Waltarius: Pars Tertia

His rex infelix visis suspirat et omni
Aufugiens studio falerati terga caballi
Scandit et ad maestum citius Haganona volavit
Omnimodisque illum precibus flexisse sategit,               1065
Ut secum pergens pugnam repararet. at ille:
«Me genus infandum prohibet bellare parentum,
Et gelidus sanguis mentem mihi ademit in armis.
Tabescebat enim genitor, dum tela videret,
Et timidus multis renuebae proelia verbis.               1070
Haec dum iactasses, rex, inter te comitantes,
Extitit indignum nostri tibi quippe invamen.»
Ille recusanti precibus nihilominus instans
Talibus aversum satagit revocare loquelis:
«Deprecor ob superos, conceptum pone furorem,               1075

At these things the unlucky king, having seen, sighed and, with every eagerness to flee, mounting the saddled horse’s back, swiftly flew to sorrowful Haganon, and in every way sought to have him yielded by prayers,               1065
so that going with him he might renew the fight. But he:
«My kind forbids me to make war upon my parents,
and cold blood has taken from me the mind for arms. For my father was wasting away when he saw the weapons,
and timid, with many words, he refused battles.               1070
While you were tossing these things about, king, among your companions, it proved unseemly for me indeed to be enraged against you.»
He, to the one refusing, nevertheless pressing with entreaties, strove to recall the averted man with such words:
«I beg you by the gods above, lay aside the madness conceived,                1075

Iram de nostra contractam decute culpa,
Quam vita comitante, domum si venero tecum,
Impensis tibimet benefactis diluo multis.
Nonne pudet sociis tot cognatisque peremptis
Dissimulare virum? magis, ut mihi quippe videtur, 1080
Verba valent animum quam facta nefanda movere.

Purge the anger contracted on my account by my guilt,
which, if I should come home with you while life still accompanies me,
I will wash away to you by many benefactions bestowed.
Is it not a shame, with so many comrades and kinsmen slain,
to conceal a man? Rather, as it seems to me, 1080
do words have power to move the spirit more than wicked deeds?

Iustius in saevum tumuisses mente tyrannum,
Qui solus hodie caput infamaverat orbis.
Non modicum patimur damnum de caede virorum;
Dedecus at tantum superabit Francia numquam. 1085
Antea quis fuimus suspecti, sibila dantes
«Francorum» dicent «exercitus omnis ab uno,
Pro pudor, ignotum vel quo, est impune necatus»!»
Cunctabatur adhuc Haganon et pectore sponsam
Walthario plerumque fidem volvebat et ipsum 1090

More justly you would have raged against the savage tyrant in your mind,
who alone today had dishonored the head of the world.
We endure no small loss from the slaughter of men;
but such a shame France will never survive. 1085
Earlier who would we have been suspected, hissing,
they will say "the whole army of the Franks from one man,
for shame, unknown or whatever, was slain with impunity!"
Haganon still hesitated and in his breast he turned over the fidelity of the bride to Waltharius and his own fidelity most of all 1090

Eventum gestae recolebat in ordine causae.
Supplicius tamen infelix rex institit illi.
Cuius subnixe rogitantis acumine motus
Erubuit domini vultum, replicabat honorem
Virtutis propriae, qui fors vilesceret inde, 1095
Si quocumque modo in rebus sibi parceret istis.

He reviewed the outcome of the deed in the order of its cause.
Yet the unhappy Supplicius stood before him.
Of whom, urged by the keenness of his asking, the lord's face blushed, he returned the honor of his own virtue, which perhaps would be cheapened thereby, 1095
if in any way he were to spare himself in those matters.

Erupit tandem et clara sic voce respondit:
«Quo me, domne, vocas? quo te sequar, inclite princeps?
Quae nequeunt fieri, spondet fiducia cordi.

She at last burst forth and thus answered with a clear voice:
«Whither, lord, do you call me? Whither shall I follow you, illustrious prince?
What cannot be done, confidence pledges to the heart.»

Quis tam desipiens quandoque fuisse probatur, 1100
Qui saltu baratrum sponte attemptarit apertum?
Nam scio Waltharium per campos sic fore acerbum,
Ut tali castro nec non statione locatus
Ingentem cuneum velut unum temnat homullum.
Et licet huc cunctos equites simul atque pedestres 1105

Who has ever been shown to have been so foolish, 1100
Who would of his own will attempt by a leap the yawning abyss?
For I know Waltharius will be so fierce across the fields,
that, placed in such a camp and likewise on watch,
he contemns a vast wedge as if it were a single little man.
And although here he (brings) all the horsemen together with the footsoldiers 1105

Francia misisset, sic his ceu fecerat istis.
Sed quia conspicio te plus doluisse pudore
Quam caedis damno nec sic discedere velle,
Compatior, propriusque dolor succumbit honori
Regis: et ecce viam conor reperire salutis, 1110
Quae tamen aut nusquam ostendit se sive coacte.
Nam propter carum (fateor tibi, domne) nepotem
Promissam fidei normam corrumpere nollem.

