Tale I: How Hagen Was Carried Off by the Griffin

In olden days in Ireland / a king to greatness came
Who bore the name of Sigeband; / Ger was his father’s name.
Queen U-te was his mother; / she of a king was daughter;
High was her worth and goodness, / and well her love beseemed the lord who sought her.

The sway of Ger was mighty, / as unto all is known;
He many lands and castles / and lordships seven did own:
Four thousand knights or over / he thence was often leading,
And wealth, and name yet greater, / he daily won, with those who did his bidding.

Now the youthful Sigeband / to his father’s court must go,
That he might there be learning / all he had need to know,—
To bear the spear in riding, / to thrust it, and to shield him,
That when he met the foeman, / the better fame thereby the fight would yield him.

That age he now was reaching / when he the sword might bear;
Of all that a knight befitteth / he learned a goodly share.
This from kin and vassals / praise unmeasured brought him;
For this he still was striving, / and of the toil it cost he ne’er bethought him.

A few short days thereafter / death came among them all,
As even to men the greatest / sadly doth befall.
In every land and kingdom / the truth of this we’re meeting,
And we, with heavy sorrow, / such news ourselves must every day be waiting.

Sigeband’s mother, U-te, / the widow’s seat must take;
Her son, so high and worthy, / left all things for her sake.
No whit he cared for wedlock, / and had no heart for wooing;
Many a queenly lady / at this was sad, young Sigeband’s sorrow ruing.

A worthy wife to find him / his mother him besought;
So might he and his kingdom / to greater name be brought;
And he with all his kindred, / after their bitter sorrow
For the death of the king, his father, / might for themselves no little gladness borrow.

The teaching of his mother / he heard in kindly mood,
And began at once to follow, / as that of a friend one should.
The best of high-born maidens, / ’mong those in Norway dwelling,
He bade his men to sue for: / to help in this he found his kinsmen willing.

She soon to him was wedded, / as hath of old been said.
With her, among her followers, / came many a lovely maid,
And, from over Scotland’s border, / seven hundred warriors fully;
They came with her right gladly, / when the worth of the king was known to them more truly.

Proudly their way they wended, / as beseemed the maiden’s birth;
With all the care they led her / befitting his kingly worth;
Hidden were the roadways / by gazers without number,
Who hasted to behold her; / for three miles and a half the throngs the ways did cumber.

Where’er along the roadside / the path with green was spread,
Flowers and grass were trampled, / by crowds, with heavy tread.
It fell upon that season / when the leaves are springing,
And in every copse and thicket / all the birds their best of songs are singing.

Of simple folk and merry / there rode with her enough;
While many loaded horses / bore much costly stuff,
Brought there from her birthland / by followers of the maiden;
They came with her by thousands, / with gold as well as clothing heavy-laden.

On the shore of two wide marches, / the dwellers by the sea,
As they saw the west wind waft her, / gave her welcome free;
They found a seemly lodging / for the lovely, well-born lady,
And brought her all things needful, / by the youthful king, before, for her made ready.

The fair young maid they welcomed / with knightly tournament;
Not soon their games they ended, / when on the spear-fight bent.
To the land of Ger his father / they bore her to be wedded;
She there was loved and mighty, / and men to sound her name she never needed.

All, as they were able, / waited on the maid;
The gaudy cloth for her saddle / down to the grass was spread;
The horses’ hoofs were hidden / by the housing, heavy drooping.
Aha! In mood how gleeful / was Ireland’s lord, once more a blessing hoping!

When now the time was fitting / that he the maid should kiss,
All crowded thick about him, / in haste to see their bliss.
The bosses of their bucklers / were now heard loudly clashing,
Struck with blows together; / each strove to shun the throngs, in uproar crashing.

Now with the dawn of morning, / they sent out, far and wide,
To give to all the tidings / of the coming of the bride,
And that, with their master, / they erelong would crown her.
His queen she was thereafter, / and well she earned from him the honor shown her.

It was not deemed becoming / that he his love should plight,
Since she by birth was queenly, / and he not yet a knight:
He first, before his lieges, / must the crown be wearing;
To this his kinsmen helped him, / and later of his worth were all men hearing.

He, with knights five hundred, / then was dubbed with the sword;
Whatever they could wish for / was given them at his word,—
Both shields, and, for their wearing, / every kind of clothing.
The youthful king so dauntless, / thro’ life, of fame and honor wanted nothing.

For many a day thereafter / his sway did Ireland bless,
And never did his greatness / at any time grow less.
To all he freely listened; / the poor man’s wrongs he righted;
Widely known was his goodness; / no truer knight than he his word e’er plighted.

His boundless acres yielded / a full and ready gain;
His wife was known for wisdom, / and worthy to be his queen.
To hold her as their mistress / full thirty lords it booted;
As long as the sway she wielded, / her hand to each his lands and home allotted.

She bore unto her husband, / within the next three years,
A child to see most comely; / (such is the tale one hears.)
When later he was christened, / and they were told to name him,
They gave the name of Hagen; / and never since, the tale of his life doth shame him.

