Nibelungenlied
The
Nibelungenlied is an
epic poem in
Middle High German. It tells the story of dragon-slayer
Siegfried at the court of the
Burgundians, and of his wife's revenge, which leads to the death of all the protagonists.
Based on pre-Christian
Germanic heroic motifs (the "
Nibelungensaga"), which includes oral traditions and reports based on historic events and individuals of the
5th and
6th centuries.
Old Norse parallels of the legend survive in the
Völsunga saga,
Atlakviða and possibly
Þiðrekssaga.
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First page from Manuscript C (ca. 1220) |
The poem in its various written forms was lost by the 16th century, but was re-discovered during the 18th century. At the present time, there are thirty-five known manuscripts for
Nibelungenlied and its variant versions. Eleven of these manuscripts are essentially complete, and twenty-four are in various fragmentary states of completion, including one version in
Dutch (manuscript 'T'). The text contains 2400 stanzas in 39
Aventiuren,. The title under which the poem has been known since its discovery is derived from the final line of one of the three main versions,
hie hât daz mære ein ende: daz ist der Nibelunge liet ("here the story takes an end: this is the lay of the Nibelungs";
lied here means "lay", "tale" or "epic" rather than simply "song" as in Modern German).
In form and in content, the manuscript sources have a tendency to significantly deviate from each other.
Philologists and literary scholars usually designate three main genealogical groups for the entire range of available manuscripts, with two primary versions comprising the oldest known copies: *AB and *C. This separation is applied by virtue of the signatures attached to the *A, *B, and *C manuscripts as well as the wording of the last verse in each source: "daz ist der Nibelunge liet" and "daz ist der Nibelunge nôt".
The method of categorising the manuscript sources was developed by
Karl Lachmann, a renowned 19th century philologist, in his work entitled
"Der Nibelunge Noth und die Klage nach der ältesten Überlieferung mit Bezeichnung des Unechten und mit den Abweichungen der gemeinen Lesart" (Berlin : Reimer, 1826).
Prevailing scholarly theories strongly suggest that the written Nibelungenlied is the work of an anonymous poet from the area of the
Danube between
Passau and
Vienna, dating from about
1180 to
1210, possibly at the court of the bishop of Passau,
Wolfger von Erla (in office 1191â€"1204). Most scholars consider it likely that the author was a man of literary and ecclesiastical education at the bishop's court, and that the poem's recipients were the clerics and noblemen at the same court.
The "Nibelung's lament", a sort of appendix to the poem proper, mentions a "Meister Konrad" who was charged by a bishop "Pilgrim" of Passau with the copying of the text. This is taken as a reference to
Saint Pilgrim bishop of Passau from 971â€"991.
The search for the author of the Nibelungenlied in
German studies has a long and intense history. Among the names suggested were
Konrad von Fußesbrunnen,
Bligger von Steinach and
Walther von der Vogelweide. None of these hypotheses has wide acceptance, and mainstream scholarship today accepts that the author's name cannot be established.
While beginning with a preface promising to tell of high times and lamenting alike, the Nibelungenlied is mostly pervaded by deep tragedy. These four verses are considered a late addition to the poem.
| Middle High German original | Shumway translation | ''Uns ist in alten mæren wunders vil geseit
von helden lobebæren, von grôzer arebeit,
von freuden, hôchgezîten, von weinen und von klagen,
von küener recken strîten muget ir nu wunder hÅ"ren sagenFull many a wonder is told us in stories old,
of heroes worthy of praise, of hardships dire,
of joy and feasting, of weeping and of wailing;
of the fighting of bold warriors, now ye may hear wonders told.
The epic is divided into two parts, the first dealing with the story of Siegfried and Kriemhild, the wooing of Brünhild and the death of Siegfried at the hands of Hagen, and his hiding of the Nibelung treasure in the Rhine (Aventuires 1-19). The second part deals with Kriemhild's marriage to Etzel, her plans for revenge, the journey of the Nibelungs to the court of Etzel, and their last stand in Etzel's hall (Aventuires 20-39).
Siegfried and Kriemhild
Aventiure 1 introduces the court of Burgundy.
Kriemhild, the beautiful sister of king
Gunther and his brothers
Gernot and
Giselher. has a dream of a falcon killed by two eagles. Her mother interprets this as a premonition of Kriemhild's husband's violent death and Kriemhild resolves to remain unmarried.
