Tale V: How Wâ-te Was Sent to Ireland as a Suitor

Hettel was lord in Daneland; to be its king he rose;’Twas in the Sturmisch marches, as many a one well knows;There abode his kindred, who ways of honor taught him.Ortland also served him. His might and worth high fame with all soon brought him.

One among his kinsfolk the name of Wâ-te bore;He for his lands and castles fealty to Hettel swore.As kinsman of his master, he careful teaching gave himIn all things good and worthy, and in his watchful care did ever have him.

A landed knight in Daneland was Wâ-te’s sister’s son,The brave and upright Horant. Later his faith was shownUnto his lord, King Hettel, who for his worth did crown him.This to him he grudged not, but ever for a prince was glad to own him.

Hettel, rich and mighty, at Hegeling held his seat,Not far from the lord of Ortland; this is true, I weet.He there owned many castles, eighty at least or over;They who these strongholds guarded in truest faith and honor held them ever.

Lord he was of Friesland, its waters and its land;Ditmarsh, as well as Waleis, were swayed by his kingly hand.Hettel was truly mighty; his kinsmen they were many;Bold was he and daring, and ’gainst his foes he plotted, well as any.

Hettel was an orphan, and so he felt the needThat he a wife should find him. To him, at last, were deadFather as well as mother, who their lands had left him.He friends in truth had many, yet found he much in life that of bliss bereft him.

The best of these besought him some maiden’s love to seek,Who of his birth was worthy. The knight did answer make:“I here know none who fitly should be o’er the Hegelings seated,Nor is there any lady who, brought from far, should as my queen be greeted.”

Then spake a knight of Nifland, Morunc, a youthful lord:“I know of a lovely maiden, of whom I oft have heard;She in truth is fairer than all on earth now living.Her will we gladly sue for, that she her troth to you may soon be giving.”

Then quoth the king: “Who is she? her name I pray you tell.”Then said Morunc: “’Tis Hilda, in Ireland she doth dwell;Her father’s name is Hagen; King Ger was her forefather.If to this land she cometh, your life will then be blissful altogether.”

Then spake the young King Hettel: “I oft have heard it said,Whoever woos this maiden her father’s wrath must dread.Many a worthy suitor his life for her has ended;But none among my vassals must meet his death for having me befriended.”

Morunc quickly answered: “Then send to Horant’s land,And bid that he come hither; he well doth understandThe ways and moods of Hagen, for often has he seen them.Unless his help he gives you, ’twill come to nought, howe’er your friends demean them.”

He said: “Your will I follow, since she is so fair;But if my friends shall seek her, yourself the suit must share;And if unto your friendship the task I’ve trusted fitly,Wealth shall you have and honor, when as the Hegeling’s queen she’s greeted rightly.”

He quickly sent out riders through the Danish land to haste;By them was the mighty Horant, his nephew, found at last,And to the court was bidden; to come must he be speedy,Within seven days, not later, if he to help his lord in truth were ready.

When Horant met the heralds, and did their errand hear,Then for friendly service himself he would not spare.Right gladly did he listen to the bidding of his master;But this, on a day thereafter, to him brought sorrow great, and sore disaster.

To the court he soon went riding, with sixty of his men;Of friends at home young Horant to take his leave was seen.He then made haste the faster, when now the tale was told himHow he must help his master, if for a faithful knight he now would hold him.

Upon the seventh morning he came to Hettel’s land;Decked in finest clothing was he and all his band.The king to welcome Horant rode forth, most glad to greet him,And saw that with him Fru-te, another Danish knight, was there to meet him.

Good news it was of their coming, of which all men now spoke;Glad was the king to see them; from him a share it tookOf the deep and heavy sorrow which his heart was filling.“Welcome, Cousin Fru-te!” cried he, the while he looked upon him smiling.

When Horant now with Fru-te before the king did stand,Then he asked for tidings of their home in the Danish land.Both of them now answered: “Not many days are endedSince we in stormy battle with many deadly blows our lives defended.”

He asked whence they had ridden from off the stormy field.They said: “It was from Portugal, where the strife was held;There the mighty ruler from fighting would not spare us;Daily within our borders he did us wrong, and much ill-will did bear us.”

The young King Hettel answered: “Now cast all care away;I know that the aged Wâ-te will never yield the swayHe holds o’er the Sturmisch marches; he of the land is owner;Who wins from him a castle will earn high praise and long be held in honor.”

Within the roomy palace the guests then took their seats.Both Horant and Sir Fru-te with thoughtless, merry wits,Of the loves of high-born ladies began to gossip gaily.To them the young king listened, and costly gifts he gave unto them freely.

