Misplaced Pages

#564435

144-577: The historical Gundahar's death became the basis for a tradition in Germanic heroic legend in which the legendary Gunther met his death at the court of Attila the Hun (Etzel/Atli). The character also became attached to other legends: most notably he is associated with Siegfried/Sigurd and Brunhild , and is implicated in Sigurd's murder. He also appears as an adversary in the legend of Walter of Aquitaine . It

288-442: A snake pit , where he plays the harp with his toes as his hands are bound. In the end, the snakes kill him. Gunnar's death in the snake pit is well attested in pictorial depictions. Not all images of a man in a snake pit can be identified as Gunnar: the image appears to predate the story of Gunnar's death. Although only images that also depict a harp can be securely identified as depicting Gunnar, Aðalheiður Guðmundsdóttir argues that

432-532: A snake pit . Gunnar plays his harp there until he is bitten by a snake and dies. Atlakviða is commonly supposed to be one of the oldest poems in the Poetic Edda , possibly dating from the ninth century. The poem is particularly notable in that Sigurd is not mentioned at all. The presence of the forest Myrkviðr and the timelessness of the story show the poem to have moved into the realm of myth rather than historical legend. Alternatively, Myrkviðr could refer to

576-554: A catalogue of the names of 180 rulers and tribes from heroic legend, occasionally providing some details of a narrative, such as that of the Scyldings and of Eormanric ( Ermanaric ). Another poem by a fictional scop , Deor , presents itself as the narrative of Deor, who has lost his position at court to the Heorrenda, a famous singer from the legend of Hildr , and contains several other allusions to heroic material, such as to

720-546: A collection of heroic and mythological Nordic poems, appears to have been compiled around 1270 in Iceland, and assembles mythological and heroic songs of various ages. As elsewhere in the Scandinavian tradition, Gunnar is the son of Gjuki and the brother of Gudrun and Högni. Depending on the poem Guthorm is either his full brother, step-brother, or half-brother. A sister Gullrönd also appears in one poem. Generally, none of

864-517: A column in the Basel Minster (c. 1185) and on a church facade from the Alsatian abbey of Andlau (c. 1130/40?). This may depict a scene told in one variant in the Þiðreks saga and in another in the epic Virginal in which Dietrich or Hildebrand similarly rescues a man from being swallowed by a dragon. These images may also simply illustrate an allegory of the salvation of the soul from

1008-671: A contrast to Gunther's destruction in that he is attracted by the Huns' gold rather than the other way around. Like Gunther's role in the death of Siegfried, his role in the legend of Walter places him in a negative light. Gunther's story next appears in writing in the Nibelungenlied from c. 1200. In it, Gunther is the king of the Burgundians with a capital at Worms. He is the son of King Dancrat and Queen Ute and rules together with his royal brothers Giselher and Gernot, and his sister

1152-563: A group of lays about Sigurd, followed by a group about the destruction of the Burgundians, and close with lays about Svanhildr and Jörmunrekkr (Ermanaric), all loosely connected via short prose passages and through the figures of Sigurd and Gudrun. In the mid-13th century, legendary sagas ( Old Norse : fornaldarsögur ) began to be written in the Old Norse vernacular, some of which derive from Scandinavian and Germanic heroic legends. Those sagas which contain older heroic legend are given

1296-631: A new emperor in the province Germania Inferior on the lower Rhine. He is attested as being involved in Jovinus's campaigns in southern Gaul. Following Jovinus's defeat in 413, the Roman magister militum Constantius settled the Burgundians on the left bank of the Rhine as Roman foederati . Based on the later heroic tradition, many scholars identify their area of settlement as around Worms , though some scholars have argued in favor of other locations. In

1440-550: A number of details about the hero Siegfried absent in the Nibelungenlied but attested in Old Norse tradition. The ballad the Jüngeres Hildebrandslied (c. 1450) concerns the same material as the early medieval Hildebrandslied . Finally, a number of heroic texts were adopted as carnival plays ( Fastnachtsspiele ), including by the Nuremberg poet Hans Sachs (1494-1564). There is disagreement about

1584-593: A piece of jewelry to be repaired: the figures of the second woman and the man catching birds are unexplained. The top of the Franks Casket also appears to show an archer who is generally identified with Egil , Wayland's brother, and Egil's spouse Ölrún , who appear in the Þiðrekssaga , the Völundarkviða ; they are also usually identified on the Pforzen buckle inscription, from c. 570–600. Some of

SECTION 10

#1732787405565

1728-693: A role in the German Nibelungenlied , the medieval Latin Waltharius , and the Old Norse Poetic Edda and Völsunga saga . He also plays an important role in Richard Wagner 's operatic Ring cycle, which is based on the medieval legends of Sigurd. The first element of Gunther's name is Proto-Germanic *gunþ- , meaning war or conflict. The second element is Proto-Germanic *-hari , meaning army. The name of

1872-607: A small number of legends in writing, mostly from England, including the only surviving early medieval heroic epic in the vernacular, Beowulf . Probably the oldest surviving heroic poem is the Old High German Hildebrandslied (c. 800). There also survive numerous pictorial depictions from Viking Age Scandinavia and areas under Norse control in the British Isles. These often attest scenes known from later written versions of legends connected to

2016-803: A snake pit. Oddrun says that she tries to help Gunnar escape the snake pit, but by the time she got there he was already dead, as her mother had turned into a snake and bitten him. Oddrun appears to be a late addition to the legend, perhaps created so that the poet could "tell the story of the fall of the Nibelungs from a different point of view." She also provides an additional reason for enmity between Gunnar and Atli besides Atli's lust for treasure in Gunnar's role as Oddrun's lover. In Atlakviða , Atli invites Högni and Gunnar to his hall, claiming to wish to offer them great riches, but actually intending to kill them. Gunnar decides to come although Gudrun has sent them

2160-664: A supporting role in the surviving portion of the poem, with Brunhild and Gudrun being the more important characters. Sigurðarkviða hin skamma retells the story of Sigurd's life from his arrival at Gunnar's court to his murder. On account of its content, which dwells on psychological motivation, and its style, this poem is generally not thought to be very old. Sigurd and Gunnar become friends when Sigurd comes to Gunnar's court, and Sigurd aids Gunnar in his wooing of Brunhild. Sigurd marries Gudrun, but Brunhild desires him for herself. In her jealousy, she threatens to leave Gunnar if he does not have Sigurd murdered. Gunnar and Högni decide that

2304-537: A warning from Gudrun. Gunnar and Högni are taken prisoner, and Gunnar is thrown into a snake pit : he puts the snakes to sleep with his harp, but in the end one bites him in the liver, and he dies. In Oddrúnargrátr , Atli's sister Oddrun narrates the story of her love for Gunnar. She tells how Atli refused to marry her to Gunnar after her sister Brunhild's death. She and Gunnar nevertheless begin an affair, sleeping together until one day they are discovered. In anger, Atli then murders Gunnar and Högni, throwing Gunnar into

2448-406: A warning. They cross through Myrkviðr (mirkwood) on their way to Atli's court. Once they arrive, Atli captures Gunnar and Högni. He demands Gunnar's hoard of gold, but Gunnar says he will not tell Atli until Högni is dead. Atli then kills Högni and brings his heart to Gunnar, who laughs and says now only he knows the secret of the hoard's location. He refuses to tell Atli, so Atli has him thrown into

