And battle was brought on him, the tumult of
strife. The people of the Huns and famous Goths 20
gathered a host together; and the Franks and
Hugas marched forth, men fierce in fight and ripe
for war. The spears and woven mail-coats glittered,
as with shouts and clash of shields they
lifted up on high the standard of battle. Openly 25
the fighters gathered all together, and the throng
marched forth. The wolf in the wood howled his
war-song, and hid not his secret hopes of carnage;
and at the rear of the foe the dewy-feathered eagle 30
shrieked his note on high.
A mighty host hastened to war through the cities,
gleaned from all the men the Hunnish king could
summon from the near-lying towns. A vast army
sallied forth--bands of picked horsemen strengthened 35
the force of the foot-soldiers--until within a
foreign land upon the bank of the Danube these
stout-souled brandishers of the spear pitched their
camp near the water's flow, amid the tumult of the
army. They longed to overrun the realm of the 40
Romans, and lay it waste with their hordes.
Then were the dwellers in the cities aware of the
Huns' coming. And the emperor straightway bade
summon with the greatest speed by dispatch of the
arrow his heroes to war against the foes; bade lead
out to battle the warriors beneath the heavens. 45
Their hearts inspired by victory, the Roman heroes
were soon girt with weapons for the fight, though
they had a lesser host for battle than circled about
the proud king of the Huns. Then the shields 50
rang, the wood of war clashed; the king with the
host, his army, marched forth to strife, and over
their heads the raven wailed, dark, and thirsting for
the slaughter. The army was moving--trumpeters
leaped, heralds shouted commands, and horses
stamped the earth. Hastily the multitude enranked 55
itself for strife.
But the king was fear-smitten, awed with terror,
as he looked upon the hostile host, the army of the
Huns and Goths, that upon the river's bank at the
boundary of the Roman realm was massing its 60
strength, an uncounted multitude. The king of the
Romans suffered bitter grief of soul, and hoped not
for his kingdom because of his small host; he had
too few warriors, trusty thanes, to encounter the
overmight of brave men in battle. 65