The general outline of the story told in "", about the death of Etzel and Herche's sons, is often considered to be one of the oldest components of the legend of Theodoric. It is first alluded to in the "Nibelungenklage", a poem likely written shortly after the "Nibelungenlied" (c. 1200). Older scholarship proposed a Gothic song as the earliest version. According to this theory, the song was inspired by the Battle of Nedao (454), a rebellion of Germanic tribes after the death of Attila the Hun, in which Attila's favorite son and successor Ellac died. Theodoric the Great's father Theodemar is thought to have fought on the side of the Huns in this battle, with his actions transferred to his more famous son in the oral tradition. Elisabeth Lienert suggests the poem's location at Ravenna may have been influenced by the historical Theodoric the Great besieging his enemy Odoacer there from 491 to 493. Witige's character is sometimes thought to have been influenced by Witigis, a Gothic king and usurper who surrendered Ravenna to the Byzantine army. Diether is similarly thought to have a connection to the historical Theodahad, whom Witigis betrayed, usurping the Ostrogothic throne. Werner Hoffmann suggests that Ermenrich's rather small role in "Die Rabenschlacht" is because the original tale of Witige killing Etzel's sons and Diether has been only roughly inserted into the larger framework of Dietrich's exile. Joachim Heinzle largely dismisses such attempts at deducing the roots of the poem as unfruitful.