Nibelungenleid

The (, or ; or ), translated as ''The Song of the Nibelungs'', is an epic poem written around 1200 in Middle High German. Its anonymous poet was likely from the region of Passau. The is based on an oral tradition of Germanic heroic legend that has some of its origin in historic events and individuals of the 5th and 6th centuries and that spread throughout almost all of Germanic-speaking Europe. Scandinavian parallels to the German poem are found especially in the heroic lays of the ''Poetic Edda'' and in the ''Völsunga saga''.

The poem is split into two parts. In the first part, the prince Siegfried comes to Worms to acquire the hand of the Burgundian princess Kriemhild from her brother King Gunther. Gunther agrees to let Siegfried marry Kriemhild if Siegfried helps Gunther acquire the warrior-queen Brünhild as his wife. Siegfried does this and marries Kriemhild; however, Brünhild and Kriemhild become rivals, leading eventually to Siegfried's murder by the Burgundian vassal Hagen with Gunther's involvement.

In the second part, the widow Kriemhild is married to Etzel, king of the Huns. She later invites her brother and his court to visit Etzel's kingdom intending to kill Hagen. Her revenge results in the death of all the Burgundians who came to Etzel's court as well as the destruction of Etzel's kingdom and the death of Kriemhild herself.

The was the first heroic epic put into writing in the German vernacular, helping to found a larger genre of written heroic poetry there. The poem's tragedy appears to have bothered its medieval audience, and very early on a sequel was written, the , which made the tragedy less final. The poem was forgotten after around 1500 but was rediscovered in 1755. Dubbed the "German ''Iliad''", the began a new life as the German national epic. The poem was appropriated for nationalist purposes and was heavily used in anti-democratic, reactionary, and Nazi propaganda before and during the Second World War. Its legacy today is most visible in Richard Wagner's operatic cycle , which, however, is mostly based on Old Norse sources. In 2009, the three main manuscripts of the were inscribed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in recognition of their historical significance. It has been called "one of the most impressive, and certainly the most powerful, of the German epics of the Middle Ages".

Versions and manuscripts

There are 37 known manuscripts and manuscript fragments of the ''Nibelungenlied'' and its variant versions.Se
Handschriftencensus
/ref> Eleven of these manuscripts are essentially complete. Twenty-four manuscripts are in various fragmentary states of completion, including one version in Dutch (manuscript "T").

The text of the different manuscripts of the ''Nibelungenlied'' varies considerably from one another, though there is less variance than found in many other Middle High German heroic epics, such as the Dietrich epics. Although the different versions vary in their exact wording and include or exclude stanzas found in other versions, the general order of events, the order of the appearance of characters, their actions, and the content of their speeches are all relatively stable between versions extant before the 1400s. Generally, scholars have proposed that all versions of the ''Nibelungenlied'' derive from an original version (the "archetype") via alterations and reworking; instead proposes that the ''Nibelungenlied'' has always existed in variant forms, connecting this variance to the transmission of the epic's material from orality to literacy.

Using the versions provided by the three oldest complete manuscripts, the Hohenems-Munich manuscript A (c. 1275-1300), the Sankt Gall manuscript B (c. 1233-1266), and the Hohenems-Donaueschingen manuscript C (c. 1225-1250), scholars have traditionally differentiated two versions that existed near the time of the poem's composition; A and B are counted as belonging to a single version *AB, while a version *C is attested by manuscript C and most of the earliest fragments, including the oldest attestation of the ''Nibelungenlied''. Using the final words of the epic, *AB is also called the ''Not''-version, and *C the ''Lied-''version; the *C version is clearly a reworking of an earlier version, but it is not clear if this version was *AB; *AB may also be an expanded version of an earlier text. Most scholars assume that manuscript B is the closest to the original *AB version.

By 1300, the ''Nibelungenlied'' was circulating in at least five versions:
#the ''Not''-version *A;
#the ''Not''-version *B;
#the ''Lied''-version *C;
#in a mixed version *Db;
#in a mixed version *Jdh (or *J/*d).
Most fragments from after 1300 belong to the two mixed versions (), which appear to be based on copies of both the ''Not'' and ''Lied'' versions. Three later manuscripts provide variant versions: one, m (after 1450), is lost while two are still extant: n (c. 1470/80) and k (c.1480/90). Manuscripts m and n contain a story of Siegfried's youth that more closely resembles that found in the Old Norse '' Þiðreks saga'' and early modern German ''Lied vom Hürnen Seyfrid'', while k shortens the text and modernizes the language.