Hettel turned to Horant, and thus to ask began:“If aught hath reached your hearing, then tell me, if you can,How ’tis with Lady Hilda, King Hagen’s lovely daughter?To her would I send most gladly, and would that words of love from me were brought her.”

The youthful knight then answered: “She is to me well known;A maid so fair and lovely my eyes ne’er looked uponAs she, that maid of Ireland, Hilda, the rich and stately,The daughter of wild Hagen; to wear a crown with you would befit her greatly.”

On this King Hettel asked him: “Now think you, can it beThat ever her lordly father will give this maid to me?If I deemed he were so friendly, I would seek to win her,And would reward him ever who gave to me his ready help to gain her.”

“That can never happen,” to him young Horant said:“No rider with this errand to Hagen need be sped.To hasten thither boldly I feel, myself, no longing;The man sent there to seek her is either slain with blows, or dies by hanging.”

Then spake again King Hettel: “Not so for her I care;To hang my trusty vassal should Hagen ever dare,Then he, the king of Ireland, himself must death be facing.Be he ne’er so boastful, he’ll find his rashness is to him no blessing.”

Then spake the knightly Fru-te: “If Wâ-te deigns to goUnto the king of Ireland, to woo this maid for you,Lucky will be our errand, and we shall bring the lady;Or wounds throughout our bodies, e’en to the heart, to take shall we be ready.”

Then said to him King Hettel: “My men I now will sendWith word to the lord of Sturmland; I do not fear the end,For Wâ-te will hasten gladly wherever I shall bid him.Bring Irold, too, from Friesland, with all his men, for sorely do I need him.”

His riders then went quickly into the Sturmisch land,Where the brave old Wâ-te they found among his band.Then the word they gave him, now to the king to betake him;But Wâ-te felt great wonder, to know for what the Hegeling king did seek him.

He asked if it were needful to bring, when he should go,His breastplate and his helmet, and any followers, too?One of the heralds answered: “We did not hear it spokenThat he had need of fighters; for you alone did his words a wish betoken.”

Wâ-te would be going, but left behind a guard,To care for lands and castles. Then taking horse, at his word,Twelve of his followers only with him from home now started;Wâ-te, the brave old warrior, at once on his way to court in haste departed.

He reached the land of the Hegelings. When he now was seen,As he came near Kampatille, but little sorrow, I ween,Was felt by the kingly Hettel; with speed he went to greet him,And thought of the kindly welcome he would give his friend, old Wâ-te, when he met him.

Right glad was he to see him; with hearty speech he says:“Sir Wâ-te, thou art welcome; many are the daysSince I have looked upon you, when on our horses sitting,Side by side together, we proudly met our foes with blows befitting.”

Then answered him old Wâ-te: “Ever should good friendsBe glad to be together; that fight the better endsWhere, before the foeman, friends as one are fighting.”Then by the hand he held him, to him his love and friendship warmly plighting.

They took their seats together, nor place to other gave.Hettel, he was mighty, and Wâ-te, he was brave;He yet was also haughty, and proud in all his bearing.Hettel now was thinking how Wâ-te could be brought to Ireland to be faring.

Then spake the knightly Hettel: “For this I bade thee come;Need have I of riders, to send to Hagen’s home.Truly I know of no one whom I would send the soonerThan thee, my good friend Wâ-te, or who in this could bring me greater honor.”

Then said the aged Wâ-te: “Whatever I can doTo show my love and fealty, I’ll gladly do for you.Herein I may be trusted, to be for you bold-hearted;And to bring about your wishes, unless in this by death I should be thwarted.”

Then quoth the kingly Hettel: “Many friends have saidThat if the mighty Hagen will my wooing heed,And give to me his daughter, she, as my queen, would honorMe and my kingdom also; my heart is bent as a wife and queen to own her.”

Angrily spoke Wâ-te: “Whoever this has saidWould truly feel no sorrow if I this day were dead.’Tis Fru-te, he of Denmark, I know it is no other,Who to this has stirred you, to send me to the maid, your suit to further.

“This young and lovely maiden is guarded now with care;Horant and Fru-te also, who say she is so fair,And speak to you her praises, must go with me to seek her.Never shall I rest easy unless they strive with me your own to make her.”

Both these faithful vassals King Hettel sent for soon;To others good and trusty they also made it known,That by their king and master they at court were wanted.No more their thoughts men whispered, but freely spoke of the coming raid, undaunted.

