L2 MHG Literature: Session 2001-02

SEMESTER ONE: The Nibelungenlied

For an American translation of the Nibelungenlied in electronic form (1997), adventure-by-adventure (with notes), go to:

  • http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/OMACL/Nibelungenlied/adventure1.html
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    • Wk1. āventiuren (= ‘chapters’, ‘episodes’) 1, 2 and 3: The character and roles of Kriemhild and Siegfried. <hbNL>. Hagen discussed in "Teaching Framework". Maps & genealogies. A.T. Hatto’s translation – its strengths and weaknesses. The geography of the Nibelungenlied, the historical Völkerwanderung, the historical annihilation of the Burgundians, the Burgundian royal family as outlined in the epic; and, ą propos Kriemhild, the diction of Minnesang and the medieval literary topos of dreams.
    Wk2. āventiuren 1, 2 and 3 cont’d. <stabreim>. Heroic Poetry. The ‘Nibelungenstrophe’. The problem of Nibelungenlied ‘authorship’ generally. Structure of the Nibelungenlied and its genesis; its themes: esp. ‘wie liebe mit leide ze jungest lōnen kan’ (str.17 & 2378). Modern critical controversy about ‘the message of the Nibelungenlied’.
    Wk3. āv.3 cont’d. <chivNL>. The medieval ideal of knighthood: the distinctions between recke, man, degen, helt, ritter, wīgant. Sīvrit’s coming-of-age celebrations as a reflection of contemporary practice. Hagen’s role in the first half of the epic contrasted with his role in the second half.
    Wk4. āv.6&7. ‘Satire’ in "Teaching Framework". How laughter is evoked in the narration: Gunther’s wooing expedition; the contrast between the Saga presentation of Brunhild and the Nibelungenlied version (see Hatto pp.330-3); the element of burlesque in the games contest.
    Wk5. āv.14. The contents of āventiure 10 in outline – wie Prünhilt ze Wormse empfangen wart – because the circumstances of Brunhild’s violation have to be known in order to understand what motivates the characters’ subsequent actions (āv.10 is omitted by Langosch perhaps for reasons of propriety).

    āventiure 14: its dramatic structure and other literary qualities. <kebsNL14>.
    Wk6. āv.15, 16, 17. NB the concept of loyalty (triuwe) in the feudal system with special reference to Hagen. Can the views of the ‘Dichter letzter Hand’ be guessed reliably from the way the story is told? e.g. how is his use of the words meinręte (881, 906), übermüete (1003, 1549), untriuwe 876, 911, 915), and missewende (981) to be interpreted? Note how the idea of ‘Nibelungentreue’ has entered modern thinking.

    The magnificent hunting expedition which ends with Siegfried’s murder (āv.16) brings the epic to its first climax; NB the literary topos of cursings and blessings, and medieval superstitions regarding the identification of murderers (āv.17).

    Langosch’s edition omits āventiuren 18-24: they include Hagen’s theft of the Nibelungenhort, Etzel’s wooing of the widowed Kriemhild through his ambassador Rüdiger of Pöchlarn, her agreement to this second marriage in the knowledge that, as Etzel’s Queen, she may yet gain an opportunity to avenge herself on Sīvrit’s murderers, the birth of her son by Etzel, her invitation to her kinsfolk to visit Etzel’s court, and Hagen’s advice not to accept (cp. also ‘Rūmoldes rāt’, i.e. "take my advice: don't go – you'll be much better off with my provisions here!" – 'rāt' = both 'advice' and 'provisions').
    Wk7. READING WEEK.
    Wk8 PART TWO of the NL (from āv.20): āv. 25, 27. NB the way religious faith and the Church are presented ą propos the mźrwīp episode and the Chaplain’s fate (āv.25); interpreting the rewards of Frauendienst ą propos Volker’s minnelōn (āv.27).
    Wk9. āv. 28, 29 & 30. NB how the characterization of Kriemhild alters, and note also her role as a unifying factor in the epic as a whole.NB the way the poet rehabilitates Hagen in the concluding āventiuren. The power of kinship loyalty.
    Wk10. āv. 33, 36, 37 and 39. NB dramatic skill in the presentation of the final holocaust. The role and personalities of Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand. The symbolism of Volker’s ferocious ‘fiddling’. The dilemma of a Christian Knight exemplified in Rüdiger’s conflict of loyalties (see Ian Campbell’s essay). The power of that word vālandinne (in 2371 & 1748).
    Wk11. slippage …

    (NB the 1986 German-Yugoslav film of the Nibelungenlied on video)

    Wk 12 – revision

    CHRISTMAS VACATION: Weeks 13&14: EXAM. period, including a 2-hour paper on the Nibelungenlied.