Summary of the Thidrekssaga

• This bird-feeding process is supposed to add some carbon to the iron, which makes it into a kind of steel. There is an article that describes the chemical properties of this process. (Add reference later.)

And when the time was up king Nidung asked Wieland why he didn't forge the sword that he needed for his bet. And Wieland pretended he was ready to do so, and said that if the king counseled him to do so, he would do so. The king said it seemed to him that Wieland had to deal with a talented, quite evil manAmilias, so he should go and forge the sword.

Now Wieland went to his smithy, went to work and forged a sword in sevenMb & Sv: seven; A & B: four days. On the seventh day the king himself came to him, and Wieland had a sword ready that the king thought was the best he had ever seen. Now they went to a stream, and Wieland took a flake of wool one foot thick, threw it into the water and let the current carry it against the sword, and the sword cut the flake in two. The king said this was a good sword, and he wanted to carry it himself. But Wieland said this wasn't a good sword yet, and it would become much better before he parted with it. They went home, and the king sat in his hall and was quite happy.

But Wieland went back to his smithy, took a file, and filed the sword into iron dust, then took the iron dust and put it in milk, and he mixed this with flour and kneaded it together. Then he took geeseEveryone assumes these are geese, but the saga doesn't specify and says alifugla that had been starved for three days, and fed them the flour. Then he took the birds' feces and smelted it, and separated the iron from what was left of the dough, and with this he forged a new sword that was a little bit smaller than the previous one. And when fourteen days had gone by this sword was ready.

When the sword had hardened completely the king came to the smithy, and when he saw the sword he thought it was the most precious thing he'd ever seen, and he wanted to take it. But Wieland said: My lord, this is a good sword, but it will become even better. Again they went to the stream, and now Wieland threw a flake of wool two feet thick into the water, and the sword cut the flake in half, like before. The king said he'd never seen a better sword, even though it was slightly smaller than the previous one. Wieland said it wasn't a really good sword yet, and he would make it even better. The king went back to his hall and was happy.

And Wieland went back to his smithy and filed this sword to dust as well, and did the same he had done before. And when three weeks had passed Wieland had made a sword that sparkled, and its grip was inlaid with gold. The king came to Wieland and saw the sword, and he had never seen a sharper sword, and it was a large one, larger than the ones he had made before. Again they went to the stream, and now Wieland took a flake of wool three feet thick, and threw it into the water, and calmly held the sword in the current, and when the flake touched the sword it cut it in two as smoothly as the water itselfas the water itself is cut in two, I suppose.

And the king said he wanted this sword, because he had never seen a better one and he wanted no one else to have it, and he would carry it against his enemies. And Wieland said he would give the sword to no one else, but first he would fashion the sheath and the carrying strap, and give it to the king when it was fully ready. The king agreed, went back to his hall, and was happy.

But Wieland went back to his smithy and forged another sword that was so simiar to the first that no one could keep them apart. Wieland hid the good sword under his bellows, and said: "Lie there, Mimung, and who knows if I'll need you before the end?"

Now Wieland was done with his smithing and he served king Nidung each day. When the day had come, early in the morning Amilias strapped on his armoured leggings and went out to the market and showed himself, and all who saw him said they had never seen such good armour, and it was all double-platedor double-forged? Retranslate. And he went to breakfast in the king's hall with his ring mail on, and everyone admired it. Amilias was cheerful and praised himself and his armour. And when he sat down for breakfast he donned his iron helmet, which was shiny and hard and thick, and the king liked those armour pieces.

And when the king had eaten and breakfast had ended Amilias went out to a field where a chair stood, and sat on it. Now the king and his men also went out, and Wieland with them, to view the end of this bet. And Amilias was quite ready for it.

Then Wieland went to his smithy and took the sword Mimung, and went back to the king with the sword in his hand. And he stood behind Amilias' chair and put the sword's edge on his helmet, and asked Amilias if he felt something. Amilias said: Strike with all your might!

Now Wieland pressed the sword strongly against the helmet, and it cut through helmet and head, and armour and torso until the belt, and again asked Amilias if he felt anything. And Amilias said he felt as if cold water ran over his back. Then Wieland said: Now shake yourself, and you'll understand. And Amilias shook himself and fell apart in two pieces on both sides of the chair and thus Amilias came to his end. And many quoted the saying that he who carried his head highest would fall deepest.

