Gudrun · Chapter
How Hagen Sailed to His Home explained
Hagen and the maidens are rescued by a ship from Garadie.
What happens
Hagen and the maidens are rescued by a ship from Garadie. The earl learns Hagen is the son of his enemy Sigeband and threatens to hold him hostage. Hagen seizes thirty sailors and throws them into the sea, forcing the rest to sail to Ireland. Upon arrival, he sends messengers to his father Sigeband and mother Ute, proving his identity with a golden cross. The queen brings clothing for the maidens, and the family is reunited.
Themes in this chapter
Suffering and Endurance
The maidens and Hagen endure long captivity and hardship, but their suffering ends as they near home.
Power and Warfare
Hagen's physical strength and violent actions (throwing sailors overboard) demonstrate raw power and the threat of conflict.
Family and Kinship
The reunion with Sigeband and Ute emphasizes the importance of family bonds and the joy of return.
Characters to notice
- Hagen
Shows fierce strength and cunning, seizing control of the ship and forcing the sailors to bring him home to Ireland.
- Sigeband
King of Ireland, initially disbelieves the messengers but is persuaded by the proof of the golden cross.
- Ute
Queen of Ireland, recognizes the token of the golden cross and joyfully prepares to meet her son and the maidens.
- Hildeburg
One of the maidens rescued with Hagen; she tells the earl she is from India, daughter of a king.
Key passages
“He by the hair caught thirty, and into the water flung them; Soon the strength of his body was known to all, and dreaded much among them.”
Hagen grabbed thirty sailors by their hair and threw them into the sea, demonstrating his immense strength and terrifying everyone.
Illustrates Hagen's violent assertion of control over the ship.
“If I upon my bosom will show a golden cross, the proof fulfilling.”
Hagen offers to reveal a golden cross on his chest as proof of his identity to his parents.
The golden cross serves as a tangible token of recognition and familial bond.