2592-452: Is a short prose section connecting the death of Sigurd to the following poems about the Burgundians (Niflungs) and Atli (Attila). Atli, who is Brunhild's brother, blames Gunnar for Brunhild's death, and in order to placate him Gunnar marries Gudrun to Atli. Gunnar desires to marry Brunhild and Atli's sister Oddrun, but Atli refuses, so Gunnar and Oddrun become lovers. Some time later, Atli invites Gunnar and Högni to visit him, and they go despite

2736-558: Is also found in England as well. The use of the term "Germanic" is disputed in current scholarship, due to its implication of a shared cultural identity for which little evidence exists. Shami Ghosh remarks that Germanic heroic legend is unique in that it is not preserved among the peoples who originated it (mainly Burgundians and Goths ) but among other peoples; he cautions that we cannot assume that it functioned to create any sort of "Germanic" identity among its audience, and notes that

2880-559: Is also possible that it was royal praise poetry of the type preserved in the Old High German Ludwigslied . In any case, none of the purported collection has survived, unless it included the earliest extant vernacular heroic text, the Hildebrandslied . The poem tells of the battle of the hero Hildebrand with his own son Hadubrand and alludes to many of the traditions that will later surround Theodoric

3024-615: Is always a warrior, concerned with reputation and fame, as well as his political responsibilities. Heroes belonged to an aristocratic class, and legends about them provided an opportunity for the aristocratic public of the legends to reflect on their own behavior and values. In the High Middle Ages, this means that heroes often also portray the elements of chivalry and courtly behavior expected of their time period. The Roman historian Tacitus (c. 56-120) makes two comments that have been taken as attesting early heroic poetry among

SECTION 20

#1732787405565

3168-494: Is arriving on a ship, and seems to seek to mediate between the two sides. This corresponds to a version of the legend known from 12th-century Germany, in which Hildr ( Middle High German : Hilde ) seeks - ultimately unsuccessfully - to mediate between her father, Hagene, and the man who seized her for marriage, Hetel. The later Norse versions, in which the battle is called the Hjaðningavíg , instead portray Hildr as egging on

3312-457: Is brought back to Gunnar's court. After some time conflict erupts between Brunhild and Grimhild over their respective statuses at court. The quarrel causes Grimhild to reveal to Brunhild that Sigurd took her virginity, not Gunnar. When Gunnar hears of this, he and Högni decide to kill Sigurd. Högni then kills Sigurd on a hunt, and Gunnar and he place the corpse in Grimhild's bed. Later, Grimhild

3456-447: Is called a Langzeile ("long line"). The final beat generally receives no alliteration. Any vowel could alliterate with any other vowel. Klaus von See gives the following examples from Old English, Old High German, and Old Norse (stressed syllable underlined, alliteration bolded, and || representing the caesura): Gundomar I Gundomar I (also Gundimar, Godomar, or Godemar) was eldest son and successor of Gebicca , King of

3600-508: Is central. Peter Fisher, expressly distinguishes between the "Germanic hero" and the tragic hero . The death of the former is heroic rather than tragic; it usually brings destruction, not restoration, as in classical tragedy; and the hero's goal is frequently revenge, which would be hamartia (a flaw) in a tragic hero. In the Germanic sphere, the hero is usually defined by an amazing deed or deeds that show his heroic qualities. The hero

3744-558: Is common. A number of the runic inscriptions display the deeds accomplished by the young Sigurd , namely his killing of the dragon Fafnir and acquisition of the hoard of the Nibelungs . The Ramsund carving was probably illustrated with the Sigurd saga due to being carved in memory of a man named Sigfried ( Sigrøðr , from * Sigi-freðuz ). In the carving, Odin , Hœnir and Loki have killed Ótr (6), and paid his wergild . Ótr's brother Fafnir has murdered his own father to have

3888-477: Is forced to marry Gunther. She refuses, however, to sleep with Gunther on her wedding night, tying him up and hanging him from a hook. Gunther again enlists Siegfried's help, who takes Gunther's shape and overpowers Brunhild so that Gunther can then sleep with her. Some time later, Kriemhild and Brunhild quarrel, and Kriemhild tells Brunhild that Siegfried and not Gunther took her virginity. Brunhild complains to Gunther, who causes Siegfried to publicly swear that this

4032-558: Is generally assumed that Gunther's involvement in these other legends, in which he plays a secondary or antagonistic role, is a later development. Gunther's importance in the story of the destruction of the Burgundians also waned with time. Gunther appears as a legendary character in Latin , Middle High German , Old Norse , and Old English texts, as well as in various pictorial depictions from Scandinavia. Most significantly, he plays

4176-519: Is married to Atli ( Attila ), and she invites her brothers to visit her and her new husband's court at Susat ( Soest ). She intends to kill them, while Atli desires the hoard they had taken from Sigurd. Gunnar agrees to come despite Högni's warnings. As in the Nibeungenlied , Gunnar plays a secondary role to Högni in the action at Atli's court. Once fighting breaks out at the Hunnish court, Gunnar

4320-661: Is named Kriemhild . When Siegfried comes to Worms to woo Kriemhild, he first challenges Gunther as king before the situation is resolved peacefully. Gunther subsequently relies on Siegfried to defeat his enemies the Saxons and Danes . Eventually, Gunther offers to allow Siegfried to marry Kriemhild if Siegfried first helps him woo the queen of Iceland , Brunhild . Brunhild has set various martial and physical challenges that any suitor must accomplish, or else she will kill him. Siegfried uses his cloak of invisibility ( Tarnkappe ) to allow Gunther to accomplish each challenge, and Brunhild

4464-644: Is no indication that the author knew the other text. The author appears to have been working in Norway and to have known the Thidrekssaga (c. 1250), a translation of continental Germanic traditions into Old Norse (see Þiðrekssaga above). Therefore the Völsunga Saga is dated to sometime in the second half of the thirteenth century. Gunnar is portrayed as the son of Gjúki and Grimhild and brother of Högni, Gudrun, and Guthorm. After Sigurd's arrival at

Gunther - Misplaced Pages Continue

4608-414: Is not a purely legendary saga, but also contains material about King Arthur and Apollonius of Tyre . It is probably part of the tradition of chivalric sagas - translations of courtly material - initiated by king Haakon IV of Norway . The core of the saga is the biography of the hero Dietrich von Bern ( Þiðrekr af Bern ). The saga appears to assemble all of the heroic material from the continent and

4752-465: Is not true. Brunhild and Gunther's vassal Hagen, however, are not satisfied, and convince Gunther to have Siegfried murdered while on a hunt. Hagen kills Siegfried, taking possession of his sword Balmung , and later arranges to steal the hoard of the Nibelungs that rightfully belongs to Kriemhild as Siegfried's widow. After some time, Kriemhild is persuaded to be reconciled with Gunther, but not with Hagen. After she has been married to King Etzel (Attila) of

4896-482: Is probably not very old. Brot af Sigurðarkviðu is only preserved fragmentarily: the surviving part of the poem tells the story of Sigurd's murder. The fragment opens with Högni questioning Gunnar's decision to have Sigurd murdered, believing that Brunhild's claim that Sigurd slept with her might be false. Soon after the murder occurs, Gunnar shows himself to be deeply concerned about the future, while Brunhild admits that she lied to have Sigurd killed. Gunnar plays only

