3

Abhandlungen

Kriemhild's Quest
von

Philip N. Anderson (Tucson/Arizona)

One of the most fascinating aspects of the Nibelungenlied is its "portrayal of

Kriemhild. She continues to intrigue readers now as when the poem was written almost 800 years ago. Indeed, the Nibelungenlied surely owes its existence to the fascination which this powerful woman has exerted on poets and audiences alike, Her relentless urge to destroy what she was expected to preserve, culminating in her own
destruction, is a classic portrait of a woman possessed. The apparent contradiction
between the captivating and demure young princess who worships Siegfried and the

bitter and spiteful harridan who sacrifices kith and kin to her iust for vengeance adds
up to an intriguing portrait: Ez wuohs in Burgonden ein vii edel magedin, ! daz in
allen landen niht schceners mohte sin,! Kriemhilt geheizen: si wart ein serene wip.!
dar umbe muosen degene viI verliesen den Up (Nibelungenlied 2, vv.1-4).1 As
Werner Hoffmann in his brilliant monograph on the Nibelungenliedsays: "Von allen
Gestalten des Nibelungenliedes ist Kriemhilt nicht nur diejenige, die das Geschehen
am langsten, von Anfang bis zum Ende, begleitet, ja wesentlich mittragt, sondern
auch die, auf der die Einheit des Epos vornehmlich beruht. ,,2 Despite critics who
maintain that the poet is really telling the story of the faU of the House of Burgundy,
or the rejection of "hohe Minne" by a poet who must have known Walther von der
Vogelweide, the Nibelungenlied is the story of Kriemhild and her quest. 3
And what is her quest? We are supposed to believe that it is her maniacal thirst for
revenge for her murdered husband which drives her relentlessly and malevalently
on: 'waz ob noch wirt errochen des mfnen lieben mannes Up?' (1259, 4), says a
scheming Kriemhild, contemplating marriage to the King of the Huns. 4 But herenigmatic and bothersome series of demands for the restitution of the Nibelungen treasure, which Hagen had stolen from her and sunk in the Rhine so many years before,
All references to the Nibelungenlied are from Das Nibelungenlied, nach der Ausgabe von Karl
Bartsch, Helmut de Boor, ed.. 18th edition, Wiesbaden: F. A. Brockhaus, 1965.
Werner Hoffmann, Das Nibdungenlied. Interpretation. Mtinchen: R. Oldenburg, 1969, 1978, p. 80.
1 D. G. Mowatt and Hugh Sacker, The Nibelungenlied. An Interpretarive Commentary. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 8-9; Walter Fall;" Da.s Nibelungenlied in seiner Epoche, Revision eines
romantischen Mythos. Heidelberg: Carl Winter, 1974, pp. 22, 196,344; A. T. Hatto, trans., The
Nibelungenlied. Hannondsworth: Penguin, 1965, p. 316.
'* Cf. also v. 19, 4: dun'h sfn eines $cerben starp vi{ maneger muoter kinl. And Ida H. Washington and
Carol Washington Tobol, Kriemhild and Clytemnestra: Sislers in Crime or Independent Women? In:
Cathy Dayidson and E. M. Broner, The Lost Tradition.' Motl.ers and Daughters in Literature. New
York.: F. Ungar, 1979, p. 17: "Revenge for Siegfried's murder and for her loss of independence becomes the cause to which Kriemhiid devotes all her energies from {the sinking of the treasure] on."
I

