The Nibelungenlied 

If you have visited the current exhibition of The Bayeux Tapestry and been drawn to explore more of the world of battles and betrayals, you may want to consider joining this reading of a work of medieval literature believed to have been created some hundred years later.

The Nibelungenlied is a medieval epic poem of love, betrayal and revenge, and a major source text for Wagner’s Ring Cycle. Some have called The Nibelungenlied the German Iliad, because it explores honour and kinship along with the brutalities of war. As The Reader’s Companion to World Literature says, “the characters are boldly drawn, larger-than-life figures moved by the fundamental passions of love, hate, loyalty, power, and greed.”  At the centre of the story is the hero Siegfried and his murder. This takes place in Part I, while Part II is devoted to Siegfried’s wife Kriemhild’s brutal revenge on her family. 

First we will discuss The Nibelungenlied as a work of literature. Then we will consider how Wagner adapted it for his libretto for The Ring. This study is part of our 2027 Wagner series, but you can sign up to for The Nibelungenlied without attending the other Wagner offerings. 

JOINING DETAILS:

• Five-meeting study led by Sean Forester, live on Zoom
• Sundays 7, 14, 21, 28 February & 7 March 2027, 5.45-7.45 pm (UK time) 
• £200 for five meetings
• Relevant books: The Nibelungenlied translated by A.T. Hatto (Penguin Classics); The Ring of the Nibelung by Richard Wagner, translated by John Deathridge (Penguin Classics).