Now the king asked Wieland to give him the sword, and Wieland said he wanted to fetch the sheath which was in the smithy, and give everything together. And the king agreed. Then Wieland went back to the smithy and hid Mimung under his bellows and took the other sword he had made, put it in the sheath, and gave it to the king. And the king thought he had the same sword that Wieland had done this great deed with. And then much time went by.

Then Wieland gave him armour and Witig armed himself. Now Wieland took a sword, and said to Witig: My son, this sword is called Mimung, keep it and use it well. I made this sword myself, and I kept it for you to use, and I expect you to make good cuts with it, since you're not a weakling.

Then Witig donned his helmet, which was forged with the hardest steel, with large nails, and it was hard and strong. And he took his shield that was so heavy no man could hold it with one handapart from Witig, one assumes. And the shield was red and on it were hammer and tongues to indicate Witig's father was smith. And above the hammer and tongues were three carbuncles that denoted his mother was of royal blood. Then Wieland gave him a horse called Schimming.

Now Witig went to his mother, kissed her and they wished one another well, and he also said goodbye to his father. Then he took his spear and jumped into the saddle without using his stirrups. And Wieland laughed when he saw that, and he went with Witig for a while and explained to him the roads he had to travel, and good advice besides. And then father and son separated and Wieland went back home.

When the three came to the oneWitig, Witig said: Welcome, good men, but they replied: You'll never be welcome, because here you'll leave your weapons, clothes, and horse, and also your right hand and right foot, and you'll thank us for retaining your life. Then Witig said: This trade you offer to me, an innocent foreign man, seems unfair; call your leader here, so that I can hear his decision. They rode back and told Gramaleif what had happened.

And Gramaleif rose, armed himself and all his twelve companions and rode across the stone bridge. Witig again welcomed him, and Gramaleif said: You're not welcome, because we have already divided your belongings among ourselves, and you'll keep one hand and one foot. Now give me your shield.

Witig said he wouldn't give his shield, since if he returned to Denmark his father would say Dietrich had taken it from him. Then Studfus told Witig: Then give me your sword, because that's my share. And Witig said: If you take my sword, how would I defend myself if I come to Dietrich? One after the other demanded his share, and Witig asked again for free passage, but he would not give them even a penny.

Then Studfus said: Look, we're with twelve standing before a single man who replies haughtily, so draw your swords and he'll leave his belongings here and his life as well. Studfus drew his sword and hit Witig on his helmet, but the helmet was so hard that it withstood the blow like a stone would do. Then Witig drew his sword Mimung and hit Studfus in the shoulder so that he was hacked in two through breast and armour and both pieces fell to the ground.

The other robbers took fright from this blow, and many would have preferred to be at home, but all of them drew their swords and attacked Witig, and they spurred on one another. Gramaleif hit Witig on the helmet, but it was so hard that nothing happened. On the other hand, when Witig hit Gramaleif on the helmet he cleaved his head and torso to the belt, and he fell dead.

Then Hildebrand said to his companions: Let's move closer and see what happens. When Witig defeats these men alone and we don't come to his aid, they'd say we abandonded him, and the oath of brotherhood I swore requires me to help him.

Heime said: I think we should ride there and help him once we see he has the upper hand, but if he falls we ride away as quickly as we can, so that we don't go into danger for the sake of an unknown man. Hildebrand said that would be ignominious. And Hornboge said that since we have sworn brotherhood we must help him.

Then they rode forward to the stone bridge, where Witig had meanwhile killed seven of the twelve. Sigstab and five others fled.

Then Witig and his companions greeted one another cheerfully. They rode into the fort, where they found wine and food, and they took all the treasure and went to sleep there.

Hildebrand thought carefully about Witig and how strong he was, and doubted that Dietrich would be able to defeat him. He also considered how good Witig's weapon was. And when midnight had come, Hildebrand stood up and drew his sword, and then took Witig's sword Mimung, drew it from the sheath, and put his own sword in there after he had swapped their hilts. Then he sheathed Mimung himself and went to sleep.

They rose and prepared to travel on. Witig asked Hildebrand what they would do with the fort. Hildebrand said they'd do what the two of them would consider best. But, he added, I no longer wish to be silent but tell you the truth. I am Hildebrand, and I am Dietrich's follower, and all of us are his companions. And although I didn't tell you our true names before, we still want to retain the brotherhood that we swore. But it is my counsel that we leave the fort as it is, and leave our two companions here to guard it. I will follow you to Bern, and once you become good friends and brothers the two of you will own this fort jointly, and he will certainly reward you. But if you separate without friendship the fort will belong to you alone.

