I. Of Kriemhild, and of her Dream

 Many a marvellous story have the ancient singers told

Of heroes and their glory and their travail¹ manifold,

Of great feasts splendour-flashing that with weeping and wailing² ended,

Of the thunder of war-waves clashing—in the Lay shall ye hear all blended.

In the Land Burgundian nurtured³ was a maiden⁴ princely of birth;

Though ye searched, ye should find none fairer to the uttermost ends of the earth;

And her name far-sung was Kriemhild, she was sweeter than speech may tell.

Ah, many a valiant⁵ champion in battle for her sake fell!

There was no man whose pride had warded⁶ his breast against love’s dart⁸

Shot from the eyes victorious⁹, from the snare¹⁰ of many a heart:

She was lovely beyond all measure that speech or thought may find,

Yea, queenly withal and gracious, a glory of womankind.

Three high-born Kings and wealthy guarded and held her dear;

Gunther and Gernot, heroes in prowess without a peer,

And Giselher the youngest, unmatched in foughten field:

Their sister was she and their glory, and her sword were they and her shield.

Lords were they of noble lineage, and of courtesy the crown,

And their aweless might was matchless, and limitless their renown¹¹;

And over the Land Burgundian they stretched the sceptred hand,

Ere the strange, grim end of their story was told in Etzel’s land.

{p. 2}

In the City of Worms by the Rhine-flood these Kings in their might abode¹²,

And the best in the whole land served them, the proudest knights¹⁴ that rode,

With glory of homage¹⁵ served them through their life’s triumphant¹⁶ tide—

Till the day when in woeful battle through the Feud¹⁸ of the Queens they died.

And the mother that bare them was Uta, and the treasures of queens were hers,

And their father the old king Dankart, and he made them heritors

Of his realm in the hour of his dying, a champion mighty¹⁹ of old,

Who in days of his youth reaped harvest of glory manifold.

As the tale of their goodlihead telleth, such kings were they, these three,

Strong, fearless lords; and the vassals²⁰ that bent²¹ before them the knee

Were the best of all of whose doings their songs have the minstrels made,

Stalwart and aweless of spirit, in battle unafraid.

For these were Hagen of Troneg, and Dankwart his brother withal

The battle-eager, and Ortwein the warder of Metz’s wall;

And with these stood Gere and Eckwart, lords of the marches twain,

And Volker the Knight¹³ Alsatian, the name without a stain;

And Rumold the feast-arrayer, a worship-worthy lord;

Sindold and Hunold, which ever kept heedful watch and ward⁷

For the state of the palace royal, that all should be ordered well;

And with these were there knightly²² vassals whose tale no bard²³ may tell.

Dankwart was their palace-marshal, and beside the feastful board

Waited his nephew Ortwein, of Metz was he overlord;

And Sindold bare them the wine-cup, a goodly baron²⁴ he;

And Hunold was chamberlain, perfect in utterest courtesy.

But of all their palace-splendour, and their might renowned²⁵ afar,

And the majesty²⁶ of their worship, and their knightly deeds of war,

And the joy that the kingly heroes therein had all their days—

No minstrel hath wholly told it, no harp²⁷ sung all their praise.

Now it fell, in the midst of their glory, that a dream unto Kriemhild appeared:

A strong, fair, tameless falcon²⁸ in a bower²⁹ of dreams she reared.

But before her eyes two eagles swooped³⁰ upon him and slew³¹—

Never a bitterer sorrow the heart of the maiden knew!

{p. 3}

So she told to her mother the vision; but from Lady Uta’s eyes

Was it hid, that she could not interpret the dream save in halting wise:

“The falcon reared in thy dream-bower, a princely husband is this—

Now God from evil defend him, else swift dark doom³² shall be his!”

“What is this that thou talkest of husbands, heart’s dearest, mother, to me?

In the net of love untangled will I for ever be.

Unto my death in the beauty of maidenhood³³ I will abide³⁴,

That I taste not the manifold sorrows that from love of man betide.”

But she answered: “Not wholly renounce³⁵ it, for thy vow³⁶ hath been spoken amiss:

For if ever on earth thou knowest a heart full-brimmed with bliss³⁷,

Of the love of a man shall this come; and a fair and happy bride

Shalt thou be, if a noble baron by God’s grace stand by thy side.”

“Let be, let be vain talking, heart’s dearest, mother mine.

In many a wife’s repentance³⁸ have I read the warning sign,

How love hath sorrow for guerdon when the end of its journey is won:—

I will none of love nor of sorrow, I abide in my bliss alone.”

So Kriemhild in pride of her spirit was a rebel to Lord Love’s sway;

And her heart-peace flowed as a river through many a sunlit day;

And she looked upon earls and champions, but none might the heart of her move:

Yet her hour drew near, and the breaking of the glory-dawn of love.

For in flight even now was the Falcon, the fulfilment drew nigh and nigher

Of the dream half read of her mother—but woe¹⁷ for the vengeance-hire

That she paid to the eagles that slew him, her own blood-brethren they!

Woe for the sons of women untold³⁹ whom his death should slay⁴⁰!