Aventiure 2 tells of the background of
Siegfried, crown prince of
Xanten. He accomplished many feats, including the slaying of the
dragon Fafnir and the taking of his giant hoard of treasure, the
Nibelungenschatz. After killing the dragon, he bathes in its blood, making him
invulnerable. Unfortunately for him, while he is bathing, a leaf falls off a
linden tree above him and covers part of his skin on his back, making that particular patch his weak spot, as with the story of
Achilles's heel. In Aventiure 3, Siegfried arrives in Worms to woo Kriemhild, but he is not allowed to as much as set eyes on her. He remains in Worms and in helps Gunther defeat the
Saxons (4).Siegfried finally meets Kriemhild (5), and is allowed to marry her after he helps Gunther to defeat
Brünhild, the queen of
Iceland, with his heroic strength and the aid of a
cloak which lets him become invisible (6-8). On visit to Iceland, Siegfried posed as a vassal of Gunther's, and Brünhild is left under the impression of Siegfried's low rank in order to keep the trickery involved in her wooing a secret.In the wedding night, Brünhild's great strength and unwillingness are overcome once again by Gunther only with the aid of an invisible Siegfried, who takes her ring and belt (symbols of defloration, although the poem insists that it was Gunther who consummated the marriage) as a present to his wife Kriemhild (10).
Years later, Siegried and Kriemhild are on visit to Worms. Brünhild is still under the impression that Gunther married off his sister to a low-ranking vassal, while Gunther and Siegfried are in reality of equal rank. Before entering the
Worms Cathedral, Kriemhild and Brünhild argue who should have primacy, depending on the ranks of their husbands. To Brünhild it is obvious that she should have precedence. Kriemhild, unaware of the deception involved in Brünhild's wooing insists that they are of equal rank, and as the dispute escalates, she shows Brünhild the belt which Siegfried had taken from her and calls her Siegfried's
kebse (mistress or concubine).
The argument between the Queens is both a risk for the marriage of Gunther and Brünhild as well as a possible cause for a rivalry between Gunther and Siegfried.
Hagen von Tronje, the dark, cruel and faithful vassal of Gunther, decides to kill Siegfried to protect the honor and reign of his king. Although it is Hagen who does the deed, Gunther and his brothers know of the plan and quietly assent. He persuades Kriemhild to mark Siegfried's vulnerable spot with a cross as a divine protection, which he uses as a target, killing him with a spear while Siegfried is drinking from a well during a hunt. Hagen also steals the hoard from Kriemhild and throws it into the
Rhine (
Rheingold), to prevent Kriemhild from using it to establish an army of her own.
Kriemhild's revenge
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Kriemhild showing Gunther's head to Hagen (Johann Heinrich Füssli, ca. 1805) |
Kriemhild swears to take revenge for the murder of her husband and the robbery of her treasure. Many years later, King Etzel of the Huns (
Attila the Hun) proposes to Kriemhild, and they get married. For the baptism of their son, she invites her brothers, the
Burgundians, to a feast at Etzel's castle in
Hungary. Hagen does not want to go, but is taunted until he does: he realises that it is a trick of Kriemhild in order to take revenge and kill him, and everybody. This fate is confirmed by
Nixes as they cross the
Danube, predicting that all but one monk will die. Hagen tries to drown the monk in order to render the prophecy futile, but he survives.
On their arrival at the feast, the Burgundians demand to keep their weapons, which is an offense, but accepted by Etzel. The tragedy unfolds. Kriemhild demands the return of her
Nibelungenschatz, which has been stolen by Hagen, but he decapitates Kriemhild & Etzel's son, starting an open fight. The Burgundians take control of the hall, which is besieged by Etzel's warriors. Kriemhild offers that her brothers may leave if they hand out Hagen, which is declined.
Eventually (39), everyone of the Burgundians is killed, except for Hagen and Gunther which are overcome by Dietrich and bound. Kriemhild kills Gunther in prison and shows his head to Hagen. As Hagen refuses to reveal the location of the hoard, Kriemhild beheads him too. Hildebrand is maddened by the shameful death of the hero, draws his sword and hews Kriemhild to pieces. In a variant of Manuscript B, he takes a single clean blow at Kriemhild's waist who feels no pain and tells Hildebrand that his sword is useless. But as Hildebrand drops a ring and asks her to pick it up, her body breaks apart. Dietrich and Etzel and all the people of the court lament the deaths of the heroes.
A possible archetype for the
dragon-slayer Siegfried might have been the actual
Arminius who defeated the long marching columns of
scale armoured Roman legions by an ambush at the
Battle of Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD.
A historical nucleus of the saga lies in events of the Germanic
Migration Period, in particular the defeat of the
Burgundians by
Flavius Aëtius with the aid of Hunnic mercenaries near
Worms in ca. AD
436. Other possible influences are the feud between the 6th century Merowingian queens
Brunichild and
Fredegunde, as well as the marriage of Attila with the Burgundian princess Ildikó in AD
453.
