Written by an unknown author in the twelfth century, this powerful tale of murder and revenge reaches back to the earliest epochs of German antiqui...
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Jan 09, 2012
As with Shakespeare's Pericles, I have a great deal of affection for the Nibelungenlied on account of the conflict in its structure. The poet (lost now) has had to wrangle together two conflicting folk traditions into a single story. His or her achievement here is subtle and remarkable.
Northrop Frye says that a central trait of epic is a change of mode and subject halfway through the poem. The Odyssey, the Aeneid and Paradise Lost all switch tack in the middle: Odysseus' and Aeneas' More...
Northrop Frye says that a central trait of epic is a change of mode and subject halfway through the poem. The Odyssey, the Aeneid and Paradise Lost all switch tack in the middle: Odysseus' and Aeneas' More...
Jul 07, 2011
Sophie
rated it: 
"Following this his stalwarts were furnished with clothes lines with vari-colored squirrel."
"I shall not keep this momentous news from whatever trusty followers I may have; rather shall I complain of it to my friends."
"They alone die that are doomed."
"Their battered shields were taken away to store, and orders were given for the bloodstained saddles (of which there were so many) to be hidden away lest the ladies me moved to tears." More...
"I shall not keep this momentous news from whatever trusty followers I may have; rather shall I complain of it to my friends."
"They alone die that are doomed."
"Their battered shields were taken away to store, and orders were given for the bloodstained saddles (of which there were so many) to be hidden away lest the ladies me moved to tears." More...
Apr 06, 2010
Michael
rated it: 
This is a medieval tale of violence and betrayal and sex, but unlike more ancient epic poems, it speaks of little else, other than some fly custom silk shirts with jewels embroidered in them and red gold, everywhere red gold.
Notes:
As with most epics, The Nibelungenlied starts with a heavy dose of machismo and gloating, the promise of ultra-violence and romantic intrigue. Never have I read of warriors so fixated on clothing from ruddy gold armor to bejeweled silk shirts, More...
Notes:
As with most epics, The Nibelungenlied starts with a heavy dose of machismo and gloating, the promise of ultra-violence and romantic intrigue. Never have I read of warriors so fixated on clothing from ruddy gold armor to bejeweled silk shirts, More...
Jun 17, 2011
Furball
rated it: 
*TWO-SENTENCE BACKGROUND INFO:
This mix of a historical fiction and mythological story is the national epic of Germany. It is a gripping tale of revenge, love, and murder.
*REVIEW: (BIT OF A SPOILER)
I read the excerpt of HOW SIEGFRIED WAS SLAIN.
And let me tell you, all I have to say is that I hated this ending. I do like mythology, but the ending was overwhelming for me. Although I liked the characters and the driving plot throughout this story (I haven't read the whole s More...
This mix of a historical fiction and mythological story is the national epic of Germany. It is a gripping tale of revenge, love, and murder.
*REVIEW: (BIT OF A SPOILER)
I read the excerpt of HOW SIEGFRIED WAS SLAIN.
And let me tell you, all I have to say is that I hated this ending. I do like mythology, but the ending was overwhelming for me. Although I liked the characters and the driving plot throughout this story (I haven't read the whole s More...
Feb 11, 2012
Bryn
rated it:
May I defend the Nibelungenlied against charges of misogyny?
Brunhild warns her suitors: “He will have to cast the weight, follow through with a leap, and then throw the javelin with me. Do not be too hasty – you may well lose your lives and your reputations here,” said the charming woman. “Consider it very closely.” And Hatto footnotes, There is always a touch of burlesque when Brunhild goes into action. I like you, A.T. Hatto; you translated a steppe epic, bless you; but why is thi More...
Brunhild warns her suitors: “He will have to cast the weight, follow through with a leap, and then throw the javelin with me. Do not be too hasty – you may well lose your lives and your reputations here,” said the charming woman. “Consider it very closely.” And Hatto footnotes, There is always a touch of burlesque when Brunhild goes into action. I like you, A.T. Hatto; you translated a steppe epic, bless you; but why is thi More...
May 09, 2011
John
rated it:
Here's a story that's flawed in every respect, yet manages to be a fairly endearing read--if you are interested in mythology, that is. The version I read was a prose novelization of the epic poem, which I think is probably the best way to experience this. Keep in mind that every scene of the novel basically revolves around either violent bloodshed, the preparation of beautiful clothing, or copious amounts of gift-giving. If that doesn't sound like your kind of thing, take a pass. The writing
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Oct 28, 2011
Jessica
rated it:
On the plus side, the pervasive misogyny reminded me why I'm a feminist and the pervasive violence reminded me why I'm not a fan of troglodyte politics. Also, the explanatory footnotes were really helpful in understanding the culture, even though the translation was a bit awkward at times (which may have been due to the source material, but I was hoping for something a bit more lyrically written).
On the negative side, I really hated reading it. None of the characters were particular More...
On the negative side, I really hated reading it. None of the characters were particular More...