Witig said: A heavy toll rested on this bridge, for locals and foreigners alike, but this is an important road for many people, and they don't dare to pass by this place because of this fort and the robbers who lived here. As far as I'm concerned all, locals and foreigners, young and old, rich and poor will henceforth travel this road in peace.

Hornboge said: He who won this fort by his sword has the right to decide on its fate. Then Witig set one of the buildings on fire, after they had taken all goods, and they did not travel on until the fort was burned down completely.

Then they continued their journey happily, and rode on until they came to the river called WisarWeser. There had been a bridge between its two steep stone banks, and Sigstab and his men had fled there, and they had demolished the bridge and didn't want to let them acrossUnclear. I picture that they were waiting on the other side with weapons drawn because they preferred not to meet Witig and his companions again, nor their weapons.

When Witig saw all this he spurred on his horse Schimming, rode to the stone banks where the bridge had been, and then Schimming jumped from the one bank to the other as if an arrow sped there, and until this daythe saga writer's, or his source's one can see the imprints of his hoofs and horseshoes where he sprang.

Hildebrand, Heime and jarl Hornboge rode after him. Hildebrand's horse also jumped, but didn't make it to the other bank and fell in the rivier, and swam to land. The same happened to Hornboge, but he reached the bank before Hildebrand. But Heime, who rode Rispa, Schimming's brother, jumped to the other bank.

As soon as Witig came down he rode at Sigstab and his five companions and they fought, and Witig gave many men heavy blows. But Heime sat on his horse and refused to help himSee 108 for the consequences. When jarl Hornboge came on land he bravely rode to help Witig, and they did not stop until all five companions were deadI thought it was five + Sigstab, but he seems to have disappeared. But Witig had not yet noticed he didn't use his own sword Mimung.

When Hildebrand saw that Dietrich did not want to listen, he said: Now I see that my good counsel will not be heeded, and therefore the child shall have what it cries for.

Then Hildebrand drew his sword from the sheath and said to Witig: See now, good sir knight, how I keep my vow of brotherhood. Here, take the sword Mimung and defend yourself.

Then Witig became as happy as a bird at the crack of dawn. He kissed the sword and said: God forgive the words I said about my father Wieland. See, Dietrich, my good hero, this is Mimung. Now I am as eager to fight you as a thirsty man to drink, or a hungry dog to eatThat's Von der Hagen's translation; the original says Nú em ek svá fúss at berjast við þik sem þyrstr maðr til drykkjar eða soltinn til matar. 'Salt to eat'? My Old Norse is really too lousy to decide..

Now he hit Dietrich blow after blow, and each time he took away a piece of his armour or shield or helmet, and Dietrich didn't manage to strike one blow, and could do nothing but defend himself, and he had five wounds already. Then he saw he would lose this fight, and called to Hildebrand his teacher: Come here and separate us! Because I do not see how to separate us by myself!

Then Hildebrand said: When I tried to separate you you didn't want to take good advice, but now I think you'll agree that Witig is a good hero. And it seems to me that with your armour is pierced, your helmet is broken, your shield split, and you yourself wounded, and you'll finish this fight with shame and dishonour, and that's what your pride bought you. So separate yourself if you can. And he will have the power to do to you what you sentenced him toi.e. hang him, although he might do better than that.

• The three swords in this chapter, Mimung, Nagelring, and Eckisax, are also mentioned as famous swords in Hendrik van Veldeke's Eneas V 160, 20 ff; written around 1180. So they are actually attested as a group outside the Thidrekssaga, together with Halteclair and Durendal, the swords of Olivier and Roland from the Chanson de Roland.

Detlef didn't want to go into the king's hall for food and drink, but preferred to arrange things for himself. So when the feast started, Detlef went to the market with a few other boysservants? squires? and bought wine and mead, and bread so that even the king's dish wouldn't be better served with food and drink. And everything was brought to the inn, where Detlef gave a feast for the servants and squires, three days long.

And then all his 30 marks of gold were spent. Still, he didn't want to give up his feast while the king's went on, so again he went to the market and bought new food and drink, and he pawned Heime's horse Rispa and his sword Nagelring for ten marks of gold. And thus they ate and drank until everything was gone.

