Das Nibelungenlied (c.1150)

Though the poem is presented as a continuous work, the story is told in two d~stinct phases; t~e climax of the fprst is the death of Siegfried; the second recounts Kriemhild's revenge ~?on her brothers. The poem opens at the Bur~undian court Worms o~ the three brothers Gunther, Gernot, and Giselher, and begi~3 with the dream of Kriemhilt, in which her Falcon is destroyed by two Eagles, which foretells the events of the first phase. Siegfried comes to the Burgundian court, and distinguishes himself through knightly achievement and his strength. By his exeptional prowess he defeats a threatened invasion by the Saxons to the northeast. Upon his return he sees Kriemhild and desires to marry her. Gunther wishes to marry Brunhild the Queen of Isenstein, who possesses fabulous strength, and will only give her hand to one who can defeat her in an athletic contest. Siegfried undertakes to accomplish this for Gunther 0~de~ .~e condition that he receive Kriemhild. Siegfried is able to accomplish this pa~~ly by his own strength and partly by means of magic; which he obtained through the acquisition of the Nibelungen treasure, the sword Balmung, and a cloak of darkness (Tarnkappe), which he wrested from the dwarf Alberich; and furthermore he has acquired an invulnerable skin, by bathing in the blood of a dragon he killed. Invisibly he aids Gunther with the use of the Tarnkappe, defeats Brunhild in the games, whereupon they return to Worms for the weddings. Gunther, however, has difficulty on his wedding night, with Brunhild binding him up. Gunther once more asks for Siegfrieds help. With the aid of the Tarnkappe, Siegfried overpowers Brunhild, and thinking that she is subdued is henceforth content. 10 years pass in relative quiet. Upon a visit to Worms, the two Queens quarrel over precidence before the church, where Kriemhild reveals the deceit by presenting the ring which Siegfried had taken on the wedding night. Brunhild demands revenge, but Gunther demures. However, Hag;en takes up the cause, and tricks Kriemhild into revealing Siegfried's vulnerability, and in a hunt, while Siegfried stoops to drink from a spring, kills him. Hagen, whose quilt is revealed to Kriemhild, adds insult by making off with the Nibelungen treasure, which he throws into the Rhine. Thirte~n years of mourning follow, which marks the division between the two phases of the epic. Etzel (Attila) has lost his wife, and desires to remarry, and hears of Kriemhild's beauty. His messenger, Ruede~er, prevails upon her to accept Etzel's proposal.; she does so, because it gives her oppurtunity exercise vengance upon Hagen. She travels to Vienna where she marries Etzel. The then live at Etzelnbur~ (Gran, Hungarian Esztergom). After a period of thirteen years she invites the 3urg~ndians to Etzel's court (in the second part they are often referred to as the Nibelun~s). Hagen divines Kriemhild's purpose and advises against the journey, but nevertheless agrees to accompany them. On the way there are numerous prophecies indicating that they will not return. At Etzel's court they are courteously received by the King, but Kriemhild provokes various lords to attack the Burgundian party and their ma~. These attacks are at first unsuccessful, but, after Hagen has decapit3ted Kriemhild's young son, Etzel's full force's are gradually drawn into the battle. Bloedelin, Iring, and RuedeRer of Etzel's court are all killed, and eventually Gernot, and Giselher and the warriors Volker and Dancwart all fall. Dietrich eventually ca?tures and binds first Hagen, then Gunther. Kriemhild has Gunther decapitated, confronts Hagen ~ith the head and demands the Nibelungen Treasure. On his refusal to disclose where he has hidden it she cuts off his head with Siegfried's sword. Dietrich's lord, Hildebrand, is enraged at the atrocity, cuts Kriemhild to pieces.

To the Nibelungenlied is attached a brief sequel called Die Kla~e, dealing with the mourning for t~e slain heroes and for Kriemhild, the coronation of Gunther's son, and the departure of Dietrich and Hildebrand. It is written ~~ tt~ rhyming couplets of courtly epic. The events of the Nibelungenlied arise from remote legend, but the poem absorbs these almost completely into the contemporary courtly world. The main characters, even Etzel, exhibit zuht and ~. The life is punctuated by festivals (hoch~ezit) distinguished by lavish hospitality, knightly contests, and splendid liberality (milte). Where ancient mythological elements are are difficult to accept, they are treated in a cursory manner (Siegfried and the Nibelungs or Brunhild's Icelandic fastness). The courtly world is portrayed in a manner closer to reality than the Arthurian epics, and is set in recognizable geographic locations. Siegfried's father holds court at Xanten, Siegfried is slain in the Spessart, Reudeger's Castle is at Bechelaren (Gross-Pochlarn). The eastward journey passes through Passau, Enns, Melk, and Tulln; in addition to Worms, Vienna, and Gran are important locations.

Important motifs include: Every festival leads to suffering and tragedy. The sense of inevitable doom and the decline of happiness to grief. Although the story conforms to C~~istian usage, its ultimate values are heroic: loyalty, coura~e, and st~adfastness under the blows of inescapeable fate. T~is is a clue to the predominance of a figure such as Hagen, a figure, who in many respects is repellant to modern sensibilities. Ruediger and Dietrich ace a more humane conception. An important note of emotional sensitivity is manifest in Kriemhild, for her faithful love and un assuaged grief at the moment she strikes Hagen down.

The Nibelungenlied was clearly popular, preserved in 34 MSS. or fragments. The most important are; A, discovered at Hohene».s now at Munich; B, discovered at Hohenems now at St. Gall; and C. A, B, and C belong to the 13th centuc]. Th~ ~r1e= ~~d ra~~ 0~ ~~ese MSS. have been the subject of fierce debate. Since the publication of Brackert's 1963 investigation, the attempt to claim that anyone of the MS3., usually B, as the orizinal or a copy of the original, has been abandoned.