When Wâ-te, the brave old warrior, did on Horant look,And on the Danish Fru-te, how sharply then he spoke!“Brave knights, may God reward you, to me you are so friendly,And of my fame so careful, and my trip to court this time you help so kindly.

“You are, forsooth, most willing that I this errand do;But both of you are bounden with me thereon to go,To serve the king, our master, even as our duty calleth.He who my life endangers himself the risk must share, whate’er befalleth.”

“For this I now am ready,” answered Horant the Dane;“If leave the king will grant us, I then will shun no pain,Nor aught of toil will grudge me. Only to see this lady,For me and for my kinsman, were happiness enough, and bliss already.”

“Then we ought,” said Fru-te, “to take upon our waySeven hundred warriors. No man doth honor payTo Hagen without grudging. He is overweening, truly;If he thinks that he can crush us, he soon must lay aside his boasting wholly.

“Sir king, you should bid your workmen a ship of cypress-woodTo build upon the river; strong must it be and good,So your band of warriors shall shipwreck ne’er be ruing.From timber white as silver the lofty masts your men must soon be hewing.

“Also food for your fighters you must now bespeak;And bid that men be busy helmets for us to make,And hauberks strong for many; when we these are wearing,Then wild Hagen’s daughter we shall the easier win by craft and daring.

“Also my nephew Horant, who is shrewd and wise,Must go with us as a shopman; (I grudge him not his guise)There must he to the ladies be clasps and arm-bands selling,With gold and costly jewels; thus greater trust in us will they be feeling.

“For sale we also must carry weapons and clothing, too;And since wild Hagen’s daughter it is such risk to woo,That only now by fighting one can hope to wed her,Let Wâ-te choose the warriors to go with him, and home to the king to lead her.”

Then spake the aged Wâ-te: “A shop I cannot keep;Not often doth my money in coffers idly sleep;My lot I’ve shared with fighters, and that I still am doing;Therein I am not skilful, that I to ladies gew-gaws should be showing.

“But since my nephew Horant on me this task has laid,He knows full well that Hagen will never yield the maid:He prides himself on owning the strength of six and twenty;If he shall learn of our wooing, our hope to leave his land will be but scanty.

“Good king, now let us hasten, but bid that first our hullWith a deck of deal be covered; let it, below, be fullOf knights both strong and doughty, who shall help be giving,If ever the wild King Hagen forbids that we shall leave his kingdom, living.

“Of these brave knights a hundred, with outfits good for war,Unto the land of Ireland we in our ships must bear;There shall my nephew Horant in his shop be seated,Keeping two hundred near him; thus shall the ladies’ coming be awaited.

“Your men must also build us barges strong and wide,To carry food and horses, and to sail our ships beside:Enough for a year or longer we must take to feed us;And we will say to Hagen that to leave our land King Hettel did forbid us,

“And that our lord and master great wrong to us hath wrought.Then with our gifts so costly we often shall be broughtTo Hagen and to Hilda, where they their court are keeping;Our gifts shall make us welcome, and kindness from the king shall we be reaping.

“We then the tale will tell him, we wretched outlaws are;And thus at once the pity of Hagen we shall share.To us, poor homeless wanderers, shelter will be granted,And in his land King Hagen thenceforth will see that nought by us is wanted.”

Hettel asked his warriors: “My friends, I pray you tell,Since you to go are willing, how soon you hence will sail?”“So soon as comes the summer, and May with gladsome weather,”They said, “we shall be ready, and, riding again to court, will we come hither.

“Meanwhile must men be making whatever we shall need,—Sails and also rudders, well-made, and that with speed,Barges wide, and galleys, to bear us to our haven;So the swell of the waters shall stir us not, nor make us sick or craven.”

King Hettel said: “Ride quickly, now, to your land and home.For horses and for clothing no cost to you shall come;For you and all your followers such outfit shall be ready,That you no shame shall suffer, whenever you are seen by any lady.”

When he his leave had taken, Wâ-te to Sturmland rode;Horant and with him Fru-te followed in hurried mood,Back to the land of Denmark, where they held the lordship.To help their master Hettel they thought could never be to them a hardship.

Then, in his home, King Hettel let his will be known;Of shipwrights and of workmen idle was not one.While the ships were building to do their best they hastened;The beams that met together, were with bands of silver strongly fastened.

All the spars and mast-trees, they were strong and good;Red gold, and brightly shining, was laid on the rudder-wood,And like to fire was glowing: wealth their master blesses.When time it was for leaving, the men their tasks had done, and won high praises.