Philip N. Anderson

confuse the issue: , .. flU sft willekomen swer fueh geme siht . . _, saget waz ir mir
bringet von Wormez t1ber REn, I dar umb iT mir s6 grine soldet willekomf.Jn sin..,
(1739, 1,3-4): Kriemhild's first words to her kinsmen upon their arrival in Etzelnburg. In reality, as we shall see, her quest begins as a search for independence
and degenerates into a frustrating pursuit of Hagen. Siegfried's murder is one of a
series of Hagen's assaults On her-it is not love for Siegfried which drives her on, but
hatred for Hagen: Daz wold' feh immer dienen, swer rceclle mfniu left (note plura!!)./ ... rechet mich an Hagene, daz er vliese den lip (1765, 1,4). The distinction
helps to explain Kriemhild's heartless career, and justifies her execution in the end.
Critics have gone to great lengths to establish a motive behind Kriemhild's apparent lapse of memory as to her true goal, and often assume thanhe poet means for us
to take the treasure as a symbol and nothing else. 5 Another frequent excuse for what
looks like the poet's inconsistency is to blame his sources and explain that the poet
was dealing with two Kriemhilds, the courtly young princess of the Siegfried half of
the poem, and the vicious 'Germanic' fury of the Revenge of Kriemhild half. 6 But in
fact, the character of Kriemhild is remarkably consistent throughout the epic - except for those times when the poet tries to give her a more 'modern', i. e., contemporary, courtly veneer in keeping with literary tastes of the thirteenth century. The poet
was not interested in psychological consistency. 7 He does not see Kriemhild in terms
of a psychologically discernible development, but as embarked on a quest which horri~ie.s and fascinates him at the same time: wi sere si daz rach I an ir niEhsten miigen,
dIe In [Sivrit] sluogen simi (v. 19,2-3). Ultimately, this mixed response to her is the
key not only to our understanding of her but of the essential unity of the poem.
The attempts to psychoanalyze Kriemhild have been many and varied. They range
from the Freudianism of D. G. Mowatt and Hugh Sacker to the feminism of
Washington and ToboL 8 These are valid twentieth century interpretations which can
help us gain insights into conscious or unconscious motives behind the poet's creative
genius, as Hoffmann so correctly points out. 9 But a close reading reveals that the
poet's conception of Kriemhild is based on two factors. The first is the way he tries to
mitigate what seems inexplicable in her character, and the second is his perception of
the perversion of her search for justice.
It is well known that the poet found many aspects of his sources unsuitable for his
sophisticated aristocratic audience. 1O There are several aspects of her character
, C~. Werner Schr6d.er, Zum Probletm der Horifrage 1m Nibetungenlied. In: Werner Schroder
Nlbelungenlied:?udien. Stu,t.lgart: Met.ller, 1968, pp ..178-179; and Hoffmann, interpretation, p. 65.'
Walter J. Schroder. Das. AJbe/ungetllted. Versuch elner DeufUng. In: Beltrage Iur Geselliehte der
deutsehen Sp~(lche lmd Luera/ur, Halle, 76, 1965, p. 120: "Die KriemhiJd . , . am Etze:lhof ... iSl nicht
:n:hr d~s hohsche Madchen mn Wc;rms. sondern das dichende Weib der germanischen Z.eiten." See
also Gall New.man. Th~ Two Bnmhllds. In: Amsu:rdamer Beirrage zu.r iitterefl Germanlslik, 16, 1981,
7 p. 78 and paSSIm for a Similar explanation of the charaCler of Brunhild.
Cf. Werner Hoffmann,Das Nlbelungenlied, Stuttgart: Meuler, 1961, 1982, p. 26: ,.Das Geschehen hat
den Vorrang. "
: Cf. Mowatt and Sacker, pp. 16.58-59,94,126; and Washington and Tobol, passim.
o Hoffmann, Ntbelungenlied, 1982.p. 29.
I
Cf. de Boor, ed., Nibelungefllied, p. xxv; and Hano, p. 392ft.
6

