The Nibelungenlied (Classics)
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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 - 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.
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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
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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.
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.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the 1964 prose version of a great medieval German chivalric/heroic poem which influenced Wagner and Tolkein so much. Written in c.1200, the Norse pagan gods have disappeared - though there is a sense of fate or destiny in the poem.
Siegfried falls in love with Kreiemhilde, and helps her brother Gunther to win Brunhilde an Amazonian-style queen. But when the two women fall out, the male alliance is broken, Siegfried is murdered and it is Kriemhilde who has to take revenge on her brothers.
Hatto's translation is dignified and his notes unobtrusive. This edition also includes a long essay he wrote on the poem as well as some interesting material on the genesis of the poem. I was reading it because I was interested in medieval `epic' and the way it influences the Renaissance incarnations of the genre, but if you were studying the poem itself an up-to-date edition would be preferable.
That said, for the interested general reader this is a wonderfully evocative poem (even translated in prose) with a stately tone which belies the emotionality of it. Brunhilde, especially, is a revelation in this version (which doesn't follow the parallel tradition which had her as Siegfried's lover) and has some wonderfully bizarre comedic moments, such as her wedding night. It's not Homer or Vergil but still an interesting and entertaining read.
Siegfried falls in love with Kreiemhilde, and helps her brother Gunther to win Brunhilde an Amazonian-style queen. But when the two women fall out, the male alliance is broken, Siegfried is murdered and it is Kriemhilde who has to take revenge on her brothers.
Hatto's translation is dignified and his notes unobtrusive. This edition also includes a long essay he wrote on the poem as well as some interesting material on the genesis of the poem. I was reading it because I was interested in medieval `epic' and the way it influences the Renaissance incarnations of the genre, but if you were studying the poem itself an up-to-date edition would be preferable.
That said, for the interested general reader this is a wonderfully evocative poem (even translated in prose) with a stately tone which belies the emotionality of it. Brunhilde, especially, is a revelation in this version (which doesn't follow the parallel tradition which had her as Siegfried's lover) and has some wonderfully bizarre comedic moments, such as her wedding night. It's not Homer or Vergil but still an interesting and entertaining read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
How this book still has relevance to modern Germany
Hatto's book got me through my medieval German Degree exams, and it's great that I can finally give credit to it, admittedly over three decades later! Read more
Published 4 months ago by Jackie White, author of 'The Little Black Rammbook'
Much To Enjoy
The title means Song of The Nibelungs and, written in 1200 in Germany, this is both an essential part of German culture and an inspiration to many European artists. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Brownbear101
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
An epic tale of love, betrayal and revenge.
Written nearly eight centuries ago in ostensibly an age of chivalry and heroism, 'The Nibelungenlied' is the medieval equivalent of 'The Iliad'. Read more
Published on 8 Feb 1999
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