He had sent to France, as though he had thus done to these.
But since I behold that you have grieved more from shame
than from the loss of slaughter, and do not wish to depart so,
I pity you, and nearer sorrow yields to the honor
of the king: and behold I strive to find the way of salvation, 1110
which, however, either shows itself nowhere or only under compulsion.
For on account of a dear (I confess to you, lord) grandson
I would not wish to corrupt the promised rule of faith.

Ecce in non dubium pro te, rex, ibo periclum.
Ast hic me penitus conflictu cedere noris. 1115
Secedamus eique locum praestemus eundi
Et positi in speculis tondamus prata caballis,
Donec iam castrum securus deserat artum,
Nos abiisse ratus. Campos ubi calcet apertos,
Insurgamus et attonitum post terga sequamur: 1120

Behold, into no uncertain peril for you, king, I will go.
But here you will know that I utterly yield to the conflict. 1115
Let us withdraw and give him room to go
and, placed on the watch-hills, let us mow the meadows with horses,
until he, secure, abandons the narrow camp,
thinking that we have departed. Where he treads the open fields,
let us rise up and pursue his astonished rear: 1120

Sic aliquod virtutis opus temptare valemus.
Haec mihi in ambiguis spes set certissima rebus.
Tum pugnare potes, belli si, rex, tibi mens est:
Quippe fugam nobis numquam dabit ille duobus,
At nos aut fugere aut acrum bellare necesse est.» 1125
Laudat consilium satrapa et complectitur illum
Oscilloque virum demulcet; et ecce recedunt
Insidiisque locum circumspexere sat aptum
Demissique ligant animalia gramine laeto.

Thus we are able to attempt some work of virtue.
This, to me in doubtful matters, is nevertheless the most certain hope.
Then you can fight, if, O king, a mind for war is yours:
For assuredly he will never grant flight to the two of us,
But we must either flee or fight a keen war.» 1125
The satrap praises the counsel and embraces him
and soothes the man with a nod; and behold they withdraw
and look around for a place fit for ambushes
and, having lowered them, tether the animals with joyous grass.

Interea occiduas vergebat Phoebus in oras, 1130
Ultima per notam signans vestigia Thilen,
Et cum Scottigenis post terga reliquit Hiberos.
Hic postquam oceanas sensim calefecerat undas,
Hesperos Ausonidis obvertit cornua terris,
Tum secum sapiens coepit tractare satelles, 1135

Meanwhile Phoebus was leaning toward the occidental shores, 1130
Marking the last footsteps along the known Thilen,
And left the Hiberians behind in the wake of the Scotti.
After here he had slowly warmed the ocean waves,
He turned the western horns toward the Ausonian lands,
Then the wise attendant began to handle the matter with himself, 1135

Utrum sub tuto per densa silentia castro
Sisteret, an vastis heremi committeret arvis.
Aestuat immensis curarum fluctibus et, quid
Iam faceret, sollers arguta indagine quaerit.
Solus enim Hagano fuerat suspectus et illud 1140
Oscillum regis subter complexibus actum.

Whether he should set himself safe beneath the dense silences of the camp
or commit himself to the vast fields of the wilderness. He boils with immense waves of cares and, what
he should now do, the shrewd man seeks by keen inquiry.
For he alone had been suspected by Hagano, and that oscillum of the king had been placed beneath his folds. 1140

Ambierat prorsus, quae sit sententia menti
Hostis et an urbem vellent remeare relictam,
Pluribus ut sociis per noctem forte coactis
Primo mane parent bellum recreare nefandum 1145
An soli insidias facerent propiusque laterent.
Terret ad haec triviis ignoti silva meatus,
Ne loca fortassis incurreret aspera spinis,
Immo quippe feris, sponsamque amitteret illis.
His ita provisis exploratisque profatur: 1150

His mind had quite changed as to what the enemy's intent was,
and whether they wished to return to the city left behind,
or, with several comrades by chance gathered through the night,
at first light were preparing to renew the nefarious war 1145
or whether they alone would make ambushes and lie hidden nearby.
The unknown wanderings of the wood at the crossroads terrify him at this,
lest perhaps he should run into places harsh with thorns,
nay rather into wild beasts, and lose his betrothed to them.
Thus, these things provided for and reconnoitred, he speaks: 1150

«En quocumque modo res pergant, hic recubabo,
Donec circuiens lumen spera reddat amatum,
Ne patriae fines dicat rex ille superbus
Evasisse fuga furis de more per umbras.»
Dixit et ecce viam vallo praemuniit artam               1155
Undique praecisis spinis simul et paliuris.
Quo facto ad truncos sese convertit amaro
Cum gemitu et cuicumque suum caput applicat atque
Contra orientalem prostratus corpore partem
Ac nudum retinens ensem hac voce precatur:               1160
«Rerum factori, sed et omnia facta regenti,
Nil sine permisso cuius vel denique iusso
Constat, ago grates, quod me defendit iniquis
Hostilis turmae telis nec non quoque probris.
Deprecor at dominum contrita mente benignum,               1165

