The shield by that flail of battle shattered he flung from his hand,
And he thrust back into the scabbard Balmung, the long keen brand:
He would smite not therewith, lest his faithful seneschal should die;
For aye was he noble-hearted, and the flower of chivalry.
But the hero leapt upon Albrich with his strong bare hands alone,
And fast by the beard he gripped him, that hoary-headed one,
And he mightily plucked, that the Earth-dwarf shrieked for very pain,
As the hero-knight tamed Albrich with his fingers’ bitter strain.
Loud cried the erstwhile aweless: “Ah, leave my life unto me!
Had I not to another hero sworn true fealty,