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A review by mediaevalmuse
The Nibelungenlied: Prose Translation by Anonymous
3.0
This text is a favorite of my Old Norse professor, and she sold it to me with promises of wacky adventures and the lure of “the tale of the ring.” There were certainly parts of this text I liked, but as a whole, I wasn’t as enthused with this book as I was reading other Germanic texts.
Things I Liked
1. Brynhild: Brynhild exists in a number of Germanic text, and in every incarnation, she’s always my favorite. She’s the one breaking stereotypical gender roles, acting rashly and insensibly, and doing the most interesting things narrative-wise. Though she’s only seen briefly in this text, her appearance left a lasting impact on me.
2. Wackiness: This text features much less wackiness than a lot of Germanic heroic tales, but gosh, when they appear, are they memorable. Things like Sigfried’s invincibility and the fight between Brynhild and Kreimhild really remind me why I love medieval literature so much.
3. Kreimhild: Honestly, I think this text should be less pitched as the story of Siegfried and more as the story of his wife, Kreimhild. She’s the central character in the story and is the reason for a lot of the action that happens, which is why I liked her despite the text’s efforts to convince me that she was cruel and/or crafty.
Things I Didn’t Like
1. Detail: Compared other medieval epics, this text seemed strangely detailed. There was more step-by-step narration of everything that happened, so ultimately, the text becomes longer and drawn out to the point where I wanted to skip ahead to the “good bits.”
2. Assault: Unfortunately, this text features some violence against Brynhild that I don’t recall reading in other versions with the character in it, and it’s largely revolving around her refusal to sleep with her husband (and Sigfried helping to subdue her). These scenes may have been meant to be comedic, but as a modern author, they just made me uncomfortable.
3. Organization: This is probably a nit-picky thing, but for some reason, the introduction to my edition is listed after the main text, not before, which was kind of annoying.
Recommendations: I would recommend this book if you’re interested in medieval Germanic literature, heroic tales, and feuds/vengeance plots.
Things I Liked
1. Brynhild: Brynhild exists in a number of Germanic text, and in every incarnation, she’s always my favorite. She’s the one breaking stereotypical gender roles, acting rashly and insensibly, and doing the most interesting things narrative-wise. Though she’s only seen briefly in this text, her appearance left a lasting impact on me.
2. Wackiness: This text features much less wackiness than a lot of Germanic heroic tales, but gosh, when they appear, are they memorable. Things like Sigfried’s invincibility and the fight between Brynhild and Kreimhild really remind me why I love medieval literature so much.
3. Kreimhild: Honestly, I think this text should be less pitched as the story of Siegfried and more as the story of his wife, Kreimhild. She’s the central character in the story and is the reason for a lot of the action that happens, which is why I liked her despite the text’s efforts to convince me that she was cruel and/or crafty.
Things I Didn’t Like
1. Detail: Compared other medieval epics, this text seemed strangely detailed. There was more step-by-step narration of everything that happened, so ultimately, the text becomes longer and drawn out to the point where I wanted to skip ahead to the “good bits.”
2. Assault: Unfortunately, this text features some violence against Brynhild that I don’t recall reading in other versions with the character in it, and it’s largely revolving around her refusal to sleep with her husband (and Sigfried helping to subdue her). These scenes may have been meant to be comedic, but as a modern author, they just made me uncomfortable.
3. Organization: This is probably a nit-picky thing, but for some reason, the introduction to my edition is listed after the main text, not before, which was kind of annoying.
Recommendations: I would recommend this book if you’re interested in medieval Germanic literature, heroic tales, and feuds/vengeance plots.