Although we know of several heroic epics that were
composed in Middle High German before 1200, the
anonymous Nibelungenlied is the most famous representative of this genre, sharing many of its monumental, tragic elements with epics like BEOWULF and
CANTAR DE MÍO CID. Composed and later copied
down around 1200, probably in Passau on behalf of
Bishop Wolfger of Erla, the Nibelungenlied reflects
historical events dating back to the fifth century
when the Huns under Attila attacked western Europe. In a battle against Roman and Hunnish forces
around 436/437, the Burgundian kingdom in the
Rhine Valley under King Gundahari was destroyed.
The king and thousands of his troops were killed,
and the remaining Burgundians were settled by the
Romans in the area now known as Burgundy. After
the Western Roman Empire ultimately collapsed in
476, the Ostrogothic king Theodoric (called Dietrich in the epic) established his rule over Italy with
the approval of the Eastern emperor Zeno in 493
and ruled until 526, but his successors could not
maintain control and were eventually defeated by
Byzantine forces.
The Nibelungenlied poet combined many of
these historical elements to create a mythical account, best reflected by the initial stanza, which also
indicates that he drew from oral sources: “We have
been told in ancient tales many marvels of famous
heroes of mighty toil, joys, and high festivities, of
weeping and wailing, and the fighting of bold warriors.” The epic consists of two major portions connected through the figure of Kriemhild, sister of the
three Burgundian kings Gunther, Gernôt, and
Giselher, and wife of the hero Siegfried.
Siegfried, whose father Sigemunt is king of the
Netherlands, arrives in Worms to woo Kriemhild,
whom he has never seen before but whose beauty
is famous. Gunther’s court steward, Hagen, relates
that Siegfried has accomplished many heroic
deeds, especially the slaying of a dragon. Siegfried
bathed in its blood and acquired an impenetrable
skin, except for one spot on his shoulder blade
where a leaf from a linden tree had fallen. Siegfried
at first demands that Gunther hand over his lands,
but the young hero, pacified by the thoughts of
Kriemhild, is soon mollified and inducted into the
courtly lifestyle. Nevertheless Hagen becomes his
mortal enemy, out of envy and fear of Siegfried’s
superior strength as displayed in warfare and at
hunting. Despite his glamorous appearance,
Siegfried quickly demonstrates an irrational and
weak character, easily influenced by others and
blind in the machinations in his surroundings. In
order to win Kriemhild’s hand, Siegfried foolishly
assists Gunther in winning the Icelandic queen
Brunhild by resorting to deception and cunning,
utilizing his magical cloak of invisibility.
Brunhild, who thought she was to be Siegfried’s,
distrusts her husband and rejects him on the wedding night, humiliating him by binding his hands
and feet and hanging him on a nail. Again,
Siegfried’s help is requested, and again he takes
Gunther’s place, using the magical cloak to defeat
Brunhild. Having subdued her, Siegfried takes her
ring and belt, symbolically raping her, and practically robbing her of all her superhuman strength.
Siegfried gives these two objects to his wife. Later
when the couple has returned to Worms for a visit,
Kriemhild and Brunhild quarrel over their ranks
while arranging their Mass procession. Brunhild assumes that Siegfried is nothing but Gunther’s vassal,
which would give her the superior rank over her
sister-in-law. But Kriemhild produces Brunhild’s
ring and belt. Calling her opponent Siegfried’s
whore, she triumphantly walks into the church
ahead of her competitor. Brunhild, deeply upset, appeals to Hagen, who convinces Gunther that
Siegfried has become a liability and must be killed.
During a hunting episode, he stabs Siegfried in the
back at the only spot where he is vulnerable, unwittingly revealed to him by Kriemhild. Although
Kriemhild immediately realizes who killed her husband and proves Hagen’s guilt when Siegfried’s
wound begins to bleed again in Hagen’s presence,
she has no means to avenge herself, especially after
Hagen takes from her Siegfried’s famous Nibelung
treasure and sinks it into the Rhine.
