Summary of the Thidrekssaga

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Journey to Osning

96

King Dietmar was home in Bern, and his son Diet­rich with him, who was still suffering from his wounds. And these four heroes were with the king: Hildebrand, Witig, jarl Hornboge, and Heime.

When Diet­rich had healed he rode away from Bern alone, and nobody knew of it except for Witig. Because he had lost his fight, Diet­rich did not want to return to Bern before he had performed a heroic deed that would increase his fame.

He rode for seven days until he came to the forest called Osning, and he found lodging. There he heard of a castle on the other side of the forest called Drekanfils, and once this castle had been owned by king Drusian, who had died, and the queen had married or was engaged with; that's not entirely clear but it likely doesn't matter a man called Ecke. Ecke's brother was Fasold. It was Ecke's custom to ride in the forest hunting animals, but when he met someone who wanted to measure himself against him, he was willing to do so.

Diet­rich wasn't sure how to get through the forest without meeting Ecke. He didn't feel like fighting Ecke, since the wounds that Witig had given him still pained him, and he preferred to first fight a lesser man first.

102

Now Diet­rich rode out of the forest and saw a man riding towards him. This was Fasold, Ecke's brother. Fasold thought he was seeing his brother because he recognised his armour, and called: Is that you, brother Ecke? Diet­rich replied it was not.

Then Fasold called: You murderer, you killed my brother Ecke while he was asleep, because if he'd been awake he would have defeated you. Diet­rich said that was a lie; Ecke challenged me to a duel, and when I refused he called upon his riches and the queen and her nine daughters and thus forced me to fight. And if I had known how great and strong he was, I wouldn't have fought, but I took these weapons and armour when he was dead, and you don't have to doubt that.

103

Fasold drew his sword, rode to Diet­rich and hit him on his helmet so that he fell from his horse unconscious. Fasold decided not to hit a man further who had fallen with one blow, nor to take his weapons, and he rode back to the castle.

But when Diet­rich came to he sprang on his horse and rode after Fasold and challenged him, and said that if Fasold rode on he was a coward, and didn't he want to avenge his brother? Fasold held his horse and waited for Diet­rich.

Then both dismounted and fought. Diet­rich was wounded three times, but none of them were serious. But Fasold had received five wounds, all of them serious, and he became tired and saw he would lose. Therefore he chose life, surrendered, and promised to become Diet­rich's follower. Diet­rich gladly took his surrender, but refused his service because he had killed his brother. Diet­rich proposed them to become brothers blood brothers?, and Fasold accepted. Then they swore an oath, mounted, and rode on.

104

Now it is said that Diet­rich wanted to go home because he had achieved his goal and knew that he would be no less famous than before. In the evening they came to Aldinsaela Ritter says that they formalised their oath here, since it was a place of justice and staid there for the night. In the morning they rode on and traveled through the wood called Rimslo, and there they saw an animal called elephant elefans; different word than in 118, which is the largest and strongest of all animals. Then Diet­rich asked Fasold if he would help him fight the animal, because when they could vanquish it they would have done a heroic deed.

Fasold excused himself because he still suffered from the wounds he had received in the duel. Besides, Diet­rich would be even more heroic if he'd kill the elephant by himself.

Thus Diet­rich dismounted, bound his horse to an olive tree, drew Eckisax, and attacked the animal. But the sword didn't bite, and the animal attacked him with its front legs, so that he fell. When Fasold saw this he decided to help as much as he could, dismounted, and attacked, but he couldn't wound it, either. Then he said to Diet­rich, who was laying under the beast: If you can get your hands free and take your sword, hit it in the belly near the navel, because I think it will bite there. But the beast pressed Diet­rich to the ground so hard that he could not move.

When Falke saw the danger his master was in he tore the rein, jumped on the animal and hit it with its front legs in the loin that the animal fell over. Now Diet­rich could free himself, took his sword and stabbed it in the belly to the hilt. Then Diet­rich jumped from under the animal, with blood on both his hands, and the animal fell over dead. Before, Fasold had given the animal many blows, but his sword didn't bite. Still, Diet­rich saw that Fasold wanted to help him loyally, Then they mounted on their horses and rode on.

