Shapely Female Figures
A poem. Brunhild reflects on her dispute with Kriemhild.
There was no one to explain this to in my own tongue.
So I tried to tell her, woman to woman,
Queen – or so I thought – to queen.
But she left in a hurry,
Her days taken up with meeting with the men
To arrange for her future, the one she looks freely to,
Standing there beside the husband she loves.
Doesn’t she know nothing better is coming?
Had she journeyed to my lands I would have shown her
The joys of ruling alone.
No one else’s desires crowding in,
Always aloof, always alert.
I hear she is honored as a queen,
An authority all down the Rhine
On giving away coins and gifting clothes.
Doesn’t she know that’s not all there is?
Had she come the first time I asked,
I would have told her as best I could:
There are queens
And then there are queens.
Whatever he lets her do is only because my lord lets him let her.
So far down the ladder,
She clings on loosely to the lowest rungs with love.
Seeing her now,
Her stride so unbroken,
Her head so high,
Her skin so radiant,
Like the gold I once kept in my own name—
I must fulfill my duties
Be the bigger woman
Make nice and kiss the… air.
Everybody watches me watching her,
These courtly ceremonies
Where we have to present a picture
Of fantastical friendship.
Two queens arm in arm,
Two kings laughing behind our backs,
Tournaments and revels viewed from afar,
Amity abounds and envy is kept at bay.
All that fanfare and for what?
So she could claim her husband’s prowess and prestige.
I wouldn’t have called what he did very lordly.
Not a bright moon among the stars,
More like a sharp knife glinting in the dark.
Cruel jokes all, and unforgivable.
She praises him for standing above all other kings, but
To be second in command is still to no longer be the first.
All I have left, in my pale and weak state,
The virgin queen blemished at last,
Are these words of enmity and strife.
A confrontation at the church,
Beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.
Who are you calling
Concubine, paramour, whore,
Vassal?
She took away her loyalty and her friendship
With those cruel words.
Many brave and strong knights will later
Have to pay for that.
Still, my anger was never meant for her,
We were once two royal daughters standing together.
I am still out of my mind with grief.
My shield and my spear and my sovereignty, gone.
I wish I could make her understand
That all she knew was long hidden from me.
That my lack of strength came as a surprise
When I next tried to hold out.
That this son who shares her husband’s name
Is mine only in body, not in spirit.
I would have liked to have a daughter
A bright beautiful girl like her and me.
I would have taught my girl
What it means to be queenly,
How stature comes from strength,
How renown comes from resistance.
There are no men who can impart these lessons properly.
The secrets women tell each other are
More precious than rubies,
More valuable than gold.
Oh, the secrets I could have told my queen,
Had her arrogance not been so abrupt!
Her beauty could have gone unsullied by pride,
Her power untarnished by boasting.
Now we assert ourselves before our husbands.
Can’t she see they know the misdeeds they’ve done?
How they’ve disgraced me for sport,
And destroyed their kingdoms from scorn?
I no longer have any reason to sweep in wearing rich robes.
My ring is missing,
A lost token of my seal of power.
My belt is stolen,
Ungirded I stand unguarded.
But a liege woman shall never go
Before the king’s wife.
Brunhild of Iceland claims that honor still.
Of course, it’s not that I didn’t fight then,
Or that I don’t fight now,
Just that the tools are different,
More suitable for this new kingdom.
My arms are a little weaker,
My linens a little dirtier,
My crowns a little smaller.
I was once renowned for my skill with a sword.
I was once renowned for my skill with a sword.
Isn’t it something how swords can take everything away?
The point of a rapier—
One swish-swash through the air and it’s done.
Subdue and seduce seem almost the same word in this strange land,
Both involve being put under
Men’s bodies taking all the space in my bed,
No room for my wants.
Isn’t it something how swords can take everything away?
The point of a rapier—
One swish-swash through the air and it’s done.
Subdue and seduce seem almost the same word in this strange land,
Both involve being put under
Men’s bodies taking all the space in my bed,
No room for my wants.
So I tried to tell her, woman to woman,
Queen – or so I thought – to queen.
But she left in a hurry,
Her days taken up with meeting with the men
To arrange for her future, the one she looks freely to,
Standing there beside the husband she loves.
Doesn’t she know nothing better is coming?
Had she journeyed to my lands I would have shown her
The joys of ruling alone.
No one else’s desires crowding in,
Always aloof, always alert.
I hear she is honored as a queen,
An authority all down the Rhine
On giving away coins and gifting clothes.
Doesn’t she know that’s not all there is?
Had she come the first time I asked,
I would have told her as best I could:
There are queens
And then there are queens.
Whatever he lets her do is only because my lord lets him let her.
So far down the ladder,
She clings on loosely to the lowest rungs with love.
Doesn’t she know it’s the frailest sort of tie?
Seeing her now,
Her stride so unbroken,
Her head so high,
Her skin so radiant,
Like the gold I once kept in my own name—
I must fulfill my duties
Be the bigger woman
Make nice and kiss the… air.
Everybody watches me watching her,
These courtly ceremonies
Where we have to present a picture
Of fantastical friendship.
Two queens arm in arm,
Two kings laughing behind our backs,
Tournaments and revels viewed from afar,
Amity abounds and envy is kept at bay.
So she could claim her husband’s prowess and prestige.
I wouldn’t have called what he did very lordly.
Not a bright moon among the stars,
More like a sharp knife glinting in the dark.
Cruel jokes all, and unforgivable.
She praises him for standing above all other kings, but
To be second in command is still to no longer be the first.
All I have left, in my pale and weak state,
The virgin queen blemished at last,
Are these words of enmity and strife.
A confrontation at the church,
Beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.
Who are you calling
Concubine, paramour, whore,
Vassal?
She took away her loyalty and her friendship
With those cruel words.
Many brave and strong knights will later
Have to pay for that.
Still, my anger was never meant for her,
We were once two royal daughters standing together.
I am still out of my mind with grief.
My shield and my spear and my sovereignty, gone.
I wish I could make her understand
That all she knew was long hidden from me.
That my lack of strength came as a surprise
When I next tried to hold out.
That this son who shares her husband’s name
Is mine only in body, not in spirit.
I would have liked to have a daughter
A bright beautiful girl like her and me.
I would have taught my girl
What it means to be queenly,
How stature comes from strength,
How renown comes from resistance.
There are no men who can impart these lessons properly.
The secrets women tell each other are
More precious than rubies,
More valuable than gold.
Oh, the secrets I could have told my queen,
Had her arrogance not been so abrupt!
Her beauty could have gone unsullied by pride,
Her power untarnished by boasting.
Now we assert ourselves before our husbands.
Can’t she see they know the misdeeds they’ve done?
How they’ve disgraced me for sport,
And destroyed their kingdoms from scorn?
I no longer have any reason to sweep in wearing rich robes.
My ring is missing,
A lost token of my seal of power.
My belt is stolen,
Ungirded I stand unguarded.
But a liege woman shall never go
Before the king’s wife.
Brunhild of Iceland claims that honor still.
Of course, it’s not that I didn’t fight then,
Or that I don’t fight now,
Just that the tools are different,
More suitable for this new kingdom.
My arms are a little weaker,
My linens a little dirtier,
My crowns a little smaller.
I was once renowned for my skill with a sword.
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