Synopsis

Opening stanza

The famous opening of the ''Nibelungenlied'' is actually thought to be an addition by the adaptor of the "*C" version of the ''Nibelungenlied'', as it does not appear in the manuscript of B, which probably represents the earlier version. It may have been inspired by the prologue of the ''Nibelungenklage''.

;Original (MS C)
:Uns ist in alten mæren wunders vil geseit
:von helden lobebæren, von grôzer arebeit,
:von fröuden, hôchgezîten, von weinen und von klagen,
:von küener recken strîten muget ir nu wunder hœren sagen.

;Modern German
:Uns ist in alten Geschichten viel Staunenswertes gesagt
:von ruhmwürdigen Helden, von großer Mühsal (im Kampf),
:von Freuden und Festen, von Weinen und Klagen,
:vom Kampf kühner Helden könnt ihr jetzt viel Staunenswertes sagen hören.

;English
:In ancient tales many marvels are told us:
:of renowned heroes worthy of praise, of great hardship,
:of joys, festivities, of weeping and lamenting,
:of bold warriors' battles—now you may hear such marvels told.

Manuscript B instead begins with the introduction of Kriemhild, the protagonist of the work.

Part 1

Kriemhild grows up as a beautiful woman in Worms, the capital of the Burgundian kingdom, under the protection of her brothers Gunther, Gernot, and Giselher. There she has a dream portending doom, in which she raises a falcon that is killed by two eagles. Her mother explains that this means she will love a man who will be killed; Kriemhild thus swears to remain unmarried.

At the same time, the young Siegfried is receiving his courtly education in the Netherlands; he is dubbed a knight and decides that he will go to Worms to ask for Kriemhild as his wife. The story of how Siegfried slew a dragon, winning a large hoard of gold, and then bathed in the dragon's blood to receive an impenetrable skin is then recounted by Hagen, one of Gunther's vassals, when the Burgundians see Siegfried approaching. Siegfried lives in Worms for a year without seeing Kriemhild before Siegfried helps Gunther fight against attack by the Saxons and Danes. Because of his valor in combat, he is finally allowed to see Kriemhild.

Gunther decides that he wishes to take the Icelandic queen Brünhild as his wife. However, Brünhild is supernaturally strong and challenges those seeking her hand in marriage in various martial and physical contests, killing the losers. Therefore, Gunther wants Siegfried's help; Siegfried tells Gunther he shouldn't marry Brünhild, but is convinced to help by Gunther's promise that he will let him marry Kriemhild in exchange. Arriving in Iceland, Siegfried claims to be Gunther's vassal and uses his magical cloak of invisibility () to secretly help Gunther win in all of the contests and Brünhilt agrees to return to Worms and marry Gunther. Once they have returned, Siegfried ask Kriemhild to marry him; this displeases Brünhild, as she believes Siegfried to be a vassal while Kriemhild is the daughter of a king. When Gunther does not explain why he is letting a vassal marry his sister, Brünhild refuses to sleep with him on their wedding night, instead tying him up and hanging him from a hook. The next night, Gunther asks Siegfried to wrestle Brünhild into submission using his ; Siegfried takes Brünhilds belt and ring as a trophy and then lets Gunther take her virginity, causing her to lose her strength.

After the wedding, Siegfried and Kriemhild return to the Netherlands. Before they do, Kriemhild wants to ask for her part of the inheritance from her brothers, but Siegfried advises her not to. Kriemhild wishes to take Hagen with her, but he refuses. Many years pass. In the Netherlands, Siegfried and Kriemhild are crowned; both couples have a son.

Brünhild is unhappy that Siegfried, whom she still believes to be Gunther's vassal, never comes to pay tribute. She convinces Gunther to invite Siegfried and Kriemhild to Worms for a feast. However, she and Kriemhild soon begin arguing about which of their husband's has the higher rank. The conflict peaks when both Kriemhild and Brünhild arrive at the cathedral at the same time; the higher ranking one should enter first. Brünhild repeats her assertion that Siegfried is a vassal, after which Kriemhild claims that Siegfried, not Gunther, took Brünhild's virginity, producing the ring and belt as proof. Siegfried and Gunther afterwards deny this, but Brünhild remains offended. Hagen advises Gunther to have Siegfried murdered.

Hagen goes to Kriemhild and tells her that there is a new war brewing against the Saxons; he would like to know where Siegfried is vulnerable so that he can protect him. Kriemhild agrees to mark the spot between Siegfried's shoulder blades where a leaf had prevented his skin from becoming invulnerable. Rather than a war, however, Gunther invites Siegfried to go hunting. When Siegfried is bent over a spring to drink water, Hagen spears him in the back, killing him. The body is placed in front of Kriemhild's door. Kriemhild immediately suspects Gunther and Hagen and her suspicions are confirmed when Siegfried's corpse bleeds in Hagen's presence. Siegfried is buried and Kriemhild chooses to stay in Worms, eventually officially reconciling with Hagen and her brothers though she stays in mourning. Hagen has Siegfried's hoard taken from her. Kriemhild remains unmarried for 13 years.

Part 2

After the death of his first wife, Helche, Etzel, the king of the Huns, chooses to ask Kriemhild to marry him. All of the Burgundians except for Hagen are in favor of the match. Kriemhild only agrees after Etzel's messenger, Margrave Rüdiger von Bechelaren, swears loyalty to her personally and she realizes she can use the Huns to gain revenge on Siegfried's murderers. Before her departure, she demands Siegfried's treasure but Hagen refuses her. After seven years as Etzel's wife, Kriemhild bears him a son, Ortlieb, and after thirteen years, she convinces Etzel to invite her brothers and Hagen to a feast. In Worms, Hagen advises against traveling to Etzel's castle, but Gunther and his brothers believe that Kriemhild has reconciled with them and decide to go. Nevertheless, they take Hagen's advice to travel with an army.

The departure of the Burgundians, who are now increasingly called Nibelungs, is accompanied by various ill omens, but these are all dismissed by Hagen. When the Burgundians are about to cross the Danube in Bavaria, Hagen encounters three nixies, who prophecy to him that only the king's chaplain will return from Etzel's hall. To try to prove the prophecy false, Hagen throws the chaplain overboard from the ferry, but he swims to shore and returns to Worms. Hagen then destroys the ferry once they have landed to show that there can be no return. When the Bavarians attack the Burgundians in order to avenge their ferryman, whom Hagen had killed, Hagen takes control of the defense and defeats them. The Burgundians then arrive in Etzel's kingdom and are welcomed to the city of Bechelaren by the Margrave Rüdiger; on Hagen's suggestion, Rüdiger betroths his daughter to Gisleher and gives Gernot a sword and Hagen a shield.

When the Burgundians arrive at Etzelnburg, they are warned by Dietrich von Bern that Kriemhild hates them. Kriemhild greets only Gisleher with a kiss and asks Hagen if he has brought with him what he took from her; later, she approaches him wearing her crown and in the company of many armed men. Hagen refuses to stand up for Kriemhild and places Siegfried's sword across her legs; recognizing it, Kriemhild's accompanying Huns still refuse to attack Hagen. Etzel, meanwhile, is clueless about these events and welcomes his guests warmly.

Hagen advises the Burgundians to remain armed. Fighting almost breaks out at a tournament when the Burgundian Volker von Alzey kills a Hun in a joust, but Etzel is able to prevent it. Kriemhild then seeks to convince Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand to attack the Burgundians; they refuse, but Etzel's brother Bloedelin agrees. At the following feast, Kriemhild has her and Etzel's son Ortlieb brought into the hall. Bloedelin then attacks and kills the Burgundian squires outside the feast hall, but is killed by Hagen's brother, Dankwart. When Dankwart, the sole survivor, enters the hall and reports the attack, Hagen beheads Ortlieb, and fighting breaks out within the feast hall itself. The Huns are unarmed and slaughtered, but Dietrich and Hildebrand arrange for Etzel, Kriemhild, Rüdiger, and their own men to exit the hall.

The Burgundians barricade themselves in the hall, which is besieged by Etzel's warriors. Various Hunnish attempts to attack are repulsed, but a truce cannot be agreed because Kriemhild demands that Hagen be handed over to her. Kriemhild orders the hall set on fire, but the Burgundians survive. The next day, Etzel and Kriemhild force Rüdiger to enter the battle, although he is bound by guest-friendship and kinship to the Burgundians. He fights Gernot and the two kill each other. Rüdiger's death causes Dietrich von Bern's heroes to intervene, although Dietrich has told them not to. The conflict leads to the death of all the Burgundians except Hagen and Gunther, and all of Dietrich's heroes except for his mentor Hildebrand. Dietrich himself now fights and takes Hagen and Gunther prisoner.

Kriemhild demands that Hagen give her back what he has taken from her. He convinces her that he will tell her where Siegfried's hoard is if she first kills Gunther, but afterwards tells her that now she will never learn. Kriemhild kills Hagen with Siegfried's sword. That this great hero has been killed by a woman sickens Etzel, Dietrich, and Hildebrand. Hagen's death so enrages Hildebrand that he kills Kriemhild.

Authorship and dating

The ''Nibelungenlied'', like other Middle High German heroic epics, is anonymous. This anonymity extends to discussions of literature in other Middle High German works: although it is common practice to judge or praise the poems of others, no other poet refers to the author of the ''Nibelungenlied''. Attempts to identify the ''Nibelungenlied-''poet with known authors, such as Bligger von Steinach, to whom a lost epic is attributed by Gottfried von Strassburg, have not found wide acceptance. The poem is nevertheless believed to have had a single author, possibly working in a "Nibelungen workshop" ("") together with the author of the ''Nibelungenklage''. The latter work identifies a "meister Konrad" as the author of an original Latin version of the ''Nibelungenlied'', but this is generally taken for a fiction. Although a single ''Nibelungenlied-''poet is often posited, the degree of variance in the text and its background in an amorphous oral tradition mean that ideas of authorial intention must be applied with caution. It is also possible that there were several poets involved, perhaps under the direction of a single "leader" who could be considered the "''Nibelungenlied-''poet".

The ''Nibelungenlied'' is conventionally dated to around the year 1200. Wolfram von Eschenbach references the cook Rumolt, usually taken to be an invention of the ''Nibelungenlied-''poet, in his romance ''Parzival'' (c. 1204/5), thereby providing an upper bound on the date the epic must have been composed. Additionally, the poem's rhyming technique most closely resembles that used between 1190 and 1205. Attempts to show that the poem alludes to various historical events have generally not been convincing.

The current theory of the creation of the poem emphasizes the poet's concentration on the region of Passau: for example, the poem highlights the relatively unimportant figure of Bishop Pilgrim of Passau, and the poet's geographical knowledge appears much more firm in this region than elsewhere. These facts, combined with the dating, have led scholars to believe that Wolfger von Erla, Bishop of Passau of the poem. Wolfger is known to have patronized other literary figures, such as Walther von der Vogelweide and Thomasin von Zirclaere. The attention paid to Bishop Pilgrim, who represents the real historical figure Bishop Pilgrim of Passau, would thus be an indirect homage to Wolfger. Wolfger was, moreover, attempting to establish the sainthood of Pilgrim at the time of the poem's composition, giving an additional reason for his prominence.

Some debate exists as to whether the poem is an entirely new creation or whether there was a previous version. German medievalist Jan-Dirk Müller claims that the poem in its written form is entirely new, although he admits the possibility that an orally transmitted epic with relatively consistent contents could have preceded it. German philologist Elisabeth Lienert, on the other hand, posits an earlier version of the text from around 1150 due to the ''Nibelungenlied's'' use of a stanzaic form current around that time (see Form and style).

Whoever the poet may have been, they appear to have had a knowledge of German Minnesang and chivalric romance. The poem's concentration on love (''minne'') and its depiction of Siegfried as engaging in love service for Kriemhild is in line with courtly romances of the time, with Heinrich von Veldeke's ''Eneasroman'' perhaps providing concrete models. Other possible influences are Hartmann von Aue's ''Iwein'' and ''Erec''. These courtly elements are described by Jan-Dirk Müller as something of a façade, under which the older heroic ethos of the poem remains. Additionally, the poet seems to have known Latin literature. The role given to Kriemhild in the second (originally first) stanza is suggestive of Helen of Troy, and the poem appears to have taken a number of elements from Vergil's ''Aeneid''. There is some debate as to whether the poet was acquainted with Old French ''chanson de geste''.

Form and style

The language of the ''Nibelungenlied'' is characterized by its formulaic nature, a feature of oral poetry, meaning that similar or identical words, epithets, phrases, and even lines can be found in various positions throughout the poem. These elements can be used flexibly for different purposes in the poem. As the ''Nibelungenlied'' is generally thought to have been conceived as a written work, these elements are typically taken as signs of "fictive orality" ("") that underscore the connection of the poem to its traditionally oral subject matter.

The ''Nibelungenlied'' is written in four-line stanzas. Although no melody has survived for the text, melodies for similar stanzas in other German heroic poems have, so that it is certain that the text was meant to be sung. The stanza consists of three ("long lines"), which consist of three Foot (prosody)">metrical feet