These events became conflated with common Germanic mythological material concerning
Niflheim and the
Nibelungs, originally likely a race of
dwarfs guarding treasure, but from the evidence of
Waltharius also a name for a Frankish or Burgundian dynasty. The Nibelungenlied combines a first mythological part dealing with the Gunther's wooing of Brünhild, with a second political part taking place in specific locations like
Worms, the capital of
Burgundy, describing the journey of the Nibelungs east across the
Danube to
Etzelburg, the residence of
Attila the Hun (Etzel), the location of the catastrophe.
The Nibelungenlied arranges these traditional materials in a composition aiming at a High Medieval audience that was familiar with the epics
Matter of Britain and
Matter of France, casting the inherited Germanic theme in his contemporary terms of courtly Christian chivalry. Consequently, Siegfried changes from a dragon killer to a courting man who will express his love to Kriemhild explicitly only after he has won the friendship of the Burgundian king Gunther and his brothers, Gernot and Giselher. Some situations, which exaggerate the conflict between the Germanic migrations and the chivalrous ethics (such as Gunther's embarrassing wedding night with Brunhild) may be interpreted as irony. The notoriously bloody end that leaves no hope for reconciliation is far removed from the happy ending of typical courtly epics.
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The death of Siegfried (illustration of Manuscript K, 1480s) |
The epic was lost during the 16th century, and was rediscovered with the finding of a manuscript (C) in
1755 in
Hohenems,
Vorarlberg. About three dozen manuscripts survive, with three main manuscripts, labelled by
Karl Lachmann as A, B and C:
* A: Hohenems-Munich codex, late 13th century, discovered in Hohenems, now kept in
Munich* B: St. Gallen codex, 13th century, kept in the
St. Gallen Abbey library* C: Hohenems-Laßberg / Donaueschingen codex (early 13th century), since 2001 kept in
KarlsruheThese three manuscripts preserve three variants of the text with an uncertain relationship. It is impossible to condense them into a single "original" version, likely because oral tradition had a continuing influence on manuscript tradition during the 13th century.
The text was edited by
Karl Bartsch in 1870. A Modern German translation by
Karl Simrock appeared in 1826 and an English translation by Daniel B. Shumway in 1909.
An early critic labelled it a German "
Iliad", arguing that, like the Greek epic, it goes back to the remotest times and unites the monumental fragments of half-forgotten myths and historical personages into a poem that is essentially national in character.
The word
Nibelungen is transferred from a legendary race of Germanic
dwarfs and their treasure, to the followers of Siegfried and finally to the
Burgundians which are portrayed in the poem.
The faithfulness among the Burgundian king and his vassals, ranked higher than family bonds or life, is called
Niblungentreue. This expression was used in Germany, prior to
World War I to describe the alliance between the
German Empire and
Austria-Hungary, as well as by Nazi Propaganda, e.g. when referring to the
Battle of Stalingrad.
The
Nibelungenlied,
Thidreks saga and the
Völsunga saga served as source materials for
Richard Wagner's "Ring Cycle" (
Der Ring des Nibelungen also known as
The Ring of the Nibelung). It has also been said to have served as inspiration for
J. R. R. Tolkien's
The Lord of the Rings.
In
1924, the epic was made into a two-film series, namely
Die Nibelungen: Siegfrieds Tod and
Die Nibelungen: Kriemhilds Rache, by the German director
Fritz Lang. The screenplay was written by
Thea von Harbou. Remakes were made in 1966.
The premise of the Nibelungenlied was made into an acclaimed made-for-TV movie called
Ring of the Nibelungs (also,
Sword of Xanten) in
2004. While the title is the same as the Wagner Opera, it relates more closely to the original
Lied itself. On the
SciFi Channel it has the title
Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King (
2006).
*
Nibelungs*
German mythology*
Sigurd*
Völsunga saga*Karl Bartsch, 1870/1880
*Michael S. Batts.
Das Nibelungenlied, critical edition, Tübingen: M. Niemeyer 1971. ISBN 3-484-10149-0
*Helmut de Boor:
Das Nibelungenlied, 22nd revised and expanded edition, ed. Roswitha Wisniewski, Wiesbaden 1988, ISBN 3765303739
*Hermann Reichert,
Das Nibelungenlied, edition of manuscript B, Berlin: de Gruyter 2005. VII, ISBN 3-11-018423-0.
*Ursula Schulze,
Das Nibelungenlied, based on manuscript C , Düsseldorf / Zürich: Artemis & Winkler 2005. ISBN 3-538-06990-5.
*
texts of manuscripts A, B and C*
facsimile of manuscript C*
Karl Bartsch edition (Leipzig, 1870/80)
*
index of online manuscript facsimiles English translations:
*
translation by Daniel B. Shumway*
translation by Daniel B. Shumway*
The Nibelungenlied: Translated into Rhymed English Verse in the Metre of the Original by George Henry Needler