5040-459: Is shown by the fact that the Germanic speakers in Frankia who adopted a Romance language do not preserve Germanic legends, but rather developed their own heroic legends around figures such as William of Gellone , Roland , and Charlemagne . Of central importance to heroic legend is the figure of the hero , about whom conflicting definitions exist. According to Edward Haymes and Susan Samples,

5184-404: Is taken captive. Grimhild tells Atli to throw him into a tower full of snakes, where he dies. The author of the saga has made a number of changes to create a more or less coherent story out of the many oral and possibly written sources that he used to create the saga. The author mentions alternative Scandinavian versions of many of these same tales, and appears to have changed some details to match

5328-561: Is that the figure is meant to represent Loki . The earliest depiction that has been relatively securely identified as Gunnar is the picture stone Södermanland 40 , from Västerljung , Sweden. Guðmundsdóttir argues that the presence of several Sigurd stones nearby make an identification of the bound figure on the stone with Gunnar very likely. Gunnar can be securely identified on a number of church portals and baptismal fonts in Norway or areas formerly under Norwegian control in Sweden (see

5472-706: Is the Nibelungenlied (c. 1200). The majority of the preserved legendary material seems to have originated with the Goths and Burgundians . The most widely and commonly attested legends are those concerning Dietrich von Bern ( Theodoric the Great ), the adventures and death of the hero Siegfried/Sigurd , and the Huns' destruction of the Burgundian kingdom under king Gundahar . These were "the backbone of Germanic storytelling." The common Germanic poetic tradition

5616-532: Is the heroic literary tradition of the Germanic-speaking peoples , most of which originates or is set in the Migration Period (4th-6th centuries AD). Stories from this time period, to which others were added later, were transmitted orally , traveled widely among the Germanic speaking peoples, and were known in many variants. These legends typically reworked historical events or personages in

5760-404: Is thus a valuable attestations of which heroic legends were being told on the continent in the 13th century, including several that are otherwise lost. From the 11th to the 12th centuries, heroic legend on the continent is mentioned only in brief allusions. This includes a tradition of criticizing the legendary life of Dietrich von Bern as not according with the life of the historical Theodoric

5904-684: The Heimskringla , a history of the Norwegian kings, having previously spent two years in Norway and Sweden (1218–20). In the saga, Snorri fleshes out the skaldic poem Ynglingatal with Scandinavian heroic legends relating to the Norse kings, such as the 6th c. Swedish king Aðils , about whom it includes native legends related to some of those found in Beowulf . Snorri is also the author of

Gunther - Misplaced Pages Continue

6048-578: The Nibelungenlied , which was probably written through the patronage of bishop Wolfger von Erla of Passau . One of the earliest attestations of the heroic tradition is on the Anglo-Saxon Franks Casket (c. 700), which depicts a scene from the legend of Wayland the smith : Wayland is portrayed after having been crippled by king Niðhad . He stands over a headless figure representing Niðhad's children whom he has killed in revenge. The first woman represents Niðhad's daughter bringing

6192-470: The Prose Edda (c. 1220–1241). It contains a part called Skáldskaparmál that has a list of kennings and heitis for young poets, and he provided it with narratives to provide background for them. The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse mythological and heroic poems that was probably first compiled in the mid-13th century in Iceland and is known from two major manuscripts today, of which

6336-506: The Völsunga saga than in the heroic poems of the Poetic Edda . The exact relationship between myth and legend is unclear, and it is also possible for mythological beings to be euhemerized as heroes. Thus some scholars argue that the immense strength Brunhild displays in the Nibelungenlied may indicate that she was originally a mythical being. The historical origins of the figure of Sigurd/Siegfried are uncertain, and his slaying of

6480-710: The Cheruscian leader Arminius was celebrated in song after his death. This older poetry has not survived, probably because it was heavily connected to Germanic paganism . Most of the extant heroic legends have their origins in the Migration Period (4th-6th centuries AD); some may have earlier origins, such as the legends of Sigurd and Hildr , while others are likely later, such as the legend of Walter of Aquitaine . Some early Gothic heroic legends are already found in Jordanes ' Getica (c. 551). The most important figures around whom heroic legends were composed from

6624-527: The Codex Regius (c. 1270) is the most important. The Codex Regius groups mythological poems into a first section and a series of 19 heroic poems into a second; scholars believe that the two sections of poems likely come from two originally separate written collections. Although the legends in Poetic Edda are very old, the poems themselves come from different times, and some may have been written in

6768-453: The Huns , she invites her brothers to visit, plotting revenge. Gunther accepts this invitation despite Hagen's warning, and the Burgundians trek from Worms to Etzelburg ( Buda ). Gunther can be said to play a secondary role to Hagen in the conclusion of the Nibelungenlied . When fighting begins, Gunther fights bravely. When only he and Hagen are left alive, Dietrich von Bern defeats and captures

6912-780: The Kudrun (1230?), in which material also found in Old English and Old Norse about the heroine Hildr serves as the prologue to the - likely invented - story of her daughter, Kudrun. From 1230 onward, several heroic epics, of which 14 are known to us, were written concerning the hero Dietrich von Bern, forming a literary cycle comparable to that around King Arthur (the Matter of Britain ) or Charlemagne (the Matter of France ). These texts are typically divided into "historical" and "fantastical" epics, depending on whether they concern Dietrich's battles with Ermenrich (Ermanaric) and exile at

7056-564: The Lombards about their king Alboin . The Frankish Emperor Charlemagne (748-814) may have collected heroic poetry. His biographer Einhard wrote that: He also wrote out the barbarous and ancient songs, in which the acts of the kings and their wars were sung, and committed them to memory. ( Vita Karoli Magni , chap. 29) It has traditionally been supposed that this represented a written collection of heroic poetry, and interest in heroic poetry at Charlemagne's court seems likely. However it

7200-473: The Migration Period or it is (vaguely) set in the Migration Period, which plays the role of a " heroic age ;" 2) the legends mythologize the heroic age, so that it no longer is concretely fixed in history, allowing persons who in reality never met to interact; 3) the characters of Germanic legend do not or seldom interact with characters from other legendary cycles, such as the Matter of Britain or

7344-494: The Nibelungenlied . Therefore, it is included here. Gunnar (Gunther) is a king of the Niflungs who live in northern Germany at Niflungaland , with a capital at Verniza ( Worms ). He is the son of King Aldrian and Queen Oda and brother of Grimhild (Kriemhild), Gernoz (Gernot), and Gisler (Giselher), and half-brother of Högni (Hagen). In another version of the saga, his father is Irung. Gunnar first appears when he takes part in

SECTION 50

#1732787405565

7488-522: The Norum font ), with the earliest dating to the twelfth-century and most dating to around 1200 or later. In all of these images, Gunnar is shown with a harp. The presence of Gunnar's death in Christian religious contexts shows that a Christian interpretation was common: his death was seen as typologically related to the story of Daniel in the lions' den . Seven additional images from Norway, Sweden, and