1 travail   

n.阵痛；努力

参考例句：

• Mothers know the travail of giving birth to a child.母亲们了解分娩时的痛苦。
• He gained the medal through his painful travail.他通过艰辛的努力获得了奖牌。

2 wailing   

v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱

参考例句：

• A police car raced past with its siren wailing. 一辆警车鸣着警报器飞驰而过。
• The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。

3 nurtured   

养育( nurture的过去式和过去分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长

参考例句：

• She is looking fondly at the plants he had nurtured. 她深情地看着他培育的植物。
• Any latter-day Einstein would still be spotted and nurtured. 任何一个未来的爱因斯坦都会被发现并受到培养。

4 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

5 valiant   

adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人

参考例句：

• He had the fame of being very valiant.他的勇敢是出名的。
• Despite valiant efforts by the finance minister,inflation rose to 36%.尽管财政部部长采取了一系列果决措施，通货膨胀率还是涨到了36%。

6 warded   

有锁孔的，有钥匙榫槽的

参考例句：

• The soldiers warded over the city. 士兵们守护着这座城市。
• He warded off a danger. 他避开了危险。

7 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

8 dart   

v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲

参考例句：

• The child made a sudden dart across the road.那小孩突然冲过马路。
• Markov died after being struck by a poison dart.马尔科夫身中毒镖而亡。

9 victorious   

adj.胜利的，得胜的

参考例句：

• We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
• The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。

10 snare   

n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑

参考例句：

• I used to snare small birds such as sparrows.我曾常用罗网捕捉麻雀等小鸟。
• Most of the people realized that their scheme was simply a snare and a delusion.大多数人都认识到他们的诡计不过是一个骗人的圈套。

11 renown   

n.声誉，名望

参考例句：

• His renown has spread throughout the country.他的名声已传遍全国。
• She used to be a singer of some renown.她曾是位小有名气的歌手。

12 abode   

n.住处，住所

参考例句：

• It was ten months before my father discovered his abode.父亲花了十个月的功夫，才好不容易打听到他的住处。
• Welcome to our humble abode!欢迎光临寒舍！

13 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

14 knights   

骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马

参考例句：

• stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
• He wove a fascinating tale of knights in shining armour. 他编了一个穿着明亮盔甲的骑士的迷人故事。

15 homage   

n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬

参考例句：

• We pay homage to the genius of Shakespeare.我们对莎士比亚的天才表示敬仰。
• The soldiers swore to pay their homage to the Queen.士兵们宣誓效忠于女王陛下。

16 triumphant   

adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的

参考例句：

• The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
• There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。

17 woe   

n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌

参考例句：

• Our two peoples are brothers sharing weal and woe.我们两国人民是患难与共的兄弟。
• A man is well or woe as he thinks himself so.自认祸是祸，自认福是福。

18 feud   

n.长期不和；世仇；v.长期争斗；世代结仇

参考例句：

• How did he start his feud with his neighbor?他是怎样和邻居开始争吵起来的？
• The two tribes were long at feud with each other.这两个部族长期不和。

19 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

20 vassals   

n.奴仆( vassal的名词复数 )；（封建时代）诸侯；从属者；下属

参考例句：

• He was indeed at this time having the Central Office cleared of all but his vassals. 的确，他这时正在对中央事务所进行全面清洗（他的亲信除外）。 来自辞典例句
• The lowly vassals suffering all humiliates in both physical and mental aspects. 地位低下的奴仆，他们在身体上和精神上受尽屈辱。 来自互联网

21 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

22 knightly   

adj. 骑士般的 adv. 骑士般地

参考例句：

• He composed heroic songs and began to write many a tale of enchantment and knightly adventure. 他谱写英雄短歌并着手编写不少记叙巫术和骑士历险的故事。
• If you wear knight costumes, you will certainly have a knightly manner. 身着骑士装，令您具有骑士风度。

23 bard   

n.吟游诗人

参考例句：

• I'll use my bard song to help you concentrate!我会用我的吟游诗人歌曲帮你集中精神！
• I find him,the wandering grey bard.我发现了正在徘徊的衰老游唱诗人。

24 baron   

n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王

参考例句：

• Henry Ford was an automobile baron.亨利·福特是一位汽车业巨头。
• The baron lived in a strong castle.男爵住在一座坚固的城堡中。

25 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

26 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

27 harp   

n.竖琴；天琴座

参考例句：

• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。
• He played an Irish melody on the harp.他用竖琴演奏了一首爱尔兰曲调。

28 falcon   

n.隼，猎鹰

参考例句：

• The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鹰张开羽毛比两只鹰还大。
• The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子们带着猎鹰出去打猎了。

29 bower   

n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽

参考例句：

• They sat under the leafy bower at the end of the garden and watched the sun set.他们坐在花园尽头由叶子搭成的凉棚下观看落日。
• Mrs. Quilp was pining in her bower.奎尔普太太正在她的闺房里度着愁苦的岁月。

30 swooped   

俯冲，猛冲( swoop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The aircraft swooped down over the buildings. 飞机俯冲到那些建筑物上方。
• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it. 鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来，并把它杀死。

31 slew   

v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多

参考例句：

• He slewed the car against the side of the building.他的车滑到了大楼的一侧，抵住了。
• They dealt with a slew of other issues.他们处理了大量的其他问题。

32 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

33 maidenhood   

n. 处女性, 处女时代

参考例句：

34 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

35 renounce   

v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系

参考例句：

• She decided to renounce the world and enter a convent.她决定弃绝尘世去当修女。
• It was painful for him to renounce his son.宣布与儿子脱离关系对他来说是很痛苦的。

36 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

37 bliss   

n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福

参考例句：

• It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
• He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴，因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。

38 repentance   

n.懊悔

参考例句：

• He shows no repentance for what he has done.他对他的所作所为一点也不懊悔。
• Christ is inviting sinners to repentance.基督正在敦请有罪的人悔悟。

39 untold   

adj.数不清的，无数的

参考例句：

• She has done untold damage to our chances.她给我们的机遇造成了不可估量的损害。
• They suffered untold terrors in the dark and huddled together for comfort.他们遭受着黑暗中的难以言传的种种恐怖，因而只好挤在一堆互相壮胆。

40 slay   

v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮

参考例句：

• He intended to slay his father's murderer.他意图杀死杀父仇人。
• She has ordered me to slay you.她命令我把你杀了。