The Nibelungenlied: The Lay of the Nibelungs (Oxford World's Classics)

282 Pages·2010·0.84 MB·English

by  Cyril Edwards

oxford world’s classics
THE NIBELUNGENLIED
Written down by an anonymous poet c.1200, the Nibelungenlied
(Lay of the Nibelungs) is the greatest medieval German heroic poem,
a revenge saga on an epic scale, which has justly been compared with
Homer and with the Old Icelandic Saga of Burnt Njal. Its origins
reach back into the fifth century; it underwent a long genesis in
the form of oral poetry before taking on written form. It proved
hugely popular in the Middle Ages, with some forty manuscripts
and fragments surviving. In the sixteenth century it disappeared
from sight for 200 years. The poem grew to become central to the
nationalist thinking of the Romantics, and in the twentieth century
was appropriated by Nazi propagandists. The Nibelungenlied was a
central inspiration for Richard Wagner’s Ring cycle and Fritz Lang’s
two-part silent film,Siegfried’s Death and Kriemhild’s Revenge.
Cyril Edwards is a Senior Research Fellow of Oxford University’s
Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, and an Honorary
Research Fellow of University College London. He is the author
ofThe Beginnings of German Literature (Rochester, NY, 2002) and
numerous articles on medieval love-lyrics, Old High German, and
the supernatural. His translations include Wolfram von Eschenbach’s
Parzival and Titurel (Oxford World’s Classics, 2006) and Hartmann
von Aue’s Iwein or The Knight with the Lion (Cambridge, 2007).
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OXFORD WORLD’S CLASSICS
The Nibelungenlied
The Lay of the Nibelungs
Translated with an Introduction and Notes by
CYRIL EDWARDS
11
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© Cyril Edwards 2010
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Data available
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Nibelungenlied. English.
The Nibelungenlied: the Lay of the Nibelungs /
translated with an introduction and notes by Cyril Edwards.
p. cm. — (Oxford World's Classics)
Written down by an anonymous poet c.1200.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN978-0-19-923854-5 (pbk.: acid-free paper)
1. Epic poetry, German—Translations into English.
2. Nibelungen—Poetry. I. Edwards, Cyril W. II. Title. III. Title: Lay of the Nibelungs.
PT1579.A3E38 2010
831'.21—dc22
2009024520
Typeset by Glyph International, Bangalore, India
Printed in Great Britain
on acid-free paper by
Clays Ltd, St Ives plc
ISBN978-0-19-923854-5
13 57910 864 2
For Kate, most indefatigable of readers,
and in memory of George T. Gillespie and David R. McLintock
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, I would like to thank my editor at Oxford
World’s Classics, Judith Luna, for permitting me to take on this task,
which has, on the whole, been enormous fun. As an undergraduate,
I was weaned on the 1965 Penguin Classics translation of the
Nibelungenlied by Arthur Hatto, and I am grateful for the assistance
his version, and that of D. G. Mowatt (Everyman’s Library, 1962),
have provided.
Undertaking such tasks, I have always felt the need to consult
both colleagues and lay readers, to ensure both reliability and
readability. I am most grateful to those I list below, but particularly
to Kate Douglas. This is the third translation with which she has
helped me, and there is no limit to her acuity. Other readers who
helped were Katy Beebe, Jeff Ashcroft, Jennifer Hall, and Christine
Ward. Heather Birt gave valuable advice on fiddling. Hauke Fill
helped with Danubian place-names. Peter Drexler made available
to me several film versions of the Nibelungenlied. Stewart Spencer
wrote the section on Richard Wagner. Carolyne Larrington helped
me through the Eddic morass. Paul Fouracre and Helena Carr
guided me through the equally morassic Merovingian material.
Kurt Gärtner assisted with Middle High German lexis. Karen Pratt
made available to me Schlauch’s translation of The Saga of Ragnar
Lodbrok — a rare book indeed. Frank Lamport helped me through
his knowledge of Hebbel, and my colleague Kevin Hilliard with the
eighteenth-century reception of the lay. Christine Glassner kept me
abreast of recently found fragments of the Nibelungenlied and showed
me the beautiful Melk fragments. Peter Christian and Rupert Wilson
almost overcame my incompetence with computers, as I made my
way up and through these thirty-nine steps.
Two reference books in particular have been of great assistance:
David Dalby’s Dictionary of the Mediæval German Hunt (Berlin,
1965)and George Gillespie’s Catalogue of Persons Named in German
Heroic Literature (Oxford, 1973).
Finally I would like to thank my tutors who introduced me to the
text, both now deceased, Ruth Harvey and Peter Ganz.
All errors are, as the cliché would have it, mine alone.
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CONTENTS
Introduction xi
Note on the Text and Translation xxx
Select Bibliography xxxii
Chronology xxxv
THE NIBELUNGENLIED 1
Appendix I: History and Legend 215
Appendix II: The Nordic Sources and the
Problem of Genesis 218
Appendix III: The Metre of the Nibelungenlied 223
Explanatory Notes 227
Glossary of People and Places 240
A map of the Nibelungenlied 245