7632-674: The Ore Mountains , which are called Miriquidui by the historian Thietmar of Merseburg in the eleventh century. Atlamál hin groenlenzku tells the same story as Atlakviða with several important differences. When Gunnar receives Atli's invitation, he and Högni shrug off the warning sent by Gudrun. They then ignore the runes read by Högni's wife Kostbera telling them not to go, and an ominous dream by Gunnar's wife Glaumvör. When they arrive at Atli's court, Atli's messenger, who has accompanied them, announces that they must die. Gunnar and Högni kill him. Gudrun attempts to negotiate between

7776-457: The Völsunga saga , was probably written in Norway and shows knowledge of the Þiðreks saga (see below): it narrates the story of Sigurd and his ancestors, the destruction of the Burgundians, and the death of Jörmunrekr (Ermanaric), moving their location to Scandinavia and including many mythological elements. The Hrólfs saga kraka may be the second best-known legendary saga. It was popular in

7920-475: The language of the birds (2), who told him that Regin had no intention of sharing the treasure with him, but instead planned to kill him. They advised Sigurd to kill Regin who lies beheaded among his smithy tools (3). Sigurd then loaded his horse with the treasure (4). This inscription and others show that the story was known in early 11th c. Sweden and they match details found in the Eddic poems and later sources on

8064-506: The oral forumulaic theory of oral poetry, According to Edward Haymes, common Germanic heroic poetry appears to have been "oral epic poetry", which made heavy use of repetitions and formula within the metrical scheme of alliterative verse . Some signs of oral epic style in Beowulf are inconsistencies from scene to scene, as details, such the presence of objects or individuals, are mentioned or omitted from performance to performance. Nevertheless, no "oral" heroic poetry has survived, as all

8208-536: The 13th century: normally the poems Völundarkviða and Atlakviða are believed to be from the Viking Age , while the three lays concerning Gudrun , the Atlamál , and Helreið Brynhildar are thought to be very recent. Some poems, such as Hamðismál , are judged to be old by some scholars and recent by others. The heroic poems open with 3 concerning Sigurd's half brother Helgi Hundingsbane , continue with

8352-520: The 13th to 16th centuries, many heroic traditions enter writing in Germany and enjoy great popularity. Werner Hoffmann defined five subjects of heroic epics in medieval Germany: the Nibelungen ( Burgundians and Siegfried), the lovers Walther and Hildegund , the maiden Kudrun , kings Ortnit and Wolfdietrich , and Dietrich von Bern. He found the heroic epics to be closely related to another genre,

8496-521: The 15th century, when a small number of illuminated manuscripts begin to appear. The manuscripts all vary widely in their iconography, showing that there was no tradition of depicting heroic events. The first illuminated manuscript of the Nibelungenlied is manuscript b , also known as the Hundeshagenscher codex (c. 1436–1442, in Augsburg ), which contains a cycle of 14 illuminations on

8640-429: The 430s, the Burgundians came under increasing pressure from the Huns ; likely as a reaction to this Gundahar attacked the Roman province Belgica Prima (based around Trier ) in 435. The Burgundians were defeated by the Roman general Flavius Aetius , who nevertheless confirmed Gundahar and his people's rights to their kingdom. However, the next year (436) Aetius, accompanied by Hunnish mercenaries, attacked and destroyed

8784-411: The 9th century Carolingian Empire , Anglo-Saxon England in the 8th and 9th centuries, Scandinavia in the 13th century, and what is now Germany from the 12th to the 16th centuries. Heiko Uecker comments that the preserved attestations should not be considered "Germanic," but rather Old English , Old Norse , or Middle High German . The Early Middle Ages produced only a few written heroic texts, as

SECTION 60

#1732787405565

8928-400: The Burgundian court, Gunnar is encouraged by Grimhild to marry Brynhild. Brynhild, however, refuses to marry any man but the one who can ride through a wall of flame. Gunnar is unable to do this, and so Sigurd takes his shape and performs the action for him. Brynhild is thus forced to marry Gunnar. Some time later, Gudrun and Brynhild quarrel about whether Sigurd or Gunnar has the highest rank at

9072-408: The Burgundian king Gundobad at the Burgundians' new kingdom, mentions four older Burgundian kings: Gibica , Gundomar , Gislaharius , and Gundahar. It makes no mention of any familial relationship between the kings, however. In the heroic tradition, Gibica (Gibeche/Gjúki) appears as Gundahar's father, while Gundomar (Guthorm/Gernot) and Gislaharius (Giselher) appear as his brothers and co-kings. In

9216-563: The Burgundian kingdom. According to Prosper of Aquitaine, Gundahar and the majority of his people found their deaths in Aetius's attack. Aetius resettled the survivors of the destruction of the Burgundian kingdom in Savoy on the upper Rhone . The memory of Gundahar and his downfall was likely preserved by these survivors, as well as by observers from neighboring Germanic tribes. The late fifth-/early-sixth century Lex Burgundionum , produced by

9360-403: The Burgundians . He succeeded his father in 406 or 407 and reigned until 411. He was succeeded by his brother Giselher . In the Nibelungenlied , he is named Gernot (sometimes Gernoz) and he is the brother of Gunther , Giselher and Kriemhild . In Norse mythology , he is called Guthormr , and he was the murderer of Sigurd (Sigfried), the dragon slayer. This biography of

9504-401: The Burgundians, for instance, became fairly romanized at an early date. Millet likewise remarks that defining these heroic legends as "Germanic" does not postulate a common Germanic legendary inheritance, but rather that the legends were easily transmitted between peoples speaking related languages. The close link between Germanic heroic legend and Germanic language and possibly poetic devices

9648-618: The Carolingian period who read about events in the migration period. This position is, however, "contrary to almost all literary scholarship". Heroic legends can also take on mythical elements, and these are common in Germanic heroic legend. Joseph C. Harris writes that "mythic motifs" or "folklore-related motifs" can become attached to the historical core of heroic legend. The liberation of society from monsters and otherworldly beings forms an important part of extant heroic legend. Examples of heroes taking on mythical qualities include

9792-537: The Danish king Hnæf. It is not clear if Finnesburg Fragment is an old poem or a recent composition, nor how long it originally was. A number of brief mentions in Latin ecclesiastical texts indicate the popularity of heroic traditions among the early medieval clergy while simultaneously condemning it as a distraction from salvation. This popularity led to the writing of the Latin epic Waltharius (9th or 10th century) in

9936-542: The German name Heldensagas ("heroic sagas") in modern scholarly usage. Much of the content of these sagas is derived from Eddic poems, and other elements likely derive from then current oral tradition. Some may be additions of the saga authors. Traditionally, six sagas are counted as Heldensagas : Völsunga saga , Norna-Gests þáttr , Hervarar saga , Hrólfs saga kraka , Sǫgubrot af nokkrum fornkonungum , and Ásmundar saga kappabana . The best-known today,

10080-568: The Germanic peoples. The first is a remark in Germania : In the traditional songs which form their only record of the past the Germans celebrate an earth-born god called Tuisto. His son Mannus is supposed to be the fountain-head of their race and himself to have begotten three sons who gave their names to three groups of tribes. ( Germania , chapter 2) The other is a remark in the Annals that

10224-579: The Germanic-speaking peoples shared a metrical and poetic form, alliterative verse , which is attested in very similar forms in Old Saxon , Old High German and Old English , and in a modified form in Old Norse . The common form consists of lines of four stressed beats, with a caesura dividing the line in half. At least two beats must alliterate across the caesura, forming what in German