May 30, 2011
Vasha7
rated it:
The great epic poem in the original medieval German, which is not impossibly hard to read, since this edition includes vocabulary and grammatical notes. I've read it right through twice. In the first half, Siegfried the supposedly perfect man is downright annoying, but at least he gets his comeuppance. The poet probably sincerely admired Siegfried, in spite of his moral failings, but we're not obliged to do the same. There's other interesting stuff in the first half, having to do with politics i
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Dec 16, 2010
Tiger Holland (All-Consuming Books)
rated it:
The Nibelungenlied or Song of the Nibelungs was written in Middle High German around the year 1200 AD, and was probably intended for court performance in Austria. The basic story follows Siegfried the legendary prince of the Netherlands as he performs various mighty deeds before being slain by order of his in-laws (and later avenged by his wife Kriemhild). The trouble starts when Siegfried wins queen Brunhild for his friend King Gunther of Burgundy. Brunhild eventually learns of the myriad of d
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Sep 25, 2011
Solyndra
rated it:
The thing about this book is, that I had to read it. If I hadn't had to read it for the university, I probably would've given up. The story is good, quite interesting even, and I very much appreciated that the characters (especially the women) didn't seem to conform to what in my opinion is the Medieval standard.
But the translation of the epos was.. awkward. I think the original text worked a lot better than the translation. It's not that the translation was badly done, on the contra More...
But the translation of the epos was.. awkward. I think the original text worked a lot better than the translation. It's not that the translation was badly done, on the contra More...
Oct 23, 2009
Mark
rated it:
This is an intriguing read, but not necessarily a very pleasant one. I read it to complement my reading of The Song of Roland, and intend to read The Poem of the Cid afterwards.
The Nibelungenlied is on the list of Great Books of the Western World, but I don't quite see why. The characterization is wildly inconsistent. Kriemhild, for example, is portrayed as a virtuous woman for the first half of the tale, but then as an evil schemer for the second half. Hagen of Troneg as an evil More...
The Nibelungenlied is on the list of Great Books of the Western World, but I don't quite see why. The characterization is wildly inconsistent. Kriemhild, for example, is portrayed as a virtuous woman for the first half of the tale, but then as an evil schemer for the second half. Hagen of Troneg as an evil More...
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Jul 17, 2010
Nikki
rated it:
I've read the story of Siegfried and Brunhild elsewhere, in the Norse versions/origin, the Eddas and the Saga of the Volsungs, but it was good to read this expanded edition. It's well translated by Hatto, who also translated my copy of von Strassburg's Tristan, and whose work I can recommend, at least insofar as it's readable and accessible, but keeps an "archaic" sort of flavour -- I can't say if it really keeps the voice of the narrator, of course. What I mean is, it doesn't modernis
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Mar 18, 2011
Marie
rated it:
It's easy to see why this is called "The German Illiad" - much like the Illiad, we have heroes star-crossed to destroy one another, crying for their fallen comrades, dying in each other's arms - and it's all a woman's fault.
Side-stepping the tasty misogyny, the story itself is fast-paced, full of pathos, and avoids religion like it didn't even really exist in the 12th century. (Woot! There's a scene where Krimhild asks if she shouldn't be ashamed to marry a pagan and the re More...
Side-stepping the tasty misogyny, the story itself is fast-paced, full of pathos, and avoids religion like it didn't even really exist in the 12th century. (Woot! There's a scene where Krimhild asks if she shouldn't be ashamed to marry a pagan and the re More...
Oct 26, 2011
Matthew
rated it:
While largely less exciting than the Scandinavian version (Volsunga saga), and often bogged down in lengthy, trivial and uninteresting descriptions such as the kinds of dresses that girls are wearing as they bustle about, The Nibelungenlied none the less is a uniquely introspective work of courtly literature that takes a more self-conscious look at High Medieval social expectations than even such monumental contemporary authors as Chrétien de Troyes. The Nibelungenlied manages to entangle count
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Sep 16, 2007
Carl
rated it:
I suppose I'm biased by ON lit and saga style, but I just didn't get all that into this version of the Volsung material-- I think I just am not a Romance kind of guy (much as I like to think that I am romantic) and prefer the less flowery Norse material. Not that Volsunga saga is any better-- I may even rate that worse, as it is painfully obvious that the person responsible for that saga, whether scribe or otherwise, was patching together so many different variants of the material that he could
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Jan 29, 2012
Karin
rated it:
Tapferkeit ist alles!
Der Erzähler weißt von Anfang an darauf hin, daß alles böse enden wird, daß Siegfried getötet werden wird. Die Ritter bekämpfen sich bis aufs Blut, aber sie respektieren sich über alle Maßen. Als Kriemhild Hgen enthauptet, tötet dafür Hildebrand sie!
Die ganze Tragödie wurde von Kriemhild und Brunhild angezettelt. Stolz und Hochmut, wo das hinführt!
Reichtum war wichtig, aber ebenso wichtig war es, ihn zu verschenken, denn das gab Ansehen.
Waren Kriemh More...
Der Erzähler weißt von Anfang an darauf hin, daß alles böse enden wird, daß Siegfried getötet werden wird. Die Ritter bekämpfen sich bis aufs Blut, aber sie respektieren sich über alle Maßen. Als Kriemhild Hgen enthauptet, tötet dafür Hildebrand sie!
