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The Nibelungenlied (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

by none (Author), A. Hatto (Translator) "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..." (more)

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Product details

Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Penguin Classics; New Impression edition (26 Aug 2004)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0140441379
ISBN-13: 978-0140441376
Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.7 x 2.8 cm

Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 176,582 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Written by an unknown author in the twelfth century, this powerful tale of murder and revenge reaches back to the earliest epochs of German antiquity, transforming centuries-old legend into a masterpiece of chivalric drama. Siegfried, a great prince of the Netherlands, wins the hand of the beautiful princess Kriemhild of Burgundy, by aiding her brother Gunther in his struggle to seduce a powerful Icelandic Queen. But the two women quarrel, and Siegfried is ultimately destroyed by those he trusts the most. Comparable in scope to the Iliad, this skilfully crafted work combines the fragments of half-forgotten myths to create one of the greatest epic poems Â– the principal version of the heroic legends used by Richard Wagner, in The Ring.

About the Author

Written around AD 1200, probably by a professional entertainer for performance at court in Austria A.T. Hatto has translated Tristan and Eschenbach's Parzival for Penguin Classics.

Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
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 - of such things you can now hear wonders unending! Read the first page

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Concordance

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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews

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3.8 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)

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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From Attila to Tolkien, 12 Dec 2004

By	Peter Reeve (Thousand Oaks, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

Wagner's operas and Tolkien's tales are modern incarnations of legends that have evolved in the European consciousness for centuries, in much the same way as the Arthurian cycle of stories. The Nibelungenlied (Song of the Nibelungs), which dates from around 1200 CE and probably originated in Austria, is one of the best known and most significant versions of those legends. It takes as its main theme the life and death of the hero Siegfried and the revenge of his widow Kriemhild. It also incorporates characters and events based on the lives of Atilla the Hun and Theodoric the Great.

This is a valuable insight into how literature evolved in Medieval Europe. If you are a Wagner or Tolkien fan, or a lover of epic fantasy, you will want to read it, both for historical interest and for the beauty and strangeness of some of the imagery. The inconsistencies in its plot and characterizations are a consequence of the poet trying to merge contradictory sources and also to present a version of pagan legends that would be acceptable to a Christian audience. The result is sometimes awkward but always interesting.

A.T Hatto's Penguin edition is definitely the one to get. There is a brief forward, then the story itself, and then more than 100 pages of editorial, giving you a glossary of character's names, the history of the poem, etc, etc. Probably more than you ever wanted to know about medieval German literature. (Although, having said that, it is odd that there is no mention of the Volsung Saga, which is really needed to complete the picture).

This is a lively, readable and authoritative prose translation. If, like me, your medieval German is less than fluent and likely to remain so, then this is the version to read.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An eye for an eye, 12 May 2007

By	Luc REYNAERT (Beernem, Belgium) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This very sad heroic epic tells the story of how `countless warriors met their doom' after the wrangling of two women.
Its themes are of all times: love, hate, sorrow, pride, jealousy, the `first night', greed, honor, friendship, loyalty, treason, power, strength, courage, kinship, revenge. Standing above the multitude is its immortal hero Siegfried.
Its roots are certainly not Christian (`you should be carrying swords, not roses; wearing good, bright helmets, not gem-encrusted chaplets'). On the other hand, it is a painful illustration that the law of the talion (`an eye for an eye; tooth for a tooth') leads to complete annihilation.

The translator A. T. Hatto (`licence is for poets, not translators') opted for a prose version, whereby, of course, the strophic nature of the original is lost. However, the result is still remarkable. I highly recommend this translation for those who cannot read a modern strophic version of the German original.
By the way, A.T. Hatto's notes are superb.
A must read for all those interested in world literature.

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13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An epic tale of love, betrayal and revenge., 8 Feb 1999

By A Customer

Written nearly eight centuries ago in ostensibly an age of chivalry and heroism, 'The Nibelungenlied' is the medieval equivalent of 'The Iliad'. Unfortunately, its modern association with Wagner's opera's and therefore with the twentieth-century evil of the Nazis has given it something of a bad reputation. But this criticism is unfair and 'The Nibelungenlied' should be considered on its own merits as an effective piece of European literature. This epic German tale deals with the romance between the mighty warrior Siegfried and his beloved Kriemhild, the betrayal and death of Siegfried, and Kriemhild's terrible revenge on his murderers. The climax of the story comes with a massive battle from which few survive. 'The Nibelungenlied' has its faults - some of the descriptions are over-exaggerated and a bit strange to the modern audience, while some of the fighting is unrealistic and certainly over-the-top. But that adds to the charm of the thing. It must be remembered that there is something of a mythic and legendary quality to 'The Nibelungenlied'. It is not a fairy-tale - much of its content is dark and full of meaning. It also has a certain directness of narrative which is appealing and many of its scenes are provoking, such as Siegfried's murder by Hagen. Neither does it allow its characters to become cardboard and two-dimensional - in this tale there are no straightforward villains or heroes, just a collection of people who act as they see right. An example is the personage of Hagen, who despite his treachery towards Siegfried believes what he has done to be justified. A wholly different mentality is expressed in this story, stressing the differences between the modern conscientious world and the harder environment of the medieval age. 'The Nibelungenlied' then, is an excellent tale which makes a deep impression upon the reader.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Medieval German chivalric epic
This is the 1964 prose version of a great medieval German chivalric/heroic poem which influenced Wagner and Tolkein so much. Written in c. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Roman Clodia

1.0 out of 5 stars Not impressed.
In my opinion the translator has attempted to make this old heroic germanic myth more accessible to the 'modern' reader. Read more

Published on 15 Aug 2002 by DVD master

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