10368-728: The Goths and Huns , and poetry such as the Waking of Angantýr , the Riddles of Gestumblindi and the Samsey poetry . Another important source for heroic legend was the Þiðreks saga , a compilation of heroic material mostly from northern Germany, composed in Bergen , Norway in the mid 13th century. By its own account, it was composed from oral German sources, although it is possible that some written materials were used as well. The Þiðreks saga

10512-524: The Great , found in works such as the Historia mundi of Frutolf of Michelsberg (c. 1100), the Historia de duabus civitatibus (1134-1136) of Otto von Freising , and the vernacular Kaiserchronik (after 1146). Allusions to heroic legends are also found in a number of vernacular literary works of courtly romance and poetry from the 12th century, including by Walther von der Vogelweide , Heinrich von Veldeke , and Wolfram von Eschenbach . From

10656-528: The Great/ Dietrich von Bern . Some potential references to written heroic poems are found in 9th-century monastic library catalogues, and the chronicler Flodoard of Reims (c.893–966) mentions a written narrative about Ermanaric . Viking Age Scandinavia is traditionally believed to have produced a number of poems on heroic subjects in this period, but they were not written down until the 13th century. Although more recent scholarship has challenged

10800-491: The Isle of Man probably contains the only image of the hero Gunnarr from outside Scandinavia: the hero is shown dying in a snake pit while playing a harp. He is also found on the picture stone Södermanland 40 , from Västerljung , Sweden . The scene of Gunnarr in the snake pit is also found on several church portals and baptismal fonts from Norway or areas formerly under Norwegian control, mostly from after 1200. Elements of

10944-726: The Kings of Denmark (c. 1188), and the Gesta Danorum by Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1200). At this time in Iceland , the now lost Skjöldunga saga was written, c. 1200, and like parts of Gesta Danorum and Beowulf it dealt with the legendary Danish Scylding (Skjöldung) dynasty, and it would be the main source for future sagas on the Danish Scylding dynasty's relations with its Swedish Scylfing (Yngling) counterpart. Sometime c. 1220–1230, Snorri Sturluson finished writing

11088-515: The Middle Ages, and it still is, but its modern popularity among scholars is due to it being a Beowulf analogue, with which it shares at least eight legendary characters. The Hervarar saga combines several different stories that are united by the handing down of the cursed sword Tyrfing through generations. It preserves what is considered to be one of the oldest heroic lays, the Battle of

11232-595: The Migration Period and may be inventions of the thirteenth century, although Merovingian origins are also suggested for Wolfdietrich . Almost all of the texts originate in the Bavarian -speaking areas of Bavaria and Austria, with several texts about Dietrich von Bern having origins in Tirol ; a few others seem to have originated in the Alemannic dialect area in modern south-west Germany and Switzerland. Evidence for

11376-724: The Migration Period are the Gothic king Ermanaric , the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great (later known as Dietrich von Bern ), the Hunnic king Attila , and the Burgundian king Gundahar . Numerous other sources throughout the Early Middle Ages make brief references to figures known in later heroic legends, as well as to other figures about whom legends have likely been lost. The original historical material at

11520-549: The Old English poem Widsith reports that he was given a ring by Guðhere when he visited the Burgundians ( Burgendas ). The Waltharius is a Latin epic that reworks the legend of Walter of Aquitaine ; it is conventionally dated to around 1000, but some scholars argue that it was produced in the Carolingian period . In Waltharius , Gunther (as Guntharius ) appears as a king of the Franks with his capital at Worms . At

11664-414: The Old Norse hero Starkaðr , who may be portrayed with multiple arms, while Dietrich von Bern is able to breathe fire. The heroine Hildr appears to have become a valkyrie in the Norse tradition, and the same thing may have happened to the heroine Brunhild . Generally, mythical elements are more common in later rather than earlier Norse material: for instance, appearances of Odin are more common in

11808-463: The Old Norse material about Sigurd originates on the continent and the Old English poem Beowulf portrays a legend that originates in Scandinavia. Material of originally East Germanic Gothic and Burgundian origin is found throughout the entire Germanic-speaking world, making up the majority of the material found in Germany and much of that from England, while originally Scandinavian material

11952-705: The Sigurd legend. Parts of the legend of Sigurd are also depicted on several 10th-century stone crosses from the British Isles, including several on the Isle of Man , as well as several from England dating to the time of the Danelaw (1016-1042). Several Norwegian stave churches built around 1200 contain carved depictions of the Sigurd legend, including the Hylestad Stave Church and the Vegusdal Stave Church . The Kirk Andreas cross on

12096-472: The age of most of the surviving written poems, it remains likely that precursors to extant poems existed in the Viking Age. A single stanza on the 9th-century Rök runestone from Östergötland , Sweden, also mentions Dietrich/Theodoric. Anglo-Saxon England, which had a larger written culture than the continent, also produced several texts on heroic subjects, including the only vernacular heroic epic of

12240-511: The area around Lake Constance , which reworked the legend of Walter of Aquitaine. A number of early medieval Latin chronicles also contain material from the heroic tradition. Widukind of Corvey 's The Deeds of the Saxons contains what is commonly taken to be a lost legend about the last independent king of the Thuringians , Hermanafrid , and his death at the hands of his vassal Iring at

12384-669: The basis of earlier motifs in the 13th century, although Dietrich's battles with giants are already mentioned in the Old English Waldere fragment. The earliest attested of the "fantastical" epics is the Eckenlied , of which a single stanza is contained in the Codex Buranus (c. 1230). Closely connected to the Dietrich epics, the combined epics Ortnit and Wolfdietrich (both c. 1230) have unclear connections to

12528-479: The beginning of the poem, Gunther's father Gibeche ( Gibico ) has sent his vassal Hagen ( Hageno ) to the Huns as a hostage because Gunther is still too young. Hagen later flees back to Gibeche's kingdom. When Walter and his love Hiltgunt flee the Huns, taking much treasure, they enter into Gunther's kingdom by crossing the Rhine by Worms. They sell the ferryman fish they had brought with them in exchange for passage, and

12672-758: The combatants, Hǫgni and Heðinn. The Gotland Image stone Ardre VIII , which has been dated to the 8th c., shows two decapitated bodies, a smithy, a woman, and a winged creature which is interpreted as Wayland flying away from his captivity. Another one, Stora Hammars III , shows a man transformed into a bird who meets a woman, but this one may instead refer to Odin stealing the mead of poetry , in Skáldskaparmál . Several small objects of winged people have also been found, but gods, and some giants, are known to be able to transform into birds in Norse mythology , and Viking Age artwork with human-animal transformations

12816-475: The common Germanic form was short, as found in the Scandinavian examples. Hermann Reichert argues that only the Hildebrandslied is a genuine example of an early heroic lay, discounting the age of Norse examples that are generally dated early, such as Atlakviða . Other scholarship has instead argued that the poems could be of variable length and were improvised with each performance, according to

12960-592: The continued existence of heroic legends in what is now Northern Germany and the Low Countries is provided by the Þiðreks saga on the one hand, and the early modern ballad Ermenrichs Tod (printed 1560 in Lübeck ) on the other. The latter tells a garbled version of the killing of Ermenrich (Ermanaric) also found in early medieval Latin sources and the Eddic poem Hamðismál . Very few new heroic poems, and no new heroic epics, were written after 1300, although