«Lo, in whatever manner things proceed, here will I lie down,
Until the circling sphere restore the beloved light,
Lest that proud king say he has passed beyond the fatherland’s bounds
Having escaped by flight like a thief through the shadows.»
He said, and behold he fortified the path with a close rampart               1155
on every side with thorns cut and with palings together.
This done he turned himself to the trunks with a bitter
groan and laid his head upon whatever was at hand and,
prostrate with his body toward the eastern quarter,
and holding his naked sword he prays with this voice:               1160
«To the maker of things, and to him who rules all that is made,
to whom nothing stands except by permission or at last by command,
I give thanks that he defends me from the unjust
by the weapons of the hostile troop and likewise by their insults.
But I beseech the Lord, benign with a contrite mind,               1165

Ut, qui peccantes non vult sed perdere culpas,
Hos in caelesti praestet mihi sede videri.»
Qui postquam orandi finem dedit, ilico surgens
Sex giravit equos et virgis rite retortis
Vinciit: hi tantum remanebant, nempe duobus 1170
Per tela absumptis ternos rex Gunthere abegit.
His ita compositis procinctum solvit et alte
Ingenti fumans leviabat pondere corpus.
Tum maestam laeto solans affamine sponsam
Moxque cibum capiens aegros recreaverat artus 1175
(Oppido enim lassus fuerat) clipeoque recumbens
Primi custodem somni iubet esse puellam,
Ipse matutinam disponens tollere curam,
Quae fuerat suspecta magis, tandemque quievit.

That he, who wills not the sinners but that the faults be destroyed, may grant that these be seen by me in the heavenly seat.
When he had given an end to praying, straightway rising he turned his six horses about and with rods properly twined subdued them: only these remained, namely, with two struck down by weapons, King Gunther drove off three 1170
Having thus disposed and examined these matters, he loosened his girdle and, panting loudly, lightened his body of its great weight.
Then, soothing his sorrowful bride with joyful relief from hunger,
and soon taking food he restored his weary limbs 1175
(for he had been tired by the town) and reclining on his shield
he orders the girl to be the first guardian of sleep,
he himself arranging to lift the morning care,
she who had been the more watchful, and at length he rested.

Ad cuius caput illa sedens solito vigilavit 1180

At whose head she, sitting, kept watch as usual 1180

Et dormitantes cantu patefecit ocellos.
Ast ubi vir primum iam expergiscendo soporem
Ruperat, absque mora surgens dormire puellam
Iussit et arrepta se fulciit impiger hasta.
Sic reliquum noctis duxit, modo quippe caballos 1185
Circuit, interdum auscultans vallo propiavit,
Exoptans orbi species ac lumina reddi.

And with a song he unclosed the little sleepy eyes.
But when the man first, by waking, had broken his sleep, rising without delay he ordered the girl to sleep and, having seized his spear, supported himself thereon eager and steadfast.
Thus he led the remainder of the night, for now indeed he rode around the horses 1185
he went about, at times listening, he drew near the rampart,
longing that the world’s sight and lights be restored.

Lucifer interea praeco scandebat Olympo
Dicens: «Taprobane clarum videt insula solem.»
Hora fuit, gelidus qua terram irrorat Eous. 1190
Aggreditur iuvenis caesos spoliarier armis
Armorumque habitu, tunicas et cetera linquens;
Armillas tantum, cum bullis baltea et enses,
Loricas quoque cum galeis detraxerat ollis.
Quatuor his oneravit equos sponsamque vocatam1195
Imposuit quinto, sextum conscenderat ipse
Et primus vallo perrexerat ipse revulso.
At dum constricti penetratur semita callis,
Circumquaque oculis explorans omnia puris
Auribus arrectis ventos captavit et auras, 1200

Lucifer meanwhile, the herald, climbed Olympus
saying: "Taprobane, the island, sees the bright sun."
It was the hour when the chill East moistens the earth, 1190
the youth advances to strip the slain of arms,
and, abandoning the accoutrement of arms, tunics and other things;
only armlets, belts with studs, and swords,
and cuirasses likewise with helmets he had taken off.
He loaded four horses with these and, the bride being summoned,1195
placed her on a fifth; he himself had mounted the sixth
and himself first had gone forward with the rampart torn away.
But while they pressed into the narrow beaten path,
all around, searching with clear eyes,
with ears pricked he caught winds and breezes, 1200

Si vel mussantes sentiret vel gradientes
Sive superborum crepitantia frena virorum,
Seu saltim ferrata sonum daret ungula equorum.
Postquam cuncta silere videt, praevertit onustas
Quadrupedes, mulierem etiam praecedere iussit.               1205
Scrinia gestantem comprendens ipse caballum
Audet inire viam consueto cinctus amictu.
Mille fere passus transcendit, et ecce puella
(Sexus enim fragilis animo trepidare coegit)
Respiciens post terga videt descendere binos               1210
Quodam colle viros raptim et sine more meantes
Exanguisque virum compellat voce sequentem:
«Dilatus iam finis adest: fuge, domne, propinquant!»
Qui mox conversus visos cognovit et inquit:
«Incassum multos mea dextera fuderat hostes,               1215

Whether he heard them murmuring or their footsteps,
or the rattling reins of proud men,
or at least the iron sound given by horses’ hooves.
After he sees all fall silent, he turns the laden
four‑footed beasts first, and even bids the woman go before.               1205
Seizing the chest‑bearing horse himself,
he dares to enter the road clad in his accustomed cloak.
He passes nearly a thousand paces, and behold the girl
(for the fragile sex compelled her spirit to tremble)
looking back over her shoulders sees two descend               1210
men hastening and wandering without order on a certain hill,
and addressing the bloodless man following with a voice she cries:
“The delayed end is now present: flee, master, they approach!”
Who soon having turned recognized those seen and says:
“My right hand had in vain poured out many enemies,”               1215

Si modo supremis laus desit, dedecus assit.
Est satius pulcram per vulnera quaerere mortem
Quam solum amissis palando evadere rebus.
Verum non adeo sunt desperanda salutis
Commoda cernenti quondam maiora pericla. 1220
Aurum gestantis tute accipe lora Leonis
Et citius pergens luco succede propinquo!