Kriemhild's Quesl

which the poet has tried to contemporize. He feels, for example, that he can make
her abandonment of her son by Siegfried more plausible by appending a long discussion about the necessity of living with one's kin (ct. 18th aventiure). Or that her mar~
riage to the pagan Etzel could be made more believable to the lords and ladies of his
audience by a perfunctory discussion about the possibility that Etzel might convert
to Christianity (ct. vv. 1261-1262).
For beneath these attempts at 'modernization' there is a salient characteristic of
Kriemhild's which distinguishes her from all other medieval heroines. It is the aspect
of Kriemhild which the poet completely ignores in the courtship scenes. In comparison to the women in the works of Hartmann, Gottfried, Wolfram, and the poems of
the miqnesingers, where women are generally eortrayed as passively waiting for
things to happen to them, Kriemhild consistently acts upon her own initiative, regardless of the cost. Her independence is not merely a desire to be free of the influ~
ence of men, nor is it mere power brokering. What fascinates and horrifies the poet
simultaneously is her obstinate will to defy society and take charge of her own life:
. sf! daz Etzel der reeken hat s6 vi!, I sol ieh den gebieten, so tuon ich swaz ich wil
(1260, 1 ~2). Such defiance must bring a counter attack from society, and, indeed, at
every step of the way she finds herself challenged by Hagen, until what began as a
quest for independence sinks into an obsession for Hagen's destruction.
How would the poet have viewed this in medieval terms? He wants his noble audience to see her at first as the epitome of the courtly lady, extremely well versed in
court ceremonial: Do sprach diu. schame Kriemhilt: 'ir mfniu magedin, I die an dem
anrpfange mit miT wellen sin, I die suochen iiz den kisten diu aller besten kleit, I s6
wiTt uns von den gesten lob unt ere geseit' (568, 1-4). She is happiest when surrounded by her own court: iT edel ingesinde vrou Kriemhilt zuo ir gewan, I zwii und
drizec meide unt fii.nt hundert man (700, 2~3). But she overturns that courtliness,
essentially a social bond, by attempting to set up her own court within a court. She
tries this at first at Gunther's court, she tries it again with Siegfried, and at Etzel's
court. She succeeds temporarily after Siegfried'S death when she builds her own
dwellings by the minster and mourns him unceasingly (d. vv. l102ff.). She is able to
attempt this only by rejecting all the traditional roles which her society, caste, and
sex assign to her. In her struggle to punish Hagen she is forced into an ever intensifying rejection of her roles as mother, mistress, wife, kinswoman, queen. No wonder
the poet sees her career in terms of the demonic: feh WiEne der iibel viilant
Kriemhilde daz geTiet, (1394, 1) in reference to her plotting against her brother
Gunther. Bert Nagel points out that for Kriemhild "Rache ist totalitares Prinzip,
demzufolge die Schwester nicht mehr Schwester, die Gattin nicht mehr Gattin die
Mutter nicht mehr Mutter, kurz: der Mensch nicht mehr Mensch bleibt. un
'
Only in the courtship scenes leading up to her marriage to Siegfried does
Kriemhild's character radically alter, giving rise to the two Kriemhilds theory. But
II

Ben Nagel, Das Nibelungefllied. Sioff-form-Ethos. FrankfurtfM.: Hirschgraben, 1965, p. 147.

there it has been established that the poet uses the courtship of Siegfried and
Kriemhild to portray an ideal courtly love affair. 12 The dichotomy is not between the
Kriemhild of the first part of the poem and the Kriemhild of the second, 13 bunather
between the Kriemhild who occupies center stage for most of the epic, defiant and
haughty, and the passive, subordinate princess courted by Siegfried. The poet, of
course, needs the courtship scenes to highlight Siegfried's courtly magnificence. The
portrait of Kriemhild takes second place to that of Siegfried. As Walter Falk points
out; "Die Position, die Kriemhild einnahm, entsprach genau jener, die in den
Liedern der Minnesanger def Herrin zugeschrieben wurde. ,,14 It is difficult to recon.
cile the demure and a~anymaus vrouwe of Minnesang with the impetuous young
woman who forswears love, the indignant wife of Siegfried, the vicious Queen of the
Huns. The Minneherrin Kriemhild is a creation of the poet, intended to satisfy the
lords and ladies of his court.
Kriemhild's will to independence, her desire to set up her court within a court,
typifies her from the beginning of the poem. But that will is thwarted again and again
by those around her, in particular by the dour Hagen: ieh binz aber Hagene, der Sffridell stuoc, / ... Ez ist et ane laugen, kuneginne rfch, / ieh han es alles sehulde, des
schaden schedelfch. / nu rechez swer der welle, ez sf wtp oder man. I ieh enwolde
danne liegen, ieh han ill leides vii getiin (1790, 2; 1791, 1 ~4). The harder she struggles to break free of social conventions, the more Hagen wrestles her back down and
the more intense becomes her struggle against him. Kriemhild makes this clear by
referring constantly to the sorrows (plural) which Hagen has caused her: elliu minill
leit (2151,3; ct. also 1792, 2; 2103, 2). Clearly more is involved for her than the murder of Siegfried, despite the magnitude of that event: si geddht' ouch maniger teide,
ir dti heime geschach (1391, 4). Her demands for the treasure support this idea.
After all, revenge for Siegfried is a justifiable goal, and the poet offers no justification for Hagen's dastardly crime: s6 graze rnissewende ein helt nu nimmer mer begat
(981, 4). But Kriemhild has a litany of woes to add to that: the theft of her treasure,
the trick that made her betray her husband, the death of her vassals at Etzel's court.
It is no longer love for Siegfried which drives her 00, but hatred for Hagen which consumes her.
Thus Kriemhild breaks the rules of the entire courtly program. She has failed to
acquire the characteristics of maze, zuht, ere, tugent, minne, hoveschheit,
ge b un, erbermde. As de Boor points out: "H6fisches Leben erschopft sich nieht
in iiuBerer Prachtentfaltung. Es ist eine Lebenshaltung, die Erscheinung und Gesin~
nung des Menschen gleichennaBen beherrscht. ,,15 Kriemhild never attains the
courtly balance for which she strives, because s.he refuses from the beginning to sub-