The ropes that held the anchors came from a far-off strand,Brought from the shores of Araby; never on sea or land,Before that day or after, had any man seen better:So might the men of the Hegelings easier make their way o’er the deep sea-water.

They who the sails were making worked late, and early rose;For the king had bid them hurry. For making these they choseSilken stuff from Abalie, as good as could be brought them.Truly far from idle were, in those days, the busy hands that wrought them.

Can any one believe it? They had the anchors madeOf purest beaten silver. The heart of the king was ledStrongly now to wooing; no rest would he be knowing,Nor of his men was sparing, until the day when they should thence be going.

Well-framed, with heavy planking, now the ships were seen,Sound ’gainst war and weather. Then word was sent to the men,That to seek the lovely lady they must soon be faring.This was told to no one but those who the trust of the king were rightly sharing.

Wâ-te to meet King Hettel from Sturmland held his course;With silver gear and housing, heavily went his horse.To court went, too, his followers, four hundred men undaunted;And now the doughty Hettel brave knights enough, for guests, no longer wanted.

Morunc, the brave and daring, from Friesland thither went,And with him brought two hundred. Word to the king was sentThat now, with helms and breastplates, they were thither riding;In haste came Irold also; thus gladly Hettel’s kinsmen did his bidding.

Thither rode from Denmark Horant young and brave;Hettel to do his errand did trusty liegemen have;A thousand men or over might he for this be sending;Only a prince so mighty of such a task had ever made an ending.

Irold, too, of Ortland, was ready now to go:E’en though on him King Hettel should never clothes bestow,Yet, for himself and his followers, he had of these so many,That wheresoe’er they were going, they never need to beg for aught from any.

The king, as well beseemed him, greeted all the band;First, his liegeman Irold he kindly took by the hand;Then he turned to Wâ-te, to where he found him seated:At last, his hardy warriors, ready to leave the land, his word awaited.

To all it now was bidden that they should give good heed,And everything make ready that knights could ever need.Now were seen by the warriors the ships so fair and stately;To woo the lovely Hilda the king in all things showed his forethought greatly.

Two new and well-made galleys they had upon the flood,With two broad ships of burden; both were strong and good.A ship of state went with them; than this had ne’er a better,By any friend or foeman, on the shores of any land, been seen upon the water.

To start they now are willing; already on the shipsWere the clothes and horses loaded. Then from Wâ-te’s lipsCame kindly words to Hettel; he begged him to feel easy,Till they should again be coming, for to do his bidding they would all be busy.

The king to him said mournfully: “I give into your careThe knights, untaught and youthful, who such risks will dare,With you upon this errand: most earnestly I pray youThat, for your honor, daily you teach these youths with care, and make them to obey you.”

Him thus Wâ-te answered: “To that give not a thought;Keep a brave heart, I beg you, that here at home, in noughtYou fail of being steadfast, where’er your honor reaches:Watch well, too, o’er our holdings: these youths shall learn from me what wisdom teaches.”

The good and trusty Fru-te the wealth of the king did guard,—The gold and costly jewels, and of many things a hoard.The king was free in spending whatsoe’er was wanted;If Fru-te aught did ask for, thirty-fold to him he gladly granted.

A hundred men were chosen, and now within the ship,Wherein to woo the maiden his friends must cross the deep,All craftily were hidden, to help them, if ’twere needful.Gifts both rich and worthy the king to give these faithful men was heedful.

With these, among the followers, every rank was seen;Of knights and squires also, thirty hundred men,Who, for toil and struggle, from far-off lands came riding.Then said the king to his lieges: “May God in heaven to you give careful guiding.”

To him thus Horant answered: “From fear now be you free;When you shall see us coming, you then with us will seeA maid so fair and lovely, you well may wish to greet her.”This the king heard gladly, but far was the day when he at last should meet her.

They took their leave with kisses, the king and many a guest;For these the king was feeling wearisome unrest.While they for him are toiling, each hour he fear must borrow;He forsooth was downcast, and nought could cheer him, in his mood of sorrow.

This was for his welfare, that a wind from out the northNow their sails was swelling, and briskly helped them forth.The ships were wafted evenly, as they from land were turning;But hardships they had known not the youths, upon their way, erelong were learning.

The truth we cannot tell you, nor can it e’en be guessed,For nights full six and thirty what lodgings gave them rest,While upon the water. The youths they with them carried,Bound by oaths of fealty, swore again to keep them, where’er they tarried.

However willing were they to sail on the tossing sea,Yet sometimes it befell them in great unrest to be.Ease they took but seldom, as the waves would spare it;But he who ploughs the waters pain must often feel, and yet must bear it.

