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Hildebrand 83<br />
Hadubrand, the son <strong>of</strong> Hildebrand, replied: "With the<br />
spear should one receive a gift, point to point. Thou<br />
art <strong>of</strong> exceeding guile, old Hun. Thou seekest to decoy<br />
me with thy words and wilt aim thy spear at me. Thou<br />
hast grown old in the practice <strong>of</strong> treachery. Seafarers<br />
who went westwards over the Vandal Sea, have told me<br />
that he fell in battle. Dead is Hildebrand, the<br />
*****<br />
Heribrand."<br />
Then spake Hildebrand, the son <strong>of</strong> Heribrand.<br />
son <strong>of</strong><br />
"<br />
By thy garb I see full well that thou hast a generous<br />
lord at home ; thou art no outcast in this land."<br />
" Woe now is me, Almighty God," quoth Hildebrand.<br />
"An evil fate is come upon me. Sixty summers and<br />
winters have I wandered in exile from my native land<br />
and I was ever stationed in the forefront <strong>of</strong> the host:<br />
yet no man dealt me my deathblow before any stronghold.<br />
But now mine own son will smite me with his sword, slay<br />
me with his brand, or I must be his slayer. Yet now if<br />
thy prowess avail thee, thou canst easily win the harness <strong>of</strong><br />
so old a man, carry <strong>of</strong>f the spoils, if thou hast any right to<br />
them. Now were he the craven <strong>of</strong> the easterners who<br />
49. waltant : got cf. AS. wealdend god, OS. waldand god.<br />
50. sehstic, i.e. 30 summers and 30 winters, a relic <strong>of</strong> the counting by<br />
seasons (misseri). It is worth noting that Wolf-Dietrich was likewise in<br />
exile for 30 years ; cf. Chadwick, Heroic Age, p. 155.<br />
In pi"5riks saga, c. 396 (Bertelsen, n. 331), the exile lasted 32 years.<br />
51. sceotantero, simply " warriors" ; cf. Beowulf, v. 1155, etc.<br />
52. banun ni gifasta ; cf. Elene, v. 477 :<br />
Ne meahton hie swa disige deaf <strong>of</strong>ffmtan.<br />
53. suasat, "own"; cf. AS. swses, and Asmundarsaga Kappabana,<br />
c. ix. :<br />
Liggr par inn svdsi sonr at h<strong>of</strong>ffi.<br />
54. breton mit sinu billiu ; wk vb, cf. AS. breodwian (Miillenh<strong>of</strong>f ). For<br />
the phrase, cf. Exodus, v. 199 : billum abreotan.<br />
eddo ih imo ti banin werdan ; cf. Heliand, v. 644 :<br />
and Beowulf, v. 587 :<br />
hogda im te banin uuerffon;<br />
Jyeah ffu fiinum br<strong>of</strong>frum to banan wurde.<br />
55. ibu dir din ellen taoc, a common phrase in the poetic diction <strong>of</strong> the<br />
old Teutonic languages ; cf. Andreas, v. 460 : gif his ellen deah, etc.<br />
56. Cf. Waldhere, B 17.<br />
57. ibu du dar enic reht habes, either "if you can make good your<br />
claim" or "if you have justice on your side." ,<br />
68. ostarliuto, Huns rather than Ostrogoths; cf. Asmundar saga,<br />
where Hildibrandr is styled Htinakappi.