13104-515: The court of Etzel (Attila) or his battles with mostly supernatural opponents such as dwarfs , dragons , and giants . The "historical" Dietrich epic Rabenschlacht (c. 1280) narrates the death of the sons of Etzel (Attila) and of Dietrich's brother Diether at the hands of his traitorous vassal, Witege and may have origins in the Battle of Nedao (454). The "fantastical" Dietrich epics are typically thought to be later material, possibly invented on

13248-671: The court. Gudrun then reveals the deception to Brynhild, who demands vengeance from Gunnar. He is unable to change her mind, and she demands that he kill Sigurd. Gunnar and Högni decide that their younger brother Guthorm, who has not sworn any oaths to Sigurd, should perform the murder. They feed him with wolf meat to make him more ferocious, then send him to kill Sigurd in his bed. After the murder, Brynhild commits suicide and prophesies Gunnar's fate. In order to be reconciled to Brynhild's brother Atli for her death, Gunnar arranges for Sigurd's widow, his sister Gudrun, to marry Atli. He also seeks to marry Atli's other sister Oddrun, but Atli refuses and

13392-439: The death of Sigurd is not as bad as losing the queen, so they have their brother Guthorm murder him in his bed. Brunhild laughs loudly when she hears Gudrun's wailing, and Gunnar insults her and makes accusations against her when he hears her laugh. Brunhild tells him that she never wanted to marry him, but was forced to by her brother Atli. She then kills herself in spite of Gunnar's attempts to change her mind. The Dráp Niflunga

13536-424: The dragon represents a victory over chaos and destruction and results in the hero taking on semi-divine abilities. Germanic heroic legend contains fewer mythological elements than that of many other cultures, for instance, the heroic legend of Ancient Greece . Older scholarship was of the opinion that heroic poetry was "entirely heathen", however more recent scholarship has abandoned this position. A great many of

13680-491: The earlier attestations, were created by and for an audience that already knew the heroic tradition rather than one who was being informed about its contents; they are thus often difficult for modern readers to understand, often contradictory with other attestations, and rarely tell an entire story. No surviving text of Germanic legend appears to have been "oral," but rather all appear to have been conceived as written texts. The oral tradition also continued outside and alongside of

13824-433: The earliest evidence for Germanic Heroic legends comes in pictorial form on runestones and picture stones. In Sweden, there are nine runic inscriptions , and several image stones from the Viking Age that illustrate scenes from Germanic Heroic legends. The picture stone Smiss I from Gotland, dated around 700, appears to depict a version of the legend of Hildr : a woman stands between two groups of warriors, one of which

13968-465: The events of the poem. A number of manuscripts include an illumination at the beginning of each epic, usually illustrating an important event from the poem such as Siegfried's murder or Ortnit 's fight with a dragon. Other manuscripts include cycles of illustrations, such as one of the Rosengarten zu Worms and another of Virginal . Notable is a manuscript of the Dietrich epic Sigenot which

14112-602: The existing ones remained popular. Beginning in the 14th century, heroic poems come to be collected together in so-called Heldenbücher ("books of heroes"); the Heldenbuch of Diebolt von Hanau (after 1475) contains a text known as the Heldenbuch-Prosa which provides a brief history of the entire heroic world. Possibly originating in the 14th century but only attested in 1530, the Lied vom Hürnen Seyfrid recorded

14256-722: The expedition of twelve heroes to Bertangenland organized by Thidrek ( Dietrich von Bern ). He loses in combat against one of King Isung's sons, but is freed once Thidrek defeats Sigurd (Siegfried). Thidrek and Sigurd then accompany Gunnar back to his court, and Sigurd marries Gunnar's sister Grimhild. Sigurd suggests that Gunnar should marry Brunhild, and Gunnar agrees. Although Brunhild is initially reluctant, saying Sigurd had promised to marry her, she eventually agrees. However, she refuses to sleep with Gunnar and overpowers him with her immense strength when he tries to. Gunnar then tells Sigurd to take Gunnar's shape and deflower Brunhild for him. This takes away Brunhild's strength; after this, Brunhild

14400-404: The ferryman brings these fish, which do not live in the area, to the king. Hagen tells Gunther that this must be Walter, and Gunther declares that now he can reclaim the gold that his father had paid to Attila in tribute. Although Hagen advises against it, the king sets out with some warriors to apprehend Walter and Hiltgunt. When Gunther finds the pair, he demands that Walter give him Hiltgunt and

14544-417: The fragmentary Old English poem Waldere (c. 1000), the Old English attestation of the story of Walter of Aquitaine (see Waltharius under Continental traditions ), Guðhere (Gunther) is preparing to attack Waldere (Walter). He refuses the gifts that Walther offers him to make peace and is portrayed as boastful. It appears that Guðhere wishes to take the gold that Waldere has with him. The narrator of

14688-429: The gold for himself, but when the third brother Regin wanted his share, Fafnir turned into a dragon to protect the hoard. Regin was a skilled smith who crafted the sword Gram and asked his foster-son Sigurd to kill Fafnir (5). Regin then asked Sigurd to cook the dragon's heart for him. Sigurd touched the heart to see if it was done but burnt his finger on it, and put it in his mouth (1). He tasted dragon blood and learnt

14832-474: The gold. Walter refuses and kills Gunther's warriors as they attack, despite Gunther's encouragements. Finally, only Gunther and Hagen are left alive; they allow Walter to leave, then attack him from behind. Walter cuts off Gunther's leg, but Hagen saves the king's life when Walter wishes to kill him. After both Hagen and Walter have maimed each other, the fighting stops and Hiltgunt tends the warriors' wounds. The warriors then part in friendship. The story presents

14976-578: The grounds that they are not clear. Here Gunther is ruler of the Gibichungs, son of Gibich and Grimhilde. Hagen is his half-brother, his father being the villainous dwarf Alberich . Hagen convinces Gunther and Gutrune to respectively wed Brunhilde and Siegfried, using a love potion on Siegfried to make him forget Brunhilde. After Hagen murders Siegfried, he and Gunther argue over the ring and Hagen kills Gunther. Germanic heroic legend Germanic heroic legend ( German : germanische Heldensage )

15120-453: The heart of the legends has been transformed through the long process of oral transmission: the causes of complex historical and political events are reduced to basic human motivations such as greed, hubris, jealousy, and personal revenge; events are assimilated to folkloric narrative schemes; conflicts are personalized, typically as conflicts among relatives; and persons living in different time periods are portrayed as contemporaries living in

15264-462: The hero Sigurd . In the High and Late Middle Ages , heroic texts are written in great numbers in Scandinavia, particularly Iceland, and in southern Germany and Austria. Scandinavian legends are preserved both in the form of Eddic poetry and in prose sagas , particularly in the legendary sagas such as the Völsunga saga . German sources are made up of numerous heroic epics, of which the most famous

15408-442: The hero is an "extraordinary individual [...] who stands above his contemporaries in physical and moral strength." The hero is typically a man, sometimes a woman, who is admired for his or her achievements in battle and heroic virtues, capable of performing feats impossible for a normal human, and who often dies tragically. Traditionally, scholars has understood these heroic virtues to include personal glory, honor, and loyalty within