105

When they exited the forest they saw something unusual: a great dragon flying, with strong forelegs and big claws. It flew close to the ground, and wherever it touched the ground with its claws it was as if the ground was cut with the sharpest iron. In its mouth it bore a man, whose legs and torso it had eaten until just below the arms, and only his head and shoulders stuck outside the dragon's maw. The man was still alive, and when he saw the heroes he called for help, and told them the dragon took him from his shield when he was asleep.

When Diet­rich and Fasold heard this they dismounted, drew their swords, and struck the dragon. Diet­rich's sword bit somewhat, but Fasold's not at all. Although the dragon was strong, he was not able to fly while carrying the man, and could neither flee nor defend itself.

The man in the maw saw Fasold's problem, and told him to get the sword in the dragon's maw that he swallowed together with the man. Fasold drew the sword from the dragon's mouth, and it cut the dragon like a razor cuts a beard.

Careful! the man said, don't cut my feet, which are deep in the dragon's throat, and I don't want to be wounded with my own sword. And hurry, good heroes, the dragon pressures me so hard with its mouth that blood flows from my mouth and nose.

And they went on until the dragon was dead.

106

Thus the man was freed from the dragon. The man thanked them, and asked if he could get his sword back from Fasold The man knows his name. Diet­rich asked who he was, and he said he was Sintram son of Reginbald, jarl of Wenden, and he was traveling to his relative Hildebrand and his foster son Diet­rich von Bern. He had stopped to rest here when the dragon captured him.

Diet­rich told him he could keep his sword and had found Diet­rich von Bern.

Dietrich's feast

171

All these sat on one bench or platform; pall: king Diet­rich, king Gunther and Hagen, Hildebrand and jarl Hornboge. To his Diet­rich's left hand sat Witig and Amelung, Detlef and Fasold, Sintram and Wildeber, Herbrand the wise and well-traveled, and Heime the Cruel.

And everyone said that they had never seen such noble and brave men, so perfect in all virtues in one hall together.

179

Fasold and Ecke were so alike that they were hard to tell apart. Fasold's colour was gold, and he had a red lion in his coat of arms, but this lion strode along the shield and did not have a crown. Ecke had the same coat of arms, and the lion signified they would never flee, as I have said before 172.

The tournament

200

One day king Isung and his eleven sons were in their castle, and Sigfrid came to them and said to them: My lord, I saw a tent on the field before your castle, of a different type than I saw before. In the middle of this tent is a pole, and on it a knot of gold. And there is a second, red tent before it, and a third, green tent behind it, and on the right a golden tent, and on the left a white tent.

And before the tents there are thirteen shields, and on the outer shield there is a horse, and that is Heime's, and on the next a golden hawk with two birds, and that is my relative see 203 for this relation jarl Hornboge's, and on the third shield is the same, and that is of his son Amelung, and on the fourth there is a tongues, hammer and anvil, and that is Witig's, and on the fifth is a crowned lion, and that is king Diet­rich's. On the sixth is a crowned eagle, and that is king Gunther's, and on the seventh an eagle without a crown, and that is his brother Hagen's, and on the eighth there are flames of gold, and that is Herbrand's, and on the ninth there is also a lion, but without a crown, and that is Fasold's, and on the tenth is a dragon, and that is Sintram's, and on the eleventh is the castle of Bern, and that is Hildebrand's, and on the twelfth are a boar and a bear, and that is Wildeber's, and on the thirteenth there are a man and an elephant, and that is Detlef's.

And from that, Sigfrid continued, it seems to me that foreign warriors have come to our land, and I am prepared, if you wish, to ride to them and find out who they are A bit pointless, since he just identified them, but that's how sagas work and why they have erected their tents against your will.

King Isung said: I'll send one of my men to them to tell them that if they want to keep their lives they should pay me tribute, as our laws require, and my emissary will ask them who they are, where they come from, where they were born, and where they're going, and if they have any other goal here than to pay me tribute.