12
13
14

1$

Kriemhild's Quest

Philip N. Anderson

See Falk, p. 144.

See, for example, Hauo, p. 314: "Are Kriemhild rhefulfilled young wife and Kriemhild the widow who
forsook her cluld one and Ihe same person?"
Falk, p. 143.
de Boor, p. xxxxi.

I
I

mit to the social structure of the court. As Fall\: says: ,,\Venn sie sich unhofisch verhielt, so weil sie innerlich die Grenzen des H6fischen iiberschritten hatte."16
Her failure can be traced from the very beginning of the poem. After her mother's
prophetic interpretation of her falcon dream (vv. 13-19), Kriemhild announces her
intention to forswear love, to remain as young and beautiful and free from sorrow as
she is now: tine recken millne 56 wi! ich imma sfn. / sus sccen' ich will beliben unz
an minen tot, I daz ich von mannes minne sol gewinnen nimmer not (15, 2-4). She
wants the freedom to be in the court without being of it. Falk has captured this nicely:
"Die Handlung erhalt ihr eigentiimliches Geprage, weil Kriemhild sich entschIossen
hat, sich der Mannesliebe zu wiedersetzen, abe! nicht aufhort, am Hoi ihres Bruders
ihre Schonheit erscheinen zu lassen. ,,17 She is doomed, of course, by the very system
she is trying to escape. Sh~ cannot continue to be so attractive without attracting
love. She has already sown the seeds to her own self-destruction in her paradoxical
approach to court life.
Her later grief after Siegfried's terrible death confirms this attitude. She insists on
remaining in Worms, abandoning her son by her beloved husband. She withdraws to
her own court, where, dad continually in widow's weeds, she bases her court cere~
monial on incessant mourning: der vant si in der wa-te, die si aile tage tnlOc,J da bi
truoc ir gesinde rfcher kleider genuoc (1225, 3~4). Again, Kriemhild's attempt to be
independent only half succeeds. She herself wears mourning, her ladies-in-waiting
are dressed as richly as before. De Boor in his footnote to this passage explains the
dichotomy she sets up: "KriemhHd betont die Tiefe ihres Schmerzes, indem sie gegen die hofische Sitte in der alltfiglichen Witwentracht auftritt. Durch ihr Gesinde
laBt sie zugleich den festlichen Rahmen der hofischen Szene schaffen, in dem sie urn
so dunkler wirk!. ,,18
The poet tries to justify her stay in Worms to his audience. She is, after all, continuing to live at the court of her enemies, despite the fact that she is convinced she knows
who committed the murder: 'Mir sint die schtichrere', sprachsie, 'vii waf bekant. / nu
liize ez got errechen noch siner vriunde han!. I Gunther unt Hagene, jii habet ir iz
getiin' (1046, 1~3). So the poet adds a long discussion about the importance of the
clan to the individual: herre Sigemuflt, jane mac ich rften nih!. / ich muoz hie beltben,
swaz halt mir geschihl, / bi den minen mtigen, die mir helfen ktagen (1088, 1-3; d.
also 1078-1095). Hoffmann agrees with the poet: "Fragt man nach den Grunden,
warum Kriemhilt Worms nicht verlaBt, dann ist zuerst daran zu erinnern, daB die
sich ihrer Sippe, soweit sie an der Ermordung Sigfrids unschuldig oderzumindest un~
beteiligt ist, nach wie vor verbunden WhIt. ,,19
- But she shows herself remarkably independent of her family for someone who
claims the family as her reason for staying behind: Sus saz si ntich ir feide, daz ist
16
17
13

19

Falk, p. 207.
Falk, p. 165.
de Boor, p. 199, fn. to v. 1225,3-4.
Hoffmann, Imerpretation, p. 57.

