Two war-related texts, one penned by a German mercenary and the other by a Hungarian poet, narrate events surrounding the same military battle: the offensive engaged in to capture the town and fortress of Lippa (Lipova, Romania) in Transylvania during November of 1551. Each eyewitness account was composed immediately after the encounter: one work written in German and the other in Hungarian. These two poems illustrate the breadth of possibilities that exist within the literary imagination when a writer sets out to reconstruct an actual set of events. The German text presents the view and experience of Paul Speltacher, who participated in combat. He was a mercenary (Landsknecht) from Halle, Germany, who fought with the troops of Ferdinand I of Habsburg in his attempt to extend his control over Hungary. The other piece is based on firsthand accounts collected by the Hungarian poet Sebastian (Sebestyén) Tinódi, who did not participate in the battle itself but nonetheless composed his narrative very soon thereafter. Both poems are transmitted with melodies indicating that they were composed to be sung in performance; however, the performative aspect of these works lies beyond the purview of this essay. The length of the songs is also comparable: the Hungarian song is 296 lines long organized in 4-line stanzas, and the German is 235 lines in length with 5-line stanzas. Both poems reveal the ordinary soldier's perspective and not that of the ruling elite or the military commanders, although Tinódi demonstrates more concern for and awareness of the commander's role in military decisions and actions than Speltacher does.