RUDIGER. British ballad of Germanic origin by English poet Robert Southey (1774 - 1843) On the banks of the Rhine sits a palace. A boat or small barge makes toward the shore, drawn by a swan and carrying an unknown soldier (Rudiger). He stays, marries and had a child with his wife. One night he takes the child into the night with the promised sacrifice of his first-born child. He is stopped by his wife when he reaches a cave before two large arms pull Rudiger into the darkness (to Hell?), never to be seen again. His wife and baby are safely left behind.