15552-478: The heroic tradition; the title φύλαρχος ( phylarchos ) given to him by Olympiodorus of Thebes may suggest he was not the sole ruler. In Prosper of Aquitaine he is identified as rex (king). A majority of the Burgundians crossed the Rhine in 406/407, together with numerous other Germanic tribes. Their king Gundahar is first attested in 411 as cooperating with Goar , king of the Alans , to proclaim Jovinus as

15696-527: The historical Gundahar is attested in the primary sources as Latin Gundaharius or Gundicharius and Greek Γυντιάριος ( Gyntiarios ). Medieval Latin gives the name of the legendary figure as Guntharius , while Anglo-Saxon has Gūðhere , Old Norse has Gunnarr , and Middle High German has Gunther . Gundahar is the first king of Burgundy to be historically attested. It is unclear if he ruled alone or if he may have ruled together with brothers, as occurs in

15840-464: The historical figures upon whom heroic legends were based, such as Theodoric the Great , Gundaharius , and Alboin , were Christians. Klaus von See goes so far as to suggest that Christianization and the creation and spread of the heroic legends "went hand in hand." Hermann Reichert , on the other hand, describes heroic poetry as integrating originally pagan poetry into its Christian worldview, as opposed to what he calls "Old Germanic poetry," which

15984-669: The history of the settlement of Iceland. Heroic legends originate and develop as part of an oral tradition , and often involve historical personages. The heroic legends are traditionally defined according to the geographic location that scholars believe first produced the legend: there is thus continental heroic legend from Germany and the European continent, North Germanic (Scandinavian) heroic legend, and English heroic legend originating in Anglo-Saxon England. The legends are not always attested in their place of origin: thus

16128-478: The instigation of Theuderic I , king of the Franks . The Annals of Quedlinburg (early 11th century), includes legendary material about Dietrich von Bern , Ermanaric , and Attila in the guise of history. Some of the oldest written Scandinavian sources relate to the same heroic matter as found in Beowulf , namely Langfeðgatal (12th c.), the Lejre Chronicle (late 12th c.), Short History of

16272-421: The island of Gotland have been proposed to depict Gunnar in the snake pit, but without a harp: these images date from between the ninth and the eleventh centuries, and thus predate the secure attestations considerably. The earliest of these proposed identifications are the carvings on the cart found with the ninth-century Oseberg Ship burial. This identification is very controversial. Guðmundsdóttir suggests that

16416-578: The legend of Wayland the Smith . The legend of Walter of Aquitaine is told in the fragmentary Waldere , which also includes mentions of the fights of the heroes Ðeodric (Dietrich von Bern) and Widia ( Witege ), son of Wayland, against giants. The Finnesburg Fragment tells a story, also relayed in Beowulf of a surprise attack led by the Frisian king Finn on visiting Danes led by his brother-in-law,

16560-519: The legends of Theodoric the Great/Dietrich von Bern appear in some high medieval images. The church portal of San Zeno Maggiore in Verona (c. 1140) appears to depict a legend according to which Dietrich rode to Hell on an infernal horse, a story contained in the Þiðreks saga and alluded to elsewhere. The image of a man freeing another that has been half-devoured by a dragon is also found on

16704-474: The lord's retinue. These traits are then understood to form a heroic ethos that Rolf Bremmer traces to descriptions of Germanic warrior culture in the 1st-century AD Roman historian Tacitus . Other scholars have emphasized other qualities: Klaus von See rejected the notion of exemplarity and argued that the hero is defined by his egotism and excessive ("exorbitant"), often brutal behavior, Wolfgang Haubrichs argued that heroes and their ethos primarily display

16848-562: The majority of writing was on religious subjects, including in the vernacular. The 7th-century Pforzen buckle , discovered in 1992 in an Alemannic warrior's grave in southern Germany, has a short runic inscription that may refer to Egil and Ölrun , two figures from the legend of Wayland the smith . An early source in Latin is the Historia Langobardorum (c. 783–796) of Paul the Deacon : it recounts legends told among

16992-675: The manner of oral poetry, forming a heroic age . Heroes in these legends often display a heroic ethos emphasizing honor, glory, and loyalty above other concerns. Like Germanic mythology , heroic legend is a genre of Germanic folklore . Heroic legends are attested in Anglo-Saxon England , medieval Scandinavia , and medieval Germany. Many take the form of Germanic heroic poetry ( German : germanische Heldendichtung ): shorter pieces are known as heroic lays , whereas longer pieces are called Germanic heroic epic ( germanische Heldenepik ). The early Middle Ages preserves only

17136-564: The maw of evil. Runkelstein Castle outside Bozen in South Tirol was decorated with frescoes depicting courtly and heroic figures, around 1400. The decorations include depictions of triads of figures, among them the heroes Dietrich, Siegfried, and Dietleib von Steiermark, as well as three giants and three giantesses labeled with names from heroic epics. Wildenstein castle in Swabia

17280-644: The medieval legends themselves in the popular consciousness. Germanic legend was also heavily employed in nationalist propaganda and rhetoric. Finally, it has inspired much of modern fantasy through the works of William Morris and J.R.R. Tolkien , whose The Lord of the Rings incorporates many elements of Germanic heroic legend. Germanic heroic legend is a somewhat amorphous subject, and drawing clear distinctions between it and similar legendary material can be difficult. Victor Millet refers to three criteria to define Germanic heroic legend: 1) it either originates in

17424-447: The messenger reveals that it is a trap, and they kill him. Atli demands the treasure that Gunnar took for Sigurd, and when Gunnar refuses, they begin to fight. Eventually, Gunnar and Högni are captured. Gunnar says he will not tell Atli where the hoard is unless he sees Högni's heart. When he is finally shown the heart, Gunnar laughs and says that now only he knows where the hoard is and he will never tell. Atli then orders Gunnar thrown into

17568-475: The oral tradition and otherwise edit the epics. Heroic poetry begins to be composed in writing in Germany with the Nibelungenlied (c. 1200), which updated the heroic legends with elements of the popular literary genre of its time, courtly romance. The epics written after the Nibelungenlied maintain this hybrid nature. For this reason Middle High German heroic poetry is also called "late heroic poetry" ( späte Heldendichtung ). The Nibelungenlied narrates

17712-420: The picture stone Klinte Hunninge I from Gotland (ninth/tenth century) may depict a version of the story of Oddrun's aid to Gunnar, as it shows an unidentified female figure by the snake pit. She argues in favor of identifying the figure in the snake pit in all of these images with Gunnar, noting their apparent shared iconography. Guðmundsdóttir nevertheless dismisses a number of other proposed images of Gunnar, on

17856-547: The poems in the collection is thought to be older than 900 and some appear to have been written in the thirteenth century. It is also possible that apparently old poems have been written in an archaicizing style and that apparently recent poems are reworkings of older material, so that reliable dating is impossible. In Grípisspá , a prophecy that Sigurd receives about his future life and deeds, Sigurd learns of his future marriage to Gudrun and his role taking Gunnar's place in his wooing of Brunhild, followed by his murder. The poem

