Now that he has lost nearly all his men, Dietrich decides to return stealthily. Ermenrik is already dying or dead by this time, but Dietrich does not know this according to the saga.
Now king Dietrich von Bern had lost many warriors. King Dietrich and master Hildebrand conferred, and the king said: It has always been my greatest regret that I have been away from my realm for so long, and now I lost all my heroes and friends, and my honour. See, master Hildebrand, how many of our friends are dead: good margrave Rodinger, and king Gunther of Niflungenland was killed, and Hagen
Master Hildebrand replied: My lord, we've been away from our realm for a long time, and lost much, first of all by Sibich's treason, and we will fight against superior numbers in king Ermenrik's realm. But still I agree with you: it's better to die in Amelungenland than to grow old dishonourably in Hunnenland.
King Dietrich said: Master Hildebrand, what have you heard about my town of Bern. Who rules there now?
And master Hildebrand said: My lord, I do not know, but I have heard something about it, that there would be a duke there named Alebrand, and he is supposed to be my son. And it is said he is a great warrior. It could be that my wife Oda was pregnant when I left Bern, and that he was born afterwards.
King Dietrich replied: If your son were duke of Bern it would be a stroke of luck. He would receive us well if he is as loyal to us as you have been.
And Hildebrand said: Lord, how will we arrange this trip?
And the king said: We cannot come to Amelungenland with an army. Since Hunnenland has too few men left king Attila will not send his leaders with us to win back our realm. I want to go to Amelungenland in secret, and it would be good if there were no more men than the two of us, and I will swear I will not leave Amelungenland again with dishonour, but die there or win my kingdom back.
Master Hildebrand said: If the two of us go alone, lord, this journey will only have little honour
Dietrich does not want to tell Attila he’s leaving, and leaves it to Hildebrand to inform his wife Herrat. When they’re about to leave Hildebrand tells Dietrich to say goodbye to Attila, and Dietrich does so.
Then they came to Bakalar, and Dietrich turned his horse towards the castle and grieved for margrave Rodinger who had taken him in as a guest when he fled from Ermenrik
Jarl Elsung the Younger
When the sun set Dietrich wanted to press on into the night, and he now led, with Hildebrand, Herrat, and the pack horse following. Hildebrand saw a great dust cloud and light glancing off shields and armour, and they were riding after them. Then Herrat cried that those were the enemy, and that they could not withstand them. Now Dietrich also saw them, and asked Hildebrand who they would be. Hildebrand replied that it might be Elsung who had heard of their travels.
Then Dietrich asked: What shall we do? Ride into the forest to save ourselves, or dismount and get ready for battle? Hildebrand now counted thirty-two men, and proposed to stand and fight, so that the people in Hunnenland would hear how they had killed many and driven off the rest.
Then Dietrich and Hildebrand dismounted, helped Herrat down, and drew their swords.
Jarl Elsung came closer, and his sister-son Amelung said, when he saw Herrat: If you leave this woman behind, then you will escape with your lives. Master Hildebrand replied she had come with king Dietrich from Soest for another purpose. And one of Elsung's men said he had never heard an old man speak so fearlessly or haughtily. Dietrich replied that the old man had spent his entire life in honour and manliness. Don’t insult him for his age.
Amelung said: Now surrender, or I will pull your beard so that most of it will come off. Hildebrand replied: Try that, and you'll regret it. Who is your leader? One
He drew his sword and hit Hildebrand on his helm hat, and the sword cut through it, but beneath it was Hildegrim, Dietrich’s old helmet, and it withstood the blow. But king Dietrich now had Sigfrid's helmet
Then Dietrich drew his sword Eckisax and struck the foremost knight on his shoulder so that his arm was cut off, and with another blow he hit jarl Elsung so that the sword cut off his arm and went into his jawbone, and he fell dead.
They also defeat the men of Elsung, who flee home.
Dietrich told Hildebrand they would travel over the Mundia mountains
Hildebrand laughed and asked: How good of a warrior is Alebrand? And what kind of man is he? The man replied that Alebrand was the best of all warriors, and he exceeds all in courtesy and generosity, but he is grim towards his enemies.
Hildebrand said: You're a good man. What more can you tell me? And the man replied that there was important and likely true news: Ermenrik was dead.
Hildebrand goes to the castle, finds that Ludwig and Konrad are loyal to Dietrich, and takes them to Dietrich, whom they swear loyalty to. Then Dietrich sends Hildebrand to Bern, and Konrad accompanies him for a bit.
Hildebrand and Konrad set out, and Konrad advised Hildebrand to tell Alebrand straight away who he was, because if he didn't Alebrand might kill him, he was that good of a warrior. And Hildebrand asked for a description of Alebrand. Konrad told him Alebrand had a white stallion, and the nails in his shoes were golden, and so were his horseshoes. His shield was white with a castle on it. And you are too old to stand up to him.
Hildebrand laughed and said that even though Alebrand might be too proud to compare himself to another man, it might still be that he wouldn't tell me his name before I tell him mine.
Now Hildebrand rode on the road to Bern
When Alebrand saw an armed man riding towards him, he rode towards the man. When he saw that the man did not bow to him he became angry and readied himself for a fight and spurred on his horse. And Hildebrand held his shield before his breast, brought his lance forward, and also spurred on his horse. Both now put their lance in the other man's shield so strongly that both shafts splintered, and the old man jumped from his horse and drew his sword, and the young man as well. They fought until both were tired, and put their shields down and leaned on them.
Now Alebrand asked who this old man standing before him was. And tell me quickly what your name is, and surrender your weapons to retain your life. Hildebrand replied that, before telling his name, he wanted to know the name of his opponent, and surrender your weapons freely or by force.
