighty one, and King 
 Gunther asked his friends' opinion singly, 
 one by one. Each advised him and his 
 brothers to go, until Hagen's turn came 
 to speak, which he did, angrily and 
 roughly : 
 
 " Have you all taken leave of your 
 senses ? Have you forgotten what we 
 once did to her? It behoves us to be- 
 ware of Kriemhilde as long as we live. 
 I slew her husband with this right hand 
 of mine how then can we go of our 
 own free will to King Etzel's land and put 
 ourselves in her power ? " 
 
 41 Speak for yourself," retorted the King ;
 
 140 Siegfried 
 
 " my sister is at peace with us ; in the lov- 
 ing kiss she gave us at parting all malice 
 was forgotten. How you, Hagen, stand 
 with her, you know best." 
 
 " Do not deceive yourselves," Hagen 
 warned again, "whatever these Huns 
 may say. If you trust yourselves to 
 Kriemhilde, you will rue it. She. knows 
 how to nurse a grudge, King Etzel's noble 
 wife ! " 
 
 " You may have good cause to fear for 
 your own life among the Huns," Gernot 
 tauntingly put in his word ; "but that is 
 no reason why we should shun our sister." 
 
 " And since you feel so guilty, friend 
 Hagen," Giselher chimed in, " you had bet- 
 ter stay at home. Only those who feel 
 safe need go to Hunland." 
 
 "You know that fear will never keep 
 me at home," growled Hagen, angrily. 
 "If you will not be advised, I will show 
 you whether I am afraid." 
 
 Others now began to speak in the same 
 sense as Hagen ; some of the best men 
 roundly refused to go ; Hagen's nephew, 
 Ortewein of Metz, was of the number.
 
 In Hunland 141 
 
 But all this only made Gunther more de- 
 termined, until Hagen yielded so far as to 
 say: 
 
 " Let not my words trouble you. Go 
 if you must. But let me give you this 
 one advice, out of my duty to you : go 
 well prepared." 
 
 " That we will !" cried Gunther cheer- 
 ily, and forthwith sent out a call for three 
 thousand men, all picked and proven 
 warriors. 
 
 Hagen and his brother Dankwart 
 brought a thousand of their own men ; 
 Folker, the noble minstrel-knight, also 
 came not unattended. But Marshal Orte- 
 wein, Hagen's nephew, and several others, 
 absolutely refused to go. They mis- 
 trusted Kriemhilde ; and as it was nec- 
 essary that some should stay to take care 
 of the country and to look after Gunther's 
 Queen and children, they were allowed to 
 have their way. 
 
 All this time, Etzel's messengers were 
 detained, under one pretence or another, 
 much against their will. But Hagen 
 would not give them more than seven
 
 142 Siegfried 
 
 days' start, that Kriemhilde might not 
 have time for much dangerous preparation. 
 At last they were allowed to pay their 
 respects to the aged Queen-mother, after 
 which they were escorted with due hon- 
 our to the frontier of Burgundy and some 
 way beyond. Brunhilde would not see 
 them, excusing herself with ill health. 
 
 When Kriemhilde was told of the mes- 
 sengers' return, she sent for them at once, 
 and after generously rewarding them for 
 their trouble and good news, she asked 
 the names of those who were coming with 
 her brothers, and was especially curious to 
 know what Hagen had said. 
 
 " Not much that was pleasant," was the 
 answer ; " when they decided to undertake 
 the journey, he told them they were going 
 to their death." 
 
 Kriemhilde sought the King and spoke 
 to him with joyful face and smiling lip : 
 
 " Is my dear lord pleased at my news ? 
 The only wish I had is now about to be 
 fulfilled." 
 
 "Thy will is my pleasure," the King 
 replied affectionately ; " I would not so
 
 In Hunland 143 
 
 rejoice in my heart if they were my own 
 best friends who came to visit us." 
 
 He hastened to give orders that every- 
 thing should be made ready for the guests' 
 honourable reception and greatest com- 
 fort. Little he knew that their coming 
 was to be the end of all his joys on earth.
 
 XVIII 
 THE JOURNEY 
 
 JUST as the Burgundians were about 
 to start, something happened which 
 rather damped their spirits. Ute, the 
 aged Queen-mother, who had all the time 
 been anxious that her sons should visit 
 their sister, suddenly begged them to 
 change their minds on the very morning 
 appointed for their departure. 
 
 "It were best after all you stayed at 
 home," she said to them. " I had a dream 
 last night that bodes no good. I thought 
 all the birds in Burgundy were killed." 
 
 They were rather shaken at that. But 
 Hagen was not going to let them stay, 
 now they were all ready to go, on account 
 of an old woman's dream, after they had 
 made light of his sensible objections. He 
 144
 
 The Journey 145 
 
 laughed at them and held them to their 
 word. And sorry enough he was for it 
 afterwards. 
 
 The journey went on smoothly and 
 merrily as far as the River Danube. They 
 found it swollen, angry, and overflowing 
 its banks and no ferry in sight. Hagen 
 started to explore the country and see if 
 he could not find one. As he rode about 
 rather aimlessly, he came on two maidens 
 bathing in a quiet creek. He stole up to 
 where their clothes lay on the bank and 
 hid them, for pure mischief, while they 
 swam quickly away. 
 
 They were water-maidens, wise in secret 
 lore. They stopped at a distance from 
 the bank and one of them spoke : 
 
 " Hagen, noble knight, if you will re- 
 turn our clothes, we will tell you how you 
 will fare on this your journey to the 
 Huns." 
 
 This was just what he wanted most to 
 know, so he promised. 
 
 "You may ride on nothing daunted," 
 the same water-maiden then said ; " never 
 did heroes ride to greater honours than
 
 146 Siegfried 
 
 await you in King Etzel's land, of that 
 rest assured." 
 
 Nothing could have pleased him better, 
 so he at once brought back the clothes. 
 Then the other water-maiden spoke : 
 
 " Hear my warning, Hagen. My sister 
 spoke only half the truth. Turn back 
 while there is yet time, for death awaits 
 you all in Etzel's land." 
 
 " These are but idle threats," Hagen 
 retorted. " What can happen to us in a 
 friendly country, whither we go as invited 
 guests ? " 
 
 "And yet it is as I say," replied the 
 water-maiden ; " not one of you will see 
 his home again, except only the King's 
 chaplain, we know for certain. He will 
 return safe and sound to King Gunther's 
 land ; he, and no one else." 
 
 With this the maidens left him, sore 
 perplexed. He rode on and came to a 
 ferry, but the ferryman refused to take 
 the men across, although Hagen promised 
 him a generous reward, and offered him a 
 rich golden shoulder-clasp as a free gift. 
 The man said he would not take strangers,
 
 The Journey 147 
 
 who might turn out to be foes and invade 
 his liege lord's lands, saying which he 
 seized his heavy oar, long and broad, and 
 hit Hagen a blow which brought him to 
 his knees. The next moment the ferry- 
 man's head flew into the river. Then 
 Hagen fastened a long strap to the boat 
 and towed it to where his friends were en- 
 camped, waiting for him. He himself 
 took them across in small parties, the 
 horses swimming alongside. Not one was 
 lost, either man or horse. 
 
 With the last party the King's chaplain 
 was preparing to cross ; he stood ready, 
 clasping the Sacrament. The moment 
 Hagen's eye fell on the priest, he attacked 
 him furiously, like one suddenly gone mad : 
 " Hold on, Hagen, stop ! " a hundred 
 voices shouted at him, but he stayed not 
 his hand until he had forced the priest 
 overboard into the river. 
 
 " What makes you want to kill the 
 chaplain?" cried Gernot angrily. "Were 
 it anybody but yourself, he should rue it. 
 What has the man done to you that you 
 should treat him so ? "
 
 148 Siegfried 
 
 Hagen answered never a word, but, 
 kept furiously hammering at the priest 
 with an oar, until the poor man, swim- 
 ming with all his might, succeeded in 
 reaching the bank, which he climbed, then 
 sank down exhausted. As he rose to his 
 feet, shaking the water from his robe, 
 Hagen saw that the water-maiden had 
 spoken the truth, and muttered, " We are 
 lost ! " 
 
 When all the men and all the luggage 
 had been carried safely to the other side, 
 he began, still silently, to hack the boat in 
 pieces and to throw the pieces into the 
 river. 
 
 " Why, brother, what are you doing ? " 
 cried Dankwart ; " were it not better to 
 conceal the boat, so we can use it again 
 on the homeward journey ?" 
 
 " There will be no homeward journey," 
 Hagen replied, gloomily ; " and if there 
 is any coward among us, who would fain 
 save his skin, he shall lose his life at my 
 hands right here, by this river." 
 
 The chaplain who had been looking on 
 from the opposite bank, now spoke in loud
 
 The Journey 149 
 
 and threatening tones, before he turned 
 to start on his way home. 
 
 " You caitiff ! you dastardly murderer !" 
 he shouted across the water. " What had 
 I done to you that you should want to 
 drown me, a poor harmless priest ? Go ! 
 go your way to the Huns ! I will hie me 
 back to the Rhine which may you never 
 see again ! that is my hearty prayer." 
 
 So the Burgundians started on their 
 further journey laden with the good man's 
 curse. 
 
 They had fared well so far, and even 
 now nothing of note happened to them, 
 except a skirmish with the lord of the 
 country through which they rode. He 
 heard of the ferryman's death and, think- 
 ing that enemies had come to take his 
 land from him, he rode after them in 
 pursuit with some troops, but was slain 
 in the fight which followed, and his men 
 dispersed. No one molested the Burgun- 
 dians after that and they arrived safe and 
 sound at the boundary of Rudiger's mar- 
 graviate of Bechlaren. Here they found, 
 on guard, Siegfried's old and trusted friend,
 
 150 Siegfried 
 
 Margrave Eckewart, who had followed 
 Kriemhilde into the land of the Huns. 
 From him they had their first warning. 
 
 " Alas, but I am sorely grieved to see 
 you here," he said, after the first greet- 
 ings ; "you best know, Hagen, what you 
 have done, and what welcome you may 
 look for here in the land of the Huns. 
 Keep good watch that is the best advice 
 I can give you now that you are here. 
 But come ; yourselves and your horses 
 must be spent with the long journey and 
 you cannot have many provisions left. 
 Come then ; I will take you to a host, the 
 most hospitable you have met in any 
 country. His heart bears kindness as 
 the lovely month of May bears grass and 
 flowers. I will take you to my friend 
 Rudiger." 
 
 The good Margrave had not forgotten 
 the friendly reception which he had met 
 with at the Court of Burgundy when he 
 came thither to woo Kriemhilde for his 
 royal master. And now he could not do 
 enough for his guests, on whom he pre- 
 vailed to remain several days at his castle,
 
 The Journey 151 
 
 until all trace of fatigue should be gone, 
 so they should present themselves before 
 King Etzel well rested and in perfect 
 trim. Their followers were requested to 
 make themselves at home on a vast field 
 near by, where hundreds of. tents were 
 erected for their comfort, and all their 
 needs were amply provided for. Rudiger 
 himself, his wife, and his young daughter 
 devoted all their time to the royal brothers 
 and their immediate friends, with whom 
 they exchanged kindnesses and costly 
 gifts, so that a very close friendship had 
 grown up between host and guests and 
 indeed, Giselher and Rudiger's lovely 
 daughter had become engaged lovers, 
 when he at last announced that he had 
 sent off messengers to inform King Etzel 
 of their arrival and that it might be con- 
 sidered rude if they tarried any longer.
 
 
 XIX 
 
 THE ARRIVAL 
 
 BEFORE they reached the royal resi- 
 dence, the Burgundians had one 
 more serious warning. Dietrich, King of 
 Bern, one of the most famous heroes of 
 the age, was at this time paying a visit to 
 the King of the Huns, who requested him, 
 in order to do them the greater honour, 
 to go himself to meet them, with a chosen 
 body of troops. He consented the more 
 willingly that he wished to caution them, 
 and this was the best chance. 
 
 The Burgundians, seeing him approach 
 and being told who he was, dismounted 
 to receive him, and so did he. 
 
 "Welcome !" he cried, shaking each by 
 the hand as he named him : " welcome, 
 royal Gunther, likewise Gernot, Giselher, 
 152
 
 The Arrival 153 
 
 and Hagen, and you, my lords Folker 
 and Dankwart ! But are you not aware 
 that Kriemhilde has never, to this day, 
 ceased to weep and mourn for the hero of 
 the Nibelungs? Let me bid you be- 
 ware ! " 
 
 " Let her," replied Hagen, carelessly ; 
 " he has been dead these many years, and 
 will stay so. She had better think more 
 of the King of the Huns." 
 
 "What should I beware of?" Gunther 
 joined in. " Etzel sent for us ; we have 
 come trusting to his royal word. And my 
 sister also sent many loving messages of 
 her own." 
 
 " What more can I say ? " replied Diet- 
 rich. " All I know is that every morning 
 I hear her cry and moan, as though her 
 heart would break, and call to high 
 Heaven for vengeance on Siegfried's 
 slayers." 
 
 " What is done cannot be undone," 
 spoke Folker, the minstrel-knight. " As 
 things are, nothing is left us but to ride 
 on to court and see for ourselves." 
 
 And now they all rode on together ; the
 
 154 Siegfried 
 
 Burgundians in closely serried ranks, with 
 proud and martial bearing, after their coun- 
 try's fashion. The roads were crowded as 
 they passed. The Huns were especially 
 anxious for a look at Hagen, whom they 
 knew to have slain the mightiest of all 
 famous heroes ; the curiosity to see him 
 was great as well at court as through the 
 country. And as they gazed their fill on 
 him, they beheld a middle-aged warrior, 
 powerfully built, broad of chest and shoul- 
 ders, with dark hair mixed with grey, tall 
 and erect of figure, grim and forbidding 
 of face. 
 
 When they arrived, the knights were 
 taken at once to rich and handsome quart- 
 ers, but not roomy enough to hold their 
 followers also, who were comfortably 
 housed elsewhere. That they were thus 
 separated was due to Kriemhilde's fore- 
 thought. 
 
 The moment she was informed of their 
 coming, she went to visit them with a few 
 attendants. She greeted her brothers, but 
 kissed only Giselher, and never gave a look 
 to Hagen. Seeing which, he made his
 
 The Arrival 155 
 
 helmet faster on his head and spoke out 
 loud and roughly : 
 
 " After such a reception, our friends may 
 well be in doubt. Greetings, I see, are 
 unlike for prince and subject. We might 
 have spared ourselves the journey." 
 
 " Let those welcome you," the Queen 
 retorted sternly, " to whom you are a 
 pleasant sight. As for me what precious 
 gifts have you brought me from the Rhine, 
 that / should give you such a warm 
 welcome ? " 
 
 "What foolish talk is this?" rudely 
 broke in Hagen. " Gifts ! why should we 
 bring you any ? Had I but thought of it, 
 I am not so poor but that I might have 
 presented you with some gewgaw or 
 other." 
 
 " One thing only I would ask you," 
 Kriemhilde said tauntingly : " what did 
 you do with the Nibelung treasure? that 
 was my own, as you know very well. It 
 was your plain duty to bring it to me 
 here." 
 
 " Sooth to say, my lady Kriemhilde, it 
 is many and many a day since I am rid of
 
 156 Siegfried 
 
 the nuisance. My lords, your brothers, 
 had it sunk in the Rhine, and there it shall 
 lie until Doomsday." 
 
 " Think not at least that I am longing 
 for the gold ; I have more of that than I 
 could ever spend. But I am the victim of 
 a murder and a felony, and for that my 
 heart craves satisfaction." 
 
 Then, turning to all the knights, the 
 Queen commanded : 
 
 " The King's guests may not carry arms 
 in the King's mansion. Give yours to me, 
 ye warriors ; I will take care of them." 
 
 " That shall never be ! " Hagen cried 
 quickly ; " you do us too much honour, 
 royal lady, we could not suffer your fair 
 hands to carry our heavy shields, and other 
 weapons. It is not your place : you are 
 the Queen. Besides, my father taught me 
 to take care of my arms myself." 
 
 The Queen frowned and bit her lip. 
 
 " They have been warned ! " she mut- 
 tered. " Did I but know who dared to do 
 it, that man should lose his life." 
 
 " / did ! " Dietrich declared defiantly ; 
 " I warned the noble princes and Hagen,
 
 The Arrival 157 
 
 too, their liegeman. Do your worst, you 
 fiendish woman ; you dare not touch me." 
 
 And he gave her such a look that 
 she flushed with shame and anger, and 
 went without another word, only casting a 
 venomous glance at her foe. 
 
 So greatly had years of brooding over 
 one great wrong, and of unholy craving 
 for revenge changed Siegfried's gentle 
 wife !
 
 XX 
 
 ON GUARD 
 
 THERE was an ominous silence after 
 Kriemhilde had gone. Then Hagen 
 and Dietrich joined hands, and the latter 
 spoke : 
 
 " It grieves me much, in truth, that you 
 and your friends should have taken this 
 journey, now the Queen has spoken such 
 words." 
 
 " Forewarned, forearmed," was all that 
 Hagen said. And they parted for the time. 
 
 The palace in which the Burgundians 
 were housed stood directly opposite the 
 royal palace ; there Kriemhilde stood at 
 a window and could not take her eyes off 
 the gate over the way, before which sat 
 the two friends, Folker and Hagen, mount- 
 ing guard. Hagen knew she was looking, 
 158 

 
 On Guard 159 
 
 and, the deeper to spite her, had laid Sieg- 
 fried's own good sword, Balmung, across 
 his knees. She burst into tears at the 
 sight, and told her great grievance to 
 those of Etzel's warriors who were in the 
 same room with her. 
 
 " I would be beholden to my dying 
 day," she concluded, amidst tears and sobs, 
 " to any man who would avenge me on 
 that man ; I must have his life." 
 
 King Etzel, in the meantime, who had 
 not the remotest idea of his wife's feel- 
 ings and evil schemings, was wondering 
 why his guests were so long in presenting 
 themselves before him. Then some of 
 his nearest friends went over to bring 
 them to court in state. Dietrich of Bern 
 took Gunther by the hand, Rudiger took 
 Giselher, others took the rest ; so all walked 
 in pairs, and, crossing the palace-yard, en- 
 tered the great audience-hall. 
 
 The moment Etzel saw King Gunther, 
 he sprang from his seat and, meeting ,him 
 half way, the two exchanged greetings the 
 most cordial that ever passed between 
 crowned heads.
 
 160 Siegfried 
 
 " Welcome ! " he cried, " thrice welcome, 
 noble Gunther, and you Gernot, and you, 
 brother Giselher ! Welcome also all your 
 knights with you ! And you especially be 
 welcome to me and to my wife here, my 
 Queen, ye two worthies from the Rhine, 
 Hagen and Folker the bold. She sent 
 you many a kind message, I know." 
 
 " Which were duly given us," replied 
 Hagen, in his courtliest manner. " Had I 
 not come in my liege's following, as in duty 
 bound, I would have taken the journey on 
 purpose to pay my respects to my lord the 
 King." 
 
 Once again the King took his dear 
 guests by the hand, and led them to their 
 seats, close by his own. And while the 
 cupbearers filled their wide golden bowls 
 with wine and mead, he once again bade 
 them welcome. 
 
 " I must confess," he said, " I often won- 
 dered wherein I had failed against you, 
 that, while so many noble guests graced 
 my hearth, you, my brothers, never took 
 the journey to my land. But now I see 
 you here, my joy at having you under
 
 On Guard 161 
 
 my roof and at my board makes me for- 
 get the slight sting of former neglect. 
 Let us therefore rejoice and be happy 
 together." 
 
 The banquet was splendid beyond words, 
 and would have lasted far into the night, 
 had not the guests pleaded fatigue and 
 asked to be taken to their night-quarters. 
 They found a vast hall lined with most 
 luxurious beds, wide and soft, decked with 
 costliest, daintiest furs, such as ermine and 
 black sable. But, tired as they were, they 
 did not dare to enjoy the rest on these 
 tempting couches. Yet it would have been 
 very unwise for them to meet the morrow's 
 dangers unrested and unrefreshed ; so 
 Hagen and Folker volunteered to keep 
 guard at the door of the hall, and bade 
 their comrades sleep. 
 
 Half an hour later not a man was up 
 but those two. Hagen sat leaning against 
 the door-post with Balmung lying bare 
 across his knees. But Folker took his 
 fiddle and bow and softly played some of 
 his sweetest tunes, with which he was wont 
 to shorten many a starlit evening at home,
 
 1 62 Siegfried 
 
 by the Rhine. He played to sleep many 
 a careworn soul that night, their last night 
 of kindly rest. 
 
 Their fears had not been idle. The 
 night was not half spent when the two 
 faithful watchers heard the clanking of 
 armour and caught a faint glimmer of 
 steel through the darkness. It was a 
 small body of Huns which approached 
 the house and halted at some distance 
 from the gate. Finding it so well guarded, 
 they whispered among themselves and 
 walked softly away, thinking themselves 
 unnoticed. But Folker challenged them, 
 and, receiving no answer, cried after 
 them : 
 
 " Fie on the dastards, who would have 
 murdered weary men in their sleep ! " 
 
 Nothing more happened that night and 
 Hagen woke his comrades as the grey 
 dawn was creeping into the windows of the 
 hall. Presently the church bells began to 
 ring and they were called to early mass. 
 King Etzel attended it with many of his 
 heathen Huns, to do honour to his guests. 
 He was astonished to see them in full ar-
 
 On Guard 163 
 
 mour, with shield and sword and spear, and 
 shining breastplate instead of festive silken 
 robes. 
 
 "What is this I see?" he cried. " My 
 friends helmeted and belted ? By my 
 troth, if anybody here has offended you, 
 ye shall have satisfaction, in any way ye 
 may yourselves appoint." 
 
 To which Hagen replied : 
 
 " No one offended us. It is my people's 
 custom to go armed for three full days 
 when they are on a visit." 
 
 Kriemhilde shot a furious glance at him 
 from under her lowered lids. If only 
 somebody had had the courage to tell 
 King Etzel how things really were, he 
 would have prevented the disaster. But 
 all were silent, from fear of being rated as 
 tale-bearers, and he alone of all present 
 began the day with a light heart and a 
 mind free from care. 
 
