Nibelungenlied

[nee-buh-loong-uhn-leet]

noun

1. a Middle High German epic of c1200, related to the Scandinavian Volsunga Saga and telling of the life of Siegfried, his marriage to Kriemhild, his wooing of Brunhild on behalf of Gunther, his murder by Hagen, and the revenge of Kriemhild.

Nibelungenlied

/ ˈniːbəlʊŋənliːt /

noun

1. a medieval High German heroic epic of unknown authorship based on German history and legend and written about 1200

Word History and Origins

Origin of Nibelungenlied¹

From German; Nibelung, lied ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of Nibelungenlied¹

literally: song of the Nibelungs

Example Sentences

A few bits survived: Beowulf in England, the Nibelungenlied in Germany, and some stray fragments here and there.

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No one knows exactly how the belief in cruentation got its start, but one of the earliest mentions on record is in the sixth century, in the epic Germanic poem Nibelungenlied.

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Not exactly in Wagner’s stage instructions but a generous nod to the actual Nibelungenlied where Hagen transmutes to hero.

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The romances of the Heldenbuch are of varying poetic value; only occasionally do they rise to the height of the two chief epics, the Nibelungenlied and Gudrun.

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The swan-maiden in Wieland's case was one of the Valkyries, and indeed the two mermaids in the Nibelungenlied appear, from the part assigned to them in the poem, to be genuine Choosers of the Slain.

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