upon them, bestowing upon Gernot his favourite sword,
on Gunther a noble suit of armour, and on Hagen a famous shield. He
accompanied the strangers to the court of Etzel, where they were met
first of all by Dietrich of Bern, who warned them that Kriemhild
prayed daily for vengeance upon them for the murder of Siegfried. When
Kriemhild beheld Hagen, her archenemy, she wept. Hagen saw, and "bound
his helmet tighter."

"We have not made a good journey to this feast," he muttered.

Kriemhild's Welcome

"Ye are welcome, nobles and knights," said Kriemhild. "I greet you not
for your kinship. What bring ye me from Worms beyond the Rhine that
ye should be so welcome to me here? Where have ye put the Nibelung
treasure? It is mine as ye know full well, and ye should have brought it
me to Etzel's court."

Hagen replied that he had been ordered by his liege lords to sink it in
the Rhine, and there must it lie till doomsday.

At this Kriemhild grew wroth. Hagen went on to say that he had enough to
do to carry his shield and breastplate. The Queen, alarmed, desired that
all weapons should be placed in her charge, but to this Hagen demurred,
and said that it was too much honour for such a bounteous princess to
bear his shield and other arms to his lodging.

Kriemhild lamented, saying that they appeared to think that she planned
treachery against them; but to this Dietrich answered in great anger
that he had forewarned Gunther and his brothers of her treacherous
intentions. Kriemhild was greatly abashed at this, and without speaking
a word she left the company; but ere she went she darted furious glances
upon them, from which they well saw with what a dangerous foe they had
to deal. King Etzel then asked who Hagen might be, and was told his
name and lineage and that he was a fierce and grim warrior. Etzel then
recognized him as a warrior who had been a hostage with him along with
Walthar of Spain and who had done him yeoman service.

Events March

This last passage connects the Nibelungenlied with the Latin poem of
Walthar of Aquitaine. Indeed, the great German epic contains repeated
allusions to this work of the ninth or tenth century, which is dealt
with later in this book.

Events now march quickly. Kriemhild offered gold untold to him who would
slay Hagen, but although her enemy was within her grasp, so doughty was
the warrior and so terrible his appearance that none dared do battle
with him. A Hun was killed by accident