Song of the Nibelungs

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.1265 Then Rudiger spoke: You need no more than two of your own,since I can supply the rest.We need to bring you acrossthe Rhine with all the honor a queen deserves.Your homeis no longer Wurms, my lady.Come where your crown is, as well as your throne.1266 I came with half a thousand men, and some of my family,and all of them will serve you, both here and later at court,as I myself will do.Whenever you choose to remind meof it, lady, may I never regret the oath I swore.1267 So have the servants put your travel gear in order.You ll never be sorry, lady, that you listened to Rudiger.And make up your mind which of your women you choose to journeywith you.Tell them that on the way they ll meet heroes galore! 1268 These lady travelers could use well-made gear left overfrom Sifried s time.They all would travel honorably,no matter how many Krimhild chose.O what lovelysaddles there were, superbly fit for the use of beautiful ladies!1269 They busied themselves, sewing such an abundance of costlyclothes, in honor of the king they d heard so much about,it seemed as if they d never owned an expensive gown!They unlocked all the chests they always kept so tightly closed.1270 It took them four and a half full days to carefullyexamine all the beautiful things they took from the chests.Then Krimhild s steward was ordered to open wide her treasurecoffers, distributing gold to Rudiger s men and those of his family.176KING ETZEL SENDS A MESSENGER TO KRIMHILD1271 There still was gold remaining from her Nibelungen hoard.She wanted to take it with her and give it away, in Etzel sland, but even a hundred horses couldn t carry it all.Hagen heard what Krimhild meant to do with her leftover wealth,1272 and said: Since Lady Krimhild has no use for me,I ve got to keep Sifried s gold in Burgundy.Why should I put such treasure in enemy hands? I m wellaware what Krimhild wanted to do with all of Sifried s wealth.1273 And if I let her take some away, I haven t a doubtshe ll find a way to use it against me, parcel it outfor the sake of hatred.And how could she carry so much so far?Let them tell the lady Hagen intends to keep what s here. 1274 When Krimhild heard this report, she felt fiercely unhappy.The three Rhineland kings had heard, and wanted verymuch to stop Hagen.Noble Rudigersaw that nothing could be done, and cheerfully said to her:1275 Mighty queen, why mourn for some pieces of gold?The moment my king sets eyes on you, his heart will fillwith love and he will give you gifts of gold and silvermore than you ll ever use.For this too, lady, you have my oath. 1276 Krimhild answered: Noble Rudiger, no king sdaughter has ever possessed more treasure than Hagen has stolenfrom me. But then her brother Gernot appeared and wentstraight to the treasure house where the last of the Nibelung gold was kept.1277 He set a key in the lock, in the name of Burgundy s mightyrulers, and Krimhold s gold, thirty thousand marksor more, was carried out.Royal Gunter was delighted.Gernot invited all their guests to take whatever they liked.1278 Gotelind s husband, the count of Bechalaren, declared: Even if Lady Krimhild could take away with her177DAS NIBELUNGENLIEDall that was once contained in the Nibelungen hoard,I wouldn t so much as touch it, and neither, Gernot my friend, would she.1279 Tell them to put it back in its storage house.I can taccept it.I brought so much treasure, coming here,that all we ll need on our journey is already safe in my hands,and our lives will be luxurious, traveling back to Etzel s land. 1280 During all this time, Krimhild s eager womenwere busy filling boxes, twelve in all, with the bestgold you ll ever see.They took handfuls of perfectgems, and everything was carted off, to be taken with them.1281 Savage Hagen s power intimidated the lady,who had no more than a thousand marks to spend on prayerssaid for Sifried s soul, money left over from burialgifts.The count was impressed by Krimhild s loving loyalty.1282 The mournful lady wondered: Where will I ever find thosewho love me enough to leave their homes and travel to foreignlands? Who will ride with me to Etzel s home?So let them take my gold and buy horses and clothes for themselves. 1283 Faithful Eckewart replied to the queen: Eversince I was honored, chosen to join your household, my servicehas always been true to you. The trustworthy warrior said. I mean to serve you, lady, until the very day of my death.1284 I will ride with you and bring five hundred men,whose loyalty I pledge to you.And I say, again,that the bond between us, lady, will be broken only by death. To acknowledge these words she bent her head, for she truly needed his help.1285 The horses were brought around, they were all ready to leave.Many among their friends and families were weeping.Lady Otta and many of the pretty women who served hershowed how sad they were, losing Krimhild, perhaps forever.178KRIMHILD S JOURNEY TO THE LAND OF THE HUNS1286 A hundred experienced maids were going with her, everyone of them dressed as beautiful women ought to be.Their lovely eyes were bright with flowing tears.They d seemuch happiness when their journey ended, and they reached King Etzel s court.1287 Then noble Giselher, and also Gernot, and manyof their men, acting with all the breeding and courtesythey knew so well, came to escort their sister on her way.There must have been a thousand knights, riding with them that day.1288 Courageous Gera was there, and Ortwin, too.Rumolt,master of kitchens, could also be seen.They arranged lodgingsfor the night, all the way from Wurms to the River Danube.But Gunter rode only a little way outside the town.1289 Before they left the Rhineland, they sent quick-riding menhurrying far ahead, all the way to Etzel sland, informing the king that Rudiger had wonthe noble queen as his wife, and they would soon be bringing her home.Adventure 21Krimhild s Journey to the Land of the Huns1290 Let those riders gallop ahead.Now let s considerhow Krimhild traveled across the land, and just whenher brothers, Giselher and Gernot, turned and left her.They d served her faithfully, exactly as they d sworn they would.1291 They rode with her to Vergen on the Danube.And thenthey asked their sister s leave, permission to start the journeyback to far-off Wurms along the Rhine.They weptat parting, the three of them, sad as departing friends must be.179DAS NIBELUNGENLIED1292 Warrior Giselher declared: On my oath,lady, if ever you want my help, or anyoneor anything oppresses you, let me know,and I will ride to Etzel s land and do what needs to be done. 1293 She kissed them both on the mouth and said her farewells.NobleRhineland men and those in service to Rudigerleft one another on friendly terms.Many girlsfollowed Krimhild s path she d taken a hundred and four in all,1294 wearing costly clothes made of richly coloredsilk, elaborately embroidered.Many gleamingshields were carried along behind these maidens.And otherwarriors, as many, as good, returned to Wurms with two of their kings.1295 Krimhild s party rode across Bavariaas fast as they could.News of unexpected strangershurrying through the land reached a monasterynear where the River Enns merges with the mighty Danube.1296 The city of Passau was home to a bishop [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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