 After church the whole forenoon passed 
 away in knightly exercises, a-foot, and a- 
 horseback, in which the Burgundians and 
 the Huns strove to outdo one another. 
 There were many single encontuers, and
 
 164 Siegfried 
 
 in the general sham battle which ended 
 the morning's show, the performers, se- 
 cretly moved as they were by a silent 
 grudge and mutual ill-feeling, came very 
 near making earnest of play. King Etzel, 
 who had been enjoying the exercises from 
 the window at which he sat with Kriem- 
 hilde, was astonished and somewhat 
 alarmed. But she looked on unmoved, 
 indeed rather pleased, because she saw 
 that Hagen was fast losing control of 
 himself, and if he happened to be killed, 
 her revenge would have been accomplished 
 without any further action on her part, 
 and she could then peacefully enjoy her 
 brothers' visit, for she did not wish harm 
 to them or any of those who came with 
 them. But it was not to be. The evil 
 seed of so many years was to bring forth 
 its full harvest of evil. 
 
 What Etzel feared took place. A Hun 
 of great size and lordly bearing bore down 
 on Folker with such violence that Hagen 
 could not do anything but fight in earnest, 
 in his friend's defence. Others joined in 
 and made a quick end of the Hun. The
 
 On Guard 165 
 
 tumult that followed was deafening ; help 
 and arms were called for on all sides, 
 knights were unsaddled, and it took all the 
 King's authority, as he appeared among 
 the rioters, to prevent a general engage- 
 ment. With his own hand he struck a 
 heavy weapon from the grasp of a cousin 
 of the dead Hun and shouted in a voice 
 of thunder : 
 
 " If you had killed that man you should 
 have paid dearly for the deed. That 
 your cousin was slain was an accident ; I 
 saw it all. Let not a hair be touched on 
 my guests' heads." 
 
 This put an end to the morning's pas- 
 time. But the dark mood it had brought 
 forth cast its shadow upon the feast which 
 followed. The King frowned as he saw 
 all his own men appear at table in full 
 armour. He guessed that they were 
 watching their chance to avenge their 
 comrade, and sternly warned them that 
 the peace must be kept. 
 
 Meanwhile, and before they all sat down 
 i.o the feast, Kriemhilde had taken apart 
 Oietrich, the King of Bern, and his uncle,
 
 1 66 Siegfried 
 
 old Hildebrand, and entreated them to 
 help her in her revenge. 
 
 " It is only Hagen," she said, "whose 
 life I crave ; he who slew my beloved 
 Siegfried. I would not for the world 
 that harm should come to any of the 
 others." 
 
 But Dietrich at once and absolutely 
 refused : 
 
 " Spare your words, noble Queen. Your 
 request does you little honour : your 
 friends came hither relying on your troth. 
 Siegfried may be avenged, but not by 
 me." 
 
 Kriemhilde then, in her despair, turned 
 to King Etzel's younger brother, Bledel, 
 who had always been devoted to her, and 
 by dint of coaxing, tears, and promises, 
 got him to consent to undertake, even 
 though unwillingly, the most unwelcome 
 task. He was to prepare for it at once, 
 and therefore could not be present at the 
 banquet. 
 
 But she went in, satisfied at heart, in 
 time to enter the hall with Etzel, as was 
 seemly. For the first time the strain on
 
 On Guard 167 
 
 her mind relaxed so far that she felt some 
 pleasure in entertaining her guests, and 
 sent for her son Ortlieb, whom his uncles 
 from Burgundy had not yet seen. 
 
 " See here, my friends," the King joy- 
 fully cried, turning to his wife's brothers 
 as the boy approached the table : " this is 
 my child, and your sister's, who will grow 
 up, I trust, to show you his duty and 
 service. If the fruit is like the tree, he 
 will be a man of some worth. The lands 
 of twelve kings will I bestow on him. 
 Though young, his friendship will be worth 
 having. Therefore I would request of 
 your brotherly love, that when you return 
 to your home by the Rhine, you take him 
 with you as your own. Bring him up as 
 beseems a royal youth, after the fashion 
 of your country ; and should anybody in 
 any way wrong you, he will be your 
 ready helper and avenger when he reaches 
 man's estate." 
 
 Kriemhilde heard, but said not a word. 
 But Hagen spoke, churlishly and roughly, 
 after his wont. 
 
 "Surely," he said, "his noble kinsmen
 
 1 68 Siegfried 
 
 could wish for no better friend, if he grows 
 up to manhood. Only, as I look at him, 
 the young princeling seems to me but 
 poorly in health. I for one do not expect 
 to be his courtier long." 
 
 The King glanced at Hagen : the words 
 cut him to the heart. But he controlled 
 himself and kept his peace. All the 
 King's friends were pained at Hagen's 
 insulting words and it tried them sorely 
 to have to pass them by unchallenged. 
 There was not one in that hall who would 
 not gladly have called him out to mortal 
 combat ; the King would have been the 
 first, had his honour allowed. But a 
 guest is sacred, and he remembered the 
 unwritten law even in this moment of 
 bitterest anger.
 
 XXI 
 KRIEMHILDE'S REVENGE 
 
 THINGS were now balanced so danger- 
 ously that the first move on either 
 side must bring them toppling down to a 
 general catastrophe. The move came 
 from the Huns. 
 
 While King Etzel and his principal 
 guests were feasting in the great hall, 
 sullen and expecting they knew not what, 
 Gunther's retainers sat around plentifully 
 laden boards in another hall at some dis- 
 tance from the royal banqueting-hall, and 
 Dankwart, the marshal, attended to their 
 needs and kept order among them, as was 
 his office. 
 
 Suddenly before them appeared Bledel, 
 King Etzel's brother, with a strong fol- 
 169
 
 1 70 Siegfried 
 
 lowing, all armed to the teeth. Dankwart 
 received him with smiling welcome, and 
 at first would not believe him when he 
 said that he and his men had come to 
 fight the Burgundians to the death, all on 
 account of Siegfried's murder long ago. 
 
 "Why, my lord Bledel," said Dankwart, 
 "in what does that concern me and my 
 friends ? I was but a boy at the time, 
 and had nothing to do with it." 
 
 " I know, I know it all," sorrowfully re- 
 plied the Prince ; " it was your brother 
 Hagen and Guntherthe King. Still, you 
 must all pay for it : such is Kriemhilde's 
 will. So defend yourselves ! " 
 
 " Is that how the wind blows ?" Dank- 
 wart cried angrily ; " then I am sorry I 
 wasted kind words on you ! " 
 
 And, springing up, he snatched out his 
 long sharp sword and with one stroke of 
 it severed Bledel's head from his body. 
 
 The hall at once became the scene of a 
 raging battle. Those who were not quick 
 enough to get all their arms, picked up 
 the heavy wooden stools and chairs and 
 hurled them at the assaulters' heads. At
 
 Kriemhilde's Revenge 171 
 
 the uproar which arose, bodies of Huns 
 came trooping in from all quarters and in 
 an hour or so all the Burgundians lay 
 dead or dying on the bloody floor. It 
 seemed a miracle that Dankwart escaped 
 unhurt, and the Huns themselves were so 
 astonished at it that they did not oppose 
 him when he rushed out to carry the 
 dreadful news to the royal banqueting- 
 hall, where he appeared, haggard, pant- 
 ing, blood-besmeared, like a spectre of 
 horror and slaughter. 
 
 He stood in the door, sword in hand, 
 unable at first to utter a word, but his 
 looks told his story all too plainly. 
 Hagen knew at once what had happened, 
 as he showed by his questions, and when 
 he heard his brother's brief and breathless 
 answers, he was up in a moment. 
 
 " I always knew," he cried, " that Kriem- 
 hilde would have her revenge sometime. 
 But this is too much for one life. She 
 shall have some more to pay for to 
 begin with, the boy ! " 
 
 Saying which he suddenly drew his 
 sword and with one quick flash cut off
 
 172 Siegfried 
 
 voung Ortlieb's head, which rolled into 
 TCriemhilde's lap. 
 
 This was the signal for a general on- 
 slaught, and in a very short time there 
 were quite as many Huns lying killed 
 here in the royal hall as Burgundians in 
 the other one. For the guests were des- 
 perate and the door was strongly guarded, 
 so no help could come in from without. 
 
 King Etzel and Kriemhilde were 
 stunned and powerless. At last there 
 was a pause, from sheer exhaustion. Then 
 she spoke to Dietrich, and entreated him 
 to help them, to save at least their lives. 
 He had not much hope, still he decided 
 to try, knowing that there was no feud 
 between him and the strangers, and that, 
 indeed, they had been mutually friendly 
 from the moment they had met. 
 
 So he sent forth a mighty call, loud and 
 shrill as the blast of a horn, and, standing 
 on a table, began to wave his arms, until 
 Gunther and his friends understood that 
 he would speak to them. They at once 
 commanded silence and attention, and 
 Gunther spoke first :
 
 Kriemhilde's Revenge 173 
 
 " Most noble Dietrich, have you re- 
 ceived any harm at the hand of any of 
 my friends ? I were loth indeed it should 
 be so and am ready to give you any satis- 
 faction." 
 
 " No harm have I taken," Dietrich re- 
 plied, " not so far. Therefore I pray you 
 of your courtesy to let me and my partic- 
 ular friends leave this building under your 
 royal safeguard. If you do, my hand and 
 sword shall ever be as your own." 
 
 " Go in peace," said Gunther at once, 
 " and take with you as many as you wish, 
 so they be not of those who are killing my 
 friends, for these must take their chance 
 we have suffered too much at the hand 
 of the Huns." 
 
 Then the King of Bern laid one arm 
 around the trembling Queen and made 
 Etzel take his other arm, and thus led 
 them out of the building, many warriors 
 following them. 
 
 The three brothers granted the same 
 privilege to their kind friend and host, 
 Margrave Rudiger ; so he also led many 
 warriors from the hall. A piece of chival-
 
 174 Siegfried 
 
 rous generosity which was to cost them 
 dear. 
 
 After this clearing of the hall not many 
 Huns were left alive in it, and, after an- 
 other brief fight, their bodies soon lay on 
 the hard floor beside their dead comrades. 
 Then the Burgundians sat down to rest 
 and get their breath, but were up again in 
 a few moments, for they had still a grim 
 piece of work before them ; to carry out 
 the dead, their own and the Huns'. The 
 latter were very many and were laid 
 in high heaps in the street before the 
 palace. 
 
 And now the terrible day was done 
 a long midsummer day. Darkness de- 
 scended, and with it fear of what the 
 night might bring. Kriemhilde sat gloomy 
 and silent, despair in her heart. It had 
 all come so suddenly and so differently 
 from what she had planned. Hagen alone 
 was to have suffered. He alone was her 
 Siegfried's foe and slayer, and she had 
 never intended that punishment should 
 fall on any other head. But young Bledel 
 had misunderstood her, and thousands had
 
 Kriemhilde's Revenge 175 
 
 perished ; and thousands more must per- 
 ish there was no stopping it. And she, 
 after giving up one child to what she held 
 a sacred duty, now had lost the other by 
 the same murderer's hand and brought all 
 this horrible disaster on the man who had 
 been so kind a lord and husband to her, 
 and who, after this day's work, would never 
 smile again. 
 
 Meantime, the Burgundian heroes held 
 sorrowful counsel together. They decided 
 that a quick death would be better than 
 this long uncertainty. They sent a mes- 
 senger to King Etzel, asking him to come 
 to them and hear something they had to 
 propose, and the three brothers, as they 
 were, in their armour, black and grimy 
 with dust and blood, stepped out before 
 the palace, to await his coming. 
 
 Etzel came. Not alone Kriemhilde 
 came with him. 
 
 "What would ye with me?" the King 
 spoke sadly and sternly. " Would ye have 
 peace ? That can hardly be now, after ye 
 have done me and mine such bloody harm. 
 Not so long as I have breath. My child
 
 1 76 Siegfried 
 
 and all my friends whom ye slew must 
 stand forever betwixt you and me." 
 
 To which Gunther gave answer : 
 
 "We were forced to it. We did not 
 begin. My people were slaughtered at 
 their meal by your warriors. Is that your 
 troth ? I came trusting to your pledged 
 word, and holding you my friend." 
 
 Then young Giselher addressed those 
 that had come with the King : 
 
 " Of you I ask, ye warriors of King 
 Etzel, what do ye charge me with ? What 
 had I done to you, coming to your coun- 
 try so joyful and confiding ? " 
 
 They answered him : 
 
 " The city here and the palace are full 
 of thy goodness, and the land. Much 
 would we give, for thy sake, that thou 
 hadst never come among us. Many tears 
 had been spared the women of Worms on 
 the Rhine." 
 
 " If you would even now put a stop to 
 the slaughter," Gunther once more spoke 
 to the King, "by my troth, it were well 
 done for all. 'T is most undeserved, God 
 wot ! this that is done to us."
 
 Kriemhilde's Revenge 177 
 
 But the host spoke angrily to his former 
 guests : 
 
 " Our grievances are most unlike. For 
 the great disaster, the disgrace, and the 
 heartache that ye have brought upon me, 
 not one of you shall escape alive." 
 
 Then strong Gernot spoke, with gloomy 
 brow : 
 
 " Do us the one favour still : let what 
 must be, be done quickly. Let us out 
 of this hall, to an open place, for our 
 last battle. We are weary unto death, 
 many of us are grievously wounded ; your 
 men are fresh and will finish us promptly. 
 'Tis better than this long agony." 
 
 King Etzel and his men were stirred 
 with pity and about to yield to this request 
 of dying men ; when Kriemhilde, who had 
 hitherto held her peace, cried out, with 
 furious mien : 
 
 " Nay, nay, ye warriors ; that were 
 sheer folly, believe me ; I know my moth- 
 er's noble sons : were they to come alone 
 among you, desperate as they are, ye 
 were lost the earth never bore braver 
 heroes."
 
 1 78 Siegfried 
 
 Then sadly spoke young Giselher : 
 
 " Fair sister, never would I have believed 
 such treachery of thee, that thou shouldst 
 lure me hither to my death. What have 
 I done to deserve such a fate ? Have I 
 not always been a true and loving brother 
 to thee ? I came at a word from thee, 
 never doubting thy love. And now I 
 have fallen low indeed, since, sister, I must 
 sue for pur lives to thy mercy ! " 
 
 " I give no mercy where I received 
 none," the Queen pitilessly replied. " Ha- 
 gen broke my heart at home, and now 
 here he slays my child : for that all must 
 pay who came with him. Still, if ye will 
 deliver him, Hagen, up to me, ye shall 
 live and go hence safe. For ye are my 
 brothers, my mother's children I mind 
 me of that. Say ' yes,' and I will entreat 
 these warriors to let you go against 
 ransom." 
 
 " God in Heaven forbid such felony ! " 
 cried Gernot. " Were there a thousand 
 left of us, we should lie down dead at thy 
 friends' feet before we would give up one 
 man to thee."
 
 Kriemhilde's Revenge 179 
 
 " We must all die," Giselher joined in ; 
 "then let none say of us hereafter that 
 we could be bribed from usage and law 
 of chivalry. If any would fight us, weak- 
 ened as we are, they will find us willing ; 
 but I never yet betrayed a friend, and 
 it is too late to begin now." 
 
 Then Kriemhilde, blinded by wrath, 
 maddened by her long-deferred revenge, 
 did a monstrous thing : she ordered the 
 building set on fire at the four corners. 
 King Etzel did not gainsay, and many 
 willing hands obeyed the cruel command. 
 As the flames leaped up, all walked away 
 into the night, leaving the wretched vic- 
 tims to their doom. 
 
 But the end was not yet. The build- 
 ing was strong, with vaulted roof, the 
 night was still : so the blaze played idly 
 around roof and gable and, though it kept 
 the men within busy all night watching 
 and putting out the firebrands which kept 
 dropping down into the hall and on their 
 helmeted heads, no serious damage was 
 done, and when, soon after daybreak, a 
 body of warriors sent by Kriemhilde ap-
 
 i8o Siegfried 
 
 preached what they expected to find a 
 smoking heap of ruins, they were amazed 
 to see the walls still standing and hardly 
 injured, and to be met by several hun- 
 dreds of desperate men. The Huns 
 hastily sent back for more men of the 
 best, even while they began the last fierce 
 battle. It was like fighting men already 
 dead ; yet many a Hun had to lose his 
 life at the hand of the Burgundians at 
 bay, whose only wish was now to send as 
 many as possible to the other world before 
 them. 
 
 Rudiger and Dietrich had kept out of 
 the fray until this last hour, for there were 
 strong bonds of friendship and hospitality 
 between them and the guests from the 
 Rhine. While the three royal brothers 
 had been entertained at the Margrave's cas- 
 tle, a marriage had even been arranged be- 
 tween the general favourite, Giselher, and 
 the host's only daughter. Rudiger was 
 to return with them to Worms, where the 
 wedding was to have taken place. And 
 now, in this last hour of extrernest peril, he 
 sent a messenger to Dietrich, asking
 
 Kriemhilde's Revenge i8r 
 
 whether he could think of anything to 
 save the lives of the kings even yet, 
 Brief and stern came the reply : " King 
 Etzel will not hear of mercy. And who 
 can gainsay him ? " 
 
 Then Rudiger wept where he stood. 
 
 A gigantic Hun drew the Queen's at- 
 tention to him. 
 
 " See him stand there," he cried, in 
 loud, jeering tone : " he whom you and 
 King Etzel have raised above all other 
 men. Of his many castles, how many 
 were given him by the King ? Yet I do 
 not see that he has struck a blow to help 
 us in our sore plight. What cares he, so 
 his house and barns are full ! Men say 
 he is the bravest of the brave. We have 
 not seen much of it so far." 
 
 The Margrave heard, and regarded the 
 Hun with ominous calmness. Then, 
 stepping up to him and lifting his power- 
 ful arm, " Caitiff ! take that ! " he said, 
 and struck him one blow on the head with 
 his fist. The man fell prone at his feet 
 dead. 
 
 " That was not well done, noble Rudi-
 
 1 82 Siegfried 
 
 ger," King Etzel spoke, gloomily ; " me- 
 thinks we had enough dead here as it was. 
 That is a poor kind of help." 
 
 " The time was ill chosen to cast in my 
 teeth the benefits I have received from 
 you, and throw a doubt on my honour," 
 retorted the Christian. " He will lie no 
 more." 
 
 The Queen looked at Rudiger sadly. 
 Her eyes filled with tears. At last she 
 spoke : 
 
 " Have we deserved this of you, the 
 King and I, that you should add to our 
 sorrow ? Have you not sworn over and 
 over again to venture for us your honour 
 and your life ? And I I now demand of 
 you the faith which you swore to me with 
 lip and hand when you pressed me to 
 accept King Etzel's wooing, and pledged 
 yourself in my bitter need to serve me 
 until death, to further my vengeance and 
 take all my woe from me." 
 
 " And have I not been ever ready to 
 serve you in all things?" Rudiger mur- 
 mured, sore stung by this reminder. " I 
 will not deny, O Queen," he went on,
 
 Kriemhilde's Revenge 183 
 
 more firmly, " all that I swore to you. 
 Honour and life I am willing to give for 
 you. But I did not swear away my soul. 
 'Twas I who brought the princes to this 
 court ! 'T was me they trusted my 
 pledged faith ! " 
 
 Then Etzel also began to entreat, 
 and at last both threw themselves at his 
 feet. 
 
 " Oh, woe is me ! " cried the tortured 
 man, " that I should live to see this miser- 
 able day ! Honour, truth, God's own 
 law am I to cast them all from me ? O 
 Lord of Heaven, let me die first ! Or 
 send me Thy light, that I may see where 
 duty lies ! " 
 
 Then suddenly turning to the King 
 
 " Lord Etzel ! " he exclaimed, " take 
 back all that thou gavest me : castles, and 
 lands, and gold. I want nothing. I will 
 go forth on foot, a beggar, taking only 
 my wife and daughter by the hand, be- 
 fore I end my life by a deed of eternal 
 shame." 
 
 But the King would not listen. 
 
 " What are lands, and castles, and gold ! "
 
 1 84 Siegfried 
 
 he cried ; "it is thy valour, thy manhood, 
 I want, for who else is there to help me in 
 my need ? A king will I make thee, a king 
 second only to myself but help me, now, 
 Rudiger avenge me ! " 
 
 " How can I hurt them ? " the Margrave 
 went on, unheeding the King's words. 
 " They have been my guests, have eaten 
 and drunk at my board, and borne away 
 my gifts. Nay, my daughter I gave to 
 young Giselher more nobly and virtu- 
 ously she could never have mated and 
 shall mine be the hand to slay them ? " 
 
 But when the Queen once more in- 
 sisted, entreating his service, not as a due, 
 but as a boon, he could not allow personal 
 affection to stand any longer in the way of 
 his oath and of his duty as vassal to the 
 King of the Huns. He threw both life 
 and soul into the balance. 
 
 " I must even keep my oath," he sighed. 
 " Alas, my friends ! . . . But one thing 
 is sure : I may not survive this day. Be- 
 fore night my lands and castles shall be 
 yours once more, Lord Etzel, to bestow 
 on whom you will. Therefore, to you I
 
 Kriemhilde's Revenge 185 
 
 commend my wife and child, and all the 
 homeless ones at Bechlaren." 
 
 With heavy step and drooping head he 
 left the King, and went where his five 
 hundred men stood awaiting his orders. 
 
 " Arm yourselves," he commanded 
 briefly ; " we must fight the brave Bur- 
 gundians, more 's the pity." 
 
 When the three brothers saw Rudiger 
 enter the hall with his following, they 
 greeted him with a shout of joy, for they 
 thought he came as a friend and brought 
 them relief. But the Margrave stood 
 stern and sad for one moment, then cried 
 out to them : 
 
 " Brave Nibelungs, defend yourselves ! 
 We have been friends we are so no 
 more ! " 
 
 An awed silence fell on the Burgun- 
 dians. They did not believe him. 
 
 " Heaven forbid," spoke Gunther at 
 length, " that you should be thus false to 
 friendship and hospitality ! You cannot 
 mean it." 
 
 " It cannot be helped," replied Rudi- 
 ger, sorrowfully. " I once swore an oath,
 
 1 86 Siegfried 
 
 and now I am held to it. The Queen 
 leaves me no choice." 
 
 " You cannot take our lives, you who 
 have been our kind host and loving friend," 
 said Gunther, still incredulous. " Re- 
 member, noble Rudiger, it was you who 
 brought us to Etzel's kingdom." 
 
 " And see," said Gernot, " I wear the 
 sword you gave me. It has done me good 
 service this day. And shall I now turn it 
 against the giver ? " 
 
 " Your wife, the Lady Gotelinde," fell in 
 Hagen, "gave me the shield I brought to 
 Etzel's Court ; the Huns have hacked it 
 to pieces, and now I am defenceless. 
 Would that I had one like that one of 
 yours, noble Rudiger ! " 
 
 " Take it, Hagen," the Margrave said, 
 and held it out to him ; " and would to 
 God you might carry it home to Bur- 
 gundy ! " 
 
 There was not a dry eye among the 
 doomed warriors ; many wept outright. 
 Even Hagen, grim as he was, and hard 
 of heart, was touched at so much gentle- 
 ness.
 