Philip N. Anderson

alwar, I nach ir mannes tode wol vierdehalbez jar, I daz si ze Gunther nie dehein
worl gesprach I unt ouch ir vient Hagenen in der zite nie gesach (1106, 1-4). True,
Gise!her promises her his aid: jd wil ich dich ergetzen dfnes mannes tot (1080,3). Elft
her feigned reconciliation with her brothers is only another example of her attempt
to be a part of the court while at the same time dissociating herself from it. Weber
senses this: "Man wird dies (her decision to stay) kaum allein als verwandtschaftliches Liebesbedurfnis ... sondern uberherrschend als vorbereitende Berechnung, als
die immer ooch sicherste Basis kunftiger Vergeltungsm6glichkeit zu deuten
haben. ,,20 Kriernhild's relationship to her clan is marked by the same drive to independence as her relationship to her children, her vassals, her husbands.
For Kriemhild also fails as a w.ife, a role usually seen by critics as her st0[lgestside.
Schrader, for example, says: "Der Nibelungen-Dichter hat seine Kriemhilt einseitig
als Liebende konzipiert;" and Hoffmann points out: "In aller Entmenschung ist in~
dessen eines unangetastet geblieben, und es ist eben das, was ihr Wesen zutiefst bestimmt: die innige Liebe zu Siegfried. ,,11 We cannot, of course, doubt the sincerity of
her love for Siegfried, nor the genuineness of her grief for him. But she betrays both
her husbands, Siegfried and Etzel, in the same way, namely, by plotting behind their
backs, by attempting to separate her life from theirs. The poet, for example, cl~ar!y
delineates Kriemhild's attempts to claim her Burgundian inheritance as she and Siegfried are about to leave for Xanten: "wenne sld wir vam? Idaz ich so harte gahe, daz
heiz'ich wol bewarn.1 mir :itlln e mine briieder tei/en mit diu lant." / leit was ez Sifride, do erz an Kriemhilt ervant (691, 1 ~4). Siegfried, as her legal guardian, rejects
her claim for her, thereby enhancing his own status as a wealthy scion of royal stock.
But Kriemhild continues to press her suit, asking instead for an escort of Burgundian
knights: habt ir der erbe nit, / limb BlIrgonden degene s6lfht' ez niht enstat, ! si miig'
ein kilnic gerne fileren in sin lant. / ja sol si mit mir rei/en miner Iieben bruoder hant
(696, i~4). In particular, she approaches Hagen, the foremost of all Burgundian
knights: Nach Hagene von Tronege lind ouch nfIch Ortwln, / ob die untouch ir mage
Kriemhilde wolden sin (698, 2). This scene captures in essence the relationship between Kriemhild and Hagen, as if it were a foreshadowing of their confrontation at
the end of the battle in Etzelnburg. Hagen is insulted and defiant: do gewan dar limbe
Hagene ein zornltchez leben; I er spraeh: 'jane mac uns Gunther zer werlde niemen
gegeben (698, 3-4). Kriemhild wants to have responsibility for her own wealth, her
own court, her Own vassals, who would owe allegiance to her primarily. Hagen must
see her request as as further attempt to make him subordinate to Siegfried. As
Weber points out: "Sie spurt nicht, daB Hagen - vordem der Erste - unterdem uberlegenen Eindringling Sivrit lei den muE, daB schwerwiegende innere Folgen unvermeidlich sind, weil er im Sachsenkrieg nur die zweite Rolle, deutlich unter Sivrit,

~ Gottfried Weber, Das Nibefungenlied. Problem und Idee. Stuttgart: Metzler, 1963, p. 12.
_I Werner Schroder, Die Trllg6die KriemhillS im Nibelungenlied. In; Nibelungenlied-Studien, p 82;
Hoffmann,Jlllerpreralion, p. 78.

