"Whate'er have all the warriors / in battle dared to do,
Dankwart and Hagen / and the other knights so true,
Howe'er they fought for honor, / 'twas naught but idle play
Beside what there wrought Siegfried, / King Siegmund's son, amid the fray.
"Beneath their hands in battle / full many a hero fell,
Yet all the deeds of wonder / no man could ever tell,
Wrought by the hand of Siegfried, / when rode he 'gainst the foe:
And weep aloud must women / for friends by his strong arm laid low.
"There, too, the knight she loved / full many a maid must lose.
Were heard come down on helmet / so loud his mighty blows,
That they from gaping gashes / brought forth the flowing blood.
In all that maketh noble / he is a valiant knight and good.
"Many a deed of daring / of Metz Sir Ortwein wrought:
For all was evil faring / whom he with broadsword caught,
Doomed to die that instant, / or wounded sore to fall.
And there thy valiant brother / did greater havoc work than all
"That e'er in storm of battle / was done by warrior bold.
Of all those chosen warriors / let eke the truth be told:
The proud Burgundian heroes / have made it now right plain,
That they can free from insult / their country's honor well maintain.