 Kriemhilde's Revenge 187 
 
 " God requite you, noble Margrave," 
 he cried ; " there is no other man like 
 you. We had enough heartache to bear 
 without having to fight our friend ! " 
 
 It was Rudiger's last gift ; the hand 
 whose delight it had been to give was never 
 to give any more. 
 
 The grief, the suspense, were growing 
 unbearable an end must be made. Ru- 
 diger, who had meanwhile been handed 
 another shield, raised it as a signal to his 
 men, and, loth as they all were, they 
 rushed forward, and the deadly fighting 
 began once more. Rudiger seemed sud- 
 denly possessed with the very fury of bat- 
 tle. Headlong he threw himself wherever 
 the fray was thickest. Alas ! he killed, 
 but far more was he bent on being killed. 
 The Burgundian chiefs, not one of whom 
 but had received some kindness from his 
 hands, were careful not to cross swords 
 with him, and even of the others many 
 stood aside to let him pass. But he 
 plunged blindly on into the throng, deal- 
 ing his mighty blows, and each of them 
 was death till he suddenly found himself
 
 1 88 Siegfried 
 
 face to face with Gernot. By this time 
 the blood of both was up. 
 
 " Hold ! " cried the Burgundian prince ; 
 " wouldst leave me not one man, most no- 
 ble Rudiger ? Nay then, stand and face 
 me ! I shall do my best to earn thy gift 
 this day." 
 
 Without another word they closed, 
 heroes well matched both. Had it been 
 a knightly contest in the lists, or even a 
 single combat after the rules of chivalry, 
 how would the lookers-on have applauded 
 the splendid lesson in swordsmanship ! 
 But this was deadly earnest, and no one 
 heeded the two until, after several wounds 
 given and taken, both made a desperate 
 onslaught, and both fell, mortally stricken, 
 each by the other's hand : Rudiger's gift 
 had found the giver's heart. 
 
 Now indeed a hush fell on friend and 
 foe ; but not for long. The Burgundians 
 seemed to gather strength from their des- 
 pair and made short work of the few re- 
 maining followers of the Margrave : in a 
 few moments not one was left alive. 
 
 Then only did the leaders Gunther and
 
 Kriemhilde's Revenge 189 
 
 Hagen, and heart-broken Giselher, also 
 Dankwart and Folker, the brave minstrel- 
 knight gather around the spot where lay 
 the two (now neither friends nor foes), 
 who but three short days ago would have 
 died one for the other. None spoke. 
 Only Giselher said wearily : 
 
 " Death hath played sad havoc with us. 
 But cease your weeping and let us go out 
 for a breath of cool air. It will be our 
 turn soon." 
 
 Then there was a great stillness in the 
 hall. Some sat down, some leaned against 
 the walls. Etzel and Kriemhilde, who 
 were listening for the end, became im- 
 patient and uneasy. 
 
 " They must be talking ! " the Queen 
 exclaimed at last. " No harm will ever 
 come to our foes from Rudiger's hand. 
 You will see that he will take them all 
 safe and sound home to Burgundy." 
 
 But too soon the tidings reached them, 
 and the Queen was shamed, that she had 
 wronged him in her thoughts. Bitterly 
 she wept ; King Etzel's plaint was as a 
 lion's roar; men's deep moans and wo-
 
 1 90 Siegfried 
 
 men's loud sobbing filled the palace, and 
 all for a time acted as demented with 
 grief. 
 
 Dietrich, the noble King of Bern, was 
 the only one who spoke a good word for 
 the Burgundians. He tried to keep back 
 his knights, who began at once to arm 
 themselves and would have rushed to 
 avenge the Margrave's death on the few 
 that were left, without waiting for their 
 liege lord's command. 
 
 " Be not so hasty, faithful vassals mine," 
 he implored them. " Whatever has been 
 done by these homeless ones, bear in 
 mind it was not of their seeking : they 
 were forced to it. Let me try to make 
 terms for them, and grudge them not 
 their life and free departure, if so be I can 
 obtain so much." 
 
 But he could not hold his men, and 
 though he would not go with them, he 
 allowed them to depart, led by his uncle, 
 brave old Hildebrand, in whose wisdom 
 and kindliness he placed great trust, and 
 who had promised only to ask leave to 
 carry away Rudiger's body. For himself,
 
 Kriemhilde's Revenge 191 
 
 he sat down in a window, to wait, hoping 
 against hope that he might even yet be of 
 use at the very last moment. 
 
 And as he waited, he heard a great 
 rumour in the hall across the way, and he 
 knew there was fighting again. It was 
 some time before Hildebrand stood before 
 him, alone and wounded. 
 
 " Uncle ! " Dietrich cried, " what means 
 this blood ? Are you hurt ? Who did it ? 
 You have been fighting with the guests ! 
 You should have, kept the peace, as I so 
 urgently commanded." 
 
 " It was Hagen," the old man replied. 
 " He would have killed me but that I 
 made my escape. I did not think it 
 shame to fly from Siegfried's Nibelung 
 sword, Balmung." 
 
 "It served you right," angrily retorted 
 the King of Bern. "You heard me say 
 I would befriend the heroes, and yet you 
 broke the peace which I had promised 
 them. Were it anyone but you, he should 
 pay for it with his life." 
 
 " Dietrich," the old man said sadly, " do 
 not be too wroth with me : our friends
 
 192 Siegfried 
 
 and I have suffered too much as it is. 
 All we wanted was to carry Rudiger out of 
 the hall, but Gunther's people would not 
 let us." 
 
 " Then I must go myself," Dietrich said, 
 rising. " Tell my men to be ready to go 
 with me and let them bring me my silver 
 armour. I shall hold parley myself with 
 the heroes from Burgundy." 
 
 " Who is to go with you ?" Hildebrand 
 asked, bitterly : " What is left alive of your 
 men you see before you. The others are 
 all dead. And of the Burgundians only 
 Gunther and Hagen are left." 
 
 Dietrich turned pale : 
 
 " O my God ! " he murmured with quiv- 
 ering lip, " Thou hast indeed forsaken me. 
 But yesterday I was a powerful king ; to- 
 day I am a friendless exile ! . . . Dead ! 
 Bold Helferich, my well-beloved Wolf- 
 hart, and all my trusty ones dead ! All 
 in one day ! Shall I ever cease from 
 mourning ? Oh, woe is me that men do 
 not die of grief ! " 
 
 He went to look for his armour himself ; 
 old Hildebrand buckled it on for him.
 
 Kriemhilde's Revenge 193 
 
 Then the strong man broke into such loud 
 lamenting, that the walls were shaken with 
 the voice of his sorrow. But he quickly 
 recovered control over himself, and, firmly 
 grasping his shield, he beckoned to Hilde- 
 brand and both walked over to the fateful 
 hall. 
 
 Gunther and Hagen were leaning idly 
 against the outer wall. 
 
 " There comes Dietrich," said Hagen ; 
 " of a surety he is bent on settling ac- 
 counts for the great harm we have done 
 him. Well, it is his right ; and if he 
 thinks himself a match for me, king and 
 hero as he is, I am his man." 
 
 But Dietrich, as he stopped before the 
 two, set down his shield, and addressed 
 them in mild and sorrowful tones : 
 
 " Gunther, what set you so against me, 
 an exile in a strange land like yourself? 
 What had I ever done to you, that you 
 should take from me all that made life 
 dear? Was it not enough that ye slew 
 our noble Rudiger, but ye must grudge 
 me my friends ? Truly, never would I 
 have done the like by you ! "
 
 194 Siegfried 
 
 " We are not so much to blame as you 
 think," Hagen replied ; " your men came 
 here armed to the teeth, making a great 
 show of their numbers. You have heard 
 only one side." 
 
 " What else can I believe ? " said the 
 King of Bern. " My men asked you to 
 let them bear Rudiger away, and ye an- 
 swered them with gibes and insults." 
 
 " It was I would not let them have 
 Rudiger," fell in Gunther ; " I meant to 
 defy Etzel, not your men or you ; but they 
 began to abuse and mock us." 
 
 Spoke Dietrich sadly : 
 
 " It had to be. But now, Gunther, no- 
 ble King, I entreat thee by thy chivalry 
 make me amends for the heartache thou 
 hast caused me, and it shall go unavenged : 
 Surrender thyself and Hagen as my 
 prisoners, and I will engage that no one 
 among the Huns does you any harm. Ye 
 shall find a good friend and true in me." 
 
 " Heaven forefend," replied Hagen. 
 " that two men should surrender who 
 stand before thee scatheless and armed : 
 that were cowardice and dishonour."
 
 Kriemhilde's Revenge 195 
 
 " I give you my word and here my 
 hand on it ! that myself will ride with you 
 to your home ; I will escort you thither in 
 honour and in safety, unless I die myself. 
 For your sakes I will forget my own great 
 loss and grief." 
 
 " Heaven knows, my lord Hagen," 
 warned old Hildebrand, " the hour may 
 strike only too soon, when you would be 
 glad to take King Dietrich's offer, and it 
 may then be too late." 
 
 " I will take my chance of that," cried 
 Hagen ; " not broken as yet is the sword 
 of the Nibelungs. I think it shame that 
 we two should have been asked to sur- 
 render to only two men." 
 
 Even as he spoke Hagen sprang against 
 Dietrich with such a mighty leap that the 
 hero was barely in time to raise his shield 
 to catch the Nibelung sword's resounding 
 stroke. In sheer self-defence he struck 
 back and inflicted a gash both deep and 
 broad. But he fought shy of Balmung's 
 magic ; and besides, he thought it would 
 do him little honour to slay a man weak- 
 ened by the long strain on his strength.
 
 196 Siegfried 
 
 So he dropped his shield and sword and, 
 throwing his arms around Hagen, closed 
 with him and wrestled till the Burgun- 
 dian's last strength gave way and he could 
 bind him for safety. 
 
 Then came King Gunther's turn. His 
 splendid courage and skill in arms still 
 held out through a long combat, until he 
 too was wounded, then disarmed and 
 bound like Hagen. It went against the 
 noble Dietrich's heart to treat two such 
 heroes in such unknightly wise, but he 
 knew that, wounded as they were, they 
 would, if free of limb, slay any man they 
 came across. 
 
 Dietrich took his two prisoners where 
 Kriemhilde sat. She made no sign, but 
 merely spoke : 
 
 " King Gunther, you are very wel- 
 come." 
 
 To which he replied : 
 
 " I would thank you for your greeting, 
 royal sister, were it meant in kindness. 
 But knowing, O Queen, the temper of 
 your mood, I must even take it as a 
 bitter mockery."
 
 Kriemhilde's Revenge 197 
 
 Then said the King of Bern : 
 
 " Most gracious, royal lady, never yet 
 were such heroes taken prisoners in 
 knightly single combat as these I here 
 entrust unto your care. Let my friend- 
 ship and services speak for them and 
 gain them favour in your eyes." 
 
 Kriemhilde promised with gracious 
 mien. Then, when Dietrich, with tears 
 in his eyes, had taken leave of them, as 
 he thought, for a short time, she did a 
 wicked, shameful deed. For all woman- 
 hood was now dead in her. 
 
 She had the two locked up separately. 
 Then she went into Hagen's prison and 
 spoke to him shortly and sternly : 
 
 "If you will restore to me what you 
 have robbed me of, you may, for Dietrich's 
 sake, go back alive to Burgundy. 
 
 Grim Hagen answered as briefly and 
 sternly : 
 
 " Lady, you are wasting your words. I 
 have sworn an oath, not to tell where the 
 treasure lies hid. So long as one of my 
 liege lords is living, no one shall have it." 
 
 Kriemhilde went out and ordered Gun-
 
 198 Siegfried 
 
 ther to be put to death, and his head cut 
 off. That bloody head she then took up 
 by the hair and carried it in to Hagen. 
 
 When the hapless prisoner beheld his 
 beloved lord's head, he drew himself up 
 and spoke with cold contempt : 
 
 " All has come about as I foresaw. 
 Thou hast now accomplished thy fell pur- 
 pose. The noble King of Burgundy is 
 dead. Dead are young Giselher, and 
 Gernot the strong. No one now knows 
 the treasure's hiding-place save God alone 
 and me. And never, thou fiend of a wo- 
 man, shall it be known to thee." 
 
 " Then," she cried, " of all that thou 
 hast taken from me, I shall keep at least 
 my Siegfried's sword, which he wore the 
 last time I ever saw him." 
 
 She spoke ; and quick as thought she 
 drew Balmung from the scabbard and, lift- 
 ing it high, struck off Hagen's head. 
 King Etzel saw but it was done before 
 he could stay her arm. 
 
 " Oh woe ! " he cried, " that one of the 
 bravest champions who ever fought in 
 battle and carried shield should fall thus
 
 Kriemhilde's Revenge 199 
 
 by a woman's hand ! Much as I hated 
 him, I cannot but sorrow for him." 
 
 Old Hildebrand then said : 
 
 "It shall not profit her that she suc- 
 ceeded in killing him. Although he slew 
 many of my friends and put me myself in 
 danger of my life, I will avenge him, for 
 he was a brave man." 
 
 With this he sprang on Kriemhilde and 
 smote her with his sword. She gave one 
 cry and fell dead among the dead. 
 
 Dietrich and Etzel wept aloud, and their 
 friends raised a piteous wail to Heaven. 
 
 This is the Lay of the Nibelungs the 
 story of Siegfried, the hero of the North, 
 and of Kriemhilde's great revenge. As 
 for the Nibelung treasure, it was never 
 heard of from that day to this. There is 
 a spot on the Rhine where popular tradi- 
 tion will have it that the deep hole is, in 
 the bottom of the river, into which the 
 hoard was sunk. But we may be very 
 sure that it will never be explored and 
 that the accursed gold will do no more 
 mischief in the world.
 
 NOTE ON THE " NIBELUNGENLIED " 
 
 WHO wrote the Lay of the Nibelungs ? 
 There has been no lack of curi- 
 osity, of conjecture, concerning this ques- 
 tion, and it is always in a tone of regret 
 that critics and historians admit that it 
 must remain unanswered. As if it mat- 
 tered ! Do we ask after the names of 
 those who wrote the folk-songs and folk- 
 ballads, words and music ? Besides, they 
 were never written, neither was the epic 
 they were written down, the songs pro- 
 bably unaltered, for music and lyric are 
 spontaneous ; the epic was put into shape 
 in the process, which may have beguiled 
 the long leisures of the cloister, the briefer 
 ones of court life or of camp and march. 
 Possibly all these. For it is very certain 
 that the Lay, as we have it, is the work 
 of more than one pen. This is shown by
 
 Note on the " Nibelungenlied " 201 
 
 the unequal merit of the several parts, 
 some of which drag noticeably as regards 
 interest of incident, spirited narrative, and 
 dramatic vividness of detail ; but it is even 
 more evident from certain contradictions 
 which strike the reader of the unabridged 
 poem, and from the differences between 
 the three extant complete manuscripts, 
 which are not even all of equal length. 
 
 Of these manuscripts, docketed A, B, 
 and C, respectively, two are dated from the 
 thirteenth century ; the third is even more 
 recent, and bears the stamp of rehandling 
 by some follower of the artificial school 
 known as " Court-poets "(Hofische Poesie). 
 MS. A is to be found in the public lib- 
 rary at Munich, while B reposes in the 
 library of the famous Abbey of St. Gall 
 in Switzerland (not far south of the Lake 
 of Constance- Bodensee). Some critics 
 consider A as the oldest and most authen- 
 tic MS., while others give the preference 
 to B. The former have on their side the 
 weighty authority of Lachmann, a follower 
 of the so-called "ballad-theory" in epic 
 poetry, initiated by the great Wolf, a
 
 202 Siegfried 
 
 theory which denies all individual author- 
 ship to the national epics, deriving them 
 entirely from old folk-ballads, recited by 
 itinerant minstrels and, in the course 
 of time, more or less loosely strung to- 
 gether and written down. Although car- 
 ried by some over-zealous disciples to 
 unjustifiable lengths, the " ballad-theory " 
 (Lieder-Theorie), is in so far universally ac- 
 cepted, as it accounts for the materials out 
 of which national epics elaborated them- 
 selves until the time when they were ripe 
 for the skilled hands one or a few 
 which were to sift, sort, order them, and 
 re-cast them into a harmonious literary 
 whole. If these " hands " happened to 
 have genius besides, like the problematic 
 Greek whom we call Homer, and, in a 
 lesser degree, the unknown poets of 
 several portions of the Nibelungenlied 
 so much the better for posterity. 
 
 The heroic and mythic material out of 
 which the Lay grew is not far to seek. 
 The cycle of Northern Sagas preserved in 
 that marvellous Edda which so strangely 
 came to light in remote Iceland, the last 
 
 Jnirersitv cf T oi Ar^
 
 Note on the " Nibelungenlied " 203 
 
 and late stronghold of Northern pa- 
 ganism, in the very thirteenth century of 
 which the two principal Nibelung manu- 
 scripts bear the date, tells us all about 
 Sigurd the demigod, with his magic sword, 
 Brynhilde the Valkyrie, fair Gudrun and 
 her brothers, Gunnar and Hogni, by the 
 Rhine and those earlier happenings in 
 the world of the gods and giants, by which 
 we trace the whole wonderful phantasma- 
 goria to the primeval, universal nature- 
 myth of sun and earth, spring and winter. 
 But surely when Christian minstrels, in 
 Christian castles and courts, sang or re- 
 cited this or that incident from the advent- 
 ures of the Christian hero, Siegfried of 
 the Netherlands, at the Christian court 
 of Gunther, King of Burgundy, his win- 
 ning of Brunhilde, the fierce maiden of 
 Iceland, for his friend, his own wooing 
 and wedding of the gentle Kriemhilde, 
 that friend's sister, etc., they were all un- 
 conscious of the heathen, mythico-heroic 
 substratum, which yet is very percepti- 
 ble in the finished poem up to the kill- 
 ing of Siegfried by Hagen, i. e., through
 
 204 Siegfried 
 
 the first half of it. Nothing here is his- 
 toric but the setting the court and chiv- 
 alry of Burgundy in the fifth century A.D., 
 and the name of Gunther. It is probable 
 that this choice of time and place was sug- 
 gested to the unconscious modernisers of 
 the material by a mere similarity of names : 
 Gunnar Gunther, the " Gundicarius " of 
 the Latin chroniclers, who was killed in 
 437, in a hard-fought and bloody battle, 
 by Huns, probably led by Attila, with (it 
 is said) twenty thousand of his own people. 
 This Gundicarius really Gundahari, later 
 changed into Gunther, was the founder 
 of the first German kingdom on land be- 
 longing to the Roman Empire. No won- 
 der if such a personality and such an event 
 became matter for minstrelsy nor if, in 
 the course of time, both became trans- 
 formed and absorbed into the older, vaster, 
 and more universally national epic material. 
 The connexion, however, between Gun- 
 ther and his vanquisher, Attila, exists al- 
 ready in the original Sigurd-saga. There 
 also Atli (Attila), King of the Huns, weds 
 the hero's widow (Gudrun) and causes the
 
 Note on the " Nibelungenlied " 205 
 
 death of her two brothers, Gunnar and 
 Hogni (the Hagen of the Lay), by 
 treacherously luring them to his court for 
 a friendly visit, then falling upon them and 
 their retinue with overpowering numbers. 
 The historical, normal nature of the event 
 war for conquest being obliterated, it 
 became necessary to supply a motive for 
 the main fact which survived the killing 
 of Gunnar by Atli ; and the most plausi- 
 ble, nay lawful motive which suggested 
 itself in those ages was revenge. So, 
 with the delicious incongruity characteris- 
 tic of mediaeval story-telling, Atli, King 
 of the Huns, (the Etzel of the Lay) 
 became the brother of the Heaven-born 
 war-maiden Brynhilde, whose dereliction 
 by Siegfried for Gudrun, (though uncon- 
 scious, owing to a magic potion producing 
 oblivion), he, after many years, avenges 
 not on Gudrun, a woman and his wife, 
 but on her next of kin, a proceeding en- 
 tirely in accordance with the Northmen's 
 ancient moral code. Gudrun in her turn, 
 and quite as properly, avenges her brothers, 
 but with hideous refinement of barbarity :
 
 206 Siegfried 
 
 Medea-like, she kills with her own hand 
 her and Atli's two children, serves their 
 hearts at supper to the unconscious father, 
 and, after seeing him partake of the horri- 
 ble food, murders him in his cups. This 
 last is another of those unexpected touches 
 of history, or at least historic tradition : 
 for the Goths would have it that Attila 
 was murdered by a beautiful young Ger- 
 man captive, with whom he was so infatu- 
 ated as to make her his wife, almost at his 
 wedding feast. They gave the girl's name 
 as " Ildico " which of course is no other 
 than "Hilde"; and herewith we have 
 the connecting link between the Gudrun 
 of the older saga, and the " Kriem/2z7dfc " 
 of the finished Lay. In the latter, too, 
 the motive for the slaughter of the Bur- 
 gundians at Attila's (Etzel's) court is sup- 
 plied more plausibly by the murder of 
 Siegfried, whose widow is his natural 
 avenger. So the final tragedy is brought 
 about by her, not by Etzel, who is only 
 involved in it ; the greatest horror of it 
 is thus somewhat mitigated, inasmuch as 
 we are spared Gudrun's unnatural crimes,
 
 Note on the " Nibelungenlied " 207 
 
 Kriemhilde's and Etzel's child being slain 
 indeed, but by Hagen, in retaliation of the 
 first attack on his friends. Besides, the 
 Lay makes it very clear that Kriem- 
 hilde had at first no intention to harm the 
 Burgundians or their chiefs not even her 
 brother Gunther, whom she had suspected 
 of conniving at Siegfried's death, but had 
 forgiven and that her vengeance is aimed 
 wholly at Hagen, the villain whose brain 
 planned and whose hand executed the 
 foul deed. That she loses all control of 
 the demon she has conjured up and is 
 herself dragged into the vortex until she 
 is caught in her own murderous engine, 
 and hurried along, half demented, through 
 more and more crimes, more and more 
 innocent blood, even that of her own dear- 
 est friends, to the inexorable end that is 
 the finest moral of the poem, a moral 
 which suggests the text, "Vengeance is 
 mine, I will repay, saith the Lord," and 
 is all the more effective that it emanates 
 spontaneously from the events and char- 
 acters, instead of these being intentionally 
 shaped to point it.
 