18000-462: The presence of a harp appears to have originally been a variant of the story of Gunnar's death, and that images that do not depict a harp can therefore also depict Gunnar. Only one potential depiction is located outside of Scandinavia, on the Isle of Man : the Kirk Andreas cross (c. 1000) shows a bound figure surrounded by snakes who has been identified as Gunnar. An alternative interpretation

18144-567: The relationship between heroic lay and heroic epic in current scholarship. According to the influential model developed by Andreas Heusler (1905), Germanic heroic poetry mostly circulated in heroic lays ( Heldenlieder ): relatively short pieces, of similar length to the Eddic poems, that had fixed wording and were memorized. These poems could then later be expanded into full-sized epics in writing. "Neo-Heuslerians" continue to follow this model with some adjustments, emphasizing in particular that

18288-444: The same heroic age. Stages in the combination of the originally independent figures of heroic legend can be seen in texts from the 8th and 9th centuries. Additionally, the legends appear to have become increasingly detached from historical reality, though they still may have been understood as conveying historical knowledge. Conflicts with monsters and otherworldly beings also form an important part of heroic legend. As an example of

18432-515: The so-called Spielmannsdichtung ("minstrel poetry"). The anonymous authorship of the Middle High Germans heroic poems forms an important distinction from other poetic genres, such as romance, but is shared with Spielmannsdichtung . Although these epics all appear to be written compositions, the amount of differences between manuscripts indicates that their texts were not fixed and that redactors could insert additional material from

18576-469: The stories known by his Scandinavian audience. The saga's version of the downfall of the Burgundians represents a unique mix of elements known from the Norse and continental traditions. Some elements that are closer to the Norse version may reflect genuine Low German traditions: a "snake tower" ( Schlangenturm ) is attested as having existed in Soest until the end of the eighteenth century. The Poetic Edda ,

18720-524: The time period, Beowulf . Beowulf deals with the legends of the Scyldings , the ancestors of the Danish royal house, although it is debated whether Beowulf himself is a traditional or invented figure. The poem Widsið is the first person narrator of a scop who describes his travels. The lay is attested in the 10th century Exeter book ; it has traditionally been dated to the 7th century but this early dating has been questioned. The lay presents

18864-415: The traditions of ruling families, and Walter Haug argued that the brutality of the heroic ethos derived from the introduction of people to history and their confrontation with seemingly senseless violence. In some cases the hero may also display negative values, but he is nevertheless always extraordinary and excessive in his behavior. For Brian O. Murdoch , the way in which he "copes with the blows of fate"

19008-413: The two after his offers to surrender are rejected. Told by Hagen that he will only reveal the location of the hoard of the Nibelungs once Gunther is dead, Kriemhild has her brother beheaded. Although the Þiðrekssaga (c. 1250) is written in Old Norse, the majority of the material is translated from German (particularly Low German ) oral tales, as well as possibly some from German written sources such as

19152-473: The two begin an affair. Gunnar instead marries the woman Glaumvör. After some time, desiring to avenge his sister and to gain Gunnar's treasure, Atli invites Gunnar and Högni to his court, intending to kill them. Gunnar is suspicious and Gudrun has tried to warn them not to come, but once he and Högni are drunk, Atli's messenger convinces them to accept the invitation. In spite of the warnings of their wives, Gunnar and Högni set out for Atli's court. Once they arrive

19296-432: The two sides but is unsuccessful; she fights with her brothers until they are captured. Atli then has Gunnar and Högni killed in order to spite Gudrun. Gunnar is thrown into a snake pit, where he plays the harp with his toes as his hands are bound. He is bitten and dies. The Völsunga saga tells a longer prose version of Gunther's life and deeds. It follows the plot given in the Poetic Edda fairly closely, although there

19440-409: The use of similar techniques in oral traditions such as Somali oral poetry. It is possible that the sort of literal memorization required of Norse skaldic poetry resulted in the loss of oral formulaic improvised poetry in an Old Norse context; Haymes and Samples suggest that this same fixed quality may have driven the change from heroic poetry to prose sagas in Iceland and Scandinavia. Originally,

19584-408: The variability of the tradition, Edward Haymes and Susan Samples note that Sigurd/Siegfried is variously said to be killed in the woods or in his bed, but always with the fixed detail that it was by a spear in the back. A minority position, championed by Walter Goffart and Roberta Frank , has argued that there is no oral tradition and that heroic legend was in fact developed by learned clerics in

19728-406: The wooing of Kriemhild ( Gudrun ) by the hero Siegfried, his aid to king Gunther in the latter's wooing of Brünhild ( Brunhild ), Siegfried's murder at the hands of Gunther's vassal Hagen , and Kriemhild's treacherous revenge on Hagen and her brothers after inviting them to the hall of Kriemhild's new husband, Etzel (Attila). A direct reaction to the heroic nihilism of the Nibelungenlied is found in

19872-513: The written attestations appear to be written compositions. Eddic poems, including the supposedly oldest, the Atlakviða , show important differences from typical oral formulaic style and the style of Old English, Old Saxon, and Old High German heroic poetry. Haymes, an adherent of the oral epic, suggests that this means that the Eddic poems were not improvised, but instead memorized verbatim according to Heusler's model, something also suggested by

20016-513: The written medium. More recent written compositions can thus contain very old material or legendary variants; conversely, older texts do not necessarily convey an older or more authentic version of the tradition. Written versions of heroic legend are not confined to a single genre, but appear in various formats, including the heroic lay , in the form of epic , as prose sagas , as well as theatrical plays and ballads . Its written attestations also come from various places and time periods, including

20160-477: Was alliterative verse , although this is replaced with poetry in rhyming stanzas in high medieval Germany. In early medieval England and Germany, poems were recited by a figure called the scop , whereas in Scandinavia it is less clear who sang heroic songs. In high medieval Germany, heroic poems seem to have been sung by a class of minstrels. The heroic tradition died out in England after the Norman conquest , but

20304-461: Was decorated with images from the epic Sigenot in the 16th century. Emperor Maximilian I 's decision to have Theodoric the Great, together with Charlemagne and King Arthur , be one of the four bronze sculptures on his tomb in Innsbruck was probably influenced by Maximilian's documented interest in the heroic poems. German manuscripts of heroic epics were generally not illuminated until

20448-454: Was maintained in Germany until the 1600s, and lived on in a different form in Scandinavia until the 20th century as a variety of the medieval ballads . Romanticism resurrected interest in the tradition in the late 18th and early 19th century, with numerous translations and adaptations of heroic texts. The most famous adaptation of Germanic legend is Richard Wagner 's operatic cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen , which has in many ways overshadowed

20592-570: Was pagan and has not survived. Many of the surviving pictorial representations of heroic legend are in an unambiguously Christian context, and many ecclesiastics belonged to the same aristocratic class among whom heroic poetry was popular. Complaints that ecclesiastical figures preferred hearing heroic tales to the Bible, the church fathers, or saints’ lives are frequent. The creation of several heroic epics also seems to have been prompted by ecclesiastics, such as Waltharius , possibly Beowulf , and

20736-445: Was produced c. 1470 for Margaret of Savoy , containing 20 miniatures of very high quality. Printed editions of the poems frequently contained woodcuts . Detailed attestations of heroic traditions are only found in writing. These written attestations cannot be assumed to be identical to the oral tradition, but represent adaptations of it, undertaken by a particular author at a particular time and place. All of them, but particularly

#564435