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What is the message of the epic Nibelungenlied?
The Nibelungenlied, translated as The Song of the Nibelungs, is an epic poem in Middle High German. It tells the story of dragon-slayer Siegfried at the court of the Burgundians, his murder, and of his wife Kriemhild’s revenge, which ultimately brings about the deaths of every one of the main protagonists.
What is the greatest German epic?
The most “definitive” text of the Germanic epics, the Nibelungenlied (probably composed near Passau, ca. 1203–1205) deserves our attention for its paradigmatic value.
Who is the epic hero of Nibelungenlied?
The two main heroes of the “Nibelungenlied” are Siegfried and Kriemhild. This is because Siegfried is a strong warrior-prince also capable…
What is Nibelung in German mythology?
Nibelung. The German Nibelungen — with the corresponding Old Norse form Niflung — is the name in Germanic and Norse mythology of the royal family or lineage of the Burgundians who settled in the early 5th century at Worms. The vast wealth of the Burgundians is often referred to as the Niblung or Niflung hoard.
What is the meaning of Nibelungenlied?
Nibelungenlied in British English German (ˈniːbəlʊŋənliːt ) noun. a medieval High German heroic epic of unknown authorship based on German history and legend and written about 1200.
Why is the story called the nibelungenlied?
The Nibelungs of the poem’s title were originally evil dwarves who had a magical but cursed treasure of gold. The dwarfs known as the Nibelungs lived in Nibelheim, an underground land of darkness or mist. Many stories about their treasure appear in Norse and Germanic mythology.
Who wrote the epic work Nibelungenlied?
Composed nearly eight hundred years ago by an unnamed poet, the Nibelungenlied is the principal literary expression of those heroic legends of which Richard Wagner made such free use in. A. T. Hatto’s translation transforms an old text into a story as readable and exciting as Homer’s Iliad.
How does the nibelungenlied end?
Each side lost many brave warriors, but the Nibelungs were greatly outnumbered, and in the end every one of them was killed. Gunther and Hagen were the last to die. Both were captured by the Hungarians. Kriemhild ordered that Gunther’s head be cut off and then delivered to Hagen.
When was Nibelungenlied written?
about 1200
Nibelungenlied, (German: “Song of the Nibelungs”) Middle High German epic poem written about 1200 by an unknown Austrian from the Danube region. It is preserved in three main 13th-century manuscripts, A (now in Munich), B (St.