If only the final praise be lacking, let there be disgrace.
It is better to seek a fair death through wounds
than alone, your goods lost, to escape by skulking from affairs.
But the comforts of safety are not so to be despaired of by one
who once perceives greater perils. 1220
Take for yourself the reins of the gold-bearing lion,
and hastening onward, join the nearby grove!

Ast ego in ascensu montis subsistere malo,
Eventum opperiens adventantesque salutans.»
Obsequitur dietis virguncula clara iubentis. 1225
Ille celer scutum collegit et excutit hastam,
Ignoti mores equitis temptando sub armis.
Hunc rex incursans comitante satellite demens
Eminus affatu compellat valde superbo:
«Hostis atrox, nisu deluderis! ecce latebrae 1230

But I prefer to halt on the mountain’s ascent,
awaiting the outcome and greeting those who come.»
The bright young maiden promptly obeys the bidding words. 1225
He swiftly straps on his shield and shakes out his spear,
testing the unknown ways of the horseman under arms.
The king, rushing upon him with a mad comrade attending,
from afar addresses him with a very haughty utterance:
«Fierce enemy, do not evade by a shove! behold the lairs 1230

Protinus absistunt, ex quis de more liciscae
Dentibus infrendens rabidis latrare solebas.
En in propatulo, si vis, confligito campo
Experiens, finis si fors queat aequiperari
Principio. Scio: Fortunam mercede vocasti 1235
Idcircoque fugam tempnis seu deditionem.»
Alpharides contra regi non reddidit ulla,
Sed velut hinc surdus alio convertitur aiens:
«Ad te sermo mihi, Hagano, subsiste parumper!

Stand back at once, you from whom by custom with liciscae teeth you used to snarl, gnashing with rabid jaws and barking. Lo, out in the open, if you will, clash on the plain, trying whether chance can make the end equal to the beginning. I know: you called Fortune for hire 1235
And therefore flight to the temples or surrender.»
Alpharides returned no answer to the king, but as if deaf he turned away, saying to another:
«A word to you, Hagano, wait with me a little!»

Quid, rogo, tam fidum subito mutavit amicum, 1240
Ut, discessurus nuper vix posse revelli
Qui nostris visus fuerat complexibus, ultro,
Nullis nempe malis laesus, nos appetat armis?
Sperabam, fateor, de te (sed denique fallor),
Quod, si de exilio redeuntem nosse valeres, 1245

What, I ask, suddenly changed so faithful a friend, 1240
That he, lately about to depart, who had seemed scarcely able to be torn from our embraces, of his own accord,
Not, surely, having been harmed by any misfortune, should set upon us with arms? I was hoping, I confess, concerning you (but indeed I am mistaken),
That, if you were able to know one returning from exile, 1245

Ipse salutatum mihimet mox obvius ires
Et licet invitum hospitii requiete foveres
Pacificeque in regna patris deducere velles,
Sollicitusque fui, quorsum tua munera ferrem;
Namque per ignotas dixi pergens regiones: 1250
«Francorum vereor Haganone superstite nullum.»
Obsecro per ludos, resipiscito iam, pueriles,
Unanimes quibus assueti fuimusque periti
Et quorum cultu primos attrivimus annos.
Inclita quonam migravit concordia nobis 1255
Semper in hoste domique manens nec scandala noscens?
Quippe tui facies patris obliviscier egit,
Tecum degenti mihi patria viluit ampla.

I myself would soon go to meet him to be greeted,
and though unwilling, you would cherish me with the rest of hospitality
and would wish to lead me peaceably into your father's realms,
and I was anxious where I should carry your presents;
for I said, journeying through unknown regions: 1250
"I fear no Frank so long as Haganon survives."
I beg you by our games, come to your senses now, you boyish ones,
unanimous, to which we were accustomed and skilled
and by whose cult we rubbed away our earliest years.
Whither, pray, has our renowned concord migrated for us 1255
always remaining neither on the enemy's side nor at home, ignorant of scandals?
For indeed the face of your father has made me forgetful,
the broad fatherland seemed mean to me living with you.

Numquid mente fidem abradis saepissime pactam?
Deprecor, hoc abscide nefas neu bella lacessas, 1260

Do you, then, so often abrade the faith pledged in your mind?
I beg you, cut away this crime and do not provoke wars, 1260

Sitque inconvulsum nobis per ternpora foedus.
Quod si consentis, iam nunc ditatus abibis
Eulogiis, rutilo umbonem complebo metallo.»
Contra quae Hagano vultu haec affamina torvo
Edidit atque iram sic insinuavit apertam: 1265
«Vim prius exerces, Walthari, postque sopharis.
Tute fidem abscideras, cum memet adesse videres
Et tot stravisses socios immoque propinquos.

