The Nibelungenlied
By: a new translation by A. T. Hatto.
Contributors: Hatto, A. T. tr.
Series: The Penguin classics,; L137
Publisher: Penguin Books
Published: 1965
Place of publication: Baltimore
Language: eng; ger
Number of pages: 403
Subjects: German literature -- Middle High German, 1050-1500
Description: Wagner's operas and Tolkien's tales are modern incarnations of legends that have evolved in the European consciousness for centuries, in much the same way as the Arthurian cycle of stories. The Nibelungenlied (Song of the Nibelungs), which dates from around 1200 CE and probably originated in Austria, is one of the best known and most significant versions of those legends. It takes as its main theme the life and death of the hero Siegfried and the revenge of his widow Kriemhild. It also incorporates characters and events based on the lives of Atilla the Hun and Theodoric the Great.