The Nibelungenlied

Author: Anon
Written: c 1200 AD
Translator: A. T. Hatto
Publisher: Penguin Books (2004 Reissue)
Bought from: Borders Singapore


Introduction

The Nibelungenlied, or Song of the Nibelungs, is an epic poem written in Middle High German by an anonymous poet in modern day Austria.

It is based on Germanic oral traditions about historical events and persons from the 5th and 6 century AD.

The poem shares common elements with ancient Northern European mythology. For example, the story of Brunhild appears in Old Norse literature and the heroic deeds of Siegfried (briefly recounted by Hagen) are recounted in several ancient stories, many of which are preserved in the Scandinavian Poetic Edda, Vǫlsunga Saga and Thidriks saga, in which Siegfried is called Sigurd. The entire second part of the story, the fall of the Burgundians, appears in an older Eddaic poem, Atlakvida (“Lay of Atli”).

 The poem survives in more than 30 manuscripts, the oldest dating from the 13th century.


What is it about?

The story can be divided into 2 parts.

In the first part, Siegfried, crown prince of Xanten, the Netherlands, arrives in Worms, Burgundy to woo Kriemhild, sister to Gunther, king of Burgundy. He succeeds after (somewhat underhandedly) winning the hands of Brunhild, a queen of Iceland, for Gunther. Kriemhild and Brunhild soon get into a dispute over Siegfried’s social rank compared to Gunther. Gunther’s liege Hagen kills Siegried and seizes his Nibelung treasure.

The second part deals with Kriemhild’s revenge against the Burgundians. She marries Etzel (Attila), king of the Huns. She invites Gunther and the Burgundians to attend the wedding in Hungary. Kriemhild’s plot culminates in a bloody climax in which all the Burgundians (including her brothers) are slaughtered. She herself is killed by an old warrior from Etzel’s own court.


How is the book?

This is an English prose translation. There is a 2-page foreword. There is a wealth of materials that follow the story, including An Introduction to a Second Reading. It takes a critical look at the poem and identifies some ‘Inconsistencies, Obscurities and Prevarications’ in the story. Appendix 4, ‘The Genesis of the Poem’ identifies similarities and commonalities to a number of possible sources and is worth reading.


Finally ...

Probably no Germanic literary work has influenced later works and been adapted more often (not only in Germany itself) than The Nibelungenlied. The most significant modern adaptation is Richard Wagner’s famous opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen (1853–74). J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun, written in the 1920s and published posthumously in 2009, is inspired by the story of Sigurd. Everyone should read this once.