And may the pact remain unbroken between us through the ages.
But if you agree, already now enriched you will depart
with eulogies; I will fill the boss with ruddy metal.»
Against which Haganus with a grim countenance uttered these words
and thus disclosed his open anger: 1265
«First you will use force, Walthar, and afterward you will sophisticate.
You yourself had severed faith when you saw me present
and had laid low so many comrades, yea even near kinsmen.

Excusare nequis, quin me tunc affore nosses.
Cuius si facies latuit, tamen arma videbas 1270
Nota satis habituque virum rescire valebas.
Cetera fors tulerim, si vel dolor unus abesset:
Unice enim carum rutilum blandum pretiosum
Carpsisti florem mucronis falce tenellum.

You cannot excuse that you did not know I was there then.
If his face was hidden, yet you nevertheless saw the arms 1270
and by his mark and bearing you were able to recognise the man well enough.
Perhaps I might have borne the rest, had but one grief been absent:
for uniquely you plucked the dear, ruddy, winning, precious
flower — the tender point — with the sickle of the blade.

Haec res est, pactum qua irritasti prior almum, 1275

This is the matter: the pact by which you formerly provoked the beloved, 1275

Idcircoque gazam cupio pro foedere nullam.
Sitne tibi soli virtus, volo discere in armis,
Deque tuis manibus caedem perquiro nepotis.
En aut oppeto sive aliquid memorabile faxo.»
Dixit et a tergo saltu se iecit equino, 1280
Hoc et Guntharius nec segnior egerat heros
Waltharius, cuncti pedites bellare parati.

And therefore I desire no treasure in place of a treaty.
Is bravery yours alone? I wish to learn in arms,
and at your hands I seek the slaughter of your grandson.
Behold, either I perish or I will bring forth something memorable."
He spoke, and with a bound threw himself from his horse backward, 1280
This too Guntharius, nor less the hero Waltharius, had carried out,
all the footsoldiers ready to fight.

Stabat quisque ac venturo se providus ictu
Praestruxit; trepidant sub peltis Martia membra.
Hora secunda fuit, qua tres hi congrediuntur. 1285
Adversus solum conspirant arma duorum.
Primus maligenam collectis viribus hastam
Direxit Hagano disrupta pace.

Each stood, each provident of the blow about to come,
he fortified beforehand; beneath their pelts martial limbs tremble.
It was the second hour, at which these three come together, 1285
the weapons of two conspire against one alone.
The first, with gathered strength, aimed a treacherous spear at Hagan, peace having been broken.

Sed illam
Turbine terribilem tanto et stridore volantem
Alpharides semet cernens tolerare nequire, 1290

But Alpharides, seeing her flying with so terrible a whirlwind and with a shriek, could not endure to bear it, 1290

Sollers obliqui delusit tegmine scuti:
Nam veniens clipeo sic est ceu marmore levi
Excussa et collem vehementer sauciat usque
Ad clavos infixa solo. Tunc pectore magno,
Sed modica vi fraxineum hastile superbus 1295
Iecit Guntharius, volitans quod adhaesit in ima
Waltharii parma; quam mox dum concutit ipse,
Excidit ignavum de ligni vulnere ferrum.
Omine quo maesti confuso pectore Franci
Mox stringunt acies, dolor est conversus ad iras, 1300
Et tecti elipeis Aquitanum invadere certant.

The dexterous one duped the oblique covering of the shield:
for coming with his clipeus as if from light marble struck off, he so wounds the slope violently
even to the pegs fixed in the ground. Then Guntharius, proud in a great breast
but with moderate force, hurled an ash spear 1295
which, flying, stuck to the low part of Waltharius’s parma; which soon, while he himself shook it,
the ignoble iron fell out from the wound in the wood. At this omen, the Franks, sorrowful and with confused hearts,
straightway close their ranks, grief is turned to anger, 1300
and, shielded, strive to press upon the Aquitanians.

Strenuus ille tamen vi cuspidis expulit illos
Atque incursantes vultu terrebat et armis.
Hic rex Guntharius coeptum meditatur ineptum,
Scilicet ut iactam frustra terraeque relapsam 1305

That vigorous man, nevertheless, drove them off by the force of his spear
and was frightening those charging with his visage and arms.
This King Guntharius contrives a foolish undertaking,
namely that the thing thrown in vain and slipped back to the earth 1305

(Ante pedes herois enim divulsa iacebat)
Accedens tacite furtim sustolleret hastam,
Quandoquidem brevibus gladiorum denique telis
Armati nequeunt accedere comminus illi,
Qui tam porrectum torquebat cuspidis ictum. 1310
Innuit ergo oculis vassum praecedere suadens,
Cuius defensu causam supplere valeret.
Nec mora, progreditur Haganon ac provocat hostem,
Rex quoque gemmatum vaginae condidit ensem
Expediens dextram furto actutum faciendo. 1315
Sed quid plura? manum pronus transmisit in hastam
Et iam comprensam sensim subtraxerat illam
Fortunae maiora petens.