After the waves had borne them full a thousand miles,They came to Hagen’s castle, where, as was said erewhiles,He, the master of Ballian, shamefully had lorded:This was a wicked falsehood, the deeds were never done as the tale was worded.

When now the men from Hegeling over the sea had gone,And neared wild Hagen’s castle, their coming soon was known;Much the folk there wondered from what far kingdom sailingThe waves had borne them thither; how finely they were clad all men were telling.

First the ship with an anchor was fastened on the strand;To furl the sails then quickly each gave a ready hand.It was not long thereafter before the news was bruited,Throughout King Hagen’s castle, that ships, with unknown men, in his harbor floated.

Now on the shore they landed, and did their goods unlade;Whatever could be wanted on the sands, for sale, they spread,And all that any asked for. In wealth they were not lacking;But tho’ their men had silver, ’twas little that they bought, or for themselves were taking.

Clothed in the garb of tradesmen, on the shore did standSixty men or over, well-dight, a goodly band.Fru-te, the lord of Denmark, was busy as their leader;His clothing was far better than there was worn by any other trader.

The worthy lord and master over Ballian town,When he heard of their coming, and the riches they did own,Rode down with many followers to where those crafty sellersHe found, himself awaiting. Kind was the mien of all who there were dwellers.

First the master asked them: “Whence their way they had made,And over the sea come thither?” To him then Fru-te said:“God have you in his keeping; we from afar are sailing;Tradesmen truly are we; our masters rich, near by, in ships are dwelling.”

“Let peace with us be plighted,” old Wâ-te then began;But from the master’s grimness, the truth to see was plain,That, where he was the ruler, stern and harsh was his bearing.Straightway then to Hagen they led the guests, who with their tale were faring.

Hagen said, as he met them: “Safeguard to you I give;My peace I pledge you willingly. He shall no longer live,But hang upon the gallows, who these guests shall harry:Let them not be fearful; them shall nothing harm while in my land they tarry.”

Rich and costly jewels they to Hagen gave,In worth, of marks a thousand. From them he nought did crave,Nor even so much as a penny; but what for sale they offeredHe begged of them to show him, such as to knights and ladies might be proffered.

For all he thanked them warmly; he said: “If I should liveNot more than three days longer, for all that now they giveMy guests shall be rewarded. If my liegeman do not heed me,And these for aught be lacking, all shall then for this with right upbraid me.”

Now the gifts they gave him the king with his men did share;Among them there were necklaces, fit for ladies fair,With finger-rings and arm-bands, as well as ribands dainty,And head-gear, to bedeck them: these the king to many gave in plenty.

His wife and lovely daughter now most rightly thoughtThat never to their kingdom had gifts for them been brought,That were so rare and costly, by sellers or by traders.Horant and Wâ-te also in sending gifts to court were now the leaders.

Sixty silken garments, the best that e’er were sold,Up to the shore were carried, and forty wrought with gold.They would have prized but lightly cloths from Bagdad even;Of linen suits a hundred, the best they had, now to the king were given.

Beside the handsome clothing, made of silken stuff,Of richest inner garments they also gave enough;There might perhaps be forty, or more, if reckoned fully;Could ever man buy praises, they by their costly gifts had gained them truly.

Twelve Castilian horses, all saddled, were brought, I trow;Also many breastplates, and well-made helmets, too,Men were bidden to carry; twelve bucklers likewise bore they,Rimmed with golden edges. Kind were Hagen’s guests; free givers were they.

Then, too, with gifts came riding Horant the brave and bold;Irold the strong came with him; this to the king was told:’Twas said to him, moreover, that those now thither faringOf lands were the lords and owners. This might well be seen by the gifts they were bearing.

After these came riding four and twenty menWhom they were thither leading, well-bred were they, I ween;Such also was their clothing, they seemed as if well fitted,And now in truth were coming, that very day to be by Hagen knighted.

Then unto King Hagen one of his friends thus spake:“The gifts the men now bring you ’tis best you deign to take:Never must you leave them unthanked for all their treasure.”Hagen lacked not riches, but yet his thanks he gave them without measure.

He said: “I thank you kindly, as I of right should do.”Then he bade that his stewards to see the gifts should go;And also that the clothing, piece by piece, be shown them.Glad were they to see them, and wondered greatly as they gazed upon them.

Then said one of the stewards: “Hear now the truth I tell:Chests there are of silver, and filled with gold as well,With many costly jewels, rich and kingly even:Marks fully twenty thousand the goods are worth, which they to you have given.”

