Dankwart

Family: Burgundians · Role: warrior and marshal · First appears: Adventure I

In Adventure I, Dankwart is named as marshal and as the uncle of Ortwin, his nephew. He is Hagen’s brother and serves Gunther, Gernot, and Giselher. In Adventure IV, Siegfried names him among the men who will help defend Gunther’s land; in Adventure XIII, Gunther entrusts him with the care of Siegfried’s retinue.

In Adventure XXIV, Hagen orders Dankwart to lead eighty warriors to the Rhine. In Adventure XXVI, Dankwart kills Gelfrat with a sword-stroke. In Adventure XXVII, Rudeger promises to guard the Burgundians and their possessions. In Adventure XXXII, Dankwart kills Bloedel; after the Huns slay his fellowship, he is left standing alone among the foe. In Adventure XXXVI, he fights Etzel’s men outside the door and returns unscathed. In Adventure XXXVIII, Helfrich kills him.