Nibelungenlied
Also known as: The Nibelungenlay, Song of the Nibelungs, Das Nibelungenlied, Lay of the Nibelungs
A Middle High German epic blending heroic legend and courtly concerns: Siegfried’s triumphs and murder ignite Kriemhild’s long vengeance, culminating in a catastrophic blood-feud at Etzel’s hall.
Description
Composed around 1200 in Middle High German, the Nibelungenlied reworks older heroic materials into a courtly-epic form. The first part follows Siegfried of Xanten: his arrival at Worms, aid to King Gunther in winning Brunhild through feats concealed by the Tarnkappe, marriage to Kriemhild, and betrayal and murder instigated by Hagen. The second part traces Kriemhild’s mourning, acquisition and loss of the Nibelung hoard, her marriage to Etzel (Attila), and the invitation that draws the Burgundians to Hungary, where loyalties, oaths, and hospitality collapse into relentless slaughter. Figures such as Rüdiger, Dietrich, and Hildebrand embody competing codes of fealty and honor. The poem ends starkly with near-total destruction, casting heroic glory and courtly ideals into tragic irony.
Historiography
The epic survives chiefly in three principal early-13th-century redactions—manuscripts A (Munich), B (St. Gallen), and C (Hohenems)—which differ in diction, tone, and closure, with C often presenting a more moralizing courtly register. Its stanzaic form (the so-called Nibelungenstrophe) suggests performance or recitation contexts. The work engages shared Germanic legend also preserved in Norse sources (e.g., Völsunga saga, Eddic lays) and the Þiðrekssaga. Rediscovered and canonized in the 18th–19th centuries, notably through Lachmann’s philological editions, it became emblematic of a German national epic while continuing to prompt debates on genre, sources, and ideology.
Date Notes
Poet likely from the Danube/Passau region; earliest surviving manuscripts (A, B, C) date to early 13th century.
Archetypes
Major Characters
- Siegfried
- Kriemhild
- Gunther
- Hagen
- Brunhild
- Etzel
Myths
- Siegfried and the Dragon
- The Hoard of the Nibelungs
- Brünhild’s Wooing
- The Murder of Siegfried
- Kriemhild’s Vengeance at Etzel’s Court
Facts
- Composed in Middle High German using the Nibelungenstrophe (four long-lines with caesurae).
- Principal witnesses are the early 13th-century A, B, and C manuscripts.
- Set primarily in Worms on the Rhine and at Etzel’s court in Hungary.
- Siegfried’s invulnerability is marred by a single spot where a linden leaf fell.
- The Tarnkappe grants invisibility and superhuman strength in Brunhild’s trials.
- The title 'Nibelungen' comes to denote the Burgundians after Siegfried’s death.
- The poem fuses heroic-age legend with courtly-epic sensibilities and ethics of fealty.
- Ruediger of Bechelaren embodies conflicting obligations of guest-friendship and liege-duty.
- Dietrich of Bern and Hildebrand link the epic to a wider Germanic heroic cycle.
- A sequel, the 'Nibelungenklage', offers a reflective epilogue on the catastrophe.