Kriemhild'S Quesr

dem Anfilhrer, zu spielen vermochte."Zl Kriemhild and Hagen have begun their contest of wills. She wants to establish her independence without considering the consequences, while Hagen represents the vested interests which will block her at every
step.
Her double betrayal of Siegfried emphasizes her struggle. Twice she reveals secrets which Siegfried had entrusted to her. Both times, once in her quarrel with
Brunhild and once when she reveals Siegfried's vulnerable spot, she uses those powerful secrets to enhance her standing. Uqlike the traditional wife, she does not support Siegfried with sacrifice, but destroys him with her pride. Brunhild provokes her,
and Kriernhild responds with the most devastating charge she can muster, because
she feels her place at court is threatened: Du muost daz hiuteschowven, daz ich bin
adelwf / wit daz min man iSl liwerr dann der dine sf. / da mit wii ich selbe niht bescholtensfn (828, 1~3).
It is interesting to note how Hagen is able to trick her into revealing Siegfried's vulnerable spot. He recognizes Kriemhild's weakness, her quest for her own court, and
asks her permission to guard her husband: do gie von Tronege Hagene da er Kriemhiide vantl unt bat im geben ur[oup: si wolden nimen daz lant(891, 3-4). Kriemhild
again reverses roles, and, imagining herself to be in charge, commands Hagen to protect her husband: 'lch wan an' aIle sorge', sprach daz edel \Vip, J 'daz im iemen
Ila?me in sturme s[nen lip, lob er niht woIde volgen siner iibermuot; /s6 wcere immer
sicher der degen kilene unde guol' (896, 1-4). Siegfried, of course, needs no one to
protect him. Indeed, it is Kriemhild's meddling which seals his doom. For once, how"
ever, she recognizes the implications of her rejection of her wifely role: Do gedtihtes'
an diu mcere (sine torst' ir niht gesagen), Jdiu si dti Hagenen sagete: do begonde klagen / diu edel kiineginne ... (920, 1-3). If she could Qring herselfto tell Siegfried the
truth, she could have saved him, but she cannot motivate herself to inform him of her
betrayal beyond a reference to her nightmares (d. vv. 921, 924). For that would effectively put a stop to whatever aspirations she might have left for independence.
It is always Hagen who sees through Kriemhild's schemes. He tricks her into betraying her beloved Siegfried, and he perceives the implications in her lavish
generosity with the treasure: ffagene sprach ze dem kii.nige: 'ez solde ein frumer
manl deheinem einem wibe niht des hordes Ian. / si bringet ez mit gabe noch unz
den wcl dfi' z viI wol geriuwen die kiienen Burgonden mac' (1130, 1-4). It is not surprising that her quest becomes synonymous with an all-consuming hatred for Hagen.
A careful reading, in fact, reveals that Kriemhild talks more about punishing Hagen
than she does about avenging Siegfried: rechet mich an Hagene daz ervliese den lip
(1765, 4). Siegfried's name comes up, of course (ct. for example v. 1904), but
Hagen'S name is more often mentioned alone. She even goes so far as to blame her
marriage to a heathen on him, although the author went to great pains to convince us
that she had done it of her own free will: Ez lag ir an dem herzen spat' unde vruo, /

ut

n Weber, p. 174.