He had most careful breeding, / and kindly was he nursed;
Should he be like his fathers, / he would of knights be first.
Watched over by wise women, / and by maidens of early age,
His father and fond mother / found in his face their glad eyes’ pasturage.

When now the boy, well fostered, / to his seventh year was bred,
’Twas seen that he by warriors / by the hand was often led.
He was happy in men’s teaching, / but was with women wearied;
All this he knew no longer; / for, torn from them, he far away was carried.

Whene’er to him it happened / weapons at court to see,
He understood them readily, / and their wearer longed to be;
The helmet and ringed armor / would he have put on gladly:
Alas! not long he saw them, / and all his hopes of fighting ended sadly.

While the kingly Sigeband, / beneath a cedar-tree,
One day on the turf was seated, / the queen said earnestly:
“Although good name and riches / we share with one another,
At one thing yet I wonder, / and this from you I dare to hide no further.”

He asked of her: “What is it?” / Then said his helpmeet kind:
“It me doth sorely worry / in body and in mind,
And my heart, alas! is heavy; / to my wish you give no heeding,
To see you ’midst your vassals, / my beaming eyes with pride upon you feeding.”

The king to her thus answered: / “How should it ever be
That you have had such longing / me with my knights to see?
I will strive thy will to follow, / of this think not so sadly;
Ever to meet thy wishes, / both care and toil will I give myself most gladly.”

She said: “No man is living / who owns such wealth, I trow,
Who has so many castles / or lands so wide as thou,
With silver and gems so costly, / and gold so heavy weighing;
For this are our ways too lowly, / and nought there is in life to me worth saying.

“When erst I was a maiden, / and on Scotland’s soil drew breath,
(Chide not, my lord, thy helpmeet, / but list to what she saith,)
I there was daily seeing / the liegemen of my father
For highest prizes striving; / but here such games we never see together.

“A king so rich and mighty, / as you in name have been,
Before his followers often / should let himself be seen;
He oft should ride in tilting / with other champions knightly,
That both himself and his kingdom / should seem more fair, and hold their rank more fitly.

“It shows, in a lord so noble, / a most unworthy mind,
When he has heaped together / riches of every kind,
If he with his faithful warriors / to share them is unwilling:
When men in the storm of warfare / deep wounds have had, how else can they find healing?”

Then said to her King Sigeband: / “Lady, you mock at me;
In all these warlike pastimes / I will most earnest be;
And for the strife so worthy / my wish shall never waver:
No man shall find it easy / the ways of well-born kings to teach me ever.”

She said: “You now for warriors / must send throughout the land;
Stores of wealth and clothing / must be given with open hand.
I too will send out heralds / my kinsmen all to rally,
And to show them my good wishes; / we then shall find our life to pass more gaily.”

At this the king of Ireland / unto his wife thus said:
“I yield to you most willingly, / for men are often led
By the wishes of fair women / great feastings to make ready;
I therefore now will gather / my brave and hardy kinsmen, and those too of my lady.”

To him the queen then answered: / “Sorrow no more I wear;
Five hundred women’s garments / I will give, to each her share;
To four and sixty maidens / gay clothes to give I’m willing.”
Then the king did tell her / high times he soon would hold, his word fulfilling.

The sports were then bespoken: / he bade his men to send,
In eighteen days or sooner, / to liegeman and to friend,
To say to all in Ireland, / who would in his games be riding,
That, after summer was ended, / they should spend the winter, with him abiding.

He bade his men make benches, / so our tale doth run,
And for these, from out the wilderness, / timber must be drawn;
For sixty thousand warriors / seats must they make ready.
His henchmen and deft stewards, / to do this work for the king, were skilled and speedy.

Thither men then hastened / on many a winding way;
All were kindly cared for / throughout their lengthened stay.
Now from Ireland’s kingdom, / as the king had bidden,
Full six and eighty thousand / of warriors strong there to his court had ridden.

From the store-rooms of the castle / clothing now was borne,—
All the gear they wished for, / and all that could be worn.
Shields were also given, / and steeds of Irish breeding;
The proud and queenly lady / bedecked her guests with all they could be needing.

She gave to a thousand women / costly clothes enow,
And likewise to fair maidens / what one to youth should allow,—
Broidered bands and jewels, / and silk that glistened brightly;
The many lovely ladies, / together standing there, were fair and sightly.

To every one who wished it / were given clothes well-made.
Horses were there seen prancing, / by the hand of foot-boys led;
These light shields did carry, / and their spears were seizing.
U-te, the queenly mother, / was gladly seen, as she on the leads sat gazing.

The guests by the king were bidden / freely in tilts to meet;
The glitter of their helmets / grew dim in the dust and heat.
The ladies, held in honor, / near by were also seated,
Where they the deeds of the warriors / saw full well, and with words of wonder greeted.

As oft before has happened, / the show had lasted long;
The king was not unwilling / to be looked on by the throng.
This, meanwhile, to his lady / happiness was giving,
As she, amidst her women, / sat on the roof, and saw their earnest striving.