And Detlef went to the market again, and now he pawned Witig's horse Schimming and his sword Mimung for twenty marks of gold. Then he again invited his guests, and also he had the inn hung with tapestries.

And when everything was eaten and drunk the king's feast had gone on for seven days and would go on for two more. And again he went to the market, and when someone asked 12 pennies for something, he would bid 20. And he pawned Dietrich's horse Falke, and his sword Eckisax and his helm Hildegrim for 30 marks of gold, and now he had no fewer than thirty hundreds of guests, servants and squires, fiddlers and minstrels. And on the day the feast ended, Detlef gave the golden ring his mother had given to him to the chief minstrel IsungIt is important to treat your minstrels well! Said the minstrel, because Isung was the best of them all. And Detlef gave him purple clothes with golden seams, and those were the clothes of Dietrich the king's son, and thus he rewarded Isung for his playing, and the other minstrels also got a mark or two of gold.

King Osantrix also had a large army, and when he met the army that did not flee from himDid the army flee from him earlier? The saga is unclear they clashed with one another, and a great battle began.

Herbrand, king Dietrichs banner carrier, rode in front, and hit with both hands both men and horses, and behind him came king Dietrich and his heroes, and they all tried their swords on hard helmets and strong shields and armour, and all the companions helped one another where necessary.

Then Widolf with the Staff came to them and with his staff he hit Witig, who was out in the very front, on the helmet, so that he fell from his horse onto the ground unconscious. Heime was close by, and when Witig had fallen he took his sword Mimung and hurried from there.

The Wilkinen also fought bravely, but king Dietrich told all his men to advance and show the enemies their handiwork. Now king Osantrix saw that the battle was lost and fled, after he had lost 500 knights. Attila, who had lost only 300, chased after him.

• There is a discrepancy between the original saga and Von der Hagen's translation here. In the saga Osantrix is killed, but Von der Hagen says he escaped. I try to follow the saga.
• This has a lot to do with Boer's thoughts on how one interpolator spared Osantrix in this scene because he needed him for 278.
• CHECK manuscript tradition here.

The next morning the king and all his men went out of the castle to a field, and with them as well Widolf with the Staff and Aventrod, and Widolf was in strong chains, since he should never be released except in battle. And they and all of the other king's men were without weapons. Many other people, young and old, men and women and children, came to see what would happen.

And now Witig in his prison heard that Isung, his friendThis friendship is not mentioned anywhere else, had come, and suspected he wanted to free him with some plot at the request of king Dietrich and his companions. Witig broke his fetters.

The people outside let loose sixty large dogs who all attacked the bear at the same time, but the bear took the largest of them with his front paws and with it killed twelve of the best dogs. King Osantrix became angry, walked to the bear, drew his sword, and slashed him at the top of his back, and although the sword went through the skin the armor.

Now Wildeber snatched his sword from the hands of Isung, went after the king and cut off his headthis last clause is missing from Von der Hagen and then ran to the giant Aventrod and killed him, and then sprang on Widolf with the Staff and killed him as well. And thus king Osantrix ended his life, and with him two of his giants.

Then all of the king's men, who were unarmed, ran away, and all thought the devil himself had entered the bear, and most of them didn't know what to do.

Wildeber now went to the castle and asked where his good friend Witig was. Witig had already broken out of prisoncan't have a major hero sitting around passively waiting for a rescue and together they ran through the town and killed sixteen men. They found many goods and weapons and horses, among which Witig's horse Schimming, and all his weapons except for his good sword Mimung, which he could find nowhere.

Now Wildeber took off the bear skin, and all saw he was a man and not a monstertroll, and they understood they had been tricked, and went for their weapons. Witig, Wildeber, and Isung thought it inadvisable to stay longer, and thought they had done well. They had found as much gold and silver and treasures as they could carry, and rode out of town. And they rode through wild lands until they came to Hunnenland and king Attila.

The king received them well, and acted as if Witig had been brought back from Hell. He also asked how king Osantrix was. And Witig told him everything about their journey and Osantrix' death.

And king Attila marveled at how wonderful of a leader king Dietrich was, that he had so many good heroes willing to give their lives for one another. And he mused that Osantrix would have done better to make peace and accept reconciliation.

Then Witig, Wildeber and Isung went south to Bern. King Dietrich was very happy about their return, and they told him everything that had happened. King Dietrich was pleased and thanked Wildeber for his expedition, and it became famous for its victory.

