2 - The Quarrel of the Queens and Indirect Aggression

Summary

In a well-known episode from the Middle High German epic Das Nibelungenlied, two powerful queens, Prünhilt and Kriemhilt, argue fiercely about who has the stronger, braver, and nobler husband. Both women give as good as they get in the argument, and the conflict comes to a head in a contest of social status. Kriemhilt vows to enter the church before Prünhilt – a gesture that would culturally proclaim Kriemhilt to have the higher status. Bedecked in all the splendor of her status and position, Kriemhilt haughtily passes by Prünhilt on her way into the church and says, “du hâst geschendet selbe den dînen schoenen lîp: / wie möhte mannes kebse werden immer künige wîp?” (“You have dishonored yourself and your beautiful body: how could a mistress ever become a king's wife?”). Prünhilt, indignant at the implicature quickly retorts, “Wen hâstu hie verkebset?” (“Whom do you call a mistress?”)

The Quarrel of the Queens episode contains the central turning point for the Nibelung Legend of Middle High German and Old Norse literature. In addition to the Nibelungenlied, this episode appears in three other extant texts from roughly the same period: Þiðreks saga af Bern, Völsunga saga, and Skáldskaparmál. Three of these four versions (I set aside Skáldskaparmál because it offers only an abbreviated account of the quarrel) present dialogues that reflect an intricate interplay between indirectness in speech, such as exhibited in the above verbal exchange, and directness in speech (that is, speech that requires little or no interpretation). Any study of culture and language in the medieval North ought to take into consideration this remarkable story of Sigurðr and the fateful ring. These narratives provide valuable evidence of pragmatic principles because they were clearly well known and often referenced in these regions, and thereby might reflect a widespread understanding of the scene. In addition to the several versions of the narrative considered in this chapter, there are a multitude of instances (some of which will be addressed in later chapters) in which Old Norse-Icelandic literature borrows from or alludes to the Nibelung narrative. It is, simply put, one of the best and most foundational narratives in northern Europe. Having a widely-known, multi-lingual, comparative story such as that of the story of Sigurðr and the ring is clearly an opportunity not to be ignored.