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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who are the messengers who reach Gunther from Kriemhild and Etzel?

2. What does Kriemhild decide to do after Siegmund asks her to return with him?

3. What does Kriemhild do, without her husband's knowledge, when her family is invited to the summer festival in Hungary?

4. Who is the member of her new household who is mourning Etzel's first queen?

5. How soon does Kriemhild produce a son and heir to Etzel's throne?

Short Essay Questions

1. By the time thirteen years has passed, how is Kriemhild regarded in Hungary?

2. What gifts are exchanged upon Folker's engagement to Rudeger's daughter?

3. Why does Hagen suggest that his warriors drink the blood of corpses?

4. Why do Gunther and Gernot decide to introduce Kriemhild to Siegfried, even though she has never been introduced to a knight before?

5. Describe the test of innocence that Kriemhild demands of the men she deems guilty of her husband's murder.

6. Describe Kriemhild's welcome of Hagen and Gunther and their men.

7. What does one of the Hunnish knights see that prevents him from attacking King Gunther and his men while they sleep after the Midsummer Eve's festivities?

8. What are the gifts Rudeger returns to Gunther's men, and whom does he return them to?

9. What is the story that Hagen relates to Gunther about Siegfried?

10. How do Hagen and his men clear the hall?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay that explains the reasons why does Rudiger stays away from the fray between the Gunther's men and Etzel's men until the very end.

Part 1: What oaths and customs prohibit his involvement, or is there another reason he stays away?

Part 2: Does Rudiger try to stay true to his oaths? If so how? If not, why not? What involvement do Etzel and Kriemhild have in changing his mind?

Use specific examples from the poem to support your argument.

Essay Topic 2

Does Hagen bring his doom upon himself by insulting the queen? Is his conscience struck for having killed Siegfried?

Essay Topic 3

In Adventure 3 the reader is introduced to Siegfried's bravery through Hagen. Although Siegfried has come to woo Kriemhild, the interaction between Siegfried, Gunther, and Hagen when they first meet is strange. The stage is set for conflict, but how does this story end? Write an essay that compares and contrasts Hagen's behavior toward Siegfried and King Gunther when they all first meet and how this foreshadows the future of these three men's interactions in Das Nibelungenlied.

(see the answer keys)

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