The noble Sir Dietrich / and many another thane,
Who amid their labors / but little rest had ta'en,
That the guests they harbored / of merry mood should be.
For Ruediger and his companions / went the time full pleasantly.
The wedding time was fallen / upon a Whitsuntide,
When the monarch Etzel / lay Kriemhild beside
In the town at Vienna. / So many men I ween
Through her former husband / had not in her service been.
Many that ne'er had seen her / did her rich bounty take,
And many a one among them / unto the strangers spake:
"We deemed that Lady Kriemhild / of wealth no more had aught
Now hath she by her giving / here full many a wonder wrought."
The wedding-feast it lasted / for days full seventeen.
Ne'er of other monarch / hath any told, I ween,
That wedded with more splendor: / of such no tale we hear.
All that there were present, / new-made apparel did they wear.
I ween that far in Netherland / sat she ne'er before
Amid such host of warriors. / And this believe I more:
Was Siegfried rich in treasure, / that yet he ne'er did gain,
As here she saw 'fore Etzel, / so many a high and noble thane.