Wolfdietrich B (Ortnit's Last Adventure)

(The following is a translation of the medieval, Middle High German work Wolfdietrich B, stanzas 485-542, as compiled by Walter Kofler in Wolfdietrich B: Paralleledition der Redaktionen B/K und H, Hirzel 2008.)
 

Not long after Lady Sigminne died,

Great trouble befell Emperor Ortnit –

His father-in-law sent two most fearsome dragons,

A horrible woman, and a giant man into his lands.

That was the giant Hell, a horrible man.

His wife was Lady Runtz, whose rage was fearsome.
To the woods near Garda, they brought the wild dragons
To whom the bold emperor would soon lose his life.

Hell concealed the dragons securely in the mountain.

They raised them ‘til they had grown big and strong.
Then they left the forest, wreaking such great havoc.
No one was left in the realm who could stand up to them.

People began to tell the emperor much

About what harm they brought to the land
And – it is said – to many worthy knights and brave men.
The admirable emperor could no longer allow this to continue.

Courteously, he went and stood before his wife.

He said: “Noble empress, I’d have your leave
To ride out to the forest and redeem my birthright.
I cannot bear the thought of my people being ruined.”

The empress replied: “No, my dear lord,

If I am dear to you, you should stay home.
You do not fully know the dragons or that horrible woman, or her giant husband.
The fight would be most fearsome.”

 The admirable emperor then said graciously:
“How long should I allow so many worthy men to be condemned?
With God’s help alone, I could fight a hundred men,
Yet I should stand by and leave my people in such great distress?”

She said: “Dearest lord, I hear your case

And know you will not cease. You will meet the dragons.
Thus, I must give you my permission and His grace.
May God in Heaven preserve your young and noble life!”

He ordered his good armor brought to him,

And, I must tell you, the lady armed him.
She virtuously embraced the lord
And said: “My heart tells me that I will never see you again.”

The noble bade a horse brought to him with good breeding,

And, indeed, he also asked for his golden shield.
Know this for certain: a man brought the noble prince
His red-gold helm and a good hunting hound.

When he was seated on his horse, he said to his wife:

“Most noble empress, I travel with your favor.
If it so happens that the wild dragons best me,
Then you should marry the virtuous man

Who will come after me to defeat them.”

The lovely lady then began to weep bitterly.
“But I know of none so rich in courage
Except my friend, the loyal Wolfdietrich.

He harbors a heroic spirit in his chest.

If he comes to this land, good, noble empress,
If I should die, then take him as your husband,
If he dares to best the dragons in battle.”

He took leave of his wife and turned away from there.

He followed a steep road that led him in the forest.
He finally dismounted onto the grass
Beneath an emerald linden tree to which the giant regularly traveled.

The emperor sounded his red-gold horn.
Hell, the giant, heard it – his soul was filled with rage.
He grabbed a spiked club and ran
To where he found Emperor Ortnit standing alone beneath the linden.

The terrible one said: “You little dwarf,

Why have you awoken me? It will be the end of you!
You slew Boumgart, my dear nephew.
Now I’ve found you, and it will be your end!”

The bold, brave emperor Ortnit replied:

“What brought you to this forest, devilish monster?
I trust I can preserve my empire from you.
With all my courage, I shall stand against you this day.”

At that, the mighty giant flew into a rage beyond measure

That nearly cost the noble emperor his life.
The terrible man lifted his club up high
And struck the linden branch before him down onto the ground.

How boldly Emperor Ortnit sprang from the linden!

His good sword rang out in his hand
And cut through the club as though it were lead,
Which brought Ortnit great satisfaction.

How quickly the giant Hell sprang back!

He drew a sword that was twelve cubits long
And struck down the emperor.
The terrible man would have gladly killed the lord of the land.

The horrible man began to call out loudly.

Lady Runtz heard him while she was running through the forest.
She grabbed her club and hurried toward him.
Then the horrible woman approached her giant husband.

She began to call out loudly: “What has happened to you?

Tell me: has someone done something to you?”
He said: “I have struck down the emperor here.
We should be joyful, for now the power over his land is ours.”

At that, the noble man Ortnit thought to himself:

“If I stir at all, I’ll lose my life.
I shall lie still,” the bold man thought,
“In case one leaves the other and goes off into the forest.”

Then the hound began to bark as it ran about the woods.

Lady Runtz heard it and went after it.
She thought it was a hunter and wanted to confront him.
She quickly turned toward where she had heard the voice.

How boldly Emperor Ortnit sprang up again!

His good sword rang out in his hand
As he leapt from the linden tree.
Then the fearless man dashed fiercely at the warrior.

The horrible one snarled: “Are you still alive?

I wanted to believe that was the end of you.
Your courage cannot avail yourself against me.
I shall strike you dead with my own hands before the day is out.”

The giant wielded his sword in both his hands

And swung it at the emperor with such great malice
That the fearless man almost had to yield.
The giant hew the linden branch behind him down onto the ground.

How boldly Emperor Ortnit sprang away from the linden!

With his good sword, he rushed at the giant.
He gave him such a mighty blow upon his back
That his belt fell down at his feet.

Then the giant Hell kicked at the bold man.