(for it lay torn up before the feet of the hero)
approaching silently, furtively he sought to lift the spear,
since, armed at length with short swords and spears, they could not come hand-to-hand to him,
who was wrenching the thrust of the extended point. 1310
He therefore nodded with his eyes, urging his vassal to go before,
whose defense would be able to supply the needed cause.
Nor delay—Haganon advances and challenges the foe,
the king likewise drew out the jewelled sword from its sheath,
freeing his right hand by effecting the act as if by theft. 1315
But what more? prone, he thrust his hand through to the spear
and now, having grasped it, he gradually withdrew it,
seeking greater fortunes from Fortune.

sed maximus heros,
Utpote qui bello semper sat providus esset
Praeter et unius punctum cautissimus horae, 1320

but the greatest hero,
as one who in war would always be sufficiently provident
and besides most cautious even about the single moment of the hour, 1320

Hunc inclinari cernens persenserat actum
Nec tulit, obstantem sed mox Haganona revellens,
Denique sublato qui divertebat ab ictu,
Insilit et planta direptum hastile retentat
Ac regem furto captum sic increpitavit, 1325
Ut iam perculso sub cuspide genva labarent.
Quem quoque continuo esurienti porgeret Orco,
Ni Hagano armipotens citius succurreret atque
Obiecto dominum scuto muniret et hosti
Nudam aciem saevi mucronis in ora tulisset. 1330
Sic, dum Waltharius vulnus cavet, ille resurgit
Atque tremens stupidusque stetit, vix morte reversus.
Nec mora nec requies: bellum instauratur amarum.

Seeing this one bending, he had fully sensed the deed
Nor did he endure it, but soon wrenching away the obstructing Hagano,
Finally he seized up the man who was turning aside from the blow,
Leapt upon him and with his sole kept hold of the torn spear-shaft,
And thus rebuked the king caught by stealth, 1325
So that now, with the knee struck beneath the point, they reeled.
Whom likewise he would at once have handed over to hungry Orcus,
If Hagano, mighty in arms, had not sooner come to help and,
Placing himself before, defended his lord with his shield and had not brought
The naked cutting-edge of his savage blade to the foe’s face. 1330
Thus, while Waltharius guards against the wound, the other rises again
And stood trembling and stupefied, scarcely returned from death.
No delay nor rest: a bitter war is renewed.

Incurrunt hominem nunc ambo nuncque vicissim;
Et dum progresso se impenderet acrius uni, 1335

They both now rush upon the man, now in turn;
And while, having advanced, he was about to press himself more fiercely upon one, 1335

En de parte alia subit alter et impedit ictum.
Haud aliter, Numidus quam dum venabitur ursus
Et canibus circumdatus astat et artubus horret
Et caput occultans submurmurat ac propriantes
Amplexans Umbros miserum mutire coartat               1340
(Tum rabidi circumlatrant hinc inde Molossi
Comminus ac dirae metuunt accedere belvae),
Taliter in nonam conflictus fluxerat horam,
Et triplex cunctis inerat maceratio: leti
Terror, et ipse labor bellandi, solis et ardor.               1345
Interea herois coepit subrepere menti
Quiddam, qui tacito premit has sub corde loquelas.
«Si Fortuna viam non commutaverit, isti
Vana fatigatum memet per ludicra fallent.»
Ilico et elata Haganoni voce profatur:               1350

Behold, on the other side another springs up and hinders the blow.
Not otherwise than when a Numidian hunts a bear
and, surrounded by dogs, stands and trembles in his limbs
and hiding his head mutters beneath and, clasping the hasting Umbro, forces the wretched one to grunt               1340
(Then the raging Molossi bay here and there in close combat
and from close quarters fear to approach the dire beast),
So thus the conflict had flowed into the ninth hour,
And a threefold wasting was in all: the terror of death,
and the very toil of fighting, the sun, and the heat.               1345
Meanwhile something began to creep into the hero’s mind
which presses these words beneath his silent heart.
“If Fortune does not change the course, those vain ones
will tire me out by their deceits in play.”
Immediately, with raised voice, he speaks to Hagano:               1350

«O paliure, vires foliis, ut pungere possis;
Tu saltando iocans astu me ludere temptas.
Sed iam faxo locum, propius ne accedere tardes:
Ecce tuas (scio praegrandes) ostendito vires!
Me piget incassum tantos sufferre labores.» 1355
Dixit et exiliens contum contorsit in ipsum,
Qui pergens onerat clipeum dirimitque aliquantum
Loricae ac magno modicum de corpore stringit;
Denique praecipuis praecinctus fulserat armis.

«O Paliure, with strength in your leaves, that you may prick;
You, leaping, playfully with craft attempt to mock me.
But now I will make a place; do not be slow to come nearer:
Behold, show your (I know excessive) powers!
It pains me in vain to endure such great labors.» 1355
He said, and springing forth hurled a taunt at him,
who, advancing, burdens the shield and rends somewhat
of the cuirass and nicks a little from the great body;
finally, girded with his foremost arms, he shone.

