"What magic can I borrow
To bind thy heart to me?
A spell is cast around thee,
By magic thou art here;
In vain thou wouldst assure me.
Declare thy race and name!"
At this moment, Telramund, with four of his companions, broke into the room with drawn swords, intending to kill, or, at least, to wound the stranger Knight; but Elsa, quick to see the danger, handed her husband his sword, and with one blow of it, he felled Telramund to the ground, dead.
The noise of the scuffle soon brought the lords and ladies of the Court into the chamber, and the Knight of the Swan put the fainting Elsa into the charge of her maidens, declaring sadly that all their joy must now come to an end, for since she had demanded to be told his name and home, he must tell her, and his secret once known, he was compelled to depart.
So, as soon as daylight came, and the sun rose in the sky, the King, with Elsa and her husband and the nobles of Brabant, gathered together once more on the banks of the Scheldt. The nobles first of all gave their promise to Henry the Fowler to fight for him as faithful vassals against the Hungarians; and then the Knight of the Swan stepped forward to make himself known to them, declaring that since Elsa had asked to know his secret, he could no longer keep it from her.
He announced that he was a knight of the Holy Grail, and that so long as he remained unknown, he had wonderful powers of strength and might, and could overcome all evil; but once he became known to man he was compelled to depart and return to the Grail that sent him, for its Champion Knight must be guarded from all doubtings. He thus described the sacred relic which he and other pure and stainless knights served so faithfully:
"In distant land, by ways remote and hidden,
There stands a burg that men call Montsalvat;
It holds a shrine, to the profane forbidden:
More precious there is nought on earth than that:
And thron'd in light it holds a Cup immortal,
That whoso sees from earthly sin is cleansed;
'Twas borne by angels thro' the Heav'nly portal—
Its coming hath a holy reign commenced.
Once ev'ry year a dove from Heaven descendeth,
To strengthen it anew for works of grace;
'Tis called the Grail!..."
As the people remained lost in astonishment at this wondrous tale, the Knight of the Swan added:
"Now mark, craft or disguise my soul disdaineth,
The Grail sent me to right yon lady's name;
My father, Percival, gloriously reigneth,
His Knight am I, and Lohengrin my name!"
As he spoke these words, a cry arose from the people: "The swan! The swan! Behold it comes!"