 208 Siegfried 
 
 Next to the Margrave Rudiger, the 
 noblest and most sympathetic figure in 
 the second part of the Lay is the hero- 
 king, Dietrich of Bern ; an unmistakably 
 historic one, no other than Theodoric the 
 Great, King of the Ostrogoths (East 
 Goths), surnamed " of Verona " (Bern) 
 because of the decisive pitched battle 
 which he won near that city and which 
 made him the master of Italy. His per- 
 sonality and deeds impressed themselves so 
 deeply on his time and race that he became 
 the centre of an epic cycle of his own. 
 One wonders somewhat to find him at the 
 court of Attila, since he was born in the 
 year of Attila's death (453). Such a slight 
 anachronism, however, would not be con- 
 sidered an obstacle by a mediaeval minstrel 
 if the personage otherwise " fitted into " 
 his tale. It is rather more puzzling that 
 he should be represented as occupying a 
 half-dependent position at the side of the 
 King of the Huns, whose claim on his 
 service as vassal he tacitly admits, speak- 
 ing of himself as a " powerful king " and 
 in the same breath as a " friendless exile."
 
 Note on the " Nibelungenlied " 209 
 
 The historical foundation of this seeming 
 inconsistency must lie in the fact that the 
 Ostrogoths, before Theodoric led them to 
 independence, then to victory and con- 
 quests, had been forced to submit to At- 
 tila on certain onerous terms, under which 
 they were compelled to fight in his hosts, 
 probably as reluctantly as the contingents 
 of subjected European nations fought in 
 Napoleon's armies. However that may 
 be, in the bloody battle of Chalons, which 
 stemmed the tide of invasion and saved 
 the Christian West, the Ostrogoths were 
 found fighting on the wrong side. 
 
 Criticism of the poem is not an object 
 of this notice. Its greatest beauties of in- 
 cident or character will surely be found 
 self-evident ; likewise the beautiful or pa- 
 thetic touches of detail, such as the first 
 meeting of the two Queens, that of the 
 radiant young lovers, Siegfried and Kriem- 
 hilde, the death scene of Siegfried in the 
 forest, when his blood dyes the wild-flow- 
 ers red, as in Kriemhilde's dream, or 
 Folker, the minstrel-knight, keeping sad 
 guard with Hagen, and softly playing his
 
 2IO 
 
 Siegfried 
 
 doomed comrades to sleep with soothing 
 tunes from home, that they may have 
 one last peaceful night's rest before the 
 morrow's combat, the end of which is a 
 foregone conclusion. One thing is certain : 
 there is nothing finer or more pathetic in 
 Homer than the conflict of duties in Rudi- 
 ger's soul and his despair when loyalty 
 to his King and his oath compel him to do 
 battle without quarter against those who 
 have been his honoured guests and well- 
 beloved friends, or his last parley with 
 those friends, and his deliberate seeking 
 of expiation in death at their hands. 

 
 BEOWULF 
 THE HERO OF THE ANGLO-SAXONS 
 
 211
 
 PROLOGUE 
 
 AMONG the nations of the far North, 
 there was none braver, more hardy, 
 nobler, than the Danes none whose deeds 
 in war were sung of more proudly at the 
 feasts of earl and thane. Many were the 
 kings whose names came from the in- 
 spired lips of Skalds, as their hands struck 
 the stringed harp, in warlike or in mourn- 
 ful chords ; but of these names none were 
 treasured more reverently than those of 
 the Skyldings, the oldest royal house 
 known to Danish tradition. It is a very 
 long time over a thousand years since 
 the Danes ruled in England. Yet even 
 then the deeds of the Skyldings were 
 tales of long ago. So long ago that they 
 had become mixed up with much fable ; 
 and especially the beginnings of the fa- 
 213
 
 214 Beowulf 
 
 mous race were so intertwined with the 
 wonders of heathen Scandinavian anti- 
 quity that it has never been possible to 
 decide exactly how much was history and 
 how much myth. 
 
 The father of the race, Skyld of the 
 Sheaf, was great in the memory of his 
 people. With his nobles his ethelings 
 he had wrested lands and glory from many 
 a neighbouring tribe aye, and many a 
 distant one, too ; the dread of him fell on 
 the bravest warriors ; he waxed great un- 
 der the sun, he flourished in peace, till 
 that every one of the neighbouring peo- 
 ples over the sea was constrained to obey 
 him and pay tribute ; and the world said 
 of him when he died, " That was a good 
 king!" 
 
 Yet Skyld was not born to the crown. 
 In fact no one knew anything of his birth 
 and parentage. He was sent, it was said, 
 just when the country had need of a de- 
 liverer and leader. He had come one 
 day, so the story ran, over the sea, in a 
 beautiful ship, a new-born infant, bedded 
 on sheaves of wheat, when the Danish
 
 Prologue 2 1 5 
 
 people were in sore distress because of 
 the wickedness of the man who was, at 
 the time, king over them. 
 
 This man's name, Heremod, went down, 
 unforgotten, but unhonoured, through 
 many a generation, a by-word for bad 
 monarchs. He was, in everything, the di- 
 rect contrary of what a good ruler ought 
 to be. He used his power, not for his 
 nobles' benefit or pleasure, but to deal 
 them wanton harm and even death. For 
 his ungovernable temper grew on him, 
 until, in his furious fits, he would strike 
 and kill, though it were his closest follow- 
 ers, his companions at the board and in 
 the battle. In his soul there grew a 
 bloodthirsty passion, and he suffered the 
 penalty of his evil doings in the estrange- 
 ment of his friends, the settled dislike of 
 his people, until at last they would stand 
 his presence no longer, and he wandered 
 forth alone, away from all human society, 
 and was never heard of more. It was 
 then that Skyld, the mysterious found- 
 ling, the Heaven-sent, seized on the gov- 
 ernment, brought order and plenty into
 
 2i6 Beowulf 
 
 the land, and won love from his people, 
 respect from his foes. 
 
 A son was born to King Skyld in 
 his prime, a beautiful child, whom God 
 sent for the people's comfort and solace 
 Beowulf, sole heir to the throne. From 
 his earliest years he was full of promise, 
 a model of what a young chief should 
 be while still in his father's care 
 always ready with gracious words and 
 open hand, so that in his riper age will- 
 ing comrades in return were ready to 
 stand by him in war, and men gladly 
 did his bidding. Then, surrounded and 
 assisted by devoted friends who grew 
 up with him, he was enabled to perform 
 deeds which filled the world with praise 
 of him. 
 
 As for Skyld, he departed, in the ful- 
 ness of time, ripe in honours and years, 
 to go into the Master's keeping. His 
 faithful comrades then carried him forth 
 to the shore of the sea, as he himself had 
 ordered. The black, heavy earth should 
 have no part in him ; the sea had brought 
 him, the ever-moving, many-hued ; the
 
 Prologue 217 
 
 sea should bear him hence, after his long 
 years of power. 
 
 There at anchor rode the ship, glisten- 
 ing fresh, outward bound, fit for a prince. 
 Down they laid their illustrious dead, the 
 dear chief of the land, dispenser of boun- 
 ties, on the lap of the ship, by the mast. 
 There was great store of precious things ; 
 ornaments from remote parts, weapons of 
 rare worth, mail armour finely wrought, 
 and harness glittering in silver and in 
 gold ; a multitude of treasures, which were 
 to pass with him far away into the watery 
 realm. Furthermore they set by him the 
 royal banner, gold-broidered, high over his 
 head. As its folds unfurled and glittered 
 in the breeze, it told the skies, and the 
 sun, and the stars of night, that a King 
 went forth into the world, on his last voy- 
 age. They set the helm, and gave him 
 over to the ocean, sad at heart, with tear- 
 dimmed eyes, and silent in their mourn- 
 ing. And Who received that burthen 
 no man under heaven, be it priest or chief- 
 tain or wise seer, can ever tell or know. 
 
 Thus Skyld of the Sheaf was honoured
 
 218 
 
 Beowulf 
 
 in death after the manner of the mighty 
 dead of oldest times among the strong- 
 hearted sons of the North. From the 
 Unknown he came and into the Unknown 
 was borne away.
 
 LAY I 
 GRENDEL 
 
 I 
 HEOROT 
 
 THEN Beowulf of the Skyldings sat in 
 the seat of his father, loved of his 
 people, for a long time famous among the 
 nations, and was succeeded in turn by his 
 son. The royal race of the Skyldings 
 prospered greatly, and when the crown 
 came to his grandson Hrothgar, its great- 
 ness seemed assured for all time. Hroth- 
 gar was a youth of goodly parts ; brave 
 and ambitious in war, yet delighting in 
 the gentle works of peace, a born com- 
 mander always. So that his brothers and 
 cousins gladly took him for their leader, 
 219
 
 220 Beowulf 
 
 and a young brood of devoted clansmen 
 grew up around him, valiant in battle, 
 merry companions at the board. With 
 these he did some mighty deeds, winning 
 renown and riches, when they were young 
 together, and as together they grew old, 
 he loved to sit with them at the feast, en- 
 joying well-earned rest, rehearsing the 
 toils and joys of the brave old days, and 
 listening to sweet minstrelsy from the lips 
 of God-inspired bards. 
 
 Now Hrothgar was very wealthy and 
 his comrades were too many for an ordi- 
 nary hall, even that of a king's palace. 
 So he bethought him of having men build 
 for him a great banqueting-hall, greater 
 than the children of men had ever heard 
 tell of, that he might spend there happy, 
 careless days, dealing out freely to old 
 and young the goods that God had blessed 
 him with. 
 
 The fame of the work spread rapidly 
 and widely, and more than one tribe curi- 
 ously watched its progress. It came to 
 an end with a quickness which surprised 
 all men, and there the fair structure stood,
 
 Heorot 221 
 
 towering aloft into the blue air, the great- 
 est of all hall buildings, a gathering place 
 for happy men, defying destruction except 
 from the irresistible might of fire. It was 
 called Heorot Hart-hall because of the 
 noble crown of antlers which ran round 
 the eaves of the building, and the open- 
 ing banquet was an event long remem- 
 bered in the land, from the bountiful 
 hospitality dispensed by the King and the 
 wealth of gifts, in rings and other precious 
 things, which he gave away with almost 
 reckless lavishness on this occasion.
 
 II 
 
 GRENDEL 
 
 BUT there was one apart from all this 
 joy who was consumed with malice 
 and with hatred, who vowed to turn the 
 joy into direst grief, the shouts of glad- 
 ness into moans and wails, ere many days 
 had come and gone. True, no human 
 wight was he, but one of the unholy brood 
 of monsters, accursed of God, who dwell 
 in moors, fens, and swamps, remote from 
 God-fearing men, ever bent on doing hell's 
 work of harm and destruction the unblest 
 posterity (so wise men tell) of Cain, the 
 first shedder of innocent blood. 
 
 To this Grendel, this outcast creature, 
 dwelling in darkness, it was torture un- 
 bearable to hear the sounds of rejoicing 
 day by day, as they came, borne by the
 
 Grendel 223 
 
 wind to him, across the moor the tender 
 sighing of the harp, the ringing song of 
 the minstrel. 
 
 Once, one skilled in holy song told of 
 the creation of the world : how the Al- 
 mighty' made the earth, radiant with 
 beauty, and the waters that encompass it, 
 delighting in His work; and how He OP 
 dained the sun and the moon, for light to 
 the dwellers on the earth, and made the 
 woods beautiful with boughs and leaves ; 
 and how He put life into all the things 
 that breathe and move. 
 
 Grimly the wicked one hearkened to the 
 strain, which fed his unholy fury until it 
 craved for slaughter, fell, immediate. 
 
 He set out that very night, as soon as 
 darkness descended, made straight for 
 the lofty hall. He did not much fear de- 
 tection, for he knew that after such a 
 carousal the warriors would be overcome 
 with sleep. And truly, there they lay, in 
 the hall itself, with their weapons by their 
 side, yet helpless as unarmed women. He 
 went, and, in their sleep, seized and killed 
 thirty of the thanes ; then hied him back
 
 224 Beowulf 
 
 to his moor with the war spoils, yelling 
 with fierce joy. 
 
 Then was there a great cry in the grey 
 morning. The voice of weeping was 
 raised where but now the song of gladness 
 had filled the air. Dazed and woe-begone, 
 the King sat in his high place, and wept 
 for his thanes. But when, the very next 
 night, Grendel returned and committed 
 even greater murder, and again and 
 again after that, terror seized on them all. 
 Men kept in close hiding from nightfall 
 to break of day, then gradually left their 
 own well-appointed homes, sleeping in 
 barns or in the open, away from dwell- 
 ings, wherever they thought they could 
 best bestow themselves for safety ; but 
 naught availed to save. For twelve win- 
 ters' space the baleful fiend warred single- 
 handed against the Skyldings and their 
 friends, till all the best houses stood de- 
 serted. Unbounded were the sorrows of 
 that dreadful time, unspeakable the dis- 
 tress, and the fame thereof was carried to 
 foreign lands in ballads and moving tales. 
 Men dared not go within miles of the 
 fated moor ; so travel was stopped, trib-
 
 Grendel 225 
 
 ute remained unpaid ; for the foul ruffian, 
 a dark shadow of death prowled about 
 and lay in wait. Of night he continually 
 held the misty moors ; and no one knew 
 what way the hellish birth moved in his 
 rounds, for never was the monster seen of 
 man. As to Heorot, the richly decorated 
 hall, Grendel made that his headquarters, 
 and occupied it every dark night. Only 
 he was never able to come near the throne, 
 because it stood on a consecrated spot, 
 and was hallowed by priestly benison. 
 
 A great affliction, heart-breaking, was 
 this that had come on the Skyldings and 
 their friends. Many a time and oft did 
 the best and wisest sit in council, seeking 
 what were best be done in these awful 
 straits. So sorely were they bested, that 
 they forgot at times that they were Christ- 
 ians, and more than once craved help 
 against the goblin visitant from the old 
 heathen gods, vowing sacrifices at their 
 secret shrines. 
 
 Thus was King Hrothgar perpetually 
 tossed with the trouble of that time, and 
 not all his wisdom availed to ward off the 
 evil.
 
 Ill 
 
 A FRIEND IN NEED 
 
 THERE lived at that time among the 
 Goths, at the right hand of their King, 
 Hygelac, a young thane, his cousin, of the 
 name of Beowulf. He was, as his name be- 
 tokened, one of the Skylding race, but only 
 in the female line. Young as he was, he 
 had won for himself a name of wide re- 
 nown as a hero of high achievement and 
 the mightiest among all the men of his time. 
 Now, this brave thane, in his distant 
 home, heard of the misdeeds of Grendel, 
 and his heart ached for the aged King, the 
 evening of whose days was clouded over 
 by such unheard-of tribulation. He made 
 up his mind to help, and sued to King 
 Hygelac for permission to undertake the 
 venture with a few picked comrades. His 
 friends of the King's council and board 
 226
 
 A Friend in Need 227 
 
 praised the gallant youth to the skies. 
 They egged on his daring spirit, they took 
 omens and consulted signs on his behalf ; 
 but they did not begrudge him the advent- 
 ure, wise men that they were, even though 
 he was dear to them. 
 
 Beowulf ordered a good ship to be made 
 ready for him, to [take him over the road 
 that swans travel.* j He selected fourteen 
 champions among the Goths, the keenest 
 he could find, and went to sea with them, 
 having made sure of a skilful, experienced 
 pilot, who knew the shallows and the 
 deeps. Like a bird the good ship, tight- 
 timbered, slender-necked, sped before the 
 wind, and made such way that on the next 
 day already the eager voyagers saw land, 
 gleaming cliffs, hills towering, headlands 
 stretching out to sea : the passage was 
 ended. Lightly the ethelings sprang 
 ashore, made fast the ship, shook out their 
 garments, saw to their arms, and gave 
 thanks to God for that their seafaring had 
 been easy. 
 
 1 Literally true : the North Sea is the " path of the swans" 
 and to this day wild swans abound on the coast of Norway.
 
 IV 
 
 THE WARDEN 
 
 WHILE Beowulf and his friends were 
 busy with their landing, thinking 
 only of the work before them, the Skyl- 
 dings' warden, he whose duty it was to 
 guard the sea-cliffs and report any stran- 
 gers that hove in sight, espied them from 
 his high watch-place. Moved by curiosity 
 as much as by duty, he rode down to the 
 beach in great excitement, brandishing a 
 powerful, huge lance, and demanded, in no 
 gentle terms, to know the strangers' errand 
 and nationality, before they could be al- 
 lowed to proceed any farther into the land 
 of the Danes. 
 
 Beowulf at once stepped forth and spoke 
 up for all, with a dignity and courtesy which 
 shamed the rude officer into more manly
 
 The Warden 229 
 
 behaviour. He gave a full account of him- 
 self, then concluded : 
 
 " We have come with friendly intent to 
 visit thy lord. We have a great message 
 to him ; nor is there, to my mind, any need 
 to keep it dark. For it is no secret that 
 the Skyldings are in great tribulation be- 
 cause of a mysterious fiend, who has been 
 vexing them for years with h^s .nightly de- 
 predations. Now I can teach Hrothgar thte 
 remedy, and bring back better times. This 
 I say in all sincerity of heart." 
 
 To this speech the warden replied in 
 greatly altered tones : 
 
 " I gather from what I hear that this is 
 a friendly band come to visit the lord of 
 the Skyldings. But it is a faithful ser- 
 vant's part to question sharply and to gain 
 certainty on all points before he commits 
 his lord. Keep your arms and march on : 
 I will guide you. Likewise will I com- 
 mand my kinsmen thanes honourably to 
 keep against every foe your vessel here 
 on the beach." 
 
 Upon this invitation the troop gaily left 
 their ship riding safely at her anchor, and
 
 230 Beowulf 
 
 eagerly pressed forward, until their eyes 
 beheld the far-famed hall, Heorot the gold- 
 roofed, most renowned of all mansions un- 
 der the sky. Then the warden pointed 
 with his hand to the road which led straight 
 to it, wheeled round his horse, and spoke 
 a parting word : 
 
 " It is time for me to go. May the all- 
 wielding Father graciously keep you safe 
 in adventures ! As for me, I must hie me 
 back to the shore, to keep my watch against 
 foes from the sea."
 
 THE ARRIVAL 
 
 THE road was stone-paven, and so 
 straight, there was no need of a guide. 
 Beowulf and his band marched up to the 
 Hall in grim, warlike guise, their burnished 
 corslets shining, the iron rings of their 
 mail shirts clanging loud. When they 
 reached the mansion, the weary men set 
 down their broad shields, leaning them 
 against the wall, and seated themselves in 
 silence on the bench before the entrance, 
 after stacking their spears together, ready 
 to their hand. Thus they waited in dig- 
 nified silence for somebody to come from 
 King Hrothgar and challenge them. 
 
 Very soon an officer appeared and put 
 the customary questions, to which he 
 added some respectful compliments : 
 231
 
 232 Beowulf 
 
 " I am," he said, " Hrothgar's herald 
 and esquire. Never saw I foreigners of 
 loftier mien. I think that ye have come 
 to visit Hrothgar, not from desperate fort- 
 unes, but bound on some high undertak- 
 ing." 
 
 To which the proud leader replied with 
 gallant bearing : 
 
 " We are Hygelac's own table-fellows. 
 My name is Beowulf. I will myself ex- 
 pound mine errand to thy lord, if so he 
 deign to admit us to his presence." 
 
 The officer, Wulfgar by name, hastened 
 forthwith to where Hrothgar sat, old and 
 hoary, and bent with grief, amid his de- 
 spondent warriors, and not only told of. 
 the valiant guests from the land of the 
 Goths and their petition, but advised him 
 to give them a friendly reception. In the 
 deep distress of these sorry times, it 
 seemed as though any change must be for 
 the better, and every stranger must bring 
 hope. 
 
 The sad old King brightened at mention 
 of Beowulf's name, whose father he had 
 known in the dear departed days of golden
 
 The Arrival 233 
 
 youth, and whose own renown he pleasur- 
 ably recalled. 
 
 " This son," he said, " I mind him well. 
 I knew him when he was a page. He has 
 grown into a valiant campaigner. It is 
 said that he has thirty men's strength in 
 his handgrip. Surely God of His grace 
 hath sent him to us in our great need. 
 Bid him and his men, one and all, into my 
 presence straight, with every martial hon- 
 our. Say to them, moreover, in words, 
 that they are welcome."
 
 VI 
 
 THE RECEPTION AND THE PLEDGE 
 
 WULFGAR, nothing loth, took the 
 royal message to the waiting 
 guests and ushered them into the royal 
 presence in full warlike equipment, helm 
 on head, sword on hip. Beowulf, tall and 
 commanding, his corslet of cunningly link- 
 ed mail shining as a network of lights, 
 took his stand before the King, and, with 
 firm eye and becoming assurance, spoke 
 thus at length of what was nearest to his 
 and the Danes' hearts : 
 
 "To Hrothgar hail ! I am King Hyge- 
 lac's cousin-thane. Many a deed of daring 
 was mine in youngsterhood. All that ye 
 suffer here from Grendel became known 
 to us in Gothland. Seafaring men told us 
 how that this hall, this most princely fabric, 
 .234
 
 The Reception and the Pledge 235 
 
 stands useless and empty each night, as 
 soon as the star of day is hidden from 
 view. Then did my people, the wisest 
 and best among them, urge me that I 
 should visit thee, O royal Hrothgar. Be- 
 cause they knew the strength of my arm 
 of their own knowledge : time and again 
 they had seen me return from the field 
 battered by foes, but never beaten ; five 
 monsters I bound on land, and in the 
 waves I slew many a nicor 1 in the night- 
 time. And now I am bound to champion 
 thy quarrel, O King, single-handed, 
 against Grendel, the evil giant. But one 
 petition I have, which thou, O Shelter of 
 the Danes, wilt not refuse to one who is 
 come from far to serve thee : it is that I 
 may have the task alone I and my band 
 of earls to purge Heorot. And as I 
 have learnt that the terrible one, out of 
 sheer boastfulness, despises the use of 
 weapons, so I too will forego them, and 
 bear not sword, nor spear, nor broad 
 
 l " Nicors" are mischievous water-sprites, who delight in 
 making trouble for ships and sailors. The feminine in Ger- 
 man is " Nixe," the beautiful water-maiden who lures mortals 
 down into her watery abode.
 
 236 Beowulf 
 
 shield to my battle with him ; but with 
 handgrip alone will I meet him, foe to 
 foe, and him of the two whom the Lord 
 doometh, let grim Death take for his own. 
 
