The Nibelungenlied: A good husband requires bloody revenge

I ordered new books today, this always seems to make me excited even though they will take a couple of weeks to show up, but what do you expect when you order from the UK. I ordered three of the five works by Dante and they will be the only three I can actually read. For the other two I could not easily find an English translation, so I have chosen to remove them from my list.
In other news, my husband just landed a new job and is going to be working weekdays and standardised hours, which will be a nice change after working night shift, or rotating shifts, the last few years.

The Story
The first half of the Nibelungenlied is about Siegfried and how he obtains Kriemhild's hand in marriage by helping her brother Gunther win Brunhild's hand in marriage. After they are married, Siegfried and Kriemhild return to Siegfrieds native Denmark. They are persuaded to come back to Worms, Kriemhilds family seat, for a festival. The two queens get into an argument and Brunhild is greatly embarrassed. Brunhild enlists her kinsman, Hagen, to deal with Siegfried. Hagan then, during a hunt, slays Seigfried; and Kriemhild spends the rest of the first half of the book mourning.

The second half of the Nibelungenlied deals with Kriemhilds second marriage to Etzel, King of Hungary and the surrounds. At first she lives with him and his people and seems happy enough, until a plot for revenge stirs in her heart. She persuades Etzel to invite her brothers, the kings at Worms, and the family to come and visit for a festival. During that festival, she sends troops after troops to slay the visiting party, especially Hagen. The Burgundians from Worms make a good accounting of themselves, but are eventually killed by one of the many forces the Queen sends against them.

Reflections
It takes a bit to get your head around the change in meaning of Nibelung. In the first half of the text it refers to Siegfried's men, from somewhere north of Denmark, while in the second half it refers to the Burgundian, from Worms. This change is noted in the translation notes but it still feels a little odd. It does reinforce the translator's idea that the second half is borrowed from a much older poem.
Kriemhild never takes any responsibility for how she embarrassed Brunhild, which was the catalyst for Siegfrieds death; rather, she continues to set the full blame to rest on Hagens shoulders. Hagen is the one who did the killing but there is more to the story than that.
The fact that Hagen takes Siegfried's sword seems like salt in the wound for Kriemhild and is a demonstration of his absolute lack or remorse and just how justified he believes Siegfried's death was.
The shear amount of troops Kriemhild sends against the Burgundians is preposterous. Etzel seems to be unwilling to stop her at the cost of many of the lives of his men and vassals. The Burgundians strength is impressive,g as they repel wave after wave, only slowly losing the more important men. Eventually, quantity beats quality.

Comparisons
While the tone and understanding of vassalage is comparable with the Song of Roland and our main character is trying to do everything for the kings good; in the Nibelungenlied, Siegfried is actually a king in his own right from another land rather than a vassal to the local King Gunthar. Also the Nibelungenlied deals with far more homeward focused issues: marriages and festivals. Also, the deaths involved are not in war, but rather in treachery. Both Siegfried's death, by a family member of his wife, and the Burgundian party's attack after they were offered hospitality, are treacherous by the standards of the time and of the setting.
The name Siegfried is in common with Beowulf, both do amazing feats of strength and courage, though their deaths are very different. In the Nibelungenlied, Siegfried is kill by a treacherous uncle. While in Beowulf, he is killed by a dragon, while trying to keep his people safe.

Have you read The Nibelungenlied? If so what did you think of it?

Want to read The Nibelungenlied but haven't? Hopefully this inspires you to take the time to do so.
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