More than three years after Siegfried’s death, Kriemhild’s brothers prevail upon her (with Hagen’s prompting) to have the Nibelung treasure, her nuptial dowry, brought across the Rhine to Worms. Hagen has been preoccupied with the idea of the Nibelung treasure since Siegfried first came to Worms, and he is now manipulating circumstances in the hope of finally getting his hands on it. To his annoyance, however, Kriemhild wastes no time in distributing her treasure among rich and poor, friend and stranger alike. As a widow, Kriemhild’s ability to grant largesse in this way would have been one of the only…