The Nibelungenlied
A Middle High German Epic of Siegfried, Kriemhild, Honor, Betrayal, and Vengeance from Worms to Etzel's CourtBy Anonymous
Length10h 46m
About this audiobook
The Nibelungenlied, composed in Middle High German around 1200 by an unknown poet, is a monumental courtly epic shaped from older Germanic heroic traditions. Its narrative follows Siegfried's extraordinary exploits, his marriage to Kriemhild, the treacherous murder that transforms her into an instrument of vengeance, and the catastrophic destruction of the Burgundian court. Combining legendary material associated with the fall of the Burgundians and the Huns with the manners, ideals, and political tensions of medieval aristocratic society, the poem moves between marvel, romance, feud, and tragedy. Its highly patterned stanzas, formal speeches, recurring motifs, and stark contrasts between honor and expediency give the work both oral-heroic force and sophisticated literary design. The poet's anonymity is significant: rather than expressing an identifiable individual biography, the poem reflects the cultural environment of the German-speaking courts in the late twelfth or early thirteenth century. Its synthesis of inherited saga, Christian moral vocabulary, courtly decorum, and contemporary concerns with loyalty and lordship suggests a learned redaction of materials circulating through oral and written traditions. The resulting work preserves the tensions of a society negotiating between heroic vengeance and increasingly regulated chivalric behavior. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in medieval literature, Germanic legend, or the formation of European epic. It rewards readers seeking both gripping narrative and insight into how communities remember violence, betrayal, and political collapse. The Nibelungenlied's emotional intensity, structural ambition, and enduring influence make it a foundational text for the study of literary tradition and cultural memory.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 4.1 (15K)
Includes Goodreads, LibraryThing, StoryGraph, Amazon
GenrePoetry
Length10 hrs 46 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateNov 22, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Yiddish Tales (Annotated)
2PREFACE
3INTRODUCTORY SKETCH
4ADVENTURE I (2)
5ADVENTURE II. Of Siegfried.
Show all chaptersShow less
6ADVENTURE III. How Siegfried Came to Worms.
7ADVENTURE IV. How He Fought with the Saxons. (1)
8ADVENTURE V. How Siegfried First Saw Kriemhild.
9ADVENTURE VI. How Gunther Fared To Isenland (1) for Brunhild.
10ADVENTURE VII. How Gunther Won Brunhild.
11(1)
12ADVENTURE IX. How Siegfried Was Sent To Worms.
13ADVENTURE X. How Brunhild Was Received At Worms.
14ADVENTURE XI. How Siegfried Journeyed Homeward With His Wife.
15ADVENTURE XII. How Gunther Bade Siegfried To The Feasting.
16ADVENTURE XIII. How They Journeyed To The Feasting.
17ADVENTURE XIV. How The Queens Reviled Each Other.
18ADVENTURE XV. How Siegfried Was Betrayed.
19ADVENTURE XVI. How Siegfried Was Slain.
20ADVENTURE XVII. How Kriemhild Mourned Her Husband And How He Was Buried.
21ADVENTURE XVIII. How Siegmund Journeyed Home Again.
22ADVENTURE XIX. How The Nibelung Hoard Was Brought to Worms.
23ADVENTURE XX. How King Etzel (1) Sent To Burgundy For Kriemhild.
24ADVENTURE XXI. How Kriemhild Journeyed To The Huns.
25ADVENTURE XXII. How Etzel Made Kriemhild His Bride.
26ADVENTURE XXIII. How Kriemhild Thought To Avenge Her Wrongs.
27ADVENTURE XXIV. How Werbel And Swemmel Brought The Message.
28ADVENTURE XXV. How The Lords All Journeyed To The Huns.
29ADVENTURE XXVI (1) How Gelfrat Was Slain By Dankwart.
30ADVENTURE XXVII. How They Came To Bechelaren.
31ADVENTURE XXVIII. How The Burgundians Came To Etzel's Castle.
32ADVENTURE XXIX. How Hagen Would Not Rise For Kriemhild.
33ADVENTURE XXX. How They Kept The Watch.
34ADVENTURE XXXI. (1) How They Went To Church.
35ADVENTURE XXXII (1) How Bloedel Was Slain.
36ADVENTURE XXXIII. How The Burgundians Fought The Huns.
37ADVENTURE XXXIV. How They Cast Out The Dead.
38ADVENTURE XXXV. How Iring Was Slain.
39ADVENTURE XXXVI. How The Queen Gave Orders To Burn the Hall.
40ADVENTURE XXXVII. How Margrave Rudeger Was Slain.
41ADVENTURE XXXVIII. How All Sir Dietrich's Warriors Were Slain.
42ADVENTURE XXXIX. How Gunther And Hagen And Kriemhild Were Slain.
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