Now Witig was back home but miserable, and when king Dietrich asked why he said it was because he did not know where his good sword Mimung was. And, said he, if he found the man bearing Mimung, they would have things to say to one another, and he wanted to retrieve Mimung or lose his life.

King Dietrich said that he did not have to wonder any longer: Heime our companion carries Mimung, he took it as soon as you fell.

A few days passedApparently neither Dietrich nor Witig feel it's necessary to do anything about it..

When Witig had been home for six days, king Ermenrik sent a message that Dietrich should come with all his men to help him in a campaign against a jarl named Rimstein. This jarl owed tribute to king Ermenrik but refused to pay, and his castle was Gerimsheim. Dietrich was happy to do so.

When Witig heard about the campaign he went to Heime and asked him to return Mimung. Heime said he was willing to loan Mimung to him for the campaign on the condition that Witig returned it to him when they had come home. Witig agreed.

Now Witig rode back to the tents, and he was very pleased and had his stallion make jumps, and the others knew Witig had done some heroic deed or other.

Heime said: Very proudly Witig rides there, and he has probably done something heroic that makes him feel even better about himself than before.

Witig told them they did not need to stay here any longer, since the jarl was dead. And they asked who had done that, and he told him he'd seen the man that had done the deed. And Heime said he didn't have to hide any longer that he had done that deed himself, but it was only a minor heroic deed that even a woman could have done if she could handle weapons, because the jarl was so old he had hardly any strength left.

Then Witig became angry and drew Mimung, and he took Nagelring and threw it at Heime's feet, and challenged him to a duel. And Heime accepted.

Then king Dietrich and several of his companions sprang between them, because they did not want them to fight, and they asked Witig to leave it be. But Witig said he would not sheathe Mimung before it had cut through Heime's head and body, and that there was bad blood between them, and they had to fight sooner or later, and he preferred sooner. Also, Heime had not behaved manly in the battle against king Osantrix, when he left Witig laying on the ground while he could have saved him, but instead he took my weapon, as if he had been my enemy instead of my companion.

Now king Dietrich said that Heime had not done well, and told him to apologise. And thus it came to pass that Heime said that what he had saidjust now, when Witig returned had only been a joke. Witig accepted this apology, and they ended their strife for the time beingIt is not mentioned explicitly, but from this time on Witig again carries Mimung..

Then king Dietrich asked Witig: Dear friend, did you really kill the jarl? Yes, said Witig, he rode against me with five knights, and he pulled the short straw in our encounter, and the others fled. Then Dietrich praised him for his courage and thanked him.

Now Witig rode into the forest, and he saw a man sleeping who was very large and terrible, and he snored so hard that the branches on the trees shook. Witig dismounted and tied his horse to an olive tree, drew his sword Mimung, and poked the giant with his left foot. Rise, giant, he said, and defend yourself. The man has come who will take your life. The one who guards this country for a rich chieftain should not sleep.

The giant awoke, and saw a man had come here, but he was not afraid. He said: I don't always sleep, I awake when there is need. But when you are concerned I can either sleep or wakei.e. I can kill you even in my sleep. But why did you wake me and who are you? I think you should go on your way and not threaten me, because it's too much trouble for me to straighten my legs and stand up just to kill you. And the giant went back to sleep.

Then Witig again poked him with his foot, so hard that two ribs broke, and now the giant jumped up and was angry. He took his iron pole and swung at Witig. Witig jumped aside, and the giant hit the ground so hard the pole was stuck between two rockshanira.

Now king Dietrich and the others heard a great crash when the pole came down, and Herbrand said: We may well have heard Witig's death, so let's ride away as quickly as we can, because if we don't we'll get killed as well.

The giant now took his spear and threw it at Witig, but Witig ran towards him and the spear went over his head and deep into the ground, where it remained stuck. And now Witig struck the giant on his thigh, and carved off a piece so large no horse could carry it, and then he struck another blow and another until the giant fell down with many wounds. And while he had no more weapons he saw he would be defeated in this duel, so he fell to the ground in such a way that he hoped to catch Witig under him and thus kill him. But Witig ran through his legs and thus escaped.

When they heard this mighty fall, Witig's companions said: Now the giant has surely killed Witig. But others said that maybe Witig had won and the giant had fallen.

