ROTHER AGAIN SETS SAIL for Greece, this time with twenty-two ships, 30,000 men, and the twelve giants, in order to retrieve his bride (S.- C. §C.2.e, as parallel to §B.2). But though he has tremendous military might at his disposal, he will first attempt to achieve his goal through list, a strategy of dealing with his enemies that had proven so successful for him as a wooer. They land a mile from Constantinople, and Rother's men hide themselves in a wood outside the city. The king disguises himself as a pilgrim (in walleres wise, line 3668) — as before he had disguised his identity as “Dietrich” — in order that he might more easily reconnoiter the situation. This pilgrim's disguise, a motif from international folklore (K 1817.2; as a means to enter an enemy's camp, K 2357.2), is the classic ruse by which a city is taken in the minstrel and heroic epics (Kofler 1996, 47). A pilgrim could always gain easy access to the court, since he was a welcome visitor who potentially brought news from distant parts that he had acquired during his travels (Schmitz 2002, 184); moreover, the pilgrim's habit, black robe with hood, and long beard provide a convenient way of hiding one's face. He also has with him Wolfrat von Tengelingen's horn — a doubling of “Dietrich”'s harp — which he will sound, should he run into danger. Accompanied only by Berchter and (presumably) Luppolt, in similar disguise, Rother makes his way toward the city.