Nibelungenlied

Fiction | Novel/Book in Verse | Adult | Published in 1200

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-5

Chapters 6-10

Chapters 11-14

Chapters 15-19

Chapters 20-22

Chapters 23-27

Chapters 28-32

Chapters 33-36

Chapters 37-39

Character Analysis

Themes

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Important Quotes

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Chapters 37-39Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 37 Summary: “How Rüdiger Was Slain”

Rüdiger grieves the lives lost. Upon seeing him cry, one Hun says to Kriemhild, “In my opinion he does not care what goes on here, since he has an abundance of all that he can wish for. They say he is fabulously brave, but amid all these perils there has been shockingly little sign of it!” (265). Rüdiger charges the taunting Hun and kills him with one punch. He laments being caught between serving both Etzel and the Burgundians.

Etzel chastises Rüdiger for killing the Hun; Kriemhild reminds Etzel of Rüdiger’s promise to serve her until death. Rüdiger asks Etzel to take back everything he ever gave him and vows to go into exile. Etzel persuades Rüdiger to fight for him by promising an equal role as sovereign. Rüdiger discharges his oaths to Kriemhild and reluctantly goes to battle against the Burgundians.

Rüdiger shouts to the Burgundians, “Till now we have been friends, but I wish to be quit of our ties!” (269). Gunther and his men are shocked. They beg Rüdiger to stand down, recalling his generosity and hospitality. Hagen mentions that he lost Gotelind’s gem-studded shield, so Rüdiger hands him his own. Touched, Hagen vows to “never touch [Rüdiger] in combat” (272). Volker makes a similar vow.

Rüdiger and his retainers initiate combat and begin slaying the Burgundians’ vassals. Gernot becomes enraged and charges him. Rüdiger strikes Gernot through his helmet and mortally wounds him. Before dying, Gernot manages to land a killing blow with the very sword gifted to him by Rüdiger.

Upon learning of the two men’s deaths, Gunther laments, “This vast loss and pain affect both sides” (273). Kriemhild and Etzel weep upon seeing Rüdiger’s body.

Chapter 38 Summary: “How Dietrich’s Warriors Were Slain”

Dietrich learns of Rüdiger’s death, “a diabolical mockery of all that is right” (276). He sends his vassal Hildebrand and others to converse with Gunther’s company diplomatically. Once Dietrich’s men see Rüdiger’s body, they begin to mourn. Hildebrand orders the Burgundians to hand over the corpse, but Volker tells him to take it from them. Volker continues to taunt Dietrich’s men into attacking until Hildebrand finally loses his composure.

Hildebrand fights “as though he had gone berserk” (280). He brutally kills Volker, and Hagen swears to slay him in retaliation. The knight Helpfrich kills Dancwart; the knight Wolfhart and Giselher kill each other. Hagen strikes Hildebrand with Siegfried’s sword. Hildebrand flees, leaving Gunther and Hagen the only Burgundians alive.

Hildebrand returns to Dietrich, who disapproves of his men’s choice of violence over diplomacy. Dietrich mourns Rüdiger and decides to avenge him. He calls for his vassals—only to discover they were slaughtered. Distressed and sorrowful, he proclaims, “This is the doomsday of my joy” (284).

Chapter 39 Summary: “How Dietrich Did Battle with Gunther and Hagen”

Dietrich appears before Gunther and Hagen, imploring, “Why did you do this to me, wretched exile that I am?” (286). He bemoans his great loss and insists he did nothing to Gunther to warrant his brutality. Hagen blames Dietrich’s men for starting the conflict. Dietrich asks them to surrender themselves to make amends; he promises they will be treated fairly in custody. Hagen asserts that he will never surrender and that he will “put matters to the test with mighty blows as long as Nibelung’s sword does not break in [his] hand” (287).

Dietrich overpowers and binds Hagen after wounding him. He presents Hagen to Kriemhild and pleads with her to let Hagen live. Kriemhild orders her men to place Hagen in a “cheerless dungeon” (288).

Gunther searches for Dietrich and challenges him. Dietrich binds Gunther, brings him to Kriemhild, and asks her to spare a life once more. Kriemhild agrees to do so.

Kriemhild visits Hagen in the dungeon to interrogate him about the location of the Nibelung treasure. Hagen refuses to answer, so Kriemhild orders Gunther to be beheaded as punishment. Hagen remains silent regarding the treasure, and Kriemhild declares that she will at least retake her lover’s sword. She snatches Balmung from Hagen and decapitates him. Her action disturbs Etzel and Hildebrand, the latter putting her to death. Etzel and Dietrich begin to cry, “as joy must ever turn into sorrow in the end” (192).

Chapters 37-39 Analysis

Prior to Chapter 37, Rüdiger is fairly absent during the massacre as he feels caught between two factions to which he is bound. The poet uses Rüdiger to address the question of whether it is more honorable to serve one’s liege or one’s friends and kinsmen. Rüdiger is legally bound to Etzel through the laws of feudalism, but he becomes similarly bound to Kriemhild upon meeting her on Etzel’s behalf: “If you had none but me in Hungary, and my trusty kinsmen and vassals, any man who had wronged you would have to pay very dearly for it” (160). While he is not legally bound to Kriemhild’s kinsmen, he offers them friendly services and gifts. In addition to this informal bond, Rüdiger and the Burgundians share a formal one—the former giving Giselher permission to marry his daughter. Thus, Rüdiger has different relationships with Etzel and Kriemhild, with Gunther and his men. Etzel and Kriemhild are his authoritative superiors who granted him property in exchange for his service as a warrior, but the Burgundians are friends and family to be.

Rüdiger is forced to make a difficult choice, and he inevitably succumbs to chivalry—which states that he must serve his lord, Etzel. However, he does not fight for Kriemhild as evident in his revocation of his oath to her. He fights the Burgundians but does so with respect brought on by his friendly character and genuine love for them. When he sees that Hagen has no shield, he offers him his own.

Rüdiger believes that killing the Burgundians forfeits his honor, or “the esteem, the integrity, and breeding that by the grace of God were [his]” (256)—but the honor-obsessed Burgundians consider him honorable even after his death (despite him killing Gernot). Gunther goes as far as to say, “I shall always mourn for noble Rüdiger, too—this vast loss and pain affect both sides” (273). Rüdiger’s death is on Kriemhild’s hands, this and her lack of mercy for her favorite brother Giselher being more examples of her moral decay. Making Rüdiger choose between his liege and his friends is—as Dietrich says—“a diabolical mockery of all that is right” (276).

Rüdiger is not the only honorable man in Etzel’s court, however. Dietrich proves himself to be of similar caliber. When he sends his vassals to look into Rüdiger’s death, he hopes for diplomacy. He refrains from fighting the Burgundians until they slaughter every vassal aside from Hildebrand. Even then, he only fights Gunther and Hagen out of grief for those lost. He does not even wish for Gunther and Hagen to be killed; he refuses to slay them despite their transgression against him and then pleads with Kriemhild to show them mercy. It is fitting that he remains one of the last men standing since he displays virtue.