• Reset: Isung 0 - 0 Dietrich

Now Witig the Strong took the field, and against him the eleventh prince, and this was the strongest of them all. Now they went at each other so powerfully that each blow was half as strong again as the previous one, and nobody saw a braver fight then this one. And they came so close to one another that they were barely able to hit one anotherRetranslate; vague.

Now Witig considered what Mimung had done before, when he had carried that sword into a duel95, and he had confidence in it, and he did not hold back. So he swung with all his might and trusted his sword, and it hit the prince's helmet and cut off what it hit, not only the helmet's tip, but also a bit of the prince's head, but it was not a large wound. And again Witig swung his sword, and now he hit the prince's foot so hard that he cut away not only the outer clothes and the leg guardsof his armour, but also the foot, except for a little bit, and the prince fell.

Witig spoke: You, king Isung, choose: either release all my companions, or lose your son. King Isung replied: I won't release them before I see that the man can be killed, but he has not yet received a mortal wound.

The prince called: Do what he desires at once, or I'll lose my life. He has the Devil himself in his hand, and I cannot stand against it, nor anyone else; but still it's expensive to trade man against manRetranslate; I do not fully understand.

Then Witig said: If you, king Isung, do not release all my companions I'll cut off your son's head, and then I'll cut you a killing blow, and Mimung will not be sheathed before all my companions are free.

Now Witig walked to where his companions were kept, and he broke one spear shaft after the other until they were all free. And then he walked to the man he had fought with and wanted to kill him. Then king Isung and Sigfrid sprang between them and separated them, and king Dietrich agreed with this. And they were reconciled, and it was decided that both sides were unbound now, and that the fights so far were equal. And with that they parted, and Witig had released all his friends.

That night king Dietrich and Witig met, and Witig asked Dietrich: My lord, how do you think this battle with Sigfrid will end? He seems to be a brave and strong man, and both of you are, so I cannot say which one of you will win the prizethe battle, and thus the tournament. Both of you have given everything, and none of you is even wounded.

King Dietrich replied: I don't know either, but I'd feel better if my sword could penetrate his skin, which seems harder than any weaponThis is the first time Sigfrid's horn skin comes up. Before, his armour was credited.. Therefore I'd like to ask you if I could borrow Mimung, because I know it will cut through anything. And he fears this weapon alone; this morning, before we fought, I had to swear an oath not to use Mimung.

Witig replied: You may not ask for Mimung, because since it was forged it was but once in another man's hands than mine, and that was when Heime took it136; but this is actually not true: Hildebrand kept it for a while from 88 on..

This angered the king, and he said: Now hear what great shame this is, that you compare your king to a stable boy. We will never be as good friends as we were before because of these words.

Witig replied: My lord, if I spoke ill of you that was not deliberate??? makligt, forgive me. I will lend you the sword, and may it help you. And with that he gave the sword to Dietrich, and no one knew this except for these two. And then they went to sleep.

• Getting Sigfrid as a follower, as happens at the end of this chapter is, I think, exactly the entire point of the expedition to Bertangaland. Now compare this to 226.

And when the night had passed king Isung came back with his men to fight. And king Dietrich was ready with his men. And when king Dietrich came on to the battlefield he had drawn his sword, but put his shield in front of it. Sigfrid had not comeonto the battlefield yet, and Dietrich called out for him to come fight.

Sigfrid replied: I'm coming, and we'll fight like yesterday, provided you again swear you won't use Mimung, Witig's sword. And once you do so I'll gladly fight with you. Dietrich replied he'd rather swear that oath than not fight, and called Sigfrid again.

Now Sigfrid came to the battlefield, but king Dietrich drew the sword behind his back and stuck its point in the earth, and supported the hilt with his back, and swore that, so help him God, Mimung's point was not above the earth and its hilt in no man's hand.

That was enough for Sigfrid, and he drew his sword Gram, but Dietrich took Mimung and they came together and fought. After a short while Dietrich made one hit after the other, and he cut off pieces of Sigfrid's shield or helmet or armourthe horn skin is gone again, and Sigfrid suffered five wounds in a short time.

Now Sigfrid realised exactly which oath Dietrich had sworn, and that he used Mimung, and he said: Lord Dietrich, I wish to surrender my arms and become your manfollower, because it is no shame to serve such a lord as you. And you are such a famous hero that I'd rather surrender myself to you than lose my life.

And Sigfrid surrendered his weapons, and king Dietrich took him gladly into his following, and it seemed to him that he had won the greatest and strongest hero in the world. And thus they parted.

