Hagen is a Burgundian and chief vassal (landowner giving
military aid to the king) of the Burgundian king. His title is Lord of Troneck. Hagen
was captured at one time by the Huns (Hungarians) and held hostage at Etzel of Hungary's
court. Etzel of Hungary is also known in history as Attila the
Hun.
Hagen is responsible for having killed Siegfried who
was lord of Netherlands, Norway, and Nieblungland and husband of Kriemhild, who was
princess of Burgundy before her marriage. After Siegfried's death at Hagen's hand,
Kriemhild married Etzel and so is the wife of the king who held Hagen
hostage.
Rudiger on the other hand is a Hun and the vassal
of Etzel, so he was one of Hagen's captives while he was held hostage. It is Rudiger who
travels to Burgundy to present's Etzel's offer of marriage to Kriemhild after
Siegfried's death. As a vassal to the king of Hungary, Rudiger swears an oath of loyalty
to Kriemhild when she becomes queen and is therefore bound to aid her in her revenge
plot against Hagen for killing Siegfried.
Rudiger's
position is complicated to the level of tragedy because he marries his daughter, a Hun,
to Giselher, a Burgundian and Kriemhild's brother. Kriemhild's revenge plot against
Hagen is not deterred because she is Burgundian and Hagen, Siegfried's murder, is also
Burgundian. According to Rudiger's oath of loyalty, Rudiger is the enemy of Hagen the
Burgundian, a relationship which calls for Rudiger to wage war against Burgundy, his
daughter's new land.
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