The Nibelungenlied

"The Nibelungenlied", considered a masterpiece of the German Middle Ages, is a heroic epic of extraordinary deeds and deep passions. Of unknown authorship, it tells the story of love, hatred, lust for power, and greed. This volume contains an English translation of the work.

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"The Nibelungenlied", considered a masterpiece of the German Middle Ages, is a heroic epic of extraordinary deeds and deep passions. Of unknown authorship, it tells the story of love, hatred, lust for power, and greed. The actors in this powerful drama fight, suffer and perish when elemental passions break through the crust of social conventions and erupt in deeds of horror and brutality. They are distinctive personages out of the legendary past: Siegfried, the invincible hero; Gunther, mighty king of the Burgundians; Etzel, the powerful ruler of the Huns. Nowhere in medieval literature can there be found characters of greater force and individuality. This volume contains an English verse translation of the work. The translation offered here is based on the text of de Boor's edition of MS B (Sankt Gallen), considered by most scholars the closest to the original of the three main manuscripts.