Hagen murdered Kriemhild's husband Siegfried, then seized the Nibelung treasure she had inherited and sank it in the Rhine to prevent her from gaining power. Kriemhild spent thirteen years planning vengeance, ultimately beheading the bound Hagen with Siegfried's own sword Balmung.
Hagen distrusted Siegfried from the moment the dragon-slayer rode into Worms, seeing in him a threat to Burgundian sovereignty. His suspicion hardened into lethal resolve when the quarrel of the queens exposed Siegfried's deception over Brunhild.
In the final scene of the Nibelungenlied, Kriemhild took up Siegfried's sword Balmung and beheaded the bound Hagen with her own hand after he refused to reveal where he had sunk the Nibelung treasure in the Rhine.
Hagen beheaded the young prince Ortlieb, son of Kriemhild and Etzel, at the feast in the Nibelungenlied to provoke open battle. This act of shocking cruelty against Kriemhild's child ignited the final catastrophic fighting at the Hunnic court.
In the Nibelungenlied, Hagen murdered Siegfried by stabbing him between the shoulder blades — his one vulnerable spot where a linden leaf had blocked the dragon's blood — while Siegfried drank from a spring during a hunt. Hagen had tricked Kriemhild into revealing the location of the weak point.
⚠ In the Völsunga saga, Gutthorm kills Sigurd in his bed, not Hagen. The Nibelungenlied places the murder during a hunt.
Gunther rules the Burgundian court at Worms, and Hagen of Tronje serves as his most powerful vassal and chief counselor, the sword-arm behind every fateful decision from the murder of Siegfried to the doomed journey to Etzel's court.
The Burgundians ride under King Gunther from the court at Worms, their fate sealed to the cursed Nibelungen treasure from the moment Siegfried enters their hall.
Norse Högni and Germanic Hagen descend from the same legendary figure — in the Norse tradition a prince loyal to his brother Gunnar unto death, in the Nibelungenlied a formidable vassal whose murder of Siegfried and defiance unto death define the catastrophe.
Dietrich captured Hagen and Gunther in single combat at the end of the Nibelungenlied and delivered them bound to Kriemhild, the last great warrior standing after the destruction of both the Burgundian and Hunnic forces.
Hagen acts as the instrument of Brunhild's vengeance in the Nibelungenlied. After learning of the deception that won Brunhild for Gunther, Hagen takes it upon himself to murder Siegfried by stabbing him at a woodland spring, claiming to defend Brunhild's and the Burgundian royal honor.
Hagen seized the Nibelungenhort from Kriemhild and sank it in the Rhine near Lochheim, swearing an oath with his kings never to reveal its resting place. He carried the secret to his death, defying Kriemhild's final demand even after she brought him Gunther's severed head.
We use cookies to understand how you use our site and improve your experience. Learn more