The king’s mother, Queen Ute,[53B] was busy with her loom, for she cared no longer for the gayety of the palace nor for any entertainment that some wandering harper might provide. She was a wise woman, learned in magic arts and the reading of dreams.
One day when her daughter, Kriemhild, [53C] the beautiful sister of King Gunther, came to her with troubled face, she asked the maiden why she seemed so sad, and Kriemhild answered: “I dreamed last night that a hawk with feathers of gold lighted on my wrist; and naught was so dear to me as this hawk. And I dreamed that I told both you and the king, my brother, that I would cast aside all my rich raiment and gems rather than lose the hawk that was feathered with gold.”
[53A], [53B], [53C] In the Volsunga Saga, Gunther is called Gunnar, Ute is called Grimhild, and Kriemhild is called Gudrun. [Back to 53A], [Back to 53B], [Back to 53C]
Then said Queen Ute, the witch-wife: “Trouble not yourself over strange dreams. A hero is coming to woo you, and he shall stay at your side even as the hawk upon your wrist.”
Now on this day when King Gunther was feasting,[54] and the women idly watched the long white line of road where often a gallant horse and rider came galloping toward the castle gates, the fair Kriemhild suddenly exclaimed that some one was riding slowly along the road. Her mother rose from the loom, and standing by the open window she watched the approaching figure with great interest. Then Queen Ute said:—
[54] In the Volsunga Saga, Siegfried goes to the court of Giuki, king of the Niblungs, who has three sons: Gunnar, Hogni and Guttorm. [Back]
“That is no wandering harper, child, for see how nobly he sits his horse. It is some knight with tidings from a far country, or some king come hither to claim your brother’s hospitality. But summon Hagen and question him concerning the stranger.” So Kriemhild went out into the hall where Gunther and his vassals sat at the great table drinking and singing war-songs. Stepping softly to her uncle’s side, she whispered that a stranger was approaching the castle, and begged him to look out and see if he knew who the rider might be.
Hagen[55] was the oldest and most formidable warrior in all the land of Burgundy. He was tall and powerfully built, and gave the impression of great strength, in spite of his gray hairs. His face was dark and deeply furrowed, and the frown which he always wore made him look grim and stern, as indeed he was. He had never been known to care for any one or to show the least regard for even his own sister Ute and her household. Only toward Gunther, his liege lord, did Hagen have perfect loyalty and a kind of doglike fidelity, which kept him ever at the king’s side in the midst of the fiercest battles, and constant at his service at the court when Gunther needed his advice or support. He was famous, too, for his skill in statecraft, and in all matters of government was considered wiser than any of the king’s other counsellors. He also added to this a wonderful knowledge of men and things, and could recount the deeds of famous heroes, all of whom he knew by name and lineage.
[55] Called Hogni, in the Volsunga Saga. He is the king’s brother—not his uncle, as in the Nibelungenlied. [Back]
When Hagen came to the window at Kriemhild’s request, he looked out for some moments in silence, then he said: “The youth whom you see approaching is Siegfried, the slayer of Fafnir, and owner of a famous hoard.[56] It would be well for the king if he made this man his guest.”