Early and late those craftsmen of the King were toiling ever.
Ortwein withal and Gere were nowise slack of hand,
For they sent forth word unto kinsmen through the length and the breadth of the land
To bid those guests to the feast-tide that soon should be holden there;
And ready was made her adorning by many a maiden fair.
Splendour-arrayed was the palace, and with tapestries each wall
Was hung in the great guests’ honour: King Gunther’s royal hall
Was adorned in princely fashion to greet the strangers’ eyes:
And thus did the stately feast-tide begin in gladsome wise.
Now did the three Kings’ kinsmen down many a highway ride