He would have gladly struck him with his foot,
But the emperor was too nimble, and his courage allowed him
To hack the leg off as if it were a slab of pork.

Then the giant stumbled toward the linden

And seized the tree’s trunk in his hands.
The emperor said: “I regret my sword did not cut you more.
If you grow back your foot, I will be sorry.

I must try to do better,” the bold man said.

Filled with rage, he sprinted toward the giant.
He cut the other leg off with his noble hand
So that he could no longer stand. He fell down to the ground.

Then he let out a loud and terrible roar

That echoed through the mountains and the forest.
When Lady Runtz heard that was her husband,
She abandoned her spiked club and grabbed a young tree instead.

She swung it over her shoulders. See, I must tell you –

It was so heavy that a wagon never could have carried it.
She left the boughs and branches hanging off
And boldly carried it toward the linden tree.

She found Emperor Ortnit standing over her husband.

She would have gladly killed the lord,
But missed and struck her husband instead,
Causing him to roar throughout the forest.

Then Emperor Ortnit said graciously:

“I do not know what devil has granted you such great strength.
Alas, noble God in Heaven, I am in great peril!
If Your benevolence does not aid me, then I shall die.”

Once Lady Runtz realized that she struck her husband,

She was so acutely shocked that she fell backward.
How boldly Emperor Ortnit seized the chance!
In his hand, he guided his sword to that spot.

The unflinching thane cut off her head.

She began to thrash about with her leg
And struck the bold man with it, kicking him
So that he fell down to the ground.

How boldly Emperor Ortnit sprang back up again!

His good sword rang out once more in his hand.
He said: “My troubles would be great if you still lived.
There never was a devil who was your match!”

The virtuous man swiftly mounted his horse

And trotted along a road that took him through the plain.
When the noble thane had ridden a full mile,
Suddenly, the worthy prince could hear

A terrible cacophony before him in the forest.

A wild elephant was battling a horrible dragon.
He bore a crimson elephant upon his shield.
For its sake, he gave assistance to the wild beast.

Alighting from his horse, he took his sword in hand

And rushed at the dragon fearlessly.
He swiftly dealt it three deep wounds.
The dragon flew away, but the elephant remained by him.

He said: “Elephant, what now? Shall you go back to the woods,

Or shall you stay here and stand by me?
I’ll lead you toward Garda,” said the thane,
“And free you from the dragon so that he’ll never again cause you any fear.”

The elephant nodded his head at the most brave man,

Who said: “I see you wish to stand by me.”
The virtuous man sat upon his horse
And turned toward Garda with the elephant.

He came upon a linden with well-defined tiers.

It was because of this that Lady Liebgart’s eyes would soon fill with tears.
I must tell you that it was made with a clever enchantment,
So that whoever fell asleep beneath it would sleep for three days’ time.

The virtuous man got off his horse.

The moment that he touched the ground, he began to fall into a deep sleep.
He said: “Alas, sleep, you will rob me of my life,
And, with it, my people, my land, and my beautiful wife!”

As the noble prince began to sink below,

The virtuous man fell fast asleep.
His hound lay on top of him as the elephant kept watch.
Then the wild dragon also came sneaking up to him.

When the wild elephant first saw the dragon,

He quickly rose to fight against it.
At once, a fierce struggle took place between them.
The book tells us that the hunting hound sprang on top of his lord.

Scratching at his chest, he began to howl

And would have gladly wakened him.
But sleep had taken him – he lay as though he were dead –
And this brought him sorrow and peril from the dragon.

I swear to you, the hound could not wake him.

The elephant turned quickly from the dragon
And kicked the lord so hard, he was flipped over.
He would have gladly woken the brave one at once.

When he could not wake him, he turned away.

I swear to you, his soul was filled with rage.
With ferocity and fury, he rushed toward the dragon,
From whom fire rolled – their battle was so terrible.

The horse began to balk and snort.

It struck its lord and wanted to wake him,
But sleep had taken him – he could not wake.
It was because of this that sorrow would befall the empress’ heart.

The dragon’s rage grew fierce, and it struck the elephant down

So violently that he collapsed. The dragon then let out a roar
That echoed through the forest and the mountains.
How bitterly the hound keened over the bold man!

Once the dragon won its victory against the elephant,

It turned toward the linden and seized the lord.
It quickly snapped him up in its maul beyond his shoulders.
It wanted to feed him to its children.

The admirable emperor was not aware of this

Until it carried him away from the linden.
The bold man awoke and clasped his hands in prayer. He said: “Alas, what danger I am in!
Now help me, God in Heaven, or I will die!”

He seized the dragon’s neck and wanted to draw his sword,

But when the virtuous man moved his arm,
The dragon ran up to a stone and struck the brave thane against it
So that his body snapped and he was killed.

The dragon carried him violently through mountains and valleys.

It laid him down before its young, who let out a great clamor.
Thus, I must tell you, the emperor was carried inside the mountain
And became a meal for the dragons.

Know this for certain: this was how

The emperor was most virtuously lost and also lost his life.
His horse and hound returned to Garda,
And then the lovely lady understood the whole story.

She began to cry her great suffering,

That sorrow had befallen the noble emperor.
She mourned her lord more than two years,
As many women – though not all – do.