eening pride."

"Thou bedrest thee too high," spake the king's wife. "I would fain see
whether men will hold thee in such high honor as they do me."

The ladies both grew wonderly wroth of mood. Then spake the Lady
Kriemhild: "This must now hap. Sith thou hast declared my husband for
thy liegeman, now must the men of the two kings perceive to-day whether
I durst walk before the queen to church. Thou must see to-day that I am
noble and free and that my husband is worthier than thine; nor will I
myself be taxed therewith. Thou shalt mark to-day how thy liegewoman
goeth to court before the knights of the Burgundian land. I myself
shall be more worshipful than any queen was known to be, who ever wore a
crown." Great hate enow rose then betwixt the ladies.

Then Brunhild answered: "Wilt thou not be a liegewoman of mine, so
must thou sunder thee with thy ladies from my train when that we go to
church."

To this Kriemhild replied: "In faith that shall be done."

"Now array you, my maids," spake Siegfried's wife. "I must be here
without reproach. Let this be seen to-day, and ye do have rich weeds.
Brunhild shall fain deny what she hath here averted."

They needed not much bidding, but sought rich robes and many a dame and
maid attired her well. Then the wife of the noble king went forth with
her train. Fair Kriemhild, too, was well arrayed and three and forty
maidens with her, whom she had brought hither to the Rhine. They wore
bright vesture wrought in Araby, and thus the fair-fashioned maids
betook them to the minster. All Siegfried's men awaited them before the
house. The folk had marvel whence it chanced that the queens were seen
thus sundered, so that they did not walk together as afore. From this
did many a warrior later suffer dire distress. Here before the minster
stood Gunther's wife, while many a good knight had pastime with the
comely dames whom they there espied.

Then came the Lady Kriemhild with a large and noble train. Whatever kind
of clothes the daughters of noble knights have ever worn, these were but
the wind against her retinue. She was so rich in goods, that what the
wives of thirty kings could not purvey, that Kriemhild did. An' one
would wish to, yet he could not aver that men had ever seen such costly
dresses as at this time her fair-fashioned maidens wore. Kriemhild
had not done it, save to anger Brunhild. They met before the spacious
minster. Through her great hate the mistress of the house in e