To all these warlike men.
That we repay by obsequies
His martial feats of yore
And noble friendship shown to us,
Now lost forevermore.”
And Günther consented to this; but Wolfhart, who could no longer contain his wrath, demanded with threatening gestures how long they were to beg and wait for what they sought. Volker replied that none should bring it to them now; if they would have Rüdiger’s body they must come with their swords and fetch it themselves from out the hall. He added: “Such service, methinks, were but Sir Rüdiger’s due.”
Furious at this, Wolfhart would have rushed at Volker, but Hildebrand withheld him by force. “Nay—curb thy headlong wrath! or thou wilt surely bring disgrace upon us all!”
“Let loose, good master Hildebrand,
That lion of rash mood,
That he may come within my reach!”