Lohengrin and three Brabantians for Frederick. When they had formed a
circle, all stuck their spears into the ground and waited.

The Herald declared that any one who interfered should lose his head.
He also declared that neither combatant should use magic arts in
fighting. The King stepped into the circle made for the fighters, and
prayed to Heaven to let the right conquer; to give the champion of the
right a stronger arm and more skill than his enemy.

The six men forming the circle stood beside their spears which were
stuck into the ground; the other nobles and freemen formed a larger
circle outside the battle ground, while Elsa and her ladies stood in
front, beneath the oak tree beside the King, and the fighters prepared
to enter the circle. The King struck his sword three times upon his
great shield which hung upon the tree, as a signal to begin. At the
first stroke the fighters entered the circle; at the second stroke
they raised their shields and drew their swords; at the third stroke
they began the fight. After a mighty battle, Frederick fell, and
Lohengrin placed the point of his sword at his throat.

"I shall spare thee, Frederick of Telramund. Repent in peace," he
said, standing aside that Telramund might get up from the ground. The
six men drew their spears from the ground, and the others who had
taken sides put their swords back into their scabbards, while Elsa
rushed into the knight's arms. The King cried to Lohengrin:

"Hail!" As Elsa sank upon the knight's breast, she sang of her love
for him and of her faith, and all rejoiced in having her innocence
proven, except Ortrud. She, indeed, looked dark and menacing.

"How comes my power to naught?" she questioned of her husband aside,
for in reality she was a wicked enchantress, who had lived in the wood
near to Frederick. Her wicked magic had turned him into a bad man, and
it was she who had made him accuse Elsa.

But the fear and resentment of those wicked people made little
impression upon the crowd of exultant nobles. The King banished
Frederick and his wife, ordering them immediately to leave the place,
while plans for the wedding of Elsa and Lohengrin were being made.
Frederick fell senseless upon the ground, and the youths, spreading
their mantles upon the shield of the King, hoisted Elsa upon it, and a
rejoicing procession of ladies, knights, and retainers moved away.

ACT II

In the great palace of King Henry I, at Antwerp, there were two