Against us he cometh, to render service for castles and land.”
Or ever the viol-minstrel had fully spoken the word,
In front of the great hall-portal men saw that noble lord.
He set his goodly buckler on the earth before his feet,
And he looked on the friends he could help not, on the faces he might not greet.
Then cried the noble Margrave to the hall, a cry of woe:
“O dauntless men of the Niblungs, now guard you against a foe!
Ye ought to have had mine helping—that debt will never be paid!
We were friends close-knit by troth-plight—to my troth am I renegade!”
Then sorely aghast at his saying were the warriors hard-bestead.