 " Should the doom fall upon me," Be- 
 owulf went on, "thou wilt not, O King, be 
 put to the trouble of building a mound 
 over my head. For if all tales of Grendel 
 be true, he will bear away the gory corpse, 
 to feast on it in his lonely moor. But this 
 do thou for love of me ; send to Hygelac 
 the matchless armour that protects my 
 breast it is a work of Weland, cunning- 
 est of smiths, and such are not made now- 
 adays ; meet gift from a departing friend."
 
 VII 
 
 THE FEAST 
 
 rthis speech, manly and heroic, H roth- 
 gar made reply in many words for 
 age is not sparing of its breath in words. 
 He gave thanks to the God-sent young 
 champion ; he went back to the deeds of 
 his youth, in company with his brothers 
 and many brave comrades long dead ; he 
 dwelt on the horrors of these latter years. 
 Then, at length bethinking himself that 
 the wayfarers must be a-weary and a- 
 hungered, he said to the chief : 
 
 " But now sit thee down to the banquet 
 with thy fellows, and merrily share the 
 feast as the spirit moves thee." 
 
 A table was promptly cleared for the 
 Goths. Thither they went, and sat in the 
 pride of their strength. A thane at- 
 237
 
 238 Beowulf 
 
 tended to their wants, going from one to 
 the other with a mighty ale-can of hand- 
 some workmanship. Again and again he 
 poured out the golden ale. At times a 
 minstrel's voice rose in Heorot, ringing 
 and clear, and there was right brave merri- 
 ment and good-will in this mixed company 
 of Goths and Danes. 
 
 Yet was there one eye that gleamed 
 not with merriment and good-will, one head 
 that hatched no friendly thoughts, because 
 the heart swelled with malice and envy. 
 Unferth it was, the King's own story-teller, 
 who sat at his feet, to be ready at all times 
 to amuse him. He broached a quarrel- 
 some theme an adventure in Beowulf's 
 early youth, the only contest in his record 
 the issue of which, though hard fought, 
 might be called doubtful. For this Un- 
 ferth was an envious wight, whose soul 
 grudged that any man should achieve 
 greater things than himself. 
 
 " Art thou not," he began tauntingly, 
 " that same Beowulf who strove with Breca 
 on open sea in a swimming match, in which 
 ye both wantonly exposed your lives, and
 
 The Feast 239 
 
 no man, either friend or foe, could turn 
 you from the foolish venture? A se'n- 
 night ye twain toiled in the realm of the 
 waters, and, if I err not, he outdid thee 
 in swimming-, for he had greater strength. 
 Wherefore I fear me much thou mayest 
 meet with sorry luck if thou darest to 
 bide here for Grendel for the space of a 
 whole night." 
 
 Beowulf, though angered, controlled his 
 temper and replied with great coolness : 
 
 " Big things are these, friend Unferth, 
 which thou hast spoken ; evidently, good 
 ale has loosened thy wits. Yes, Breca 
 and I used to talk between ourselves when 
 we were pages, and brag each of his prow- 
 ess, being but youngsters, and so we made 
 up the foolish match between us, and hav- 
 ing made it, we stuck to it. Drawn sword 
 in hand we went into the water : we meant 
 to guard ourselves against sea-monsters 
 and water-sprites. Five nights we kept 
 close together, then the flood parted us. 
 It was a dark night, freezing cold, and a 
 fierce wind from the north came dead 
 against us, the waves running rough and
 
 240 Beowulf 
 
 high. One spotty monster dragged me 
 to the bottom ; but I did not lose my grip 
 on my sword and despatched the mighty 
 sea-brute. I know not how many more I 
 fought and killed : it was a grewsome 
 night. At last, light broke in the east, 
 and the waves grew calmer, so I could see 
 the headlands, and the sea cast me up on 
 the shore. I escaped with my life, though 
 worn and spent, and never heard I of 
 harder fight, or of man sorer distressed. 
 Anyhow, it was my good luck that I slew 
 with the sword nine nicors. So many 
 less were left to play havoc with seafaring 
 ships. Therefore, methinks I may rightly 
 claim that I have proved more sea-prow- 
 ess, endured more buffetings from waves, 
 than any other man." 
 
 Thus Beowulf told of his youthful prank. 
 Then turning upon Unferth with flashing 
 eye and clouded brow 
 
 " Of a sooth," he cried, " I say to thee, 
 Unferth, that never had Grendel, the foul 
 ruffian, made up such a tale of horrors, 
 wrought such disgrace in Heorot, if thy 
 spirit were as high as thou wouldst claim
 
 The Feast 241 
 
 for thyself. But he has found out that 
 he has not much to fear from the mighty 
 Danes ; so he takes blackmail, and slaugh- 
 ters and feasts at his ease. But now the 
 Goth shall ere long show him another kind 
 of spirit, and when the light of another 
 day rises over the world, then shall all 
 who choose walk proudly into the hall, 
 with head erect." 
 
 This speech, so brave and cheery, glad- 
 dened the old King's heart, and even the 
 Danes applauded it, although it held a 
 bitter sting : they took it as a well-de- 
 served hit at the unmannerly Unferth. 
 So laughter greeted Beowulf's words, 
 music sounded again, jolly drinking-songs 
 filled the hall ; and none seemed to re- 
 member although at heart none forgot 
 it that night was coming on, and what 
 it was to bring. 
 
 And now, behold ! Hrothgar's royal 
 consort, Queen Wealhtheow, well versed 
 in ceremonies and courtly lore, entered 
 the hall, resplendent in cloth of gold, to 
 honour her husband's guests with a 
 gracious word and a draught of sweet
 
 242 Beowulf 
 
 mead from her own royal hands. Her 
 stately greeting took in all the men in the 
 hall ; then she presented the beaker with 
 graceful obeisance to her lord, wishing 
 him blithe at the banquet, and happy in 
 his liegemen's love. Then she went the 
 round of the hall, to elder and younger, 
 and to each she handed the jewelled cup, 
 until she came to where Beowulf was 
 sitting among the young ethelings. With 
 befitting dignity she greeted the leader of 
 the Goths, as he stood before her, thank- 
 ing God with wise choice of words that her 
 heart's desire had come to pass. He, 
 the hero of many battles, took the beaker 
 from her hand, and, ere he drained it, 
 repeated his solemn pledge : 
 
 " When I went on board and sat in my 
 ship, as she sped over the waters, with 
 this my chosen band, I vowed I would 
 work out the deliverance of your people. 
 I am bound as an earl to fulfil my vow, or 
 in this hall to met my death to-night." 
 
 He quaffed the mead, and she, the 
 noble lady, inclined her diademed head 
 as she took from him the cup, for his
 
 The Feast 243 
 
 words were well to her liking. Then 
 slowly, with trailing robes, she walked to 
 the head of the hall, to sit by her lord. 
 
 For some time yet the banqueting went 
 on as merrily as ever, until the daylight 
 began to wane, when suddenly song and 
 laughter died on the revellers' lips, and 
 King Hrothgar bethought himself that it 
 was time to retire, for he knew that the 
 monster came forth when shrouding night 
 decends and the creatures of darkness go 
 stalking abroad. In silence all the com- 
 pany arose. 
 
 Hrothgar greeted Beowulf and spoke 
 solemn words : 
 
 " Never before, since my hand lifted 
 shield, did I entrust the Guard-house of 
 the Danes to any man, never but now 
 to thee. Have and hold the sacred house 
 against the foe. Be watchful, valiant, and 
 may victory wait on thee ! No wish of 
 thine shall go unfulfilled if thou dost per- 
 form the great work and livest to tell it." 
 
 Thus spoke Hrothgar the Skylding, 
 and gravely departed from the hall, with 
 his Queen, followed by his men.
 
 VIII 
 
 THE COMBAT 
 
 SILENTLY Beowulf looked after the 
 Danes ; silently he began to divest 
 himself of his armour, mindful of his vow 
 to fight the goblin bare-handed. He 
 laid off his shining mail, his helmet and 
 his sword of choicest steel, and gave them 
 in charge to his esquire ; then he stretched 
 himself on the floor and laid his cheek on 
 a pillow. For the hall had meanwhile 
 been promptly cleared of tables and 
 benches, which were pushed against the 
 walls, and couches of soft pelts and rugs 
 were spread on the floor. His comrades 
 did likewise. Not that rest came to any 
 of them at first ; for not one thought in 
 his heart he should ever again see his 
 own folk, his native land, the castle where 
 244
 
 The Combat 245 
 
 he was nurtured. But even as they kept 
 turning these things over in their minds, 
 their limbs relaxed, their lids grew heavy 
 with very weariness, and they slept. All 
 slept, but one, and he lay quite still, 
 straining his ear to listen and his eye to 
 peer through the dim night. 
 
 And hark ! tramp, tramp, he came 
 marching from the moor, Grendel, the 
 God-sent scourge. Straight for the hall 
 he made through the gloom : it was not 
 the first time he visited Hrothgar's home- 
 stead ; but never had he met such a 
 welcome as now awaited him there. 
 
 He came carelessly along, as one assured 
 of his entertainment. The door, though 
 fastened with bars of wrought iron, sprang 
 open at his touch. Quickly he stepped 
 across the flagged floor, big with rage, 
 with eyes ablaze. Suddenly he perceived 
 the troop of strange warriors, lying close 
 together, asleep. He laughed aloud. He 
 gloated as he stood over them, and thought 
 that, ere day came, the life of each of them 
 should have been wrenched from the body, 
 since luck had sent him such a treat.
 
 246 Beowulf 
 
 Beowulf curbed his rage to watch the 
 fell ruffian and see how he meant to pro- 
 ceed. The delay was not long : Grendel 
 quickly, at one grab, seized a sleeping 
 warrior, tore him up, crunched the bony 
 frame, drank the blood from the veins, 
 swallowed the flesh in huge morsels ; in 
 a trice he had devoured the lifeless body, 
 feet, hands, and all. Then he stepped 
 forward to where the hero lay, and reached 
 out a hand to seize him on his bed but 
 suddenly felt his arm held tight in such 
 a grip as he had never met with from any 
 man in all the world. He knew at once 
 that he was in an evil plight in mortal 
 fear he strove to wrench himself free and 
 flee. This was not the entertainment he 
 had been wont to meet there in bygone 
 days. 
 
 Now all were awake, and the hall was 
 in an uproar. And over at the castle, a 
 deadly panic came over all the Danes, 
 noble or simple, brave men as they were. 
 Furious were both the maddened champ- 
 ions ; the hall resounded with their wrest- 
 ling. It was a great wonder the building
 
 The Combat 247 
 
 did not fall to the ground; only that it 
 was inwardly and outwardly made strong 
 with iron stanchions, with such masterly 
 skill. In this night of terror it made good 
 the Danes' boast that no mortal force short 
 of fire would ever be able to wreck it. 
 
 The noise rose high, with increasing 
 violence. The Danes outside were numb 
 with horror at the unearthly shrieks and 
 dismal howlings of the God -forsaken 
 fiend. Many an earl of Beowulf's un- 
 sheathed and plunged into the fight ; they 
 knew not that they could not help their 
 leader, much as they desired it, for that 
 no choicest blade on earth could touch 
 that destroyer, because he had secured 
 himself by spells and incantations against 
 weapons of all kinds. But he was not 
 proof against human heroic might, and 
 from that he now got his death-wound, 
 as Beowulf, with a desperate grip and tug, 
 wrenched his arm off from the shoulder. 
 With a terrific yell, which told the listen- 
 ing Danes that the dire struggle was 
 ended, and victory won by their champ- 
 ion, Grendel fled to the coverts of the
 
 248 
 
 Beowulf 
 
 fen : well he knew that the number of 
 his days was full. 
 
 Thus was the valiant champion's pledge 
 redeemed ; thus was Heorot purged. The 
 leader of the Goths had made good his 
 vaunt, and, in token thereof, he hung up 
 Grendel's hand, arm, and shoulder grim 
 trophy ! under the gabled roof.
 
 IX 
 
 REJOICINGS AND THANKSGIVINGS 
 
 EARLY in the morning there was a great 
 gathering about the hall. Chieftains 
 came from far and near, to hear the mar- 
 vellous tale, to gaze at the loathsome pro- 
 digy. Then they took up the vanquished 
 monster's bloody trail, and followed it to 
 the Nicors' Mere, whither, death-doomed 
 and fugitive, he had betaken himself to 
 die. There was the face of the lake surg- 
 ing with blood, the gruesome plash of 
 waves all turbid with reeking gore. There 
 he had yielded up his heathen soul, there 
 pale-faced Hela, the dread queen and 
 guardian of the heathen dead, received it. 
 After surveying the uncanny spot, they 
 rode home from the Mere in high glee, as 
 from a pleasure-trip. Now and then one 
 249
 
 250 Beowulf 
 
 and the other loosened their nags for a 
 gallop, to run a match where the turf 
 looked smooth and inviting. Then again 
 a thane of the King's, his mind full of 
 ballads, stored with old-world tales, began 
 to compose Beowulf's adventure into a 
 story on the spot, to be sung later at the 
 feast, to the sweet-stringed harp. Or yet 
 another compared him to Siegfried, the 
 Dragon-slayer, the greatest hero of all 
 North countries. 
 
 Thus, alternately racing and talking and 
 singing, they rode joyously back to the 
 hall, and when they reached there, the sun 
 was already high in the sky, and crowds 
 were still flocking to Heorot ; and the King 
 himself, with the Queen and with a gor- 
 geous following of lords and ladies, was 
 coming the short way from his palace to 
 view his enemy's monstrous arm and hand 
 hanging from the gold-glittering roof. 
 
 Hrothgar was very different this sunny 
 morning from the bent and sorrow- 
 stricken old man who greeted Beowulf 
 the night before as his last hope on earth. 
 Right royal he looked now in his rich
 
 Rejoicings and Thanksgivings 251 
 
 robes as he walked along with head erect 
 and firm step, and clear, glad eye. He 
 stood awhile, gazing silently on the horri- 
 ble hand, with fiendish fingers, and nails 
 straight and sharp like steel spikes, then 
 devoutly raised his voice : 
 
 " For this sight thanks be given the 
 Almighty ! It was but now that I 
 thought I should never see an end of all 
 my woes and now a lad, through the 
 might of God, has achieved the deed 
 which we, with all our wisdom, were un- 
 able to accomplish. Now I will heartily 
 love thee, Beowulf, thou most excellent 
 youth ! From this day forth shalt thou 
 be to me as my son ; thou shalt have 
 nothing to wish for in the world so far as 
 I have power. Full oft have I, for far 
 less service, decreed great guerdons from 
 my treasury. May the Almighty reward 
 thee always, as He hath just done !" 
 
 Beowulf accepted these thanks and 
 praises with most becoming modesty. 
 Indeed, he rather apologised for having 
 let the enemy escape him ; " for," he said, 
 " I would have liked vastly better to show
 
 252 Beowulf 
 
 thee his very self, instead of only his arm 
 and hand." 
 
 Men, in those days, were not, as a rule, 
 shy of boasting of their valorous deeds 
 and making the most of them. Therefore 
 the young hero's quiet bearing won him 
 still heartier admiration and louder ap- 
 plause. One man alone in all that joy- 
 ous crowd kept silent and to himself and 
 that was Unferth, the story-teller, who had 
 given vent so freely to his envious malice 
 at the feast. He dared not now either 
 brag of his own doings, or belittle Beo- 
 wulf's exploit, and so held his peace. 
 But in his heart, alone of all men, he 
 grudged him his triumph.
 
 HEOROT RESTORED FEASTING AND 
 GIFTS 
 
 AND now orders were given that 
 ** Heorot should be promptly swept, 
 cleansed, and decorated ; men and women 
 trooped in in great numbers to do the 
 work. No light work it was, for the 
 whole interior of the building was nearly 
 demolished ; in fact, the roof alone es- 
 caped quite unhurt. Substantial repairs, 
 of course, would take time ; but the hall 
 must be garnished and made ready for 
 that day's banquet. So they hid the 
 walls with brocaded tapestries which de- 
 lighted the eye with their pictured 
 stories. 
 
 When the time came, King Hrothgar 
 walked to the Hall, for he intended to 
 253
 
 254 Beowulf 
 
 share the entire feast from beginning to 
 end. And never did a braver throng of 
 revellers muster more merrily around the 
 feast-giver. 
 
 The first beaker of sweet mead the 
 King drank to Beowulf, and at the same 
 time presented him with a complete suit 
 of preciously-wrought, gold-adorned, ar- 
 mour helmet, coat of mail, and heavy 
 battle-sword, all from the royal treasury. 
 Then, at a sign from the King, eight beauti- 
 ful horses, with cheekplates of gold, were 
 led into the hall. One of them was gaily 
 caparisoned and bore the King's own fa- 
 vourite saddle, all decorated with silver. 
 Horse and saddle were well known to all 
 present, having been seen often and often 
 both at knightly games and in the field, 
 where foemen fell before the royal rider 
 both in play and in deadly earnest. Arms 
 and horses the King bade the young hero 
 have for his own, and enjoy them well. 
 
 Moreover, each one of those who had 
 made the voyage with Beowulf received 
 some precious gift, some old heirloom. 
 As for the comrade whom Grendel had
 
 Heorot Restored 255 
 
 so atrociously killed and devoured, King 
 Hrothgar gave order that gold should be 
 brought from his treasury, to make good 
 his loss to his people. 
 
 And now the King called aloud for 
 music and song. The harp was struck 
 and Hrothgar's minstrel recited a ballad, 
 often heard, but always a favourite, a lay 
 of an old feud and vengeance, which made 
 the revellers realise the more joyfully their 
 deliverance from the tribute of blood 
 which, through so many years, they had 
 unwillingly paid. 
 
 The merriment ran high, and high rose 
 the sounds of revelry as the attendants 
 served the wine out of curious flagons. 
 When suddenly there was a pause : Queen 
 Wealhtheow came forward, wearing right 
 nobly her golden diadem, and, as the day 
 before, stood before her lord, and spoke : 
 
 " Receive this beaker, King of the 
 Danes ! Be merry thyself, and gladden 
 those around thee with gifts and gracious 
 words. For now, far and near, thou hast 
 peace. Heorot is purged and is once 
 more the most splendid of banqueting-
 
 256 Beowulf 
 
 halls. Dispense, then, thy bounties while 
 thou mayest, and to thy children peace- 
 fully leave folk and realm when thy time 
 comes to pass into eternity." 
 
 She turned then towards the bench 
 where her young sons sat. And there, 
 by the two brothers, Beowulf modestly 
 sat among the youth of the land, separ- 
 ate from the elders and mighty men. 
 To him the Queen offered the beaker, 
 with friendly words, inviting him to drink, 
 then presented him with her own special 
 gifts : a rich mantle, armlets of twisted 
 gold, and rings, and crowning gift of all 
 a jewelled carcanet, the most gorgeous 
 piece of jeweller's work ever seen under 
 the sun. 
 
 "Wear this collar, Beowulf, beloved 
 youth," the Queen said, " and make use 
 of this mantle stately possessions both 
 Prosper well, win more and more fame by 
 thy valour, and to these my boys be true 
 friend and kind adviser. Thou hast done 
 that which will make thee the theme of 
 minstrels' song, far and near, for all 
 time. Be then, whilst thou livest, a happy
 
 Heorot Restored 257 
 
 prince, and loyal to my sons in word and 
 deed. For such is the manner of our 
 land : here is each warrior to other true, 
 loyal to their chief ; the thanes obedient, 
 the people willing. And now, I bid ye 
 all be merry ! " 
 
 With that she walked to her chair, and 
 music once more filled the hall, and wine 
 flowed freely. No thought was there of 
 evil to come, only of the evil from which 
 they deemed that they were freed for- 
 ever : for who ever hears the fiat of des- 
 tiny as it goes forth ? . . . And so the 
 evening came, and Hrothgar betook him 
 to his rest. 
 
 Silence fell upon Heorot ; the festive 
 sounds died out. For the first time in 
 many years, the hall was not deserted for 
 the night ; the ethelings stayed to guard 
 it as they had often done in earlier times. 
 The benches were cleared away against 
 the walls ; beds and bolsters were laid in 
 rows upon the floor, and the revellers laid 
 themselves down to rest, happy and at 
 peace. Yet did one among them lie down 
 that night a doomed man, and knew it not.
 
 258 Beowulf 
 
 At their heads they set up their bright 
 bucklers; on the benches, plain in sight, 
 lay each etheling's helmet and mail-shirt, 
 and against them stood the strong-shafted 
 lances. For such was their custom to 
 be at all times ready for war, whether at 
 home or in the field, wherever their liege 
 lord might have need of their services. 
 Truly a brave and noble people !
 
 LAY II 
 GRENDEL'S MOTHER 
 
 I 
 THE AVENGER 
 
 SO they sank down to sleep. One there 
 was who sorely paid for that night's 
 rest. For ere morning it was found that 
 Grendel had left an avenger his mother, 
 the Mere-wife, loathsome beldame, a creat- 
 ure that had to dwell in the dreariness of 
 marshes and cold streams, like all the rest 
 of Cain's murderous, outlawed brood. 
 That very night the hag, on bloody ven- 
 geance bent, betook herself to Heorot, 
 where the Danes slept careless, all un- 
 conscious. Who shall paint their horror 
 and dismay when the goblin-wife suddenly 
 burst into their midst ? Swords were 
 259
 
 260 Beowulf 
 
 drawn and bucklers raised, but there was 
 no time to think of helmet or mail-shirt. 
 
 The hag was in a hurry ; finding herself 
 discovered, all she thought of was to 
 get away with her life. So she quickly 
 snatched up one of the ethelings at ran- 
 dom, and gripping him tight, made for 
 the fen. That man was Hrothgar's dear- 
 est comrade, most constant companion 
 sad end for an illustrious warrior ! But 
 hurried as she was, the hag managed to 
 carry away with her Grendel's arm and 
 hand. A great cry went up from Heorot, 
 and reached the aged King, who was 
 startled out of his sleep by the news that 
 the old horror was revived, and that the 
 man dearest to his heart was dead. 
 
 Beowulf was not there. No one thought 
 that his prowess should be needed again ; 
 so, as he was in want of rest after his last 
 night's exertions, he and his companions 
 had been assigned a lodging at some dis- 
 tance, and they knew nothing of what had 
 happened. Bright and early, he and his 
 little band, rested, cheery, marched to the 
 palace, straight to the King's apartment,
 
 The Avenger 261 
 
 the floor-timbers resounding under their 
 tread, and, courteously accosting him, en- 
 quired if, according to their sincere wish, 
 he had had a restful night. 
 