Then the king thus answered: “Blessings on my guests!I now will share with others the riches in these chests.”Then to his knights was given whate’er of these they wanted;To every one among them all that he might wish by the king was granted.

The king now seated near him both the two young men,—Irold and also Horant; he began to ask them then,“Whence to his kingdom sailing, they to come had striven?Gifts so rich and worthy have ne’er before by guests to me been given.”

Then spake the knightly Horant: “This shall you know full well;My lord, now hear us kindly while we our sorrows tell.Outlawed wanderers are we, and from our homes were driven;A king most rich and mighty, to wreak his anger, woe to us hath given.”

Then spake again wild Hagen: “What may be his name,From whose rich kingdom driven, outcasts you became?You of wealth are owners, and, if not by his wits forsaken,To keep such worthy lieges within his land he would some pains have taken.”

He asked “Who them had outlawed, and what name he bore?Of what misdoings guilty, had they to this far shoreMade their flight in sorrow, to ask the help of strangers?”To him then answered Horant: “To you will we make known our woes and dangers.

“He bears the name of ‘Hettel, Lord of the Hegeling land’;Brave and mighty is he, and sways with a heavy hand.We of all our happiness have been robbed and plundered;Of right are we embittered, since from our land and home we now are sundered.”

To him spoke Hagen kindly: “This to your good shall turn;I will in full repay you the losses that you mourn.If I make myself a beggar, by thus so freely giving,Yet from the king of the Hegelings you need not ask for help while I am living.

“If you, good knights,” he added, “here with me will stay,With you will I share right gladly the lands I own to-day;Such guerdon by King Hettel ne’er to you was given.The wealth from you he has taken, that give I you, and more by tenfold even.”

“To stay with you we are ready,” then said Horant the Dane,“But we fear that when King Hettel shall learn that we were seenWithin the Irish borders, he will find a way to reach us;And I am ever dreading that we can nowhere live, and this he’ll teach us.”

Then to the band of wanderers the lordly Hagen said:“Do what now I bid you, and a home for you is made.Never will King Hettel dare for your harm to seek youWithin my land and kingdom; it were a wrong to me from hence to take you.”

He bade they should be sheltered, at once, within his town;Then to his men and lieges he made his wishes known,That now unto the wanderers all honor should be granted.The water-weary sailors soon found the rest that they so long had wanted.

Then the townsmen freely did the king’s behest;To do it they were ready: houses, the very best,Forty, or even over, were empty left, to be takenBy the Danish sailors; their homes, by the king’s good lieges were willingly forsaken.

Up on the beach were carried the wares, full many a pile,That in the ships lay hidden. Their owners thought, the while,That they would rather struggle with storms upon the water,Than to seek their luck and welfare in wooing Hilda, Hagen’s lovely daughter.

Hagen bade his followers: “Now ask these guests of mineIf they will deign most kindly to eat my bread and wine,Till they, within my kingdom, on lands they hold are living.”The Danish Fru-te answered: “To take your food would shame to us be giving.”

“If erst the great King Hettel had been to us so good,That he both gold and silver would give to us for food,We in our houses had them, and might of them be wasteful;We e’en could stay our hunger, and feed thereon, if this to us were tasteful.”

’Twas bidden then by Fru-te that his booth should be set up.To see for sale such riches men ne’er again could hope.Never within their borders did any trader offerFine goods at such a bargain; they easily were sold before the day was over.

All could buy who wished them, gold and jewels rare.The king, by greatest kindness, was to his guests made dear.If any, without buying, still these treasures wanted,The traders were so friendly that they, as gifts, the goods to many granted.

Whate’er of Wâ-te or Fru-te was said by any one,—Of all the deeds of kindness that here by them were done,—The tale might not be trusted, how they for these were ready;They strove to gain high praises, and this at court was told to many a lady.

Of the poor nor man nor woman for clothes was seen to lack;To those in need among them they gave their pledges back,And from debt they freed them. To the princess, morn and even,Oft by her faithful steward the tale of these guests from far was truly given.

To the king she made her prayer: “Dearest father mine,Ask that these guests so worthy to ride to court will deign.They say that one among them hath charms beyond all measure;Should he to your bidding listen, the sight of him ofttimes would give me pleasure.”

To her the king thus answered: “That shall quickly be;His well-bred ways and bearing I soon will let you see.”But still the great King Hagen never yet had known him;Long the ladies waited till Wâ-te came, and they could look upon him.