At vir Waltharius missa cum cuspide currens 1360
Evaginato regem importunior ense
Impetit et scuto dextra de parte revulso
Ictum praevalidum ac mirandum fecit eique
Crus cum poplite adusque femur decerpserat omne.
Ille super parmam ante pedes mox concidit huius. 1365

But the man Waltharius, running with the spear hurled, 1360
with his sword drawn, fiercer in the blade, assails the king, and with his shield, his right having been wrenched from its side,
he dealt a very mighty and wondrous blow and had cut away the whole leg from the hollow of the knee up to the thigh. He moreover straightway fell upon the shield before this man’s feet. 1365

Palluit exanguis domino recidente satelles.
Alpharides spatam tollens iterato cruentam
Ardebat lapso postremum infligere vulnus.
Immemor at proprii Hagano vir forte doloris
Aeratum caput inclinans obiecit ad ictum. 1370
Extensam cohibere manum non quiverat heros,
Sed cassis fabrefacta diu meliusque peracta
Excipit assultum mox et scintillat in altum.

Pale and bloodless the attendant as his lord fell back.
Alpharides, lifting his sword again, bloodied,
burned to inflict a final wound on the fallen one.
But Hagan’s man, forgetful of his own pain by chance,
bending his brazen head, thrust it in the path of the blow. 1370
The hero could not restrain his outstretched hand,
but the helmet, long-forged and more skilfully finished,
took the assault and forthwith flashed upward.

Cuius duritia stupefactus dissilit ensis,
Pro dolor! et crepitans partim micat aere et herbis. 1375
Belliger ut frameae murcatae fragmina vidit,
Indigne tulit ac nimia furit efferus ira
Impatiensque sui capulum sine pondere ferri,
Quamlibet eximio praestaret et arte metallo,
Protinus abiecit monimentaque tristia sprevit. 1380

At the sword sprang aside, stupefied by its hardness,
Alas! and creaking, it at times flashes with bronze and with grass 1375
As the warrior saw the fragments of the barbed spear,
he bore it with indignation and raged with excessive furious wrath,
and, impatient that his hilt should be borne without weight,
though it excelled in exceptional workmanship and metal art,
he straightaway threw it aside and spurned its gloomy ornaments. 1380

Qui dum forte manum iam enormiter exeruisset,
Abstulit hanc Hagano sat laetus vulnere prompto.
In medio iactus recidebat dextera fortis,
Gentibus ac populis multis suspecta, tyrannis,
Innumerabilibus quae fulserat ante trophaeis.               1385
Sed vir praecipuus nec laevis cedere gnarus,
Sana mente potens carnis superare dolores,
Non desperavit, neque vultus concidit eius,
Verum vulnigeram clipeo insertaverat ulnam
Incolomique manu mox eripuit semispatam,               1390
Qua dextrum cinxisse latus memoravimus illum,
Ilico vindictam capiens ex hoste severam.
Nam feriens dextrum Haganoni effodit ocellum
Ac timpus resecans pariterque labella revellens
Olli bis ternos discussit ab ore molares.               1395

While he by chance had now put forth his hand enormously,
Hagano, quite glad at the ready wound, snatched this away.
Thrown into the midst the strong right hand fell back,
feared by many peoples and nations, by tyrants,
before whom it had shone on innumerable trophies.               1385
But the preeminent man, knowing not to yield to an unlucky hand,
with sound mind able to overcome the pains of the flesh,
did not despair, nor did his face collapse;
indeed he had thrust the wound-bearing forearm into his shield
and with his uninjured hand soon tore away the half-splayed limb,               1390
by which we remembered that he had girded his right side,
thereupon seizing stern vengeance on the foe.
For striking he dug out Hagano’s right eye
and cutting away the temple and likewise tearing off the lips
for him he dislodged twice three molars from the mouth.               1395

Tali negotio dirimuntur proelia facto.
Quemque suum vulnus atque aeger anhelitus arma
Ponere persuasit. quisnam hinc immunis abiret,
Qua duo magnanimi heroes tam viribus aequi
Quam fervore animi steterant in fulmine belli! 1400
Postquam finis adest, insignia quemque notabant:
Illic Guntharii regis pes, palma iacebat
Waltharii nec non tremulus Haganonis ocellus.

Tali negotio dirimuntur proelia facto.
With such an affair the battles are decided by the deed.
Quemque suum vulnus atque aeger anhelitus arma
Each man's wound and his sick panting persuaded him to lay down his arms.
Ponere persuasit. quisnam hinc immunis abiret,
Who then would depart from here unscathed,
Qua duo magnanimi heroes tam viribus aequi
Where two magnanimous heroes stood so equal in strength
Quam fervore animi steterant in fulmine belli! 1400
Postquam finis adest, insignia quemque notabant:
When the end was at hand, they noted each man's insignia:
Illic Guntharii regis pes, palma iacebat
There lay the foot of King Gunthar, the palm of Walthar was lying there
Waltharii nec non tremulus Haganonis ocellus.

Sic sic armillas partiti sunt Avarenses!
Consedere duo, nam tertius ille iacebat, 1405
Sanguinis undantem tergentes floribus amnem.
Haec inter timidam revocat clamore puellam
Alpharides, veniens quae saucia quaeque ligavit.

Thus, thus the Avarenses divided the armlets!
Two sat down, for that third lay, 1405
their backs turned from the river of blood, a stream billowing with flowers.
Among these things Alpharides, with a shout, calls back the timid girl; coming, he bound her, who was wounded.