 Great was their astonishment to find the 
 King more deeply dejected than ever, the 
 tears coursing down his withered cheeks, 
 and to hear his heart-broken answer : 
 
 " Speak not of rest to me ! New grief 
 has come over the Danes. ^Eschere is 
 dead, my friend and counsellor, my trusty 
 body-squire, who has stood with me, 
 shoulder to shoulder, in battle, a hundred 
 times. In Heorot has he met his death 
 at the hands of another raging fiend. 
 Yesternight didst thou overcome Grendel 
 in deadly fight, and now his mother comes 
 to avenge her kin ! I know not in what 
 direction she took her way, but her tracks 
 will show. I will be bound they lead us 
 no farther than the Mere, a few miles 
 from here an uncanny water wolf-crags, 
 windy bluffs, woods with gnarled, inter- 
 twined roots overhang it. A precipitous 
 mountain waterfall vanishes into the earth, 
 and flows on, an underground river. And
 
 262 Beowulf 
 
 on the Mere itself, every night, a fearfiri 
 portent may be seen : fire playing on the 
 water. The man liveth not who knows 
 the depth of that mere. The antlered 
 hart, as he makes for the wood coverts, 
 harried by hounds, will sooner give up 
 life on the bank, than plunge his head 
 into the unhallowed flood. Now it is 
 once more to thee alone that we look 
 for counsel ! Thou knowest not yet the 
 dreadful haunt go seek it if thou dare ! 
 I will reward thee with treasure to thy 
 heart's content, if so thou comest away 
 alive." 
 
 Beowulf answered straightway, and his 
 brave words fell like balm on Hrothgar's 
 dejected spirits : 
 
 " Cease sorrowing, wise sire ! Aveng- 
 ing a friend is better than mourning for 
 him. Arouse thee ! let us promptly set 
 out to find the trail of this new terror. I 
 vow to thee she shall not escape ; neither 
 in the bowels of the earth, nor in the 
 haunted woods, nor in ocean's depth go 
 where she will ! Have patience but this 
 one day, and all thy woes shall end."
 
 II 
 
 THE MERE 
 
 UP sprang then the aged King, thank- 
 ing God for the hero's words, which 
 filled him with new vigour. He mounted 
 his charger, a stately high-stepper with 
 wavy, flowing mane, and rode forth with 
 Beowulf and the mixed band of Danes and 
 Goths, the foot-force of shield-bearing men 
 marching behind. The track lay broad 
 and plain over the ground, down the 
 slope straight across the murky moor. 
 
 Lightly did Beowulf step over steep 
 stone-banks, narrow gullies, lonesome, 
 untravelled paths, sheer bluffs, under many 
 of which were deep caverns, the dwelling- 
 place of nicors. With a few tried men 
 he went forward, exploring the ground, 
 until all of a sudden he perceived the 
 263
 
 264 Beowulf 
 
 gloomy trees overhanging the grisly rock 
 of which Hrothgar had spoken a cheer- 
 less wood ; beneath it a standing water, 
 dreary and troubled. The whole scene 
 was so desolate and eerie that it made 
 the Danes shudder ; horror seized them 
 as they looked, for on that cliff they came 
 on the head of ./Eschere in a pool of 
 blood. 
 
 The horn sounded from time to time 
 a spirited blast to keep them together. 
 But they had little wish to stray. They 
 all sat down on the ground, terrified, yet 
 curious for the weird sights of the Mere : 
 they saw gliding along the water many 
 shapes of serpent kind, monstrous sea- 
 snakes at their swimming gambols ; like- 
 wise nicors lying lazily on the jutting 
 slopes, the water-goblins which often, of 
 an early morning, churn up the waves to 
 make disastrous sailing for voyagers, 
 dragons, and other strange beasts tumbled 
 about, then hurried away with eye of spite 
 and body swelling with rage at being dis- 
 turbed by the clarion's clang and the 
 intrusion of men. Beowulf, with an arrow
 
 The Mere 265 
 
 from his bow, picked off one of the mon- 
 sters, which was swiftly pulled out on 
 land ; his swimming days were over, his 
 tricks ended. 
 
 But this was play. The business of the 
 day was now to come, and Beowulf be- 
 gan to prepare for it. Piece by piece he 
 donned his princely armour, which was 
 to stand the novel test of deadly battle 
 in the waters of the unholy lake. Most 
 anxiously did his friends, both Danes and 
 Goths, watch and assist him as he silently 
 armed, with brow and mouth firmly set 
 under the helmet, for well they knew that 
 the contest he was now going to engage 
 in was far more dangerous than that in 
 which he had but lately ventured life and 
 limb. Even Unferth, the unmannerly, 
 forgot what he had recently uttered when 
 flushed with ale or perchance he wished 
 to atone for past ill-will by present service. 
 Enough, he pressed to Beowulf's side, 
 and placed in his hand a wonderful sword, 
 an old heirloom of his house, most highly 
 prized of all his possessions. That precious 
 blade, like other famed swords belong-
 
 266 
 
 Beowulf 
 
 ing to mighty heroes, had a name of its 
 own, like a human friend : it was called 
 Hrunting. The edge of the blade was 
 iron, welded onto the brass, mottled with 
 poison, and hardened in the gore of many 
 battles. Never had it proved false to him 
 who wielded it ; this was not the first time 
 that heroic work had been required of it.
 
 Ill 
 
 UNDER THE WATERS 
 
 AND now Beowulf stood armed, and 
 ready for the fray. But before he 
 went whence he might not come back, he 
 turned to King Hrothgar and once again 
 repeated the request he had made before 
 he remained in Heorot to await the com- 
 ing of Grendel : 
 
 " See now, O wise King, I am ready to 
 start. Bethink thee of what we lately 
 talked of : that, should I lose my life in 
 thy service, thou shouldst, after my death, 
 fulfil my wishes even as my own father 
 would. They are but few and easily re- 
 membered : be thou friend and protector 
 to my thanes when I am gone, and send 
 the presents thou hast given me to Hyge- 
 lac ; so will he see for himself that I had 
 267
 
 268 Beowulf 
 
 found a bountiful friend. And let Unferth 
 keep my own heirloom, my curiously 
 damaskeened sword, Hardedge. With 
 Hrunting I will either achieve renown or 
 find my death." 
 
 He said, and, waiting for no answer, 
 leaped from the bluff the eddying flood 
 engulfed him. So deep was the mere, 
 that it took some time before, sinking, he 
 reached the bottom. 
 
 Soon the grim creature that for a hund- 
 red seasons had kept house in the watery 
 realm perceived that one of the children 
 of men was coming from above, exploring 
 the goblins' home. She made a grab at 
 him and clutched him in her grisly talons, 
 but could not pierce the well-knit ring 
 mail which fenced him around. But she 
 bore him to her mansion at the bottom of 
 the lake, so swiftly that, although his 
 heart did not fail, he was powerless to use 
 his weapons, the more that countless 
 water-beasts harassed him in swimming, 
 battering at him with tusk and claw. 
 
 At length the earl felt the grip loosened 
 on him, and as he hurriedly cast his eye
 
 i
 
 Under the Waters 269 
 
 around, he perceived that he was in a vast 
 hall, high-roofed, and protected from the 
 water on all sides ; it was light, too, with 
 an eerie, bright lustre, something like fire- 
 light. But the hero had no time for won- 
 der or exploring ; for before him stood 
 the grim she-wolf of the abyss, and it be- 
 hoved him to be quick in attack. Grasp- 
 ing Hrunting, he whirled it around her 
 head ; but when it descended to strike, 
 he found, to his dismay, that the edge did 
 not bite ; for the first time the costly 
 blade failed the master at his need. With 
 prompt decision he angrily flung it away, 
 and once again trusting wholly to his 
 own strength, seized the hag by the 
 shoulder, and swayed her so violently in 
 his rage that she sank to the pavement. 
 She swiftly repaid him and closed in upon 
 him, crushing the wind out of his body, 
 so that he, fearless as he was, staggered 
 from sheer breathlessness and fell pro- 
 strate. Then the hag sat upon his back 
 and drew her broad knife, and her goblin 
 son would have been avenged then and 
 there, but that Beowulf's mail-shirt was
 
 270 Beowulf 
 
 proof against point and edge, which gave 
 him time for a last mighty effort to throw 
 off the hindering weight, and presently 
 he stood once more erect on his feet. 
 
 Still, even then his life might have been 
 forfeit in the unequal combat, had he not 
 chanced to espy among the armour lying 
 scattered about the hall, an old cutlass of 
 huge size and strength of blade, larger 
 than an ordinary man could have carried, 
 let alone used in battle, the handiwork of 
 giants. On this Beowulf blindly seized 
 beside himself, despairing of his life and 
 struck in his fury ; the blow caught the 
 beldame in the neck, severed the bone, 
 she dropped on the pavement, the work 
 was done. 
 
 He was alone. He now had leisure to 
 scan the apartment with his eye ; he slowly 
 walked all round it, along by the wall, 
 the magic weapon swung aloft by the hilt, 
 for fear of surprises. Suddenly, he came 
 upon a hideous object Grendel, bereft 
 of life, lying where he fell, as he reached 
 his lake home on that fatal night. The 
 hero's blood boiled at the sight; he at
 
 Under the Waters 271 
 
 once decided he would bring back to the 
 upper world a better trophy than a hand 
 and arm : so, raising high the cutlass, he 
 struck off the head. 
 
 Then, before his eyes, there came to 
 pass a thing whereat he marvelled much ; 
 no sooner had the blade touched the mon- 
 ster's black gore, than it began to melt 
 away, even as ice wjien the spring 
 breathes upon it, dissolving the fetters of 
 the torrent ; and even as he looked, it 
 melted all to naught, down to the hilt in 
 his hand so venomous and consuming 
 had been the goblin's life-blood ! 
 
 There were many rare arms and trinkets 
 in that wondrous water hall ; but Beowulf 
 only glanced at them and would not bur- 
 den himself with aught save the head, and 
 the hilt of the burned-up cutlass, which he 
 wanted to show and keep as a curiosity. 
 Nor would he leave Hrunting below, since 
 the good sword did not belong to him.
 
 IV 
 
 THE RETURN 
 
 MEANWHILE the hours waxed long 
 to the watchers above. Hrothgar 
 and his men sat in the same spot still, in- 
 tently gazing on the water. The old men 
 with grizzled locks spoke together in low 
 tones about the brave etheling, how they 
 did not expect that he should ever come 
 back to them ; and when they saw the 
 waves splashing turbid and tinged with 
 blood, most of them decided that the she- 
 wolf of the Mere had torn him to pieces. 
 
 It was the ninth hour of the day. The 
 impetuous Danes gave him up for lost and 
 quitted the bluff ; King Hrothgar followed 
 them with heavy heart. They did not 
 doubt but that they had lost their hero- 
 friend, and the nightly ravages would 
 272
 
 The Return 273 
 
 commence again. But the Goths would 
 not go. Sick at heart they sat on, and 
 gazed upon the dreadful pool. They did 
 not expect to ever again get sight of their 
 lord and captain in the body, yet they 
 kept on wishing, and secretly hoping : for 
 was he not greater and braver than all 
 other men ? No other would have even 
 dreamed of plunging into such an ad- 
 venture. 
 
 And lo ! what was that ? something in 
 the distance, moving on the water ! Water- 
 beast it could not be, for they had all 
 slunk away when man and goblin-wife met, 
 and kept in hiding, waiting for the end. 
 It was yes, it was the leader ! Soon they 
 could see him plainly, as he came swim- 
 ming bravely along. He shouted to them. 
 They answered with a cry which must have 
 been heard half-way to Heorot. Then 
 he came to land, exulting in his lake 
 spoils. His faithful thanes ran to meet 
 him, thanking God .that they had him 
 back, whole and sound. They pressed 
 around, vicing who should relieve him of 
 his helmet, his mail-shirt. From the mo-
 
 274 Beowulf 
 
 ment he stepped on land, the Mere sul- 
 lenly subsided, grey and heavy, leaden 
 water under leaden sky. 
 
 And now Beowulf and his band pre- 
 pared to retrace their steps, for they had 
 quite a long way to march across country 
 and along the public highways. So they 
 formed into a triumphal procession, to 
 bear away Grendel's head from the Mere- 
 cliff : it took four of the lusty and stal- 
 wart fellows to carry it on a pole, and the 
 burden taxed their strength to the ut- 
 most ; so that, when they reached the 
 great hall, gold-glittering in the sunshine, 
 they were glad to lay it down on the 
 ground. Then others of their comrades 
 took it up and carried it by the hair into 
 the midst of the assembled Danes. Their 
 captain was just greeting the King, but 
 all sprang to their feet ; even to Hrothgar 
 and the Queen, startled out of ceremony 
 by the unexpected sight of the horrible 
 object.
 
 LAST WORDS 
 
 WHEN some sort of order had been 
 restored, Beowulf, with his wonted 
 modest dignity, gave the King a brief 
 account of his last and most deadly en- 
 counter : 
 
 " Lo and behold ! to thee, O Lord of 
 the Skyldings, we have joyfully brought 
 these Mere-spoils that thou lookest on, 
 in token that what we came to do is done. 
 Not easily did I come out of it with life. 
 In the battle under water well-nigh had 
 the struggle gone against me, only that 
 God shielded me. I could not, in the 
 final test, accomplish aught with H runt- 
 ing, though it be a good weapon, too. 
 But the Ruler of men directed my eye 
 to the wall, where it was caught by the 
 275
 
 276 Beowulf 
 
 gleam of an old sword of huge size, 
 whereat I grasped, blindly. Thus oftenest 
 hath He guided men when they have no 
 other friend. With that sword occasion 
 favouring me, I smote the keepers of the 
 Mere-house, the living and the dead. So 
 hot and poisonous was that accursed 
 blood, that it consumed the blade, as thou 
 canst see. I brought away the hilt as a 
 trophy. And now that I have avenged 
 the long agonies of the Danes as was 
 meet, I promise thee that thou mayest 
 sleep henceforth in Heorot free from care ; 
 and so may every one of the thanes, old 
 and young, and thou needest not fear for 
 them any kind of danger, as thou didst so 
 long." 
 
 The oldest and wisest among the war- 
 riors marvelled much to hear so wise a 
 speech from lips so young. That in the 
 heat of victory, hard-won, single-handed, 
 the noble champion should remember to 
 give thanks where alone man's thanks 
 are due, and should generously share the 
 credit with his comrades, pleased King 
 Hrothgar greatly. With kindly smile he
 
 Last Words 277 
 
 took the gilded, bladeless hilt into his 
 hand and examined it intently. It was 
 well worth the study, this relic of heathen 
 times immemorial, the workmanship of 
 giants. The mystic smiths had graven 
 much ancient lore on it in quaint old 
 characters, looking like small staves oddly 
 thrown together, and long held sacred by 
 learned men, who called them " Runes." 
 Hrothgar, who, though himself a fervent 
 Christian, was well versed in the ancient 
 heathen lore of his people, easily read the 
 storied gold of the hilt. Upon it was 
 written the history of the primeval quar- 
 rel between the bright, beneficent gods 
 and the perverse race of giants, and of 
 the war between them, in which the wicked 
 giants did their worst, by force and wile, 
 to destroy the beautiful world, the creation 
 of the gods, until the latter sent a great 
 flood, and the giant's brood perished. 
 Likewise was it set down in runes on a 
 part of the mounting, for whom that sword 
 had first been worked with its dragon 
 ornament. 
 
 When he had examined the curious relic
 
 278 Beowulf 
 
 at his leisure, King Hrothgar returned it 
 to the youth, and bending on him his 
 kindest glance, he spoke to him, while 
 all around respectfully held their peace, 
 out of the fulness of his heart and of his 
 long-hoarded wisdom, such words as only 
 a father speaks to a well-beloved son, when 
 he sends him forth to fare for himself in 
 the wide and dangerous world. For well 
 he knew that the hero, his mission done, 
 would leave him very soon, to continue 
 his adventurous career, wherever it might 
 call him, and his heart ached to let him 
 go ; he would fain have warned him of all 
 that might befall him on his way, and 
 given him his own treasure of experience 
 to guide and to shield him, above all 
 against the dangers and snares of his own 
 untamed nature. 
 
 " Thy fame, friend Beowulf," the King 
 began, "will spread after this to every 
 land, over every nation. Thou dost withal 
 carry thy prowess modestly, with discre- 
 tion of mind. Thou art fated to prove 
 a comfort sure and lasting to thy men, a 
 help to mankind."
 
 Last Words 279 
 
 Here the King recalled, as a warning 
 example, the fate of Heremod, the bad 
 king, who had lost the people's hearts 
 through his arrogance and cruelty, and 
 whom his (Hrothgar's), own ancestor, 
 Skyld of the Sheaf, had displaced. 
 
 " Do thou take warning by that ! " he 
 continued. " It is for thy benefit that I, 
 being old in years and experience, have 
 told this tale. For, how many a time do 
 we not see a man of noble race who 
 dwelleth in prosperity, with nothing to 
 annoy him, no care nor quarrel on any 
 side, but all the world seems to move to 
 his mind. Until, at length, within the 
 man himself something of arrogancy grows 
 and develops. Then sleepeth the heavenly 
 guardian, the soul's keeper ; the foe is 
 very near, and the man yields to the 
 crooked counsels of the accursed spirit ; 
 he fancies that all is too little that he has 
 so long enjoyed ; he grows covetous and 
 malignant, and grudges to share his wealth 
 with his friends. He too lightly considers 
 how that it was God the Dispenser who 
 placed him in his post of dignity, And
 
 280 Beowulf 
 
 then the end comes ; another fills his room 
 who makes better use of his wealth he 
 is forgotten. Beware of such a fall, Beo- 
 wulf, beloved youth, and choose for thyself 
 the better course. Now is thy strength 
 in full bloom for a while. Soon it may 
 betide that sickness or the sword will be- 
 reave thee of it ; fire or flood, stab of 
 knife, or flight of spear anything at any 
 time may mar and darken all, and Death 
 subdue thee, leader of men though thou 
 art ! Look at me : did I not for fifty 
 years reign prosperously over the Danes, 
 and by valour make them secure against 
 many a nation, insomuch that I dreaded 
 no rival under the circuit of the sky ? 
 Yet how suddenly a change came over all 
 that ; here in my own hall, the abominable 
 Grendel bearded and despoiled me, and 
 for years my heart carried its load of grief. 
 Thanks, therefore, be to the Eternal Ruler 
 for what I have lived to see that I, the 
 old tribulation past, with mine own eyes 
 should gaze upon yon severed head ! And 
 now go, sit thee down, share the festive 
 joy, crowned with the honours of war.
 
 Last Words 281 
 
 To-morrow we must yet have many deal- 
 ings together." 
 
 Beowulf had listened with beseeming 
 earnestness and reverence, nor did the 
 aged king's wise instruction fall on barren 
 soil. But he was very tired : so he moved 
 briskly off and sat down, nothing loth, on 
 one of the benches. Then the tables were 
 cleared and re-spread, and a fair, fresh 
 banquet served. 
 
 Not till the night's dim covering began 
 to descend over the light-hearted revellers 
 did the venerable Skylding arise and give 
 the signal for bed. After him the elders. 
 Vastly well did the hero of the day like 
 the thought of repose he had enough of 
 adventure for a while ! He was mar- 
 shalled to his room with much ceremony 
 by a chamberlain, who supplied him with 
 all things needful for a luxurious night's 
 rest. And he slept ! slept till the black ra- 
 ven announced heaven's glory with blithe 
 heart, and the light drove the shadows 
 away, and fiends that prowl of nights 
 scampered off and hid. 
 
 When he came forth from his sleeping-
 
 282 Beowulf 
 
 chamber, he found his comrades all ready 
 for the voyage. They were impatient to 
 take ship for home. 
 
 Beowulf bade courteous farewell to his 
 Danish friends, and when the turn of Un- 
 ferth came, he returned Hrunting to him 
 with hearty thanks for the loan ; with 
 never a word did he blame the blade that 
 had played him false, but on the contrary 
 praised it for a good sword, a good friend 
 in war. Thus are high-souled men ever 
 courteous and mindful of other men's 
 feelings.
 
 VI 
 
 HOMEWARD BOUND 
 
 ONLY when the departing warriors 
 were fully equipped and ready to 
 start, did Beowulf approach the raised 
 platform where Hrothgar sat, to take lov- 
 ing leave of him. 
 
 "Now," he began, "we sea-voyagers 
 have come to say that we purpose this 
 very day to return to Hygelac. Here we 
 have been well entertained, and thou hast 
 been to us very generous. If I therefore 
 may in any way be of use to thee, even 
 though it require labour beyond what I 
 have yet done, I shall be forthwith on 
 hand. If they bring me word across the 
 seas that thou art hard pressed by neigh- 
 bours, I will at once bring thee a thousand 
 thanes to help. And Hygelac, I know. 
 283
 
 284 Beowulf 
 
 albeit young in years, will bear me out in 
 this, and send me over with a forest of 
 spears, shouldst thou have need of them." 
 
 The old King was deeply moved as he 
 made answer : 
 
 " The All-wise Lord himself, puts such 
 thoughts into thy mind. Never have I 
 heard one so young in years discourse such 
 sweet and reasonable speech. I think it 
 very likely that, should sickness or iron 
 take thy chief from this life, the seafaring 
 Goths will find no better man than thy- 
 self to be their king. Thou hast my best 
 wishes, beloved Beowulf, for I like thee 
 more and more. Thou hast done that 
 which will make the Danes and the Goths 
 friends forevermore. While I rule this 
 realm, the two nations shall have all things 
 in common, and ships shall bring back and 
 forward, not men armed for war, but pres- 
 ents and tokens of love." 
 
 King Hrothgar rose from his chair of 
 state and pressed on his young friend 
 twelve more priceless jewels, bidding him 
 go with God and visit his people, but 
 come back again soon. He clasped him
 
 Homeward Bound 285 
 
 by the neck, tears coursing down his 
 cheeks into his long grey beard. To him 
 the youth was so dear that he could not 
 restrain the passion of his sorrow at part- 
 ing from him, for, in spite of his cheery 
 words, there was that in his breast which 
 warned him that they two were not to 
 meet again. 
 
 Beowulf, being young, was not much 
 disturbed by forebodings, and when he left 
 the hall, his foot trod the grassy earth 
 with the firm step of conscious power. 
 As he and his gallant troop neared the 
 water, where their well-guarded ship 
 awaited them, the coast-warden marked 
 their approach, as he had done at their 
 coming ; but there was no suspicion now 
 in his mind or manner, as he hailed them 
 from his high peak and rode down swiftly 
 towards them. The beach was all alive as 
 the Goths proceeded, with right good will, 
 to load the good ship with the war har- 
 ness, the horses, and all the treasures from 
 Hrothgar's hoard. Winds and waves 
 seemed to favour their impatience, and 
 sail and oars carried them smoothly over
 
 286 Beowulf 
 
 the foamy swell, till they were able to 
 espy the familiar cliffs and headlands of 
 the Gothic shore. And now the keel 
 grated on the sand, the wind pushing from 
 behind she was on land. 
 