Word to the guests was carried; to them ’twas kindly said,That if it e’er should happen that they of aught had need,They should to the king betake them, and his food be sharing.To Fru-te this was pleasing, for wise he was, not less than he was daring.

Those who came from Denmark, when at court, took careEver to be blameless for the clothes that they should wear:’Twas so with the men of Wâ-te, from Sturmland thither faring,And than himself no sword-knight in any land could show a finer bearing.

Those who came with Morunc wore mantles over all,With robes from far Kampalia. Fiery red, as a coal,Gold and gems that sparkled on their clothes were shining.Irold, the daring champion, came not alone, young Hilda bent on winning.

Thither came brave Horant; all others he out-viedIn rich and costly clothing. With mantles long and wide,Gay in hue and gaudy, his men were decked out brightly:Those brave men from Denmark proudly came, and had a look most knightly.

Tho’ Hagen’s birth was kingly, and lordly was his mood,He yet went forth to meet them. His daughter, fair and good,Rose up before old Wâ-te from where she now was seated.Such was Wâ-te’s bearing as if with smiles his friends he never greeted.

She said, in way most seemly: “Welcome to you I give;Both I and the king, my father, must from your looks believeThat you are weary warriors, and sorely have been fighting.Good-will the king will show you, and soon his faith to you will he be plighting.”

To her they all bent lowly; their ways, they were well-bred.The king then bade to be seated, as hosts are wont to bid.Of drink to them was given, wine the best and rarest;Better ne’er was tasted in the home of any lord, albeit the fairest.

In talk and fun and merriment seated were they all.Soon the queenly maiden was seen to leave the hall:But first she begged her father the kindness now to show herTo bid the knights so worthy to come to her, for pastime, to her bower.

Her wish the king then granted, (so to us, ’tis said);His young and lovely daughter at this was truly glad.Soon fair clothes and jewels the maidens all were wearing;And earnestly were watching the many knights from far, to see their bearing.

When now the elder Hilda sat by her daughter fair,Each one of her lovely maidens demeaned herself with care;So that all who saw her high in breeding thought her,And nothing else could say of her, but that she was indeed a king’s fair daughter.

Now bade they that old Wâ-te should to the maids be brought;Though he was gray and aged, none the less they thought,To guard against his wooing, they must as children meet him.Then to the aged Wâ-te stepped forth the youthful queen, right glad to greet him.

She was the first to do so, but wished she might be sparedWhen she now must kiss him: broad and gray was his beard,And the hair of the aged Wâ-te with golden strings was braided.He and the Danish Fru-te the queen’s behest to seat them slowly heeded.

Both the well-clad heroes before their seats now stood;Well they knew fine breeding, and made their teaching good.In many a bitter struggle, in their manhood early,They gained a name as warriors; and men to them gave praises for it fairly.

Queen Hilda and her daughter, in lively, merry mood,Began to ask of Wâ-te, whether he thought it good,Thus with lovely ladies to sit in ease and pleasure,Or if to him ’twere better his strength in stormy fight with foes to measure?

The aged Wâ-te answered: “To me the last seems best;Altho’ among fair ladies glad am I to rest,Never am I happier than when with knights most daring,Wherever that may happen, upon the stormy field the fight I am sharing.”

At this the gay young maiden broke into laughter loud;Well she saw, with ladies, his stern, uneasy mood.With this in the halls yet longer were the maidens merry;Queen Hilda and her daughter to talk with Morunc’s knights were never weary.

She asked about old Wâ-te: “Say, by what name is he known?Has he any liegemen? Doth he lands and castles own?Has he a wife and children in the land whence he is roving?There, as I am thinking, at his home and hearth, there must be little loving.”

Then answered one of the warriors: “Both children and a wifeIn his home and land await him. His riches and his lifeHe risketh for his duty; a hero brave he has shown him.A bold and daring champion, throughout his life, both friend and foe have known him.”

Irold the tale was telling about this fearless knight,That never worthier liegeman, or bolder man in fight,A king need e’er be seeking, his lands and castles over:Though mildly now he bears him, there ne’er was found a stronger or a braver.

The queen then said to Wâ-te: “Give heed to what I say;Since in his Danish kingdom Hettel forbids your stay,I here, within my borders, a home will gladly give you;There lives no lord so mighty that he would ever dare from hence to drive you.”

Then to the queen he answered: “I too, myself, own land;There give I clothes and horses, at will, with open hand.To wait on you as liegeman, would make me sorry-hearted;And from my lands and castles, more than a year, I never can be parted.”