10

wie man sf ane sehu/de bnehte dar zuoJ daz sf mllose minnen einen heidenischen
man. Jdie not die het iT Hagene unde Gunther getan (1395, 1~4).
So her quest continues, degenerating into a thirst for Hagen's blood. In her mania
to get him out of her way, she abandons role after role. She ceases to be a mother a
second time when she sacrifices her son Ortlieb to Hagen: wie kllnde eln wfp dUTch
niche immer vreislfcher tuon? (1912, 4). She has failed as wife, as courtly mistress,
as sister. She sacrifices her vassals in the same way as her son, her only thought being
to hurl enough manpower at Hagen in order to definitively destroy him. De Boor
also points out her role reversal with Rudiger: "die Lehnsherren knien vor dem
Lehnsmann .,., also entschlossene Umkehr der gebotenen Form!"n She has thus
failed as queen, to the extent that even her husband is debased.~
Clearly Kriemhild is not driven by a thirst for power in and of itself, although several critics have accused her of this. Washington and Tobol say of her that after her
marriage to Siegfried she be:haves "in a more overtly independent manner and
[strives] to attain more of the visible emblems of power than her mother enjoyed. ,,2-1
And they mention the "same traits of pride and desire for personal power which initiated the conflict between Kriemhild and Brunhild . . ,,15 And Weber says: "Denn
in der Grundlage verbinden sich in Kriemhilt Liebesgefiihl und Ehrverlangen - ein
starkes Bedurfnis nach Geltung und auch nach Macht. ,,16 But she has ample access
to power, and it is not enough to satisfy her. Her father-in-law, Siegmund, offers her
as much power as anyone could expect, if she would only return to Xanten with him
and raise her son: Ir suit ouch haben, vrOLlwe, allen den gewalt, I den iu e tete kiinde
der degen bait. / daz lant und ouch diu krone, daz sf iu undertdn. / ill mIn gerne dienen aile Sifrides man (1075, 1-4). Etzel makes the same offer to her through
Rudiger, giving her aU the late Queen ReIche's authority: Dar zuo gft iu min herre,
heizet er ill sagen, lob ir geruoehet krone bi dem kunige tragen, Jgewalt den aller
ha:hsten, den Helche ie gewan, / den suIt ir gewaltecltehen haben vor Etzelen man
(1237,1-4). Nor is greed alone the goad which drives her on. It was Hagen's idea to
bring Siegfried's treasure to Worms in the first place (ct. vv. 774, 1107). And even
after Hagen has stolen Siegfried's treasure from her, she still has enough wealth left
over to bring him to rob her a second time (cf. vv. 1271ff.). In fact, Kriemhild expressly points out that power and wealth are only means to an end, namely, the destruction ofthe hated Hagen: Si gedahte: 'sft daz Etzel der reeken hat so vil! sol ieh
den gebieten, so tuon ieh swaz ieh wii. I er ist ouch wol so rfche, daz ieh ze gebene
han. I mieh Mit der leide Hagene mines guotes dne getiin' (1260,1-4).
If the destruction of Hagen has become her obsession, how can she then begin to
bargain with him for the return of the treasure (ct. vv. 2367ff.)? Critics have tried to
answer this by saying that the loss of the treasure and the demands for its return
Z.J
U

2..1
16

de Boor. p. 337, in. to v. 2152. 2.

Wash!ngton and Tobol, p. 16; d. Mowatt and Sacker, pp. 14~15.
WashlOgton andTobol, pp. 17 -18.
Weber, p. 7.

Kriemhild's

Philip N. Anderson

QlleSI

11

should be taken symbolically: "Der Hortraub volJendet tatsachlich nur folgerichtig,

