The same privilege was accorded to Ruedeger.
Then, while the terrible Folker guarded the door with his fiddle bow, one
side of which was a trenchant sword, the battle began. The Burgundians
taunted the Huns with their weakness and cowardice until they ventured
into the hall and were cut down by Hagan and his desperate men. When
evening fell the thousand and four who had entered the hall all lay dead
by the hands of the Burgundians.
When Kriemhild's offer to give her brothers their lives if they would
surrender Hagan was refused, she ordered fire to be set to the four
corners of the hall, thinking thus to drive them forth. But the burning
rafters fell into the rivers of blood and were quenched, and the
Burgundians derived new courage and strength from huge draughts of blood
from their fallen foes.
Then Kriemhild and Etzel, seeing how their Hunnish men had fallen, and
perceiving that the Burgundians were in no wise injured by the fire,
reproached the Margrave Ruedeger that he did not enter the fight. In vain
he told them of his friendship with the princes; of the betrothal of his
daughter and Giselher. Kriemhild persisted in reminding him of the promise
he had made to serve her to her dying day. At last he reluctantly summoned
his men, and bidding farewell to his cruel king and queen, he entered the
hall.
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