 The warden was ready to receive the 
 seafarers at the landing ; he had hardly 
 left the water's edge, so anxiously had he 
 been looking for the dear friends who 
 had left him on so perilous, uncertain a 
 venture. And now he helped to bind the 
 ship fast with strong anchor cables, lest a 
 sudden storm might snatch her away, and 
 hastened to give orders to carry ashore 
 the princely cargo.
 
 VII 
 
 AT HOME 
 
 THEY had not far to go, for King Hy- 
 gelac, son of Hrethel, had his palace, 
 where he held court with his peers, within 
 sight of the sea. There he dwelt happily 
 with his Queen, fair Hygd, who, though 
 she was very young, and had lived but few 
 winters in her lord's castle, was wise and 
 of excellent discretion, yet not mean-spir- 
 ited, nor grudging of gifts to the thanes 
 and ethelings very different in all her 
 ways from another young princess of the 
 Goths, Thrytho, the moody and the proud, 
 even to savagery ; so arrogant and fierce 
 that no man, not even her favourites 
 among the courtiers, durst look in her 
 eyes, but he was sure to be taken and 
 287
 
 288 Beowulf 
 
 bound by her order, and the knife was 
 quick to follow arrest. Well did nobles 
 and people murmur, and whisper among 
 themselves that such manner was not 
 queenly, nor womanly, for any lady to 
 practise, although peerless of form and 
 feature ; for woman should ever be a peace- 
 maker, and not a taker of men's lives on 
 false pretences too. But no one dared to 
 speak aloud what all thought in their se- 
 cret hearts. So everybody was glad ex- 
 ceedingly when Thrytho was sent off to 
 Angle-land, there to wed the great Offa, 
 King of Mercia, the most powerful of the 
 seven kingdoms. Soon after, however, 
 those who drink at the ale-benches began 
 to tell a different tale, how that she had 
 left off her evil ways from the moment 
 that she reached Offa's hall after her long 
 sea-voyage and been given, gold-adorned, 
 into the noble and brave king's keeping ; 
 and ever since, as long as she lived in her 
 royal state, she was famed for her kindness 
 and gentleness ; she won and kept the 
 love of that most excellent ruler between 
 the seas for minstrels tell us that Offa
 
 At Home 289 
 
 was as famous for his courtly grace and 
 knightly accomplishments as for his feats 
 of war. 1 
 
 Beowulf's arrival was promptly made 
 known to Hygelac. Good news in truth, 
 he thought, that his dear companion, his 
 playfellow of yore, was coming back to 
 him alive and unhurt. Quickly, at his 
 command, the interior of the hall was 
 cleared for the home-coming travellers. 
 
 Beowulf sat by the King's side, while 
 his comrades were greeted by their friends, 
 and the gentle Queen moved about the 
 hall with beakers of sweet mead ; for she 
 loved her folk and gladly ministered to 
 them. 
 
 With eager, affectionate words Hygelac 
 questioned his kinsman about his voyage, 
 his reception by Hrothgar, the battle for 
 Heorot. Beowulf satisfied him fully on 
 
 1 That these two queens with their contrasting characters 
 were introduced by the Christian writer of the poem to convey 
 a moral lesson, is evident from the allegorical names he gives 
 them: " Hygd," in Anglo-Saxon, means " discretion," and 
 " Thrytho," "haughtiness, superciliousness." At the same 
 time it is not improbable that the name of Thrytho may have 
 been suggested by the actual name of Offa's queen, which was 
 "Cynethryth." 
 19
 
 290 Beowulf 
 
 all points, and gave him a most detailed 
 account of all that had befallen him, good 
 and evil, during his brief but eventful ab- 
 sence speaking of his deeds, as was his 
 wont, with heroic simplicity, and dwelling 
 more on Hrothgar's loving-kindness and 
 generosity than upon his own prowess. 
 
 When he had told his tale, to which all 
 who were in the hall listened spell-bound, 
 he ordered all Hrothgar's gifts, including 
 four of the beautiful horses, matched to 
 perfection, to be brought into the hall, and 
 then and there presented all to his kins- 
 man and liege lord, bidding him use and 
 enjoy the treasures. As to the carcanet, the 
 curiously wrought, wonderful jewel, which 
 Hrothgar's queen had bestowed on him, 
 he presented that to Queen Hygd, as also 
 three palfreys, keeping only one of the 
 eight horses for his own use, in memory 
 of Hrothgar's friendship. A shining ex- 
 ample, truly, of a loyal kinsman's fealty 
 and love, which it were well if all royal 
 kinsmen took to heart. But how many, 
 alack, are there who will, instead, spread 
 the deceitful snare for their trusting com-
 
 At Home 291 
 
 rade's feet and secretly, with wicked guile, 
 contrive his death ! 
 
 From this time on, Beowulf steadily 
 grew in honours and in his sovereign's 
 confidence. He conducted himself on all 
 occasions wisely and with discretion. 
 Never did he smite his hearth-fellows in 
 their cups. For his was no ruffian soul ; 
 but of all mankind he most wisely con- 
 trolled the great talents which God had 
 given him. Men saw and wondered at 
 him. For they had held him in little es- 
 teem for a long time, because of his mod- 
 est, reserved ways, which did not court 
 attention ; and when he was a lad, he had 
 often been called slack and unpromising. 
 Now, however, every rash judgment was 
 reversed, as the mature man stood radiant 
 in his glory, the very next to the King, 
 who girded him with his own father's gold- 
 mounted battle-sword, King Hrethel's heir- 
 loom, than which there was no more 
 renowned weapon among the Goths. At 
 the same time he conferred on him seven 
 thousand hides of land, a princely mansion, 
 and a seat of authority in the Council.
 
 292 Beowulf 
 
 Not many years passed thus peacefully. 
 There was war once more and Hygelac 
 fell in battle in the distant land of the 
 sea-going Frisians. Beowulf saved him- 
 self by a feat of swimming which no man 
 but he could have performed, and reached 
 Gothland unharmed. There he found 
 the young widowed Queen, Hygd, beside 
 herself with grief and alarm. She prof- 
 fered him treasure and realm, jewels and 
 throne ; for she had no confidence in her 
 young son Heardred, who was scarcely 
 more than a child, that he would be able 
 to hold the ancestral seats against the 
 Frisians, whose invasion was expected 
 from day to day. But neither she nor 
 the bereaved people could prevail with 
 the loyal kinsman and chieftain to break 
 faith with his dead cousin ; he upheld 
 young Heardred in the public assembly, 
 respectfully and with friendly guidance, 
 until the time that he was of full age, when 
 he resigned to him the power which he 
 had wielded only so long as duty bade. 
 But fortune soon after proved fatal to 
 young Heardred. He, too, was killed in
 
 At Home 293 
 
 war. Then ancient Hrothgar's prophecy 
 came true, and Beowulf found himself 
 King of the Goths. He had not sought 
 or coveted the dignity, giving the elder 
 line always his whole-hearted, undivided 
 service. But when the broad realm came 
 to his hand, he took it as a trust placed 
 in his charge by God, and governed it 
 well for fifty winters, a true ethel-warden 
 noble guardian of the people. But en- 
 vious fate, which is ever on the lurk, would 
 not suffer the venerable King to end his 
 days in undisturbed prosperity.
 
 LAY III 
 THE DRAGON 
 
 I 
 THE TREASURE 
 
 IN the land of the Goths, high on a 
 rocky steep above the sea, there stood 
 a lonely stronghold, built of stone. A 
 narrow path led to it from the beach be- 
 neath, but it was unfrequented by people, 
 because the castle was tenanted by a 
 Dragon, who had, for three hundred years, 
 kept guard over a treasure of gold and 
 silver rings, bracelets, jewelled drinking- 
 cups, daggers and swords, and armour of 
 all kinds. This treasure was the legacy of 
 an ancient band of men, war-companions 
 long forgotten. Death took them all off, 
 294
 
 The Treasure 295 
 
 one after another, and left one solitary 
 survivor, to mourn for lost friends and 
 enjoy for a short while the accumulated 
 wealth. 
 
 There was a forsaken barrow on the 
 down near by, where a huge cliff hung 
 sheer over the water. Thither the soli- 
 tary man carried all the beaten gold and 
 silver, and having buried it all, spoke a 
 few farewell words : 
 
 "Hold thou now, O Earth, the wealth 
 of mighty heroes, who cannot guard it 
 any longer. Death in battle has carried 
 them all away, my friends, my peers ; they 
 share the bliss of Woden's heavenly hall, 
 where only brave warriors slain in the 
 field are admitted. No one henceforth 
 will furbish the embossed tankard, the pre- 
 cious sword, or the helmet damaskeened 
 with gold ; the armour will moulder by the 
 side of the warrior who wore it ! " 
 
 Thus the sole survivor of a brave com- 
 pany lamented his unhappiness, by day 
 and by night, until the finger of Death 
 touched his heart also, and it stood still. 
 
 The dazzling hoard, now unguarded,
 
 296 Beowulf 
 
 was found by the old pest of twilight, 
 that haunteth barrows, the scaly spiteful 
 Dragon, that flieth by night, enwrapt in 
 fire, whom country-folk hold in awe and 
 dread. His great delight is to sit on un- 
 derground hoards and gloat there. Thus 
 it happened that, having discovered this 
 enormous treasure-house, he held it for 
 three hundred years, until something oc- 
 curred which angered him and let him 
 loose on the unhappy land. 
 
 Some unknown man was fleeing in a 
 feud, houseless and pursued, and in his 
 flight he stumbled on the barrow and on 
 the Dragon asleep therein upon the glitter- 
 ing hoard. Horror-struck, he was turning 
 to escape while he might, but a jewelled 
 tankard caught his eye and he just 
 snatched it before he ran, his heart mis- 
 giving him at the time that he was bring- 
 ing woe on many by the deed. But 
 something impelled him, stronger than 
 reason so he snatched and ran, hugging 
 the precious bauble, which he carried to 
 his liege lord, who pursued him, as a 
 pledge of peace, and bought his lord's
 
 The Treasure 297 
 
 friendship and his own safety therewith. 
 He also revealed the hiding-place of the 
 hoard ; the chieftain hastened thither with- 
 out delay, the barrow was rifled of many 
 of its jewels, while the Dragon still slept 
 his long, heavy sleep and the mischief 
 was done ! 
 
 When the Worm woke and found him- 
 self despoiled, his fury was intense ; but he 
 mastered it at first, to make his vengeance 
 more complete and sure. First of all he 
 sniffed at the scent along the rock, and at 
 once came upon the track of the enemy, 
 whose foot had stepped unawares by his 
 very head as he lay asleep. He sought dili- 
 gently for the man, going over the ground 
 whither the scent took him ; in more and 
 more fiery and raging mood he kept swing- 
 ing around and around the barrow. There 
 was not any man there in all that desert 
 waste. All the while he matured in his 
 breast his purpose of dire and bloody 
 work. Every now and then he would 
 dash back into the barrow, as though to 
 satisfy himself once more of what he knew 
 already : that there had been plunder
 
 298 Beowulf 
 
 done, then he would dash out again. 
 He could hardly wait for the night to 
 come. But presently the day waned at 
 last, and the Worm had his will : no longer 
 would he bide in fenced walls, but issue 
 forth, equipped with fire, to do havoc all 
 over the land. Thus it was that the 
 Dragon's vengeance had a sore beginning 
 for the people ; soon it was to have a 
 sorer ending for their ruler and benefactor.
 
 II 
 
 THE ATTACK 
 
 ONCE the monster had begun his fiery 
 raids, he did not stop them again. 
 Far into each night blazed the farmsteads, 
 late so cheerful. The flying pest would fain 
 have left nothing alive where his vast form 
 hovered in the air on broad black pinions, 
 like to a huge smoke-cloud, with live-coal 
 eyes and flame squirting and snorting from 
 open maw and distended nostrils. It was 
 only just before the break of day that he 
 shot back again to his dark mansion for 
 protection ; for he trusted his rocky keep ; 
 only that trust deceived him in the end. 
 
 Soon it was reported to Beowulf (for 
 evil tidings travel swift and sure), that his 
 own mansion, noblest of buildings, even 
 his own royal seat, the gift of the Goths, 
 
 299
 
 300 Beowulf 
 
 was melting away in fiery waves. So 
 sorely was the venerable King smitten to 
 the heart at this great outrage, that he 
 was tempted to break out into revilings 
 against Providence, much against his wont, 
 for never was man gentler in his valour, 
 more pious in his power. 
 
 Deeply did Beowulf revolve in his 
 thoughts how he should deliver himself 
 and his people from this new pest, after 
 the many, many years of peace and happi- 
 ness. The memories of his youth, of the 
 time when he, a victorious boy, had purged 
 Hrothgar's hall, single-handed, of Grendel 
 and his loathsome brood, were still green 
 with him, and the thought of going forth 
 to seek the Dragon with a host, or even 
 a band of men, was abhorrent to him. He 
 decided to go and look about him with 
 only eleven companions, led by the finder 
 of the first jewelled tankard, the cause of 
 the baleful feud, who went as the thir- 
 teenth of the party. Then the aged King 
 sat him down on the headland, and began 
 to bid farewell to his hearth-fellows. For 
 his heart was heavy within him and full of
 
 The Attack 301 
 
 boding sadness, and his thoughts travelled 
 back, as aged men's thoughts are apt to 
 do when they feel the hour of the last 
 separation drawing nigh back across the 
 entire field of life's achievements, dwelling 
 longest on what looms remotest. Thus 
 now the ancient warrior, while going over 
 the days of his youth in rather rambling 
 speech, dwelt most lovingly on the time 
 when, as a stripling, he did page's service 
 at the court of Hygelac's father, Hrethel, 
 to whom his own father gave him when 
 only seven years old, and who had raised 
 and fostered him, and held him as dear as 
 his own sons. Then, turning back to the 
 present and its stern necessities, he ad- 
 dressed an affectionate word to each of 
 his more familiar comrades, still harping 
 on his dislike to fight the monster with 
 any but naked hands : 
 
 " I would not willingly bear sword or 
 weapon to meet this Worm, as I formerly 
 did not against Grendel. I expect to meet 
 scorching fire, deadly venom; therefore 
 shall I carry a strong shield and wear a 
 fine mail-shirt. As for you, my men-at-
 
 302 Beowulf 
 
 arms, wait ye here on the mountain to see 
 which of us twain falls, deadly stricken 
 there on the rock." 
 
 As he spoke, the brave old warrior rose 
 by the brink of the down and sternly 
 scanned the place around, when, not far 
 from where they stood, he beheld a rocky 
 arch, and out of it a stream breaking from 
 the barrow, steaming hot, so no man 
 might come nigh the hoard unscorched 
 and survive the Dragon's flame. 
 
 Then did the Prince of the Goths let 
 forth out of his breast a mighty battle- 
 shout, which stirred the keeper of the 
 hoard under his hoary rock. There was 
 now no time for reflection or for parley- 
 ing, for from out the rock there came the 
 hot reeking breath of the monster, like a 
 cloud of steam ; and hardly had the hero 
 swung his shield and taken his stand well 
 up by it, when the ringy Worm suddenly 
 rolled forth and buckled himself into a 
 bow, and thus, curved like an arch, emit- 
 ting flame, advanced upon his human foe 
 in a rapid, gliding shuffle. The shield, 
 indeed, protected awhile the glorious
 
 The Attack 303 
 
 chieftain, but when he raised his arm to 
 smite with the sword, which he had been 
 persuaded to take, the stroke, though 
 hard, proved inefficient, and only roused 
 the furious Dragon to greater rage, so 
 that now it cast forth devouring fire in 
 volumes and the deadly sparks sprang 
 every way. 
 
 And now, when the combatants closed 
 again, the monster's breast shot steam in 
 scalding jets, and the man stood at bay, 
 unseen for the fire which encompassed 
 him. And of his own band of eleven com- 
 rades, sons of ethelings all, not one stood 
 his ground, but all, horror stricken, slunk 
 away to the woods for shelter. 
 
 ' 
 
 OOL LIBRARY.
 
 Ill 
 
 WIGLAF 
 
 NO, not all. One among them proved 
 a faithful follower, Wiglaf, Weoh- 
 stan's son, Beowulf's youngest comrade 
 and his much-loved kinsman. When he 
 beheld his liege lord in such sore distress, 
 his heart smote him, as he thought of the 
 lands and honours the King had so lately 
 bestowed on him, and of the justice he 
 had publicly rendered him and his father 
 in a just feud and gratitude moved him 
 deeply. 
 
 This was the first adventure on which 
 the young etheling had embarked with 
 his liege lord. When he saw his fellows 
 shamefully scurrying off, mindful only of 
 their own safety, he turned on them and 
 upbraided them with hottest words of 
 noble anger. 
 
 304
 
 Wiglaf 305 
 
 " What ! " he cried, " and shall we thus 
 forsake our lord, with whom we were fain to 
 revel in the festive hall, drinking his mead, 
 taking his golden rings and well-tempered 
 swords? He chose us out of all his host 
 for this adventure because he counted us 
 stout warriors and loyal friends. Now 
 the day is come when he needs the 
 strength of his followers. No matter that 
 he intended to achieve this great deed 
 single-handed let us stand by him ! God 
 knows that I for one had liefer the flame 
 would swallow me up with him than stand 
 away now ! I think it shame that we 
 should bear our shields safe home unless 
 we rescue the life of our lord. Is this 
 acting according to our old customs, that 
 we leave him, alone of noble Goths, to 
 bear the brunt and fall in an unequal 
 fight?" 
 
 Thus speaking, young Wiglaf boldly 
 plunged into steam and smoke, with his 
 helmet on his head, shouting loud : 
 
 " My liege Beowulf ! now make good 
 the boast of thy youth, that never in thy 
 lifetime wouldst thou suffer thy glory to
 
 306 Beowulf 
 
 decline, and I shall stand by thee and 
 support thee to the uttermost." 
 
 The fell, malignant monster heard the 
 cheering words and came on with re- 
 doubled fury, to engage his hated enemies. 
 In an instant the wooden lining of Wig- 
 laf's shield was consumed by the flame ; 
 but he went forward under shelter of his 
 elder kinsman's shield when his own was 
 reduced to ashes. Then the old fire of 
 battle burned high in the valiant King's 
 breast, and he smote the Worm so desper- 
 ate a blow, that the weapon stood in his 
 head, deep stuck ; but Naegling, the good 
 sword, flew in splinters as it struck, be- 
 traying its master as other blades had 
 done before ; for it was not given him 
 that steel should help him in a fight. 
 
 And now, enraged even unto death, the 
 Dragon, after yielding ground somewhat, 
 made a rush at the hero, whose strength 
 was giving way apace, and, opening wide 
 his reeking jaws, enclosed his foe's neck 
 with his sharp, long fangs, till the blood 
 flowed in streams.
 
 IV 
 
 VICTORY AND DEATH 
 
 LOUD is the minstrels' song in praise 
 of Wiglaf, the fearless young ethel- 
 ing, and the prowess he displayed in his 
 aged kinsman's behalf, giving him time 
 to recover his senses, so that at the mon- 
 ster's third onslaught, he could draw the 
 knife from his belt and gash the Worm 
 from below, in the middle, with deadly 
 stab. This was the supreme hour of tri- 
 umph in the hero's career, when his winged, 
 scaly foe fell off writhing and gasping out 
 his life. 
 
 But in the wound which those cruel 
 fangs had inflicted, the venom began its 
 deadly work. In vain young Wiglaf, sit- 
 ting down on a stone by the mound where 
 his liege lord lay exhausted, applied all the 
 307
 
 308 Beowulf 
 
 remedies taught him by the leech-lore of 
 cunning dwarfs, unloosened the helmet, 
 cooled the swelling neck with water which 
 he ladled on it with his hand, and laid 
 on healing herbs which grew in plenty 
 out of the bountiful earth : the hurt was 
 mortal, with each moment life was burn- 
 ing away, with the fiery poison spreading 
 through all the vital parts. Beowulf knew 
 that the tale of his days was told, and he 
 was spending his last hours on earth. But 
 the hero's brave soul did not quail. He 
 looked death in the face, now that it bent 
 close over him, as calmly as he was wont 
 in the days when it was but a distant 
 shadow on the battle-field. The one re- 
 gret which he expressed was at having no 
 son to whom he could bequeath his royal 
 armour. But he took comfort in the con- 
 sciousness of having been a just ruler. 
 
 " I have ruled this people fifty winters," 
 he said ; " there was not a king who dared 
 threaten them with war. Yet did I hold 
 my own by justice. I have not sought 
 unjust quarrels nor have I sworn many 
 false oaths. Thinking of all this, I am
 
 Victory and Death . 309 
 
 able, though sick unto death with many 
 wounds, to take comfort, for the Ruler of 
 men cannot charge me with murder of 
 kinsmen, when my life quitteth the body." 
 
 Yet the dying hero had one wish which 
 he begged his young kinsman to satisfy 
 ere his sight and senses failed him ; he 
 fain would have a glimpse of the treasure 
 which he had bought with his life : " Now 
 quickly go thou, beloved Wiglaf," he said 
 to his faithful comrade, " and examine the 
 treasure under the hoary rock, now the 
 Worm lieth dead. I would have a look 
 at the curious gems, the hoarded store ; 
 then would I more contentedly resign my 
 life and the lordship I have held so long." 
 
 Not a moment did the devoted youth 
 lose in obeying his beloved lord's behest. 
 He hurried to the lair of the Worm and 
 gazed with amazement on the numberless 
 and wondrous things of value which rilled 
 the barrow, heaped and crushed together, 
 indenting the ground where the Dragon 
 had lain on them. The gold was losing 
 its burnish, the precious stones were fall- 
 ing out, bracelets and helmets were eaten
 
 310 Beowulf 
 
 by rust, losing their value day by day. 
 Thus can treasure, buried idly in the 
 earth, make fools of men ! One great 
 marvel of cunningest handicraft Wiglaf 
 beheld looming high above the hoard ; it 
 was a banner, all golden, which gave forth 
 a gleam of light so bright that it illumined 
 the darkest recesses of the hollow barrow 
 and made it easy to examine all the hid- 
 den curiosities. 
 
