Nibelungenlied: Difference between revisions

The '''''Nibelungenlied''''', translated literally as "The Song of the Nibelungs", is an epic poem in two parts, telling the story of Siegfried, his murder by the Burgundians, and the revenge taken by his widow Kriemhild. Dating back to the early 13th century, its authorship is unknown, but it is thought to have been written by an Austrian author from between Passau and Vienna for recitation in the Austrian court. The ''Nibelungenlied'' is the earliest complete telling of the legend, though versions of the story exist, including the [[Norse Mythology|Norse]] ''[[VolsungaThe Saga (Literature)of the Volsungs|Volsunga Saga]]'' and passages in the ''Eddas'', which, though written down later, are thought to preserve earlier elements of the story that had become obscured in the [[The High Middle Ages|mediævalized]] German poem. Brief allusions to the Siegfried story also exist in much earlier works, such as ''Waltharius'' and ''[[Beowulf (Literature)|Beowulf]]''.

Technically, the poem is written in four line roughly hexameter stanzas, with strong pauses in the middle of each line, rhyming AABB, and with the final line of each stanza usually lengthened by an extra foot. The language of the poem is Middle High German, ''i.e''., the language spoken in what is now southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, from about the 11th to the 14th centuries. Thus:

{{quote| ''Ez wuohs in Burgonden |{{!}} ein vil edel magedîn.''<br />

''Daz in allen landen |{{!}} niht schœners mohte sîn,''<br />

''Chriemhilt geheizen. |{{!}} si wart ein scœne wîp:''<br />

''Darumbe muosen degene |{{!}} vil verliesen den lîp.'' }}

{{quote| ''Ir pflâgen drîe künege, |{{!}} edel unde rîch:''<br />

''Gunther unde Gêrnôt, |{{!}} di rechen lobelîch,''<br />

''unt Gîselher der iunge, |{{!}} ein ûzerwelter degen.''<br />

''Diu frouwe was ir swester, |{{!}} di fürsten hetens in ir pflegen.'' }}

{{quote| ''In Burgundy grew up a maiden called Kriemhild, so noble that none fairer might exist in any lands. She was a lovely woman -- and for that many warriors had to lose their lives. Three kings, noble and rich, were her guardians: Gunther and Gernot, the praiseworthy fighters, and the young Giselher, an exceptional warrior. This lady was their sister, whom the princes had in their care.''}}

The ''Nibelungenlied'' is one of the sources for [[Richard Wagner]]'s ''[[DerThe Ring Desof Nibelungenthe (Theatre)Nibelung|Der Ring des Nibelungen]]'', though Wagner's work draws much more from Scandinavian sources; for instance, Wagner practically abandons the entire second half of the poem, and substantially ignores Kriemhild.

The last named takes considerable liberties with the plot in order to emphasise a more consciously pagan agenda, which some may consider a reversal of what the ''Nibelungenlied'' represented to its own original material. On the other hand, the ''Lied's'' (possibly clerical) author himself had imposed Christianity rather awkwardly on a decidedly paganish story -- as none other than [[Dichter Und Denker|Goethe]] once remarked, the Nibelung heroes seem to go to church largely in order to get into another fight.

* [[Achilles' Heel]]: Siegfried's shoulder, the only part of him which wasn't made invulnerable by the dragon's blood.

* [[Blood Bath]]: Siegfried becomes nearly invulnerable after bathing in the blood of the dragon -- except for [[Achilles' Heel|a spot on his shoulder]] that was covered by a leaf. Siegfried's blood bath predates the legends of Elizabeth Bathory (the [[Trope Maker]]) by over 500 years.

* [[Double Standard]]: Hildebrand kills Kriemhild because she killed Hagen, and neither Dietrich nor Etzel (Kriemhild's husband!) object or rebuke Hildebrand. No one cares about all the people Hagen killed, even though most of ''them'' were innocent. And while it's not okay for a woman to kill a man even if he deserved it, it is obviously okay for a man to kill a woman. In fact, Kriemhild's sudden death by Hildebrand is so ill-motivated that it can be regarded as a last-minute [[Ass Pull|contrivance]] just to [[Dropped a Bridge Onon Him|kill her off.]] The need to kill her off probably arose from the expectations of the audiences, who by the end of the poem would have seen her as a pure villainess who could not go unpunished.

* [[Death Byby Adaptation]]: Kriemhild's Norse counterpart Gudrun from the ''[[VolsungaThe Saga (Literature)of the Volsungs|Volsunga Saga]]'' survived the ordeal to get [[Break the Cutie|broken]] [[Up to Eleven|even more]], thus resulting in two more [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge|rampages]] before she finally [[Death Byby Despair|dies]].

** Since Hagen could easily have picked up a shield belonging to the many corpses lying around the hall, this has been interpreted as Hagen providing a way out of his [[Conflicting Loyalty]] dilemma. As Etzel's vassal, Rüdiger had to fight against the Burgundians, yet he had also sworn friendship to them when his daughter was betrothed to Gunther's brother Giselher, which entailed an obligation to aid them in a fight - which he now could fulfil by giving Hagen his shield.

* [[Kick the Dog]]: Hagen kills a grumpy old ferryman merely to get his boat. Though Hagen personally may interpret it as [[Shoot the Dog]].

* [[Nigh Invulnerability]]: Siegfried's skin became impenetrable when he bathed in the blood of the dragon -- except for the spot on his shoulder.

* [[Prophecy Twist]]: Some Nixes tell Hagen that only the chaplain accompanying the Nibelungs will return home, so when he ferries them over, he throws the chaplain into the Danube in an attempt to drown him. However, the chaplain safely makes it back to the northern shore and returns to Worms.

* [[Virgin Power]]: Queen Brunhild has superhuman strength, but only so long as she stays a virgin.

[[Category:Classic Literature of the 13th century]]