That Hildebrand was my father called,--
I am called Hadubrand.
Erewhile he eastward went,
Escaping from Odoaker,
Thither with Theodoric
And his many men of battle,
Here he left in the land,
Lorn and lonely,
Bride in bower,
Bairn ungrown,
Having no heritage.'"
_Song of Hildebrand_ (Bayard Taylor's tr.).

Hildebrand then rejoined his wife, Ute, and Dietrich, having slain the
traitor Sibich, who had made an attempt to usurp the throne, marched on to
Romaburg (Rome), where he was crowned Emperor of the West, under the name
of Theodoric. Some time after his accession, Dietrich lost his good wife
Herrat, whom, according to some accounts, he mourned as long as he lived.
According to others he married again, taking as wife Liebgart, widow of
Ortnit.

Etzel, according to this version, having been lured by Aldrian, Hagen's
son, into the cave where the Nibelungen hoard was kept, was locked up
there, and died of hunger while contemplating the gold he coveted. His
estates then became the property of Dietrich, who thus became undisputed
ruler of nearly all the southern part of Europe.

[Sidenote: Dietrich and the coal-black steed.] In his old age Dietrich,
weary of life and imbittered by its many trials, ceased to take pleasure in
anything except the chase. One day, while he was bathing in a limpid
stream, his servant came to tell him that there was a fine stag in sight.
Dietrich immediately called for his horse, and as it was not instantly
forthcoming, he sprang upon a coal-black steed standing near, and was borne
rapidly away.

The servant rode after as fast as possible, but could never overtake
Dietrich, who, the peasants aver, was spirited away, and now leads the Wild
Hunt upon the same sable steed, which he is doomed to ride until the
judgment day.

In spite of this fabulous account, however, the tomb of Theodoric is still
to be seen near Verona, but history demonstrates the impossibility of the
story of Dietrich von Bern, by proving that Theodoric was not born until
after the death of Attila, the unmistakeable original of the Etzel in the
"Heldenbuch."

[Illustration: THE TOMB OF THEODORIC.]

CHAPTER VIII.

CHARLEMAGNE AND HIS PALADINS.

One of the favorite heroes of early mediaeval literature is Charlemagne,
whose name is connected with countless romantic legends of more or less
antique origin. The son of Pepin and Bertha the "large footed,"