 In great haste, hardly pausing to glance 
 at the uncovered treasure, Wiglaf gath- 
 ered into his bosom and arms cups and 
 platters, bracelets and rings, and snatch- 
 ing also the magic banner, eagerly re- 
 turned to the mound with his spoils, 
 anxiously wondering in his faithful heart 
 whether he should find his lord alive still 
 where he left him painfully breathing. 
 Dropping the riches on the ground with- 
 out a thought of them, he quickly knelt by 
 the side of his King, and again began to 
 sprinkle him with water, till he had re- 
 stored him to consciousness and speech. 
 As Beowulf opened his eyes and beheld 
 the gold for a glimpse of which he had
 
 Victory and Death 311 
 
 longed, his brow cleared, and he spoke in 
 feeble, but cheerful tones : 
 
 " I do give thanks to the Lord of all, 
 the Giver of all things, for those spoils 
 upon which I here do gaze ; to think that 
 I have been permitted to acquire such 
 great wealth for my earls and thanes to 
 enjoy and to remember me by after my 
 death ! I have sold my life for this treas- 
 ure do thou now provide for my men, 
 for I shall be with them no more. Order 
 my brave warriors to erect a lofty cairn 
 a mound of stones, after the death-fire has 
 burned out, here on the headland above 
 the sea. It shall tower aloft for a memo- 
 rial to my friends, and seafaring men shall 
 call it Beowulf's Barrow, as they drive 
 their foamy barks over the dangerous 
 waters." 
 
 Then the dying hero took off his gold 
 collar and with feeble hands gave it to the 
 young thane ; also bade him take his coro- 
 neted helmet and his mail-shirt, and wear 
 them and do honour to his chieftain's 
 armour. 
 
 Once more the King spoke, with failing
 
 3 I2 
 
 Beowulf 
 
 breath : " Thou art the last remnant of 
 our race. " Fate has swept all my kins- 
 men into eternity, princes in chivalry ; and 
 now I must follow them." 
 
 This was the aged monarch's last speech ; 
 with the words his soul fled from his bosom, 
 to enter into the everlasting rest of the 
 righteous.
 
 WIGLAF'S REBUKE DISMAY AND TEARS 
 
 A SAD, agonizing hour it was for the 
 warm-hearted youth, new to the 
 world and its trials, when he sat upon 
 the ground taking in the first great grief of 
 his life, as he gazed on the body of the man 
 who had been dearest to him on earth. 
 Small comfort he took from the sight of 
 his dead foe, the horrible Dragon, as he 
 lay at a little distance, uncoiled and harm- 
 less for evermore. Weary of heart, but 
 still nursing some sort of stubborn, una- 
 vailing hope, he sat by his lord's shoulder 
 and still kept sprinkling him with water, 
 till he saw his ten faint-hearted comrades, 
 as they came sneaking shamefacedly from 
 the woods, slowly trailing their shields 
 along to the place where the King lay dead. 
 313
 
 3H Beowulf 
 
 Grief gave way to righteous anger at 
 the sight. Sternly did young Wiglaf look 
 upon the men he no longer loved, and bit- 
 ter rebuke flowed unchecked from his lips. 
 
 " Now, look you," he cried ; " well may a 
 man who is minded to speak the truth, 
 say that the chieftain who gave you those 
 costly gewgaws, that warlike apparel in 
 which you stand there before me, who at 
 the ale-bench so often presented his thanes 
 with helmet and mail-shirt, utterly and 
 wretchedly threw his gifts away. For, 
 verily, little cause had he to boast of his 
 companions-in-arms in the hour of danger ! 
 Nevertheless, it was given him by God, the 
 Ordainer of victories, to avenge himself 
 single-handed when his valour was put to 
 the proof. For little protection could I 
 afford him, though I attempted what was 
 beyond my strength, in trying to help my 
 kinsman. Now go, ye cravens ! No 
 share of the treasure is there for you or 
 yours. And may every man of your kin 
 be sent forth into life-long exile, deprived 
 of lands and rights, as soon as the ethelings 
 now at a distance come together and are
 
 Wiglaf s Rebuke 315 
 
 told of your disloyalty, your shameful 
 desertion. Go and learn from experi- 
 ence that, to a warrior, death is better far 
 than a life of shame ! " 
 
 When he had relieved his feelings by 
 this thundering outburst, Wiglaf gave 
 orders to make the woful issue of the con- 
 flict known to the host of thanes and earls 
 who, by the master's command, had been 
 encamped over the sea-cliff and had sat 
 there all day long by their shields, their 
 souls divided betwixt hope and fear. One 
 young thane rode up the bluff, sent by the 
 rest, to view the fatal scene and report to 
 them, which he did faithfully, in words 
 pregnant with grief for the present and 
 foreboding for the near future. 
 
 " Now we may soon look for war," he 
 concluded his report ; " as soon as the 
 King's death is made known among the 
 Franks and Frisians. For never, since 
 Hygelac fell, have we enjoyed the good- 
 will of the Merovingian Kings of the 
 Franks, nor do I count upon peace or 
 good understanding on the side of the 
 Swedes such is the feud and grudge of
 
 3 l6 Beowulf 
 
 all these nations ever since the fall of 
 Hygelac on Frisian land. They will surely 
 attack us as soon as they learn that our 
 Prince is dead, he who has so long upheld 
 against all foes our treasure and our realm, 
 winning ever greater respect in public 
 counsel, and ever greater fame in war. 
 Now methinks that quickness were best; 
 so let us look our last upon the mighty 
 King, and bring him without delay to the 
 funeral pyre. And yonder is a hoard of 
 precious things, gold untold, jewels pur- 
 chased with our hero's own life-blood. 
 Never a warrior shall wear any of those 
 ornaments ; never a maiden have on her 
 neck one of those collars. Sorrowful and 
 stripped of gold ornaments shall all come 
 to the funeral procession, while many a 
 hand shall swing the spear in the cold of 
 the morning ; music of the harp shall not 
 waken the warriors on the fateful day ; but 
 the ominous raven, fluttering and chatter- 
 ing of slaughter, will tell the eagle of his 
 luck, while, alongside of the grim and 
 hungry wolf, he stripped the slain." 
 
 Upon hearing the grief-stricken youth's
 
 Wiglaf's Rebuke 317 
 
 discourse, all the troop arose and sadly, 
 under gushing tears, wended their way 
 under the crag, to behold the gruesome 
 sight. There they found, stretched life- 
 less on the sand, the man who had given 
 them so many rings in bygone times, and, 
 at but a short distance from him, the car- 
 case of the loathsome beast, all scorched 
 with its own flames never saw they more 
 frightful object. It was fifty feet long 
 where it lay. No more through the re- 
 gions of air would he sportively whirl at 
 midnight, then down again pounce to re- 
 joice in his lair he would have no use 
 for caverns any more. And there, un- 
 watched, open to all men's eyes, lay bowls 
 and dishes and swords of price, all rusty 
 and corroded, as though they had lain in 
 the earth's lap a thousand winters ; for this 
 treasure had been bound by a magic spell, 
 so that it might never be touched of man, 
 unless God Himself granted to one of His 
 choice to open the enchanted hoard ; and 
 that man was to leave his life as ransom 
 such was Beowulf's lot.
 
 VI 
 
 THE OBSEQUIES 
 
 AND now Wiglaf once more lifted up 
 his voice : 
 
 " Alas ! we were not able to convince our 
 beloved master that he should not chal- 
 lenge yonder monster, but should leave 
 him to dwell unmolested in his haunts to 
 the end of the world. But it is done 
 the hoard lies open before us, purchased 
 at a fearful price. I was inside the cham- 
 ber of the barrow and explored the whole 
 of it, and all the stores it held ; for, once 
 the price was paid, the spell was broken, 
 and the passage open to all. Hurriedly I 
 grabbed with my hands a huge burden of 
 treasure and carried it hither to the feet 
 of my King. He was still alive then, wise 
 and sensible ; freely did he talk, although 
 318
 
 The Obsequies 319 
 
 the death-pang was upon him. And he 
 bade me give you all his greeting and 
 tell you his will : that ye should build up, 
 in memory of your chieftain's deeds, on 
 the very place of the funeral pyre, a stone- 
 cairn of the highest, forasmuch as he was 
 of all men the most famous warrior, as 
 long as it was given him to dwell in his 
 royal castle. And now let us go, all to- 
 gether, and visit the fatal hoard. I will 
 be your guide, and ye shall have your fill 
 of gazing on gold and jewels. After that, 
 let us make ready the bier, and promptly 
 equip it, and so let us convey our beloved 
 master to the place where he shall tarry 
 long in the keeping of the Almighty." 
 
 Then, by Wiglaf's orders, commands 
 were sent round to many householders, 
 that they should haul timber, stout and 
 sound, to do the last service to the ruler 
 of men. 
 
 While this was being done, Wiglaf 
 called out of the band seven of the King's 
 thanes, the choicest ; led by him, the eighth, 
 they went under the dangerous roof, one 
 warrior walking in front, bearing in his
 
 320 Beowulf 
 
 hand a flaming torch. When they had 
 taken a view of the treasure, lying there 
 keeperless and undefended, they did not 
 stand upon the order of casting lots as to 
 who should loot the hoard, but went to 
 work with all despatch to empty the cham- 
 ber. Then, taking hold of the dead 
 Dragon, they haled him away and shoved 
 him over the precipitous cliff. With a 
 great splash the waves engulfed him, and 
 that was the last of him. In the mean- 
 time, the gold was laden on waggons, which 
 followed the bier whereon the hero was 
 borne to the high, jutting headland which 
 he had chosen for his resting-place. 
 
 There they constructed for him a huge 
 pyre, which they hung all round with hel- 
 mets, battle-shields, bright mail-shirts ; and 
 in the midst of the pyre, heaving deep 
 sighs, they laid their beloved lord. Then 
 the warriors set fire to the pile in several 
 places ; the smoke, heavy and black, 
 mounted up to the sky, the ruddy flames 
 shot aloft, their roaring mingling with the 
 howling of the winds, until the house of 
 flesh and bone was utterly consumed.
 
 The Obsequies 321 
 
 With sore hearts and care-laden minds, 
 the warriors stood around and silently 
 mourned their liege lord, the while a dirge 
 of sorrow was sung by an aged dame, 
 whose dishevelled hair streamed in the 
 wind. The blue heavens swallowed up 
 the black smoke. 
 
 Then did the people go to work and 
 construct a barrow and a cairn of stones on 
 the hill. It was high and broad, and sea- 
 faring men would behold it from a great 
 distance. Ten days they laboured. With 
 great skill they surrounded the ashes of 
 the pyre with a noble embankment, and 
 the pile rose like a beacon for all coming 
 ages, even as the memory of the hero's 
 deeds and noble character. 
 
 As to the fated hoard, they buried the 
 whole in the barrow under the cairn, and 
 left it there, where it remains to this day 
 as useless to mankind as it has been ever 
 since the last of a company of unknown 
 earls consigned it to the earth's keeping. 
 
 Last of all funeral ceremonies, twelve 
 youths, sons of ethelings, rode around 
 the barrow. From time to time they
 
 322 
 
 Beowulf 
 
 stopped in the race, to bewail their loss, and 
 bemoan their King, to recite an elegy in his 
 honour, to celebrate his name and re- 
 hearse his deeds, extolling his manhood 
 with admiring words. 
 
 Thus did the nobles of the Goths, the 
 companions of his hearth, lament the fall 
 of Beowulf, their lord. They said that he 
 was of all kings in the world the mildest 
 and most affable to his men, most genial 
 to his nobles, and most desirous of glory.
 
 NOTE ON THE "BEOWULF" 
 
 IV TO monument of ancient national liter- 
 1 ^ ature has been and to a great ex- 
 tent still is so overlooked and underrated 
 as the Anglo-Saxon epic of " Beowulf." It 
 has, indeed, been edited and re-edited, and 
 duly commented on, and it is entered in 
 the university curriculum of Anglo-Saxon. 
 But how great a proportion of even inter- 
 ested students pursue their English studies 
 as far back as Anglo-Saxon ? A cultured 
 general reader would vainly ask for a 
 readable translation, even in prose, of the 
 " Beowulf ; " nor would he be likely to 
 ask for one, as there is nothing in even 
 the best histories of English literature, 
 native or foreign, to awaken a feeling 
 of sympathetic curiosity nothing more 
 than either a bare mention, or at best, 
 a brief account, always insufficient and fre- 
 323
 
 324 Beowulf 
 
 quently misleading. And proof positive 
 of the poem's total lack of popularity it 
 has never yet been illustrated. 
 
 An untoward fate seemed to pursue the 
 " Beowulf " even before it came into the 
 hands of the scholars. There is only one 
 manuscript of it in existence, which is hid 
 away among nine others, comparatively 
 unimportant, in a folio volume labelled 
 Vitellius A, XV., and belonging to the 
 Cottonian Library in the British Museum. 
 It was noticed for the first time, in 1705, 
 in a catalogue of Anglo-Saxon manuscripts 
 (Wanley's), in which it is described as 
 containing an account of certain wars 
 between Sweden and Denmark. Need- 
 less to say it is nothing of the kind. The 
 notice was not inviting, and nobody paid 
 much attention to it. One hundred years 
 later, in 1807, Sharon Turner mentioned 
 the poem in his History of the ^.nglo- 
 Saxons, and even attempted a translation 
 of a few extracts, with but indifferent 
 success, owing to the then still very imper- 
 fect knowledge of Anglo-Saxon versifica- 
 tion and poetic language. Still, the poem
 
 Note on the "Beowulf" 325 
 
 was now treated with respect, and the 
 study of it was taken up conscientiously, 
 by some even enthusiastically. 
 
 But the students encountered difficulties 
 which they would have been spared a hun- 
 dred or even eighty years before : the 
 original manuscript the only one was 
 no longer intact. It had been badly in- 
 jured in a fire which broke out in the Cot- 
 tonian Library in 1731, destroying 114 
 volumes and damaging 98 others, " so as to 
 make them defective," in the words of the 
 report ; and among these " defective " ones 
 was our folio. Numerous leaves were 
 scorched, and of these, again, many chip- 
 ped off in the course of time, doing away 
 with many ends of lines. The loss, of 
 course, is irretrievable, but fortunately not 
 so great as to impair materially the sense 
 and the value of the whole. Strangely 
 enough, the same fate, only worse, over- 
 took the first attempt at an edition of the 
 poem. The Danish scholar, Thorkelin, 
 had brought home two complete copies of 
 it, for purposes of study and translation. 
 During twenty years he gave the work
 
 326 Beowulf 
 
 much time, off and on, and had the poem 
 almost ready for the press when, in 1807, 
 his house was burned down during the 
 bombardment of Copenhagen by the 
 English, and his edition of the " Beowulf " 
 perished, with most of his books How- 
 ever, the two manuscript copies having 
 fortunately escaped destruction, Thorkelin 
 had the extraordinary courage to do the 
 work over again, and in 1815 came out the 
 first edition of the "Beowulf," the first 
 printed text, with a parallel Latin transla- 
 tion and indices. Since then scholars have 
 done their duty by this noble monument 
 in every way except making it popular. 
 
 Coming now to the discussion of the 
 poem itself, the peculiarity which strikes 
 us most at the first reading is that, while 
 it is avowedly the national epic of the 
 Anglo-Saxons and one of the oldest mon- 
 uments of the Anglo-Saxon language, the 
 hero is a Goth, and the action takes place 
 
 1 A very complete survey of the critical and philological work 
 done on the " Beowulf " up to date will be found in the Intro- 
 duction to Professor John Earle's literal prose translation (with 
 notes) published at Oxford in 1892.
 
 Note on the "Beowulf" 327 
 
 in Denmark and in Sweden. Yet the 
 scenery described is that of a part of 
 Northumbria, in England, which can be 
 identified to this day, and some of the 
 names of the locality are said to tally with 
 those in the poem. It would seem, there- 
 fore, that the Angles and Saxons, who 
 were near neighbours of the Danes in the 
 German mother-country, brought the story 
 over to the British Island and it was re- 
 told in literary poetic form before the 
 Danes came over as pirates and conquer- 
 ors. Had the poem been written after 
 this event, a Swedo-Danish hero could 
 hardly have been adopted by the subju- 
 gated Anglo-Saxons, nor could the Danes 
 have been mentioned with such absolute 
 absence of animosity. 
 
 Another not only peculiar but highly 
 puzzling feature is that there are two 
 Beowulfs : the second king of the Skyld- 
 ing dynasty (also called Beow), Beowulf 
 the Dane ; and the hero of the poem, Beo- 
 wulf the Goth, who comes over the sea, 
 with a picked band of Goths, to deliver the 
 Skyldings from a most untoward visitation.
 
 328 Beowulf 
 
 What makes this thing stranger still, is 
 that the poem begins with a glorification 
 of the warlike Danes, leading us to expect 
 that it is their national hero whose exploits 
 we are to be called upon to admire. In- 
 stead of which, the Danes appear only in 
 the not very admirable role of people who 
 endure an intolerable nuisance passively 
 for twelve years, unable to rid themselves 
 of it a fact which is duly brought home 
 to them by their deliverer in a moment of 
 legitimate irritation. The reason for this 
 curious incongruity lies almost certainly in 
 the alterations which the old story under- 
 went, as all epic stories did in the pro- 
 gress of oral transmission, and even in the 
 first written attempts, which were often 
 cast and re-cast before they reached their 
 final form. Originally, the second Beo- 
 wulf was certainly a Dane and a Skylding. 
 As such, he would quite naturally and 
 properly be named after the ancestor who 
 is held up as a model prince in the pro- 
 logue. The latest criticism detects in the 
 poem itself traces amounting to intrinsic 
 proof that such was the case. It was nat-
 
 Note on the "Beowulf" 329 
 
 ural that Beowulf, himself a Skylding, 
 should be the champion and deliverer of 
 his people and house, and, after the death 
 of the aged king, should be called to the 
 throne by the country for which he had 
 laboured and fought. Gothland is evi- 
 dently, to use the clever French phrase, 
 " dragged in by the hair " ; by whom and 
 for what reason, is immaterial to the mere 
 reading of the story, But a genealogical 
 connection between the two Beowulfs is 
 felt as an imperious necessity, and the ab- 
 sence of it is a glaring inconsistency which 
 it would be hopeless to attempt to smooth 
 over or explain away for the benefit of 
 youthful readers, whose exacting logic in 
 such things is proverbial. Wherefore the 
 expedient has been resorted to in the 
 present volume of making the second Beo- 
 wulf a Skylding by his mother an expe- 
 dient innocent enough, since we are not 
 told who was his mother ; and why could 
 not a royal daughter of Denmark be mar- 
 ried to a royal thane of Gothland ? 
 
 As to the authorship of the poem, it is 
 of course obscure. But the latest criticism
 
 33 Beowulf 
 
 shows good reason to ascribe it to a high 
 Church dignitary possibly Hygeberht, 
 Bishop of Litchfield statesman and 
 courtier at the time of the great Offa II., 
 King of Mercia (mentioned with great, but 
 not servile praise in Lay II.), who in the 
 second half of the eighth century gathered 
 the entire Heptarchy under his overlord- 
 ship. The few historical touches betray 
 the man versed in the affairs of more 
 countries than his own. 1 
 
 1 For the very interesting development of this hypothesis, as 
 well as for other points of exhaustive research and criticism, 
 see J. Earle's Introduction, already alluded to. 
 
 Professor Earle's version has been fully utilised in the present 
 volume, even to the extent of frequently making use of its 
 wording, where it was not too archaic or literal for ordinary 
 reading purposes.
 
 KEY TO THE PRONUNCIATION OF 
 PROPER NAMES. 
 
 Aeschere . 
 Alberich 
 Balmung . 
 Bechlaren . 
 Beowulf 
 Breca . 
 Brunhilde . 
 Dankwart . 
 Eckewart . 
 Etzel . 
 Folker 
 Gernot 
 Giselher 
 Grendel 
 Gunther 
 Hagen 
 Hela . 
 Helferich . 
 Helke 
 Heorot 
 Heremod . 
 Hildebrand 
 
 Es'-ka-ra. 
 
 Al'-ber-ic. 
 
 Ball'-mung. 
 
 Bec-la'-ren. 
 
 B'i'-o-wulf. 
 
 Bra'-ka. 
 
 Brun-hil'-da. 
 
 Dank'-vart. 
 
 Eck'-e-vart. 
 
 Et'-sel. 
 
 Foll'-ker. 
 
 Ger'-n&t. 
 
 G'i'-zel-har. 
 
 Gren'-del. 
 
 Gun'-ter. 
 
 Hag'-en. 
 
 Ha'-la. 
 
 Hel'-fer-ic. 
 
 Hel'-ka 
 
 Hi'-o-rdt. 
 
 Ha'-re-m6d. 
 
 Hil'-de-brand. 
 
 331
 
 33 2 Key to Pronunciation 
 
 * Hrethel 
 
 . Hra'-thel. 
 
 * Hrothgar . 
 
 . H roth '-gar. 
 
 * Hrunting . 
 
 . Hrunt'-ing. 
 
 Hygd . 
 
 . . HYgd. 
 
 Hygeberht . 
 
 . Hig'-e-bert. 
 
 Hygelac 
 
 '..: . Hig'-e-lac. 
 
 Isenstein . 
 
 . I'-sen-stlne. 
 
 Kriemhilde 
 
 . Krim-hil'-da. 
 
 Ludegast . 
 
 . Lu'-de-gast. 
 
 Naegling . 
 
 . Nag'-ling. 
 
 Nibelungs . 
 
 . N'i'-be-lungs. 
 
 Ortewein . 
 
 . Orr'-te-vme. 
 
 Rudiger 
 
 . Ru'-di-ger. 
 
 Siegfried 
 
 . Sig'-ffid. 
 
 Sieglinde . 
 
 . Sig-lin'-da. 
 
 Siegmund . 
 
 . Sig'-mund. 
 
 Skyldings . 
 
 . Sklld x -ings. 
 
 Thrytho 
 
 . Thri'-tho. 
 
 Tronje 
 
 . Tron'-ya. 
 
 Unferth . 
 
 . Un'-ferth. 
 
 Ute . 
 
 . U'-ta 
 
 Valkyrie 
 
 . Val-kir'-ya. 
 
 Wealhtheow 
 
 . Wel'-the-o. 
 
 Weohstan . 
 
 . Wi'-o-stan. 
 
 Wiglaf 
 
 . Wig'-laf. 
 
 Wolfhart' . 
 
 . Volf -hart. 
 
 Worms 
 
 . Vorrms. 
 
 Wulfgar . 
 
 . Wulf-gar. 
 
 Xante 
 
 . Kzan'-ta. 
 
 * The H 
 
 to he aspirated. 
 
 6 5 o 9 7 *
 
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