Thus far it has gone unnoticed that the twelfth-century Middle High German Rolandslied has more to say about women than its famous French counterpart, the Chanson de Roland. In the former the female protagonists are not merely wives and widows, but also advisors, mediators, regents, and rulers. Moreover, these women are expressly connected to the display of wealth and to practices of gift-giving: as givers, receivers, and gifts. While acknowledging that this chanson de geste is a story about

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... or, lordship, and the triumph of Christianity, the analysis of women through the lens of gift-giving is a plea to open up the Rolandslied to different interpretations. This can contribute to our understanding of social practices and ideas about women, courtly display, and gifts in twelfth-century German society. The online edition of this publication is available open access. Except where otherwise noted, content can be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0). For details go to http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ receiving in the Rolandslied. Having ended the story of Roland and Charlemagne, Konrad's epilogue might be read as a final reflection on the relation between men, women, and gifts. Yet given the strong presence of the conflict between Christians and pagans, it comes as no surprise that both the French and German text have foremost been studied from a religious perspective, with authors emphasizing that all characters and events are connected to the triumph of Christianity. 6 Additionally, scholars have argued that Konrad's text underscores the crusaders' idea of militia Dei, a fitting theme for Henry the Lion. 7 It has, however, gone unnoticed that the German text actually has more to say about women than its French counterpart. 8 In the Rolandslied the female protagonists (the pagan Queen Brechmunda, the devout Alda, and Genelun's unnamed wife) are not merely wives and widows, but also advisors, mediators, regents, and rulers. They do not act-or are acted upon-in isolation, but against the setting of the Christian and pagan courts with their display of wealth, status, and power embodied by precious gifts, exotic animals, golden coins (bezants), beautiful garments, golden statues, and jewels. Throughout the narrative this representation of wealth, power, and identity is connected to gift-giving, which was not limited to the male actors but expressly included women as well, with both sexes participating as givers, receivers, and gifts. The epilogue, with its references to gift (the book) and counter-gift (another book, but perhaps also eternal bliss), suggests that the audience must have recognized this as an important theme, both in the story and in their own lives. The members of the audience considered the Rolandslied as a historia, narrating a story about the past that also had meaning for the present with an audience believing in the historicity of the events. 9 Often authors underscored the truthfulness of their histories, and so did Konrad, whose claim of veracity is stated at the beginning of the text, where he requests the aid of God to avoid lies and to write the truth about the noble Charlemagne who conquered many lands and enhanced the fame of the Christians, and by doing so earned a place in heaven. 10 Konrad repeats, and therefore emphasizes, this claim in his epilogue, which, like his foreword, is not part of Chanson de Roland. 11 Konrad's presentation of himself and the way he handled the material thus fit with the intended audience's expectation of the story as true. He also engaged with his audience-which he does not specify as either male or female-by including matters related to the audience's own world, such as men's and women's interactions which could be questioned and debated. 12 As we will see, these interactions have a bearing on the overarching issue of the Christian-pagan dichotomy, while at the same time addressing more general concerns about power relations between men and women. Looking at the latter through the lens of the 'gift' illuminates how these relations were negotiated, and lays bare the anxieties related to the gift. 13 While acknowledging that this chanson de geste is a story about honor, lordship, and the triumph of Christianity, my analysis of women and gift-giving is a plea to open up the Rolandslied to different interpretations relating to the audience's own experiences and expectations. This can contribute to our understanding of social practices and ideas about women and men in twelfth-century German society.