Song of the Nibelungs

The epic is divided into two parts, the first dealing with the story of Siegfried and

Kriemhild, the wooing of Brünhild and the death of Siegfried at the hands of Hagen, and

Hagen's hiding of the Nibelung treasure in the Rhine (Chapters 1–19). The second part

deals with Kriemhild's marriage to Etzel, her plans for revenge, the journey of the

Burgundians to the court of Etzel, and their last stand in Etzel's hall (Chapters 20–39).

The first chapter introduces the court of Burgundy. Kriemhild (the virgin sister of King

Gunther, and his brothers Gernot and Giselher) has a dream of a falcon that is killed by

two eagles. Her mother interprets this to mean that Kriemhild's future husband will die a

violent death, and Kriemhild consequently resolves to remain unmarried.

The second chapter tells of the background of Siegfried, crown prince of Xanten. His

youth is narrated with little room for the adventures later attributed to him. In the third

chapter, Siegfried arrives in Worms with the hopes of wooing Kriemhild. Upon his

arrival, Hagen von Tronje, 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.

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. In spite of Hagen's threatening
stories about his youth, the Burgundians welcome him, but do not allow him to meet the

princess. Disappointed, he nonetheless remains in Worms and helps Gunther defeat

the invading Saxons.

In Chapter 5, Siegfried finally meets Kriemhild. Gunther requests Siegfried to sail with

him to the fictional city of Isenstein in Iceland to win the hand of Iceland's Queen,

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

Kriemhild, whom Siegfried pines for. 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.

Genealogy

Siegfried quietly returns to the boat on which his group had sailed and retrieves his

special cloak, which renders him invisible and gives him the strength of 12 men

(Chapters 6–8). Siegfried, with his immense strength, invisibly leads Gunther through

the trials. Unknowingly deceived, the impressed Brünhild thinks King Gunther, not

Siegfried, defeated her and agrees to marry Gunther. Gunther becomes afraid that

Brünhild may yet be planning to kill them, so Siegfried goes to Nibelungenland and

single-handedly conquers the kingdom. Siegfried makes them his vassals and returns

with a thousand of them, himself going ahead as messenger. The group of

Burgundians, Gunther and Gunther's new wife-to-be Brünhild return to Worms, where a

grand reception awaits them and they marry to much fanfare. Siegfried and Kriemhild

are also then married with Gunther's blessings.

However, on their wedding night, Brünhild suspects something is amiss with her

situation, particularly suspecting Siegfried as a potential cause. Gunther attempts to

sleep with her and, with her great strength, she easily ties him up and leaves him that

way all night. After he tells Siegfried of this, Siegfried again offers his help, proposing

that he slip into their chamber at night with his invisibility cloak and silently beat Brünhild

into submission. Gunther agrees but says that Siegfried must not sleep with Brünhild.

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, in Chapter 10.

Years later, Brünhild, still feeling as if she had been lied to, goads Gunther into inviting

Siegfried and Kriemhild to their kingdom. Brünhild does this because she is still under

the impression that Gunther married off his sister to a low-ranking vassal (while Gunther

and Siegfried are in reality of equal rank) yet the normal procedures are not being

followed between the two ranks combined with her lingering feelings of suspicion. Both

Siegfried and Kriemhild come to Worms and all is friendly between the two until, before

entering Worms Cathedral, Kriemhild and Brünhild argue over who should have

precedence according to their husbands' perceived ranks.

Having been earlier deceived about the relationship between Siegfried and Gunther,

Brünhild thinks it is obvious that she should go first, through custom of her perceived

social rank. Kriemhild, unaware of the deception involved in Brünhild's wooing, insists

that they are of equal rank and the dispute escalates. Severely angered, Kriemhild

shows Brünhild first the ring and then the belt that Siegfried took from Brünhild on her

wedding night, and then calls her Siegfried's kebse (mistress or concubine). Brünhild

feels greatly distressed and humiliated, and bursts into tears.

The argument between the queens 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. Gunther acquits Siegfried of the charges.

Despite this, Hagen von Tronje decides to kill Siegfried to protect the honor and reign of

his king. Although it is Hagen who does the deed, Gunther – who at first objects to the

plot – along with his brothers knows of the plan and quietly assents. Hagen contrives a

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

volunteers to help Gunther once again.

Under the pretext 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 javelin as he is drinking from a brook (Chapter 16). Kriemhild becomes aware of

Hagen's deed when, in Hagen's presence, the corpse of Siegfried bleeds at the site of

the wound (an old Norse legend held that the corpse of a murdered person would bleed

in the presence of the murderer, known as cruentation).[4] This perfidious murder is

particularly dishonorable in medieval thought, as throwing a javelin is the manner in

which one might slaughter a wild beast, not a knight. We see this in other literature of

the period, such as with Parsifal's unwittingly dishonorable crime of combatting and

slaying knights with a javelin (transformed into a swan in Wagner's opera).[5] Further

dishonoring Siegfried, Hagen steals the hoard from Kriemhild and throws it into the

Rhine (Rheingold), to prevent Kriemhild from using it to establish an army of her own.[6]

Kriemhild's 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, suspecting that it is a trick by Kriemhild in order to

take revenge and kill them all, but is taunted until he does. 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.