After 13 years of mourning, Kriemhild is wooed
by the Hunnish king Etzel (Attila), and although
he is a heathen, finally accepts his offer of marriage. Her motives, however, are transparent: She
hopes Etzel will provide her the military and monetary means to realize her revenge. Most important, her relative, Margrave Rüedeger, Etzel’s vassal,
secretly negotiates to protect her and to take revenge on anyone who might threaten Kriemhild
(1256–57). Seven years later, Kriemhild invites her
Burgundian family to visit and insists that Hagen
accompany them.
Gunther and his men accept the invitation and
travel to Hungary, but after they have crossed the
Danube, Hagen destroys their boat to ensure that
no coward among them dare flee for home. This is
in response to the “water nixes’ ” prophecy that
none but their chaplain will return alive. Hagen
tests the prophecy by throwing the chaplain overboard into the Danube. When the latter reaches
shore despite his inability to swim, Hagen knows
the warning is accurate.
Although King Etzel tries to treat his guests hospitably, Kriemhild incites hostilities, quickly leading to massive slaughters on both sides. Finally
Kriemhild reminds Etzel of his promise, and after
killing many warriors Rüedeger is confronted by
Gernôt: Tragically, they slay each other, although
Rüedeger’s daughter and Gernôt’s brother Giselher
had been engaged. Finally Kriemhild incites Dietrich, another exiled Germanic warrior at Etzel’s
court, to assist her, but all his men are killed except his master-at-arms, Hildebrand. Ultimately
Dietrich himself battles the sole survivors among
the Burgundians, Hagen and Gunther, taking both
prisoners without slaying them. Kriemhild, in her
insatiable desire for revenge, has Gunther killed,
and decapitates Hagen with her own hand when he
refuses to return the Nibelung treasure, a
metonymic symbol of Siegfried. Hildebrand, witnessing this horrible scene, leaps at her and cuts
her into pieces.
The Nibelungenlied poet gravely laments the
catastrophic outcome, but he refrains from telling
us anything about the subsequent events. An
anonymous poet later picked up this narrative
thread and composed a lengthy poem, Die Klage
(The Lament), which describes the enormous
grief affecting all survivors, their relatives, and
friends, until Gunther’s son is crowned as his successor. Many other heroic poems in various languages later drew from the Nibelungenlied,
demonstrating its enormous popularity and powerful literary messages regarding the consequences of violence, revenge, hatred, jealousy,
irrational discourse, lack of communication, and
the tragic implications of absolute bonds of
blood fealty.
Since the publication of its first modern edition in 1782, the Nibelungenlied has been a major
source for mythical reflections about the Middle
Ages and was abused as a treasure house for modern nationalistic, even Nazi ideology, especially
when concepts such as honor, supreme loyalty,
leadership, and absolute heroism in the name of
the fatherland were evoked. Hermann Göring’s
perverse comparison of the Battle of Stalingrad in
1943 with the Burgundians’ final battle at the
court of King Etzel stands out. More spiritual approaches informed Friedrich Hebbel’s drama Nibelungen (1862) and Richard Wagner’s Der Ring
des Nibelungen (1876). The profound and continuous influence of the poem can be documented
by a vast number of modern retellings, translations, movies, paintings, and dramatizations.
Bibliography
Classen, Albrecht. “The Downfall of a Hero:
Siegfried’s Self-Destruction and the End of Heroism in the Nibelungenlied,” German Studies Review
26, no. 2 (2003): 295–314.
Das Nibelungenlied. After the edition by Karl Bartsch.
22nd ed. by Roswitha Wisniewski. Mannheim,
Germany: Brockhaus, 1988.
Gentry, Francis G., Winder McConnell, Ulrich
Müller, and Werner Wunderlich, eds. The Nibelungen Tradition: An Encyclopedia. New York:
Routledge, 2002.
Hatto, A. T., trans. The Nibelungenlied. London: Penguin, 1965.
Haymes, Edward R., and Susann T. Samples. Heroic
Legends of the North: An Introduction to the Nibelung and Dietrich Cycles. New York: Garland,
1996.
McConnell, Winder, ed. A Companion to the Nibelungenlied. Columbia, S.C.: Camden House and Boydell and Brewer, 1998.
Albrecht Classen