The Medieval Church · 9th–10th century; authorship disputed
Waltharius
Attributed to Ekkehard of Saint Gall
What it is
A Germanic heroic legend told in Virgilian hexameters by a monk: two hostages escape Attila's court, and old comrades fight each other for treasure until all are maimed.
Why it lasted
The strangest survival of the Carolingian schools — a pagan heroic tale given classical form in a monastery, and quietly critical of the heroism it describes.
Where to read it
This work is in the public domain and can be read in full, free, at the archives below. The Library catalogues it; it does not host the text.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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