Kriemhild showing Gunther's head to Hagen (Johann Heinrich Füssli, ca. 1805)

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 as Kriemhild comes before Hagen, reproaching him for

her husband Siegfried's death, and demands that he return her Nibelungenschatz. Not

only did Hagen humilate her right from arrival by openly carrying Balmung, Siegfried's
sword stolen right away from his corpse. He also answers her boldly, admits he killed

Siegfried and that he sank the Nibelungen treasure into the Rhine. The culprit, however,

blames all these acts on Kriemhild's own behavior.

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 the young son

of Kriemhild and Etzel before their 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.

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. 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.

The Nibelungenlied
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Short Summary of the Nibelungenlied

The kings Gunther, Gernot and Giselher, and their sister Kriemhild live at the court in

Worms, which is the capital of the kingdom of Burgundy.

They are surrounded by loyal liegemen such as Hagen of Troy, the minstrel Folker from

Alzey, Ortlieb of Metz, Dankwart and many others. One night, beautiful Kriemhild

dreams of a falcon rent to pieces by two eagles. Her mother, Uta, interprets the falcon

as her lover, so Kriemhild decides never to fall in love. But far from it. Soon after,

Siegfried of Xanten, curious to see the fabled charming queen, arrives at the Worms

court. On his way, he had captured the Treasure of the Nibelungs, including the sword

Balmung and the Cloak of Darkness (which makes its bearer invisible), and made

himself ruler of the Nibelungs. He had also killed a dragon and bathed in his blood,

which made him invulnerable.

At first Siegfried decides to be Gunther's vassal, takes the field in the Saxon wars for

him and gains his confidence.

When Gunther asks him to win strong Brunhild of Isenland for him, he agrees, on

condition that he may marry Kriemhild. The Cloak of Darkness makes it easy for

Siegfried to overwhelm Brunhild in a sort of combat sports game in Isenland, and so the

Burgundians return to Worms in triumph. A double wedding is performed. But Brunhild

senses that the man entering her bedchamber is not her true husband. She ties him and
hangs him up at the wall. Siegfried helps once again, taking her girdle awayfrom her.

The conflict seems resolved. Siegfried and Kriemhild set off for Xanten.

Brunhild and Gunther, J. H. Füssli, 1807

Years later, Brunhild presses them to return for a visit, wondering why Gunther's vassal

hasn't been at the court for such a long time to serve his master. Shortly after their

arrival, the furious quarrel breaks out between the ladies, which peaks in front of the

Cathedral. When Brunhild, being the King's wife, claims to enter the church in front of

the vassal's spouse, Kriemhild reveals that it was Siegfried who defeated her and shows

her the girdle to show proof. Dismayed by Brunhild's grief, Hagen decides to avenge the

humiliation of his king's wife. He fakes a war and talks guileless Kriemhild into sewing

on Siegfried's coat a patch marking the only spot where the hero remained vulnerable,

since a linden leaf stuck there when he was bathing in the dragon's blood.

The so-called war quickly turns into a hunting contest in the nearby Odenwald forest.

When Siegfried bends to sip the water of a fountain, Hagen kills him from behind with

his spear. The next day Kriemhild finds the corpse in front of her chamber. When Hagen

later passes the bier in the Cathedral, the wounds of the dead body open up again, and

Kriemhild recognises the murderer.

Death of Siegfried, Hundeshagen-Handschrift, 15 Jh.

The desperate widow swears to herself to take the Treasure and find new friends

and avengers. To avert this, Hagen steals the Treasure and throws it into the Rhine.
Kriemhild stays mourning for many years until Rudeger of Bechelaren pays a visit to

Worms and asks for her hand on behalf of Etzel, king of the Huns. She goes to the land

of the Huns and becomes Etzel's wife. Years later, she invites her brothers and their

followers to Hungary.

Although Hagen warns them not to go, the Burgundians, whom the poet from now on

calls Nibelungs, set off. While they are crossing the Danube, three wise water nymphs

tell him that none of the Burgundians but the chaplain will survive the travel. To see for

himself whether it is true, Hagen throws the chaplain into the Danube, but with God's

help the chaplain manages to swim to the other side. After a pleasant stay in

Bechelaren, the Nibelungs arrive at Etzel's castle. Kriemhild gives them a cool welcome,

and it is obvious that she still thinks of revenge.

Hagen and Folker can frustrate her first plans, but eventually a brutal massacre takes its

course, only sparing Gunther and Hagen on the Burgundian side. To make Hagen tell

her the place where he lowered the Treasure, Kriemhild has her brother Gunther

beheaded.

But when Hagen still says nothing, she kills him with Siegfried's sword. Horrified to see

this, Hildebrand, Dietrich of Berne's armour bearer and mentor, cuts her head off. This

is where the Nibelungenlied ends, or, in the original language: "Das ist der Nibelunge

Lied" (as Manuscript C reads).