Rating: 
Summary: Kingdom of Twilight/Dragon Blood
Review: The Nibelung epic was the great story of the Middle Ages. It has been told in many versions and its characters are as well known in Europe as the Camelot characters are in England. "Lord of the Rings" and "Xena: Princess Warrior" both used this epic for source material. The movie "Kingdom of Twilight," which is a new blockbuster version of the story for English audiences has just wrapped shooting and should come out within the next year. Other script versions of the story are also currently circulating in Hollywood.
Rating:
Summary: timeless
Review: the nibelungenlied is tough as nails. pure and raw, it is an original. battle prowess, betrayal, unconditional love, and severe heartache turn the fair maiden into the formidible foe. the lines blur between mighty heroes and vile villians. modern storytellers bow your heads in homage to this age old masterpiece.
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Summary: ENGL 221 -- World Literature
Review: The Nibelungenlied was one of many epics assigned for my World Literature class. It is a German war epic thought to be written in the 13th century although its author is unknown. I haven't read any other translations of this epic poem but A.T. Hatto's prose translation kept me interested throughout the entire story with a good balance of dialogue and action. This story of rivalry and love contains many twists and turns, none of which I want to mention for fear of giving away too much, but I will say it is a story that will surprise you with each new page. What I found particularly helpful with this Penguins Classics edition is The Glossary of Characters' Names located in the back of book.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: The Nibelungenlied was originally written in verse, this accounts for the beautiful prose in which it is written. A.T. Hatto provides enough information for anyone interested in the many aspects of the story. A fine choice for anyone interested in medeival literature, and those interested in the appearences of very universal themes. Such as love, loyalty, jealousy, and especially, revenge.
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Summary: Very Interesting
Review: This interesting book is a major work of Medieval literature. The epic is in verse but translated into prose because of the difficulty of sustaining a verse translation in modern English (and apparently in modern German as well). The translator is a well known scholar and translator. Many readers will be familiar with elements of this work because the anonymous author of the Nibelungenlied drew on the same stock of Northern European legends and literature that Wagner used for the Ring cycle. This tale deals primarily with Siegfried's marriage, death at the hands of his wife's family, and the revenge exacted by Siegfried's wife, Kriemhild. The poem is set in the high Middle Ages, prior to the Black Death, and the heroes are apparently supposed to exemplify chivalric virtues. These values, based on violent personal conduct, the feudal bond, the apparently civilizing effect of love, and remarkable conspicuous consumption, will be foreign to modern audiences. The Nibelungenlied provides some real insight into the psychology of this period and even in translation, is an interesting work of literature.
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Summary: Influenced Tolkeins Lord of the Rings
Review: This is a medieval epic written about 1200 A.D. by an unnamed poet and is the culmination of Germanic sagas reaching back to the sixth or fifth century A.D with some scholars believing the Hungarian King Etzel as being to Attila the Hun. Although not well known, the German composer Richard Wagner used its themes in Der Ring Des Nibelungen and its themes can be seen in Tolkein's Lord of the Rings. The story of one of murder and revenge and ends in the destruction of two armies. Are you ready for the plot? Here it is- Having won the Queen Brunhild for King Gunther in exchange for Gunther's sister Kriemhild, Siegfried is murdered by Gunter's vassel Hagen after a quarrel between the Queens, for which Kremhild avengers the murder of her husband, Siegfried. The epic as we have it now, obviously comes from two sources. The first half of the poem deals with the German national hero, Siegfried and his Nibelungenlieds. It is slow moving and deals with the magical aspect of medieval life, the invisible cloak, magic rings (shades of Lord of the Rings) and mighty knights overcoming the amazonian Brunhild. It is only with the betrayal and murder of Siegfried that the story takes a turn towards great literature as the second source of this epic begins. The magical aspects and superman aspects disappear, and we have a story of murder and revenge. The hero now is Hagan. Kriemhild who was the epitome of feminism is transformed by her thirst for revenge into a bloodthirsty tyrant bent on the destruction of her enemy at all cost. The book ends with an epic battle that takes up the last quarter of the book. It is a story of courage and loyalty. Hagan fights against all odds until he and a handful of warriors are left. Confronted by Kriemhild, the last of the Nibelungenlieds refuse to yield and she has them executed, cutting off Hagan's head with her own hand. Kriemhild is herself murdered by one of her vassals and the story ends. Whew! What a battle scene!
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Summary: Hoooooahhhhh
Review: This is an exellent book. I am 16 and trying to get into Norwich Military University as an Army ROTC scholarship winner. This book had many plot twists and was very detailed and I loved it. The army in me came out when I read this book, I felt I was there and I got mad when Hagen killed Siegfried. My official rating of this book is HOOOAHHHHH which means everything but negative things.
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Summary: From Attila to Tolkien
Review: 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.
This is a valuable insight into how literature evolved in Medieval Europe. If you are a Wagner or Tolkien fan, or a lover of epic fantasy, you will want to read it, both for historical interest and for the beauty and strangeness of some of the imagery. The inconsistencies in its plot and characterizations are a consequence of the poet trying to merge contradictory sources and also to present a version of pagan legends that would be acceptable to a Christian audience. The result is sometimes awkward but always interesting.
A.T Hatto's Penguin edition is definitely the one to get. There is a brief forward, then the story itself, and then more than 100 pages of editorial, giving you a glossary of character's names, the history of the poem, etc, etc. Probably more than you ever wanted to know about medieval German literature. (Although, having said that, it is odd that there is no mention of the Volsung Saga, which is really needed to complete the picture).
This is a lively, readable and authoritative prose translation. If, like me, your medieval German is less than fluent and likely to remain so, then this is the version to read.
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