Nibelungenlied

Sexual Abuse and Maltreatment Represented in the Nibelungenlied In the Nibelungenlied, there is a sharp contrast between the roles of men and women, which demonstrates the treatment of both groups in society. Women are treated as objects who are passive and obedient, and their identity is based on their male partner’s idea of self and social status. Women have no individuality and this causes them to conform to the rigged perceptions of society and the expectations set forth by their male partners. In the Nibelungenlied text, there is a vicious cycle of men abusing women and the rare case of women abusing men. Overall, the Nibelungenlied reveals that sexual abuse and misconduct is apparent throughout the text, therefore physical and emotional…

Title Many Germanic tales were lost throughout history, but one of the tales that survived was that of the Nibelungenlied, although the author of the tale is unknown. The tragic ending of this medieval heroic epic seems inevitable. The traits of the characters and the breaking of the web of kinship lead to the confusion of signs and ultimately to the inevitable doom of the Burgundians and Huns. The union of Kriemhild and Siegfried disrupts the order of the world of signs, which only progresses…

However, on their wedding night, Brünhild suspects something is amiss with her situation, particularly suspecting Siegfried a potential cause. Gunther attempts to sleep with her and, with her great strength, she easily ties Gunther up and leaves him that way all night. After telling Siegfried of this, Siegfried again offers his help. Siegfried proposes that he slip into their chamber at night with his invisibility cloak and silently beat Brünhild into submission. Gunther agrees but says that…

In every society, stories hold an important cultural role in telling the tales of their people and glorifying their heroes. Particularly in Indo-European epics, these types of stories include the hero that people of the society can project themselves and their values on to by orchestrating a tale that surrounds the incredible feats and story of that hero. Joseph Campbell’s concept of the hero’s cycle often refers back to the idea of the monomyth, that there is one layout for stories and the rest…

Throughout history, wars start for no reason other than a greed for something more than what a country already owns. It appears as though everyone always wants more than they have and never seems to be content with what they own. At this moment Luidegast’s warriors arrived on the field. They had clearly seen what had passed between the two outposts, and, