Nibelungenlied

Background/History• The Nibelungenlied, translated as The Song of the Nibelungs, is

an epic poem in Middle High German. The story tells of dragon-

slayer Siegfried at the court of the Burundians, how he was

murdered, and of his wife Kriemhild's revenge.

•A historical nucleus of the saga lies in events of the Germanic Migration Period,

in particular the defeat of the Burundians by Flavius Etuis with the

aid of Hunnish mercenaries near Worms in ca. AD 436. Other possible influences are the feud between the 6th

century Merovingian queens Brunhilda and Frede

gunde, as well as the marriage of Attila with the Burgundian princess Ildikó in AD

453.

Settings:The Nibelungenlied is a

German epic poem which was written sometime around

1200, probably in what is today Austria.

Characters:Siegfried - Crown Prince of Xanten; dragon-slayer

Gunther - King of Burgundy; his brother Gernot and Giselher

Kriemhild - Heroine of SiegfriedBrunhild - Queen of Iceland, a beautiful maiden of

almost superhuman strength.Hagen - the faithful vassal of Gunther

Etzel (Attila) - King of HunsAlberich - The dwarf who was the Lord Treasurer of

the Nibelung dynasty. When Siegfried conquered the Nibelung brothers, he took his magic cloak of

invisibility and made Alberich Lord Treasurer of the Nibelung treasure.

Summary:The hero of Nibelungelied is Siegfried, the crown prince of Xanten and dragon slayer,

and its heroine Kriemhild the sister of Gunther, king of Burgundy and brothers of

Gernot and Giselher.Kriemhild has a dream of a falcon that is

killed by two eagles which means her future¶s husband will die in a violent

death and consequently revolves to remain unmarried.

Summary:Siegfried arrived in Worms (is a city in

Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River) with the hopes in wooing Kriemhild. Upon his arrival, Hagen, one of King Gunther's vassals, tells Gunther about Siegfried's youthful exploits that involved winning a treasure and lands from

a pair of brothers, Nibelung and Schilbung, whom Siegfried had killed when he was unable

to divide the treasure between them and, almost incidentally, the killing of a dragon.

Siegfried leaves his treasure in the charge of a dwarf named Alberich.

Summary:After killing the dragon, Siegfried then

bathed in its blood, which rendered him invulnerable. Unfortunately for

Siegfried, a leaf fell onto his back from a linden tree, and the small patch of

skin that the leaf covered did not come into contact with the dragon's blood, leaving Siegfried vulnerable in

that single spot.

Summary:Siegfried finally meets Kriemhild.

Gunther requests Siegfried to sail with him to the fictional city of Isenstein in

Iceland to win the hand of the Iceland's Queen, Brünhild. Siegfried

agrees, though only if Gunther allows him to marry Gunther's sister,

Kriemhild, whom Siegfried pines for.

Summary:Gunther, Siegfried and a group of Burgundians set

sail for Iceland with Siegfried pretending to be Gunther's vassal. Upon their arrival, Brünhild

challenges Gunther to a trial of strength with her hand in marriage as a reward. If they lose, however,

they will be sentenced to death. She challenges Gunther to three athletic contests, throwing a

javelin, tossing a boulder, and a leap. After seeing the boulder and javelin, it becomes apparent to the group that Brünhild is immensely strong and they fear for their lives. Gunther wins only because of Siegfried, putting on his cloak of invinsibility and

performs all the actions for him.

Summary:Gunther wins Brunhild for his wife and a doble wedding is performed

in the Burgundy. Gunther is married to Brunhild and Siegfried

is married to Kriemhild. They had a son, Brunhild named his son

Siegfried while Kriemhild named his son Gunther.

Summary:However, on their wedding night, Brünhild suspects something is amiss with her situation, particularly

suspecting Siegfried a potential cause. Gunther attempts to sleep with her and, with her great strength, she easily ties Gunther up and leaves him that way all night. Siegfried slips into the room according to plan and after a difficult and violent struggle, an invisible

Siegfried defeats Brünhild. Siegfried then takes her ring and belt, which are symbols of defloration. Here it is implied that Siegfried sleeps with Brünhild despite Gunther's request. Afterwards, Brünhild no longer

possesses her once-great strength and says she will no longer refuse Gunther. Siegfried gives the ring and belt

to his own newly wed, Kriemhild.

Summary:The two queens had an argument and is

both a risk for the marriage of Gunther and Brünhild and a potential cause for a lethal

rivalry between Gunther and Siegfried, which both Gunther and Siegfried attempt to avoid. Hagen contrives a false military

threat to Gunther and Siegfried, considering Gunther a great friend,

volunteers to help Gunther once again.

Summary:Under the context of this threat of war, Hagen persuades Kriemhild, who still trusts Hagen, to mark Siegfried's single vulnerable point on his

clothing with a cross under the premise of protecting him. Now knowing Siegfried's

weakness, the fake campaign is called off and Hagen then uses the cross as a target on a

hunting trip, killing Siegfried with a spear as he is drinking from a brook. Further dishonoring

Siegfried, Hagen steals the hoard from Kriemhild and throws it into theRhine (Rheingold), to

prevent Kriemhild from using it to establish an army of her own.

Revenge:Kriemhild swears to take revenge for the murder of her

husband and the theft of her treasure. Many years later, King Etzel of the Huns (Attila the Hun) proposes to

Kriemhild, she journeys to the land of the Huns, and they are 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 realizes that it is a trick of Kriemhild in order to take revenge and kill them all.

As the Burgundians cross the Danube, this fate is confirmed by Nixes, who predict that all but one monk

will die. Hagen tries to drown the monk in order to render the prophecy futile, but he survives.

Revenge:The Burgundians arrive at Etzel's castle and are welcomed by Kriemhild "with lying smiles and

graces". But the lord Dietrich of Bern, an ally of Etzel's, advises the Burgundians to keep their

weapons with them at all times, which is normally not allowed. The tragedy unfolds. Kriemhild comes before Hagen, reproaches him for her husband Siegfried's death, and demands the

return of her Nibelungenschatz. Hagen answers her boldly, admitting that he killed Siegfried and sank the Nibelungen treasure into the Rhine, but blames these acts on Kriemhild's own behaviour.

Revenge:King Etzel then welcomes his wife's brothers

warmly. But outside a tense feast in the great hall, a fight breaks out between Huns and Burgundians,

and soon there is general mayhem. When word of the fight arrives at the feast, Hagen decapitates

Kriemhild and Etzel's little son before his parents' eyes. The Burgundians take control of the hall, which is besieged by Etzel's warriors. Kriemhild offers her brothers their lives if they hand over

Hagen, but they refuse. The battle lasts all day, until the queen orders the hall to be burned with the

Burgundians inside.

Revenge:All of the Burgundians are killed except for

Hagen and Gunther, who are bound and held prisoner by Dietrich of Bern. Kriemhild has the

men brought before her and orders her brother Gunther to be killed. Even after seeing

Gunther's head, Hagen refuses to tell the queen what he has done with the Nibelungen

treasure. Furious, Kriemhild herself cuts off Hagen's head. Old Hildebrand, the mentor of Dietrich of Bern, is infuriated by the shameful

deaths of the Burgundian guests.

Revenge:He hews Kriemhild to pieces with his

sword. In a fifteenth century manuscript, he is said to strike Kriemhild a single clean

blow to the waist; she feels no pain, however, and declares that his sword is

useless. Hildebrand then drops a ring and commands Kriemhild to pick it up. As she bends down, her body falls into pieces.

Dietrich and Etzel and all the people of the court lament the deaths of so many heroes