was der Mord am Gatten begann: eines ohoe das andere ware halb. Die ganze
Kriemhilt saUte getroffen werden und das ist erst die unsiiglich Liebende zusammen
mit der Geltungsbedlirftigen und der Machtwilligen. ,,17 Schroder sees the treasure as
symbolic of Hagen's greater guilt: " ... es wird wohl klarer, daB die Erinnerung an
den Raub gar nicht auf seine ohnehin kaum zu realisierende Rilckgabe, sondern auf
Hagens grol3ere Schuld abzielt, von der er nur e~nen Teil und nicht den unvergebbareo darstellt.,,2s The treasure was originally Kriemhild's means to attain her revenge: D6 si den hart nil hete, do brfihtes.' in daz iant I viluflkunder reeken ... (1127,
1-2). The poet does not mention the idea of revenge, although it is clear that she
must have-rhat in mind. But the idea that she continues to gather a court around her
is significant. The treasure has a practical meaning for Kriemhild, and its theft means
an end to her quest-at least until she can eliminate the ooe man who has been stand
ing i~ her way all these years.
So the story builds up to that monumental scene, "die groBe Szene der Horterfragung in ihrer harten Gr6I3e:,29 where the two archenemies confront one another
amid the smoke and carnage of Etzel's great hall and quarrel over the treasure. For
the poet it represents the culmination of Hagen's and Kriemhild'sdestructive careerS. He means for us to take the demands for the treasure seriously, rather than
symbolically. Every confrontation with Hagen brings up the question of the treasure
(ct. for example, vv. 1739,1741,1743,2366). Many critics have found it difficult to
believe that Siegfried's wife could be so forgetful, and insist that she has not forgotten Siegfried but is only demanding what is rightfUlly hers: "Ganz folgerichtig fallt
die Hortfrage: sie begehrt von dem Tronjer, was von dem Ihren noch erreichbar
scheint. ,,30 But, ultimately, the treasure is Kriemhild's means to finally reach the independence she has been so long in searching for. Once she has the treasure back,
she will have no reason to remain with Etzel, whom she married only to achieve the
means to punish Hagen. So even when she finally has Hagen in her power, she cannot resist the opportunity to get back to her original quest - her own independent
court. Whether she seriously intends to free Hagen in exchange for the treasure is a
moot point. She finally has him in her power and can now do what she want~.
Or so she thinks. She is still struggling to break free of her social obligations, still
trying to be in the court but not of it. For the poet that makes her demonic, a vdfandinne (1748, 4). Hagen then stands for the often callous social structure which demands obedience and which punishes the individual who insists on standing outside
of it - or, in Siegfried's case, who upsets the social order by exposing its weaknesses:
"Oal3 Hagen bis zuletzt den Hart verweigert, sichert dem - trotz physischer Vernich*
tung - den Sieg ..... 31 As Schroder points out, Hagen "hat sie zu dem gemacht, was
~ Weber. p. 13.
,~ Werner Schroder, Hon/rage, p. 163.

~ ~e~~~~;ti~~X.w.
Jl Nagel. p. 30.

12

Philip N. A'iderson

sic gewordcn war ... ,,31 In that sense, the treasure is indeed symbolic. It is the sym bol
of Kriemhild's errant purpose, the quest which she has never given up and which became for a while a vendetta against Hagen. And so, as if out of respect forherhope~
less cause, the poet reminds us of the death of Siegfried - the only righteous aspect
of Kriemhild's quest: Si sprach: 'so hab! ir iibele geltes rnich gewert. / s6 wil ieh doch
beha{ten daz Sifrides swert. / daz truoe min holder vriedel, do ieh in jungest sacli, I

an dem miT herzeleide von iuwern sehu/den geschach' (2372, 1-4). As Andreas
Heusler pointsout, there were: "die beiden Griinde der Rache: die Hortgier lind den
Schmcrz urn Siegfried: Der Auftritt von def Horterfragung hat bisher nur das erste
Motiv angeschlagen, soil das zweite vergessen sein? Zu Ende kommt es noch und be~
. halt den letzten Klang. ,,:;3
It would be a mistake to try to reduce the Nibeltmgenlied to a mere parable about
the proper roles for medieval women, or to decide that the poet's treatment of
Kriemhild is the result of a programmatic fear of strong women. By his own admission, the purpose of his story is to retell a favorite tale about great and heroic people:
Uns iSi in alien m(Eren wrmders vii geseit/ von heIden lobebceren, von grazer arebeit, / von frouden, h6chgezften, von weinen und von klagen, / von kiiener recken strflen mugel ir nu wunder hceren sagen (1, 1~4). He wants to entertain, to inspire, to
astound his audience. So he recites a story about men and women larger than lifeand who carry the seeds to their own destruction within themselves. His attention is
focused on one particularly powerful personality who destroys herself and her world
in pursuit of an isolated independence and the destruction of the man who has
thwarted her all along. It is not surprising that such a story ends with scores of men
dead and the sound of wailing rising into the gloom: fne kan iu niht bescheiden, waz
sider da geschach: I wan ritter unde vrOUlVen weinen man da sach. . (2379, 1-2). A
strong society and a strong individual have met head on and destroyed one another.
In his efforts to make the poem more acceptable to his courtly audience, he has
sometimes obscured the force of Kriemhild's personality. But it is a tribute to his skill
that her character is so complex and intriguing. Her will still dominates his poem, and
with her death the poem ends.

Jl
lJ

!emer Schroder, Horrtrage. p. 171,

Andreas HeusJer, NibelLmgensage und Nibelungenlied. Dortmund: Ruhfus, 1965, p, 149.