His ita compositis sponsus praecepit eidem:
«Iam misceto merum Haganoni et porrige primum; 1410

With these things thus arranged the bridegroom commanded the same man: "Now mix plain wine for Haganon and hand it forward first; 1410

Est athleta bonus, fidei si iura reservet.
Tum praebeto mihi, reliquis qui plus toleravi.
Postremum volo Guntharius bibat, utpote segnis
Inter magnanimum qui paruit arma virorum
Et qui Martis opus tepide atque enerviter egit.» 1415
Obsequitur cunctis Heririci filia verbis.

There is a good athlete, if he keeps the laws of his faith.
Then grant to me — and to the rest who endured more.
Lastly I wish Guntharius to drink, since he is sluggish,
among the great‑hearted who yielded to the arms of men
and who performed Mars’s work lukewarmly and feebly.» 1415
Heriric’s daughter complies with all in words.

Francus at oblato licet arens pectore vino
«Defer» ait «prius Alpharidi sponso ac seniori,
Virgo, tuo, quoniam, fateor, me fortior ille
Nec solum me, sed cunctos supereminet armis.» 1420
Hic tandem Hagano spinosus et ipse Aquitanus
Mentibus invicti, licet omni corpore lassi,
Post varios pugnae strepitus ictusque tremendos
Inter pocula scurrili certamine ludunt.
Francus ait: «iam dehinc cervos agitabis, amice, 1425

Francus, though with heart parched by the wine offered, says, "Bring it first to Alpharid's betrothed and elder, Virgin, to you, since, I confess, that man is stronger than me; he not only surpasses me, but he surpasses all in arms." 1420
Here at last Haganus, thorny and himself an Aquitanian,
unconquered in mind, though weary in every limb,
after the various clamors of battle and the tremendous blows
among the cups they sport in a scurrilous contest.
Francus says: "From now on you will drive deer, friend," 1425

Quorum de corio wantis sine fine fruaris.
At dextrum, moneo, tenera lanugine comple,
Ut causae ignaros palmae sub imagine fallas.
Wah!

Of which from leather of wantis may you enjoy without end.
But the right, I warn, fill with tender lanugo/fleece,
so that you may deceive the palms, unaware of the causes, under the image.
Wah!

sed quid dicis, quod ritum infringere gentis
Ac dextro femori gladium agglomerare videris 1430
Uxorique tuae, si quando ea cura subintrat,
Perverso amplexu circumdabis euge sinistram?
Iam quid demoror? en posthac tibi quicquid agendum est
Laeva manus faciet.» Cui Walthare talia reddit:
«Cur tam prosilias, admiror, lusce Sicamber. 1435
Si venor cervos, carnem vitabis aprinam.

but what do you mean, that you seem to break the rite of the people
and heap a sword upon your right thigh?               1430
And to your wife, if that care should ever arise, will you with a perverse embrace gird about the left one?
Why do I delay now? Behold, henceforth whatever must be done
the left hand shall do it.» To this Walthar replies such words:
«Why do you leap on so, I wonder, blind Sicamber?               1435
If I hunt stags, you will avoid boar’s flesh.

Ex hoc iam famulis tu suspectando iubebis
Heroum turbas transversa tuendo salutans.
Sed fidei memor antiquae tibi consiliabor:
Iam si quando domum venias laribusque propinques, 1440

From this time on you will bid the servants, by being suspicious, to salute the throngs of heroes with a sidelong, watchful look;
But mindful of ancient fidelity I will give you counsel:
Now if ever you come home and draw near the household gods, 1440

Effice lardatam de multra farreque pultam!
Haec pariter victum tibi conferet atque medelam.»
His dictis pactum renovant iterato coactum
Atque simul regem tollentes valde dolentem
Imponunt equiti, et sic disiecti redierunt 1445
Franci Wormatiam, patriamque Aquitanus adivit.
Illic gratifice magno susceptus honore
Publica Hiltgundi fecit sponsalia rite
Omnibus et carus post mortem obitumque parentis
Ter denis populum rexit feliciter annis. 1450
Qualia bella dehinc vel quantos saepe triumphos
Ceperit, ecce stilus renuit signare retunsus.

Make it larded with dripping and millet pottage!
These together will provide you both sustenance and a remedy.»
With these words they renew the pact, compelled again,
and at the same time lifting up the king, much grieving,
they set him on a horse, and thus dispersed they returned 1445
The Frank went to Worms, and the Aquitanian to his homeland.
There, graciously received with great honour,
he publicly contracted the betrothal of Hiltgund duly;
beloved by all, after the death and departure of his parent
for thirty years he happily ruled the people. 1450
What wars thereafter or how many triumphs he often won,
behold the stylus, blunted, refuses to mark.

Haec quicunque legis, stridenti ignosce cicadae
Raucellam nec adhuc vocem perpende, sed aevum,
Utpote quae nidis nondum petit alta relictis. 1455

Whoever you are who read this, pardon the cicada with its shrilling cry;
do not as yet judge Raucellam's voice, but (consider) her age,
for she has not yet sought high nests left behind. 1455

Haec est Waltharii poesis. vos salvet Iesus.

This is Waltharius’s poetry. May Jesus save you.