Then Alebrand swung his sword at the old man, and Hildebrand struck back, and the fight became hard and was twice as valiant as before. Then they became tired again, and Alebrand put down his shield to rest, and Hildebrand did the same.
And Alebrand said: tell me your name and surrender your weapons and you'll live, but if not then you will be killed. You did not tell me before, and without dishonour, but now you will, and without victory, and lose all your weapons, or you will die. And the young man became even fiercer and tried to kill the old man, but he defended himself bravely.
Now Hildebrand said: If you are from the Wölfing family, tell me, and I will make peace with you, but if you’re not I’ll kill you. And Alebrand replied: Give up if you want to live. But I am no more a Wölfing than you are, and now tell me who you are. If you knew who I am you wouldn't call my father a Wölfing. And again they fought even harder.
Then Hildebrand struck a mighty blow at the young man’s thigh, so that the armour was cut open and Alebrand was wounded so severely that he could hardly use his foot. And now Alebrand said: Here is my sword, I will surrender and can no longer fight. You have the fiend in your hand
Then Alebrand said: I won’t tell you, and I don’t care about my life now that I’ve been vanquished by such an old gray goose
Then Hildebrand rose and Alebrand as well, and they kissed each other and regarded each other. Now Hildebrand became quite pleased with his son, and Alebrand with his father, and they jumped on their horses and rode to Bern. And Alebrand asked: Where did you part with king Dietrich? And Hildebrand told him everything that had happened and how they separated in the forest, and Alebrand rode there with all his men.
In the evening they rode to Alebrand’s mother
Alebrand rode into the gate, and the guard barely recognised him, and Hildebrand pushed open the gate roughly. Then the guard struck at him with his sword, but Hildebrand got his shield between them and was not wounded. When Alebrand saw this he became angry and cut off the guard’s head
Then Hildebrand said: This was an evil deed, for his strike did not hurt me, and you killed an innocent man. But Alebrand replied: It’s thanks to your armor that you weren’t hurt, and if it hadn’t been there I’d have to avenge my father, and he wouldn’t be innocent. Then they entered the castle and were received well.
The next morning Alebrand and his knights departed, and master Hildebrand with them, for the forest where king Dietrich and jarl Ludwig waited. They all dismounted and bowed before him, and Dietrich kissed Alebrand. Then they all mounted and went to Bern. When the people of the town saw them coming they rejoiced. And Hildebrand bore his banner and Alebrand rode on his other side. Then Alebrand placed a small golden finger-ring in Dietrich’s hand and said: Lord, since your kinsman Ermenrik, who appointed me lord of this town and directed me to guard all of Amelungenland, died, Sibich has never ruled this kingdom. I give you this small finger-ring, and with it Bern and Amelungenland, and myself with all my men in your following.
King Dietrich thanked him, and promised to reward him well. Now each of the knights gave something to king Dietrich
And with all of them king Dietrich rode to his hall, and Alebrand and Hildebrand brought him to his throne, and that day he had no fewer than ten hundreds at his dish. Then the king sent word to all who ruled over castles and towns and districts, and every day many arrived to give their holdings into Dietrich’s lordship.
A few days later Dietrich rode out of Bern with a large army to the town called Ran. There he held an assembly
Then king Dietrich rode out of Rana with his army of seven thousand men. But Sibich had thirteen thousand and had come to the town called Gegenburg, and there Dietrich met him. Hildebrand rode in front with Dietrich’s banner, then the king himself, and then all his men. A great battle ensued, and an army of seven thousand came from Roma to help Sibich, and they attacked Dietrich in the back. Then Dietrich had his standard turned against the Romans, while Hildebrand with the Amelungen continued against Sibich.
Duke Alebrand now rode against Sibich until he was under his banner, and with his first blow he cut off the hand that held the banner and the banner pole itself, and the banner fell to the ground. And then Sibich himself rode against him, and they gave one another mighty blows, until Sibich fell dead from his horse. And when the king of the Romans had fallen the Amelungen raised a great victory cheer, and the Romans surrendered.
When king Dietrich became aware of this he said he had had great luck that day, and that the realm of the Amelungs would be better if he had done this nine
Now king Dietrich marched on Rome, and all castles and towns he passed surrendered. In Rome he entered the hall king Ermenrik had had, and set himself on the throne, and Hildebrand placed king Ermenrik’s crown on his head. Then all knights who had served Ermenrik went over to him and became his men, and so did all in the realm, some out of friendship, others because they didn’t dare to do otherwise.
Now king Dietrich had many great works done that one can still see today: the bathhouse called Dietrichsbad
Late in king Dietrich’s days the Arian heresy was condemned by Christian men, and all who had followed that heresy went over to the true faith. King Dietrich and Hildebrand went over to Christianity as well, and the entire realm of Romans and Langobards was baptised again
Then master Hildebrand said: I believe this illness will lead to my death. I bid you to let my son Alebrand enjoy our friendship, and that he has my weapons. And a little later Hildebrand died, and king Dietrich wept many tears over him. He had his body prepared and gave him a rich funeral. In all these stories no man is more praised than Hildebrand, mostly for his loyalty to king Dietrich and while he was the bravest and best in battle, and the most generous of men. German men say he was a hundred and fifty when he died, but German songs say he was two hundred. And Alebrand now wore the sword Gram and the helmet that had belonged to his father.
Shortly after king Dietrich’s wife, lady Herrat, became ill and she also died. She was a good woman, courteous and beloved, like her kinswomen Erka and Gotelinde
The next chapter is Dietrich's death. Atilla's, Heime's, and Dietrich's death.