When now her lord had ridden, / as doth beseem a king,
He thought to end their onsets; / some rest to them to bring
He deemed not unbecoming; / to stop the games he bade them.
And then before the ladies, / after their skill thus shown, he proudly led them.

U-te, the high-born lady, / began her friends to greet,
With those from far-off kingdoms; / them as guests to meet
The queen was truly willing; / on them her glad eyes rested.
The gifts of Lady U-te / were not on scornful friends that evening wasted.

Knights and lovely ladies / together there were seen.
The good-will of the master / to all well-known had been;
In all their games and tilting, / his kindness was not hidden.
Once more the guests, that evening, / to ride in warlike strife by him were bidden.

Their games and sports had lasted / until nine days were gone;
They, as knights befitteth, / their skill to the king had shown.
By the many wandering players / the show was liked the better,
And they plied their work more briskly, / and hoped that their reward would be the greater.

Sackbuts loud and trumpets / there might all men hear;
Fluting too and harping / fell upon the ear.
Some on the rote were playing, / others in song were vying;
They, by their jigs and fifing, / soon would better clothes for themselves be buying.

On the tenth morn it happened, / (now hark to my sorry tale,)
That, after all their pastimes, / there rose a bitter wail.
About these days so merry / new tales were told on the morrow;
And tho’ they now were mirthful, / they came to know deep gloom and heavy sorrow.

When the guests were seated / beside their kingly host,
There came to them a player, / and proudly made his boast
That he, before all others, / (who should indeed believe him?)
Was far more skilled in playing, / and even the greatest lords their ear must give him.

Outside, a lovely maiden / was leading by the hand
The little son of Sigeband / who swayed the Irish land;
With him were likewise women / who to the boy gave heeding,
And friendly kinsmen also, / who carefully taught the child, and oversaw his breeding.

Within the great king’s palace / was heard a din and shout;
All were there heard laughing, / the roomy walls throughout.
The guardians of young Hagen / crowded up too nearly,
And thus lost sight of the maiden, / together with the child they loved so dearly.

The evil luck of their master / to him that day drew near,
And brought to him and U-te / sudden woe and fear.
Sent by the wicked devil, / from afar his herald hasted
To them in their happy kingdom; / they were by this with sorrow sorely wasted.

It was a strong, wild griffin / had quickly thither flown;
From the little boy of Sigeband, / who ever care had known,
Came ill luck to his father, / who soon of this was tasting.
His son, so well-belovéd, / to him was lost, with the mighty bird far hasting.

A shadow now came o’er them, / from wings that bore him fleet,
As if a cloud had risen; / great strength had the bird, I weet.
The guests, in pastime busy, / no thought to this had given,
And the maid, with the child she was leading, / was standing now alone, unheeded even.

Beneath the weight of the griffin / forest trees broke down;
And now the trusty maiden / looked where the bird had flown;
Then she herself sought shelter, / and left the child forsaken.
Hearing a tale so startling, / one truly might the whole for a wonder reckon.

The griffin soon alighted, / and in his claws he held
The little child, gripped tightly, / while with fear it quailed.
His ghastly mood and anger / the bird was harshly showing;
This must knights and kinsmen / long bewail, with sorrow ever growing.

The boy was sorely frightened, / and began aloud to shriek;
Higher the mighty griffin / flew, with outstretched beak;
To the clouds above them floating / he his prey was bearing.
Sigeband, lord of Ireland, / loudly wept, his outcries never sparing.

His friends and all his kinsmen / the sorry tale soon heard;
They, in the death of his offspring, / his bitter sorrow shared.
Downcast were he and his lady, / and all their loss felt nearly;
Sorely they wept together, / mourning the boy, now torn from them so early.

In this their mood so gloomy, / the happy, merry plays
Must now be sadly ended. / Before their frightened gaze,
The griffin so had robbed them / that all for home now started,
Sober, and filled with sadness. / They truly felt forlorn, and heavy-hearted.

The king was bitterly weeping, / his breast with tears was wet;
The high-born queen besought him / his sorrows to forget,
Thus wisely to him speaking: / “Should all in death be stricken,
There must be an end of all things; / it is the will of God their lives hath taken.”

Now all would hence be faring, / but the queen to them did say:
“I beg you, knights and warriors, / longer with us to stay;
Our gifts of gold and silver, / that here for you are ready,
You should not think of meanly; / our love for you is ever true and steady.”

The knights to her bowed lowly, / and then began they all
To say how they were thankful. / The king, thereon, did call
For silken stuffs, the richest, / for all who there yet tarried;
They had ne’er been cut nor opened; / and from far-off lands had erst to the king been carried.

He gave them also horses, / both palfreys and war-steeds;
The horses out of Ireland / were tall and of hardy breeds.
Red gold was likewise given, / and silver without weighing;
The king with care had bidden / outfit good for his guests, no longer staying.

Soon as the queen was willing, / each her leave now takes,
Both lovely maids and women; / each one herself bedecks
With gifts that made her fairer; / all new clothes are wearing.
The high times now are ended; / Sigeband’s land they leave, and are homeward faring.