Now with the friendly Hegelings none would tarry more.
Soon on the way to Alzabie they Herwic’s sister bore,
Shouting all for gladness that they the maid were bringing;
While, on their watery pathway, with proud and happy hearts, the knights were singing.
Queen Hilda gave, at parting, a kind farewell to them.
Though rich were Herwic’s followers when first to her they came,
Yet gifts she gave full many to them, when homeward faring.
When one is seen so lavish, the name of a wonder-worker is he rightly bearing.
Gudrun then spake to her mother: “May blessings on you be!
Mourn not for the fallen; by both my lord and me
Shall love to you be given: no more you need be feeling
Heaviness or sorrow; your woes shall Herwic’s kindness now be healing.”
To her Queen Hilda answered: “Dearest daughter mine,
If you would make me happy, henceforth must friends of thine
Come to the land of the Hegeling thrice to see me yearly;
Else must I greatly sorrow, and never can bear the loss I feel so nearly.”
Then said Gudrun, the high-born: “Mother, it shall be done.”
At once, with smiles and weeping, and glances backward thrown,
She left the castle of Matelan, with many a friendly maiden.
Her sorrows now were ended: nought before did ever maids so gladden.
Hither men brought horses, saddled and fitly bred,
To bear her hence with her maidens; these their keepers led:
Light were all the breastplates, and golden-red each bridle.
I ween the ladies wished not longer far from home to linger idle.
Many, with hair down-flowing, and decked with gold, rode there;
Methinks from tears and sorrow none could then forbear,
Who must at last from Ortrun and from her maids be parted.
Should Ortrun be unhappy, Gudrun would then be sad and heavy-hearted.
Ortrun, betrothed to Ortwin, then her thanks did give
To fair Gudrun, the queenly, that she had granted leave
To hold the Norman kingdom to Hartmut, her knightly brother:
“Gudrun, may God reward you! my cares are gone, I ne’er shall know another.”
To her mother Hilda, also, Ortrun her thanks did say,
That she in Ortland’s kingdom the crown should wear one day,
Together with King Ortwin, and there be called his lady.
Then said to her Queen Hilda that she to grant her this was ever ready.
Ortwin then and Herwic each to the other swore,
With strong and steady friendship, that they forevermore
Would sway with right and honor the lands to them belonging,
And ever would be earnest to seize and slay whoe’er was either wronging.
Colophon
Gudrun
was written circa 1250.
It was translated from Middle High German in 1889 by
Mary Pickering Nichols.
This ebook was produced for
Standard Ebooks
by
Emma Sweeney,
and is based on a transcription produced in 2014 by
An Anonymous Volunteer, Stephen Hutcheson, and Distributed Proofreaders
for
Project Gutenberg
and on digital scans from the
Internet Archive.
The cover page is adapted from
Skizze zum Nibelungenring: Abschied Siegfrieds von Brünhilde,
a painting by
Michael Echter.
The cover and title pages feature the
League Spartan and Sorts Mill Goudy
typefaces created in 2014 and 2009 by
The League of Moveable Type.
The first edition of this ebook was released on
May 20, 2025, 4:31 p.m.
You can check for updates to this ebook, view its revision history, or download it for different ereading systems at
standardebooks.org/ebooks/anonymous/gudrun/mary-pickering-nichols.
The volunteer-driven Standard Ebooks project relies on readers like you to submit typos, corrections, and other improvements. Anyone can contribute at standardebooks.org.
Uncopyright
May you do good and not evil.
May you find forgiveness for yourself and forgive others.
May you share freely, never taking more than you give.
Copyright pages exist to tell you that you can’t do something. Unlike them, this Uncopyright page exists to tell you that the writing and artwork in this ebook are believed to be in the United States public domain; that is, they are believed to be free of copyright restrictions in the United States. The United States public domain represents our collective cultural heritage, and items in it are free for anyone in the United States to do almost anything at all with, without having to get permission.
Copyright laws are different all over the world, and the source text or artwork in this ebook may still be copyrighted in other countries. If you’re not located in the United States, you must check your local laws before using this ebook. Standard Ebooks makes no representations regarding the copyright status of the source text or artwork in this ebook in any country other than the United States.
Non-authorship activities performed on items that are in the public domain—so-called “sweat of the brow” work—don’t create a new copyright. That means that nobody can claim a new copyright on an item that is in the public domain for, among other things, work like digitization, markup, or typography. Regardless, the contributors to this ebook release their contributions under the terms in the CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication, thus dedicating to the worldwide public domain all of the work they’ve done on this ebook, including but not limited to metadata, the titlepage, imprint, colophon, this Uncopyright, and any changes or enhancements to, or markup on, the original text and artwork. This dedication doesn’t change the copyright status of the source text or artwork. We make this dedication in the interest of enriching our global cultural heritage, to promote free and libre culture around the world, and to give back to the unrestricted culture that has given all of us so much.