And Sigfrid said: the man you're going to send should be none other than me.

211

Now Fasold took the field, and against him the fifth prince. This duel started with great braveness, since both were very strong men, and for a long time it was unclear who would win. Both gave the other hard blows, and each received two serious wounds. Then the prince hit Fasold's helmet so hard that Fasold fell unconscious, but the prince stood above him and said: You're such a brave man, why would you fall from a single blow? Stand up and defend yourself!

Fasold got to his feet and they fought on. Then the prince thought to himself that it was a disgrace that he would fight all day with one man, and he should win one out of thirteen victories. And in great anger he hit Fasold so hard that he fell again, and now the prince bound him, like his companions.

Now five spears stood on that field, and to each was tied one of the companions, and the Bertanga-men were quite happy and they felt everything was going well.

212

Now Amelung said: "It was an unfortunate day ótímadagr when king Diet­rich decided on this expedition, since he himself and all his men would be bound and defeated. He should have staid home in Bern and defended his realm."

And now he called on his father jarl Hornboge and told him to bind his helmet onto his head as firmly as he could, and to bind his shield to his left hand as firmly as he could so that it could not be lost, and he swore that he'd rather be chopped as small as the smallest pieces that went into a kettle before he would be bound and the Bertanga-men would support his back with a spear shaft.

Now he took the field, and against him the sixth prince, and they fought with great courage for a long time. Amelung saw that the fight would take a long time if he didn't take some more risk. Despite his shield being bound to his left hand, he took his sword in both hands and hit the prince on the helmet as hard as he could, and the sword would not cut it, so hard was that helmet. But still the prince fell, and Amelung threw himself onto him and told him: If you want to keep your life, surrender your weapons and you'll be bound to a spear shaft like your brothers did to my companions. But if you want to free yourself, then they should let go my good friend Fasold and Herbrand.

The prince agreed, and it happened, and now each went back to his men; and the duel had gone as Sigfrid had thought it would. Manuscript A adds: And this prince was one of the least strong ones.

Dietrich's fellowship falls apart

240

One day king Diet­rich set out northward over the mountains, and Fasold and Detlef the Dane went with him and sixty knights, and he went to the castle Drekanfils. In this castle ruled the nine daughters of king Drusian, whose mother had died from grief about Ecke's death 100.

Diet­rich asked the oldest daughter, Gotelinde, to marry him, and the hand of the other sister for Fasold, and the hand of the third for Detlef. Drusian's daughters agreed to that.

And now a great and wonderful wedding was celebrated, and king Diet­rich and Fasold and Detlef the Dane married, and Detlef broke his engagement with Sigurd's daughter 121. The wedding took nine days, and every day more was spent than the previous one.

And then Fasold and Detlef took the realm into their possession that Drusian's daughters had held, and king Diet­rich gladly made them both dukes. But he himself rode home to Bern with his other men and his wife Gotelinde. And when he came home he sat in his realm for a long time.

Hertnit and Isung

351

Now king Isung and his sons heard what king Hertnit had done. They gathered a great army and went after Hertnit. Also he sent a message to his good friends Detlef the Dane and Fasold the Proud.

They happily gathered their men and went to king Isung. Together they invaded Wilkinenland, and destroyed many farms and killed many men. Everyone fled before them, and nobody dared to take the spear against them. Everyone fled to the forest, the ships, and onto the uninhabited heath.

Some fled to king Hertnit and told him what was going on, and that Isung, Detlef and Fasold had come with 5000 men. King Hertnit became angry at this message, and sent out messengers to gather all his men. But to everyone it seemed undoable to fight against such powerful heroes as those that had now come to Wilkinenland.