At last they all were going: then begged the lovely queen,That when at court they waited, they always might be seenSeated among the ladies; no shame by this were done them:Then said to her brave Irold, that in their home this seat was ever shown them.

To load with gifts these wanderers the king was ever bent.But in a mood so haughty had they been thither sent,To no man were they willing to be for a mark beholden.Hagen, the king, was lordly, and took it ill that their pride should them embolden.

To the king they now betook them; many were they who came;There they found, for pastime, for each some merry game:Draughts were many playing, or spear and shield were trying;For these they cared but little, but ever were in Hagen’s praises vying.

As happens oft in Ireland, with every kind of funForthwith the men made merry. In this old Wâ-te wonA friend for himself in Hagen; but to win the ladies’ praises,Horant, the knight from Denmark, his time in lightsome frolic with them passes.

Fru-te and also Wâ-te were knights full brave and bold;When standing near each other, both alike looked old.Their locks were gray and hoary, and with gold were twisted;But where the bold were needed, to show their bravery earnestly they listed.

The followers of King Hagen wore their shields at court,With clubs as well as bucklers; there they strove in sport,In the sword-play slashing; thrusts of spears they parried;Well themselves they shielded. The youthful knights in games were never wearied.

Then asked the brave King Hagen of Wâ-te and his men,“If, where they erst were living, such fights were ever seen,Or such heavy onslaughts, as his good knights were dealing,Here in his Irish kingdom?” A smile of scorn o’er Wâ-te’s face was stealing.

Then quoth the knight from Sturmland: “The like I never saw;If any here could teach it, from here would I not withdrawTill a year was fully ended, and I had learned it rightly.Whoe’er should be my master, for his care and pains would I not reward him lightly.”

The king to him then answered: “For the love to you I bear,I will bid my best of masters teach you his art with care,Till the three strokes are easy, that, in field-storms raging,Men give to one another; by this will you be helped when battle waging.”

Then came a fencing-master, and began his craft to showTo Wâ-te, the daring fighter; in him he found a foeWho fear for his life soon gave him. Wâ-te his onset parried,With all the skill of a fencer. The face of Fru-te the Dane a smile now carried.

To save himself, the teacher gave a spring as wideAs doth an untamed leopard. Wâ-te his weapon plied,And in his hand it clattered, until the fire-sparks glistenedUpon his foeman’s buckler; he well might thank the youth who to him had listened.

Then said the king, wild Hagen: “Give me the sword in hand.I will take a little pastime with him of the Sturmisch land;I will be his teacher, and he my four strokes be learning.He for this will thank me.” Soon was the king high praise from Wâ-te earning.

To him old Wâ-te answered: “A pledge I now must hearThat I from you, great Hagen, no guile soe’er may fear;Should I by you be wounded, with ladies’ scorn shall I redden.”In the fight was Wâ-te nimble; such quickness to believe should none be bidden.

The simple, untaught fencer smote Hagen many a blow;Till, like a wet brand steaming, was the king before his foe.The learner outdid his teacher: well his strength he boasted.The host laid strokes unnumbered upon the guest, who in his skill had trusted.

Many looked on gladly to see the strength of both.To own the skill of Wâ-te the king was nothing loth;He might have shown his anger, and brought no shame upon him.Great was the strength of Wâ-te, but yet ’twas seen that Hagen had outdone him.

To the king then spake old Wâ-te: “Let each no favor show,While we together struggle. Well have I learned from youYour four strokes to be plying; my thanks be you now sharing.”Such thanks he later showed him as doth a fighting Frank or Saxon daring.

No more a truce was thought of by Wâ-te and the king;With strokes that loud were crashing, the hall began to ring.Harder blows than ever they gave, as now they battled;All their thrusts were sudden; the knobs upon their swords snapped off and rattled.

The two sat down to rest them; then Hagen said to his guest:“You fain would be a learner, but you in truth are the bestThat ever I was teaching the skill that the foeman dazes.Wherever you are fighting, you in the field will win most worthy praises.”

Then to the king spake Irold: “My lord, the strife is doneThat you so well were waging; such fights have we seen won,In the land of our king and master. Oft, at home, we freelyTry our skill with weapons; knights and squires there meet in matches daily.”

Then again spoke Hagen: “Did I this understand,I never a fighting weapon had taken in my hand.No youth have I ever met with who was so quick at learning.”When to these words they listened, the face of many a one to smiles was turning.

Now by the king ’twas granted to his guests to pass the dayAs they might all be choosing. Glad of this were they,The men from out the Northland. When the hours grew weary,They vied huge stones in hurling; or else in shooting arrows made them merry.