Die ganze Tragödie wurde von Kriemhild und Brunhild angezettelt. Stolz und Hochmut, wo das hinführt!
Reichtum war wichtig, aber ebenso wichtig war es, ihn zu verschenken, denn das gab Ansehen.
Waren Kriemh More...
Jan 28, 2009
Callsign222
rated it:
This thing got me started into the epic poetry/saga genre. In High School we had to read two boring chapters out of this book. I didn't touch it again until college, and I realized how the school system fails literature. The entire book is battle, blood drinking, and more battle. Obviously we didn't read that in high school, someone might have been offended! Oh no!
Jul 26, 2011
Eel
rated it: 
despite the occasional inconsistencies, this does a great job tying together two main stories from countless sources. the characters are interesting, the story is very tragic, and there's blood, magic, gold, and even mention of a dragon. not only interesting from a historical and literary perspective, it's also just exciting.
also, kriemhild is probably one of the interesting/exciting! female characters
oh, and after reading this is also pretty interesting when you think ab More...
also, kriemhild is probably one of the interesting/exciting! female characters
oh, and after reading this is also pretty interesting when you think ab More...
Mar 18, 2011
Jeffrey
rated it:
This is one of those books where the lack of knowledge of the language or the culture makes you feel like an outsider looking at a series of events we have no way of understanding. The translation was flowed well, but you got sneaking suspicions from time to time that words didn't mean what you thought they meant. Perhaps the most obvious one was "hero". I enjoyed the book, the parallels with other books I have read recently, like Mabinogion was rather striking. I think this is a
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Jul 31, 2011
Sebastian
rated it:
Eines der besten Bücher, das ich je gelesen habe! Die Story umfasst alles von Liebe über Hass bis hin zu blutrünstigen Schlachten. Letzteres mag vielleicht etwas abstoßend wirken, aber wer seine Allgemeinbildung ordentlich aufpeppen will, sollte das hier unbedingt lesen!
Feb 21, 2010
Tracy
rated it:
Blood, gore, doomed romance, treachery, riches, fashion...Men killing their friends due to the petty perfidy of women...what's not to like? I've loved the sagas, and while this one is admittedly not my favorite I still enjoyed it. The warriors, while chopping each other up a la "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" still manage snarky comments and lengthy, emotive soliloquies with their dying breaths.
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May 09, 2008
John
rated it:
A brilliant epic that speaks across the centuries to the modern condition despite its trappings of myths, outmoted violence and larger than life characters. It is essentially two stories linked at the middle: the rise of a hero, and what happens to the country when it kills its heroes. On various levels it is a war epic, a commentary on sentimentalism and the importance of idols, and a shrewd look into primal politics. Siegfried, Kriemhild, Gunther, Hagen and Brunhild are all interesting charact
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Mar 29, 2010
Angelia
rated it:
"The Song of the Nibelungs" is a fantastic tale of murder and revenge set in the chivalric age. All of the chivalric conventions are here, as are classic (even transcendent) facets of humanity's strengths and weaknesses. Read!
Jan 11, 2011
Rosalía
rated it:
Like Beowulf, El Mio Cid, and The Song of Roland, this epic poem is *meh* the older version of a shoot 'em up movie. If it weren't required reading for school, I'd probably never read it.
Apr 28, 2010
Meg
rated it:
Despite a hilarious focus on clothing, this story never seems quite sure of where it's going; a feeling of listlessness is aided by an uneven, idiom-loaded translation.
Nov 30, 2011
Marksplatter
rated it:
full of blood and heroes, gold, dragons and trolls. this is the epic saga from germanic cultures on par with the likes of arthurian legend, yet even more full bodied with named heroes with sagas of their own, if you dig far enough. warriors live and die through epic battles, and in one scene one of the central characters begins playing his fiddle during a slaughter in the banquet hall.
the initial hereo, siegfried is slain at the middle of the tale, and the plot for his revenge is laid, un More...
the initial hereo, siegfried is slain at the middle of the tale, and the plot for his revenge is laid, un More...
Mar 18, 2011
Mark
rated it:
I read this in preparation for watching Fritz Lang's 4 hour silent masterpiece Die Nibelungen (which I haven't gotten to yet, but will soon). It's a 10th century German epic along the lines of Beowulf. The first half tells the story of the (super)hero Siegfried and his various feats, ending with his betrayal and death. The second half is the story of his wife's overpowering revenge on his killers, leading to an epic war between the Germans and the Huns (led by Attila!!). The translation was gr
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Aug 20, 2011
Elizabeth
rated it:
I read this book in my college German class (in German). The story was very interesting and I can see why Wagner based his Ring opera trilogy on it.
May 15, 2011
Adena
rated it:
Interesting to read a medieval epic from a Germanic rather than British/French standpoint. I actually read the Penguin Classics edition, not the Oxford.
Jul 24, 2011
Emily
rated it:
You just thought it was about the treasure of the Nibelungs. It's really all about the fiddle player.