352

Thus king Hertnit gathered a great army. And his wife Ostacia went out and moved her hand hrærði sinn gand; Google Translate gives "stirred her hand". Von der Hagen says "rief ihre Götter an", which is unhelpful., which is what we The audience of the saga, 13th century Norwegians would call casting a spell færi at seiða; translation my own but likely not good enough, as was done in the past, when magical women that we call völur would do magic To be retranslated. She did so much witchcraft and sorcery fjölkynngi ok trollskap that she summoned all kinds of animals, lions and bears and flying dragons, and tamed them all until they obeyed her and she set them against her enemies. And it is said in German songs that her army herr; or lord? was like the Enemy Satan, I presume himself. And she herself took the form of a flying dragon.

Now king Hertnit moved his army against king Isung, and when they found one another a severe battle erupted. King Isung and his sons went forward and killed many men, and the army fell for them wherever they came. Elsewhere Detlef the Dane with his men rode forth and also gave many men death, and the Wilkinenmen could not hold before him. And the third army led by Fasold the Proud also fought with great courage this day. The Wilkinenmen fell in this battle as grain being scythed.

353

At this moment Ostacia arrived with her following that she had summoned by sorcery. The dragons flew over the army and killed many men with their claws and mouths, and the lions bit and tore, and so did the bears. And Ostacia herself flew over the army as a dragon, and forced all animals and dragons to fight.

Now king Isung and his sons saw how much damage this army did to them, he spurred on his horse and held his spear fast. This spear was long and thick, and it was one part of an ash that was split into three. He now saw the biggest dragon fly, and threw his spear at it. The dragon saw it coming and evaded it so that it flew over it, and the dragon descended on the king, damaged him with claws and mouth and swallowed him.

The oldest son, who was the strongest of them all, saw this and hit the dragon with his spear through its leg and body. The dragon turned to him, took him so tightly in its claws that they went through his armour into his body and he died, but before he had killed a lion and a bear.

In the same way Lorentin, the youngest son, had killed a lion, and had been wounded, and wounded a dragon to the death, but this dragon gave him the killing blow with its claws.

The battle went on until almost all dragons and bears lost their lives by the great blows of Isung's sons, but also king Isung and all his sons were killed by the animals and dragons, and no one but Ostacia's sorceries gave them this death.

354

Fasold the Proud had his banner carried forth into the army of Wilkiners against king Hertnit, and a sharp battle ensued. Fasolf killed many men, but became tired, and then king Hertnit rode against him and stabbed his spear through Fasold's chest, and Fasold fell dead from his horse.

Detlef the Dane, battling fiercely, saw that happen, and wanted to take revenge for his dear friend Fasold. He stabbed his spear through Hertnit's shield so that it and the twofold armor were breached, and the spear went under the arm and to the shoulder blade, and the king fell from his horse. Then Detlef killed many more men, but the most evil of the dragons flew over Detlef and wanted to kill him. Detlef stabbed his spear through the dragon's mouth so that it exited from its neck, but the dragon took him in its claws and batted him with its wings and fell all over him, and so Detlef was killed.

Status: summary of 16 chapters complete.

Other parts

  1. Samson (1-13)
  2. Hildebrand and Heime (14-20)
  3. Wieland the Smith (57-79)
  4. Witig (80-95)
  5. Journey to Osning (96-107)
  6. Witig and Heime (108-110,134-137,146-151)
  7. Detlef the Dane (111-129)
  8. Amelung, Wildeber, and Herbrand (130-133)
  9. Wildeber and Isung (138-145)
  10. Sigmund and Sisibe (152-161)
  11. Sigfrid's youth (162-168)
  12. Origins of the Niflungen (169-170)
  13. Dietrich's feast (171-191)
  14. The road to Bertangaland (192-199)
  15. The tournament (200-222)
  16. Dietrich's fellowship falls apart (223-226,240)
  17. Gunther and Brunhild (227-230)
  18. Walther and Hildegund (241-244)
  19. Ake and Iron (269-275)
  20. Dietrich's flight (276-290)
  21. The Wilkinen wars (291-315)
  22. The battle of Gransport (316-341)
  23. Sigfrid's death (342-348)
  24. Hertnit and Isung (349-355)
  25. Grimhild's revenge (356-394)