And now king Dietrich and his men were quite happy and considered themselves to have succeeded in this expedition. But king Isung and his men were unhappy, because their best man and most famous hero was defeated.

• I need to figure out if Witig helps Heime escape or attempts to stop him. The former reading is common, but the text almost seems to indicate it's the latter. To be ascertained.

Now Witig and Heime went back to king Ermenrik. Heime angrily confronted Ermenrik, and said that he had done many evils to his relatives, his sons Fridrich, Reginbald, and Samson, and his brother-sons Egard and Ake, and now his nephews Dietrich and Diether, and his sister-son Wolfhart, and that Sibich was guilty of all of this.

Then Sibich said that Ermenrik had done wrong by raising Heime so high, and that it would be better if he sent him to the same forest where his father is, and minds yourErmenrik's horses.

Then Heime said that if he had had his good sword NagelringWhy doesn't he have his sword? Because he's in the presence of Ermenrik?, he would slay Sibich like a dog. And he hit Sibich on the cheek with his fist, and Sibich fell at Ermenrik's feet, and lost five teeth and his consciousness.

Then Ermenrik ordered his men to hang Heime, but Heime hurried away to where his weapons were, armed himself, saddled his horse Rispa, and rode away with sixty men. But Witig came to the doors, Mimung in hand, and no one but Heime himself dared ride through the doors. Now Heime rode into the forest, and wherever he found a farmstead or other property of Ermenrik or Sibich he burned it. But Sibich didn't dare to ride out with fewer than 60 men, and they still feared Heime.

Then Ortwin bravely rode against Witig, and Helfrich with him, and against them came the strong Runga, and a fight broke out, and before it ended Ortwin and Helfrich fell dead on the ground.

And when Erp and Diether saw that the rode forward and Diether and Runga fought with great bravery, and Diether hit Runga on the helmet and went through helmet and head to the shoulders, so that Runga fell dead. But in the mean time Witig had killed Erp, and when Diether saw that both his friends were dead, he rode against Witig and wanted to either lose his life or avenge his foster brothers, and hit Witig hard and often.

But Witig said: Aren't you Diether, king Dietrich's brother? I know you, now ride elsewhere, because for his sake I will not harm you, so go fight other men.

But Diether replied: God knows, since you killed Erp and Ortwin, you vile dog, I'll take revenge for them. and one of us will die. And again he hit Witig as strongly as he could.

Witig said: God knows I hate to do this, for your brother Dietrich's sake. Then Diether hit Witig on his helmet, but the helmet was so hard that his steel could not penetrate it, and the sword sprang from the helmet down along the saddle bow and hit the head of his horse, and thus Schimming, Witig's war stallion, died.

Now Witig said, when he stood on the ground: Great necessity forces me to do something I'd rather not do. And now Witig took his sword Mimung in both hands and hit Diether in the back so that armour and body were rent apart and he fell to the ground in two pieces. And now the battle continued, and Witig killed many men, but also lost many men from the Amelungen.

When day came Rodinger invited the Niflungen to stay for a few days, but they wanted to ride on. And margrave Rodinger told them he wanted to ride with them. And during breakfast Rodinger had a helmet carried in, and gave it to king Gunther. And the king thanked him for this gift. Then Rodinger gave a new shield to Gernot.

Then he had his daughter brought in and gave her to Giselher, and said: Good Giselher, this maiden I would like to give you for your wife, if you want to tak her. And Giselher replied he would become the happiest of men with her, and took her with many thanks.

And again Rodinger spoke: See here, young Giselher, the sword Gram that I would like to give you. It used to be Sigfrid's sword, and I think it would be the best of weapons to carry where you are going. And again Giselher thanked Rodinger.

Then margrave Rodinger said to Hagen: My good friend, what do you see around here that you would like to have? And Hagen said: I see a shield that is sea blue, and large, and it ought to be strong and has large cuts in it. I would like that for a gift.

And Rodinger said: That shield was carried by a good hero, duke Nudung, and the cut is from Mimung, strong Witig's sword, before he fell. And when Gotelinde heard this she cried many tears for her brother Nudung. And Hagen received the shield, and everyone thanked Rodinger again.

Then alll rode from the castle, including margrave Rodinger and his men. Gotelinde wished them well, and hoped they would return with honour. And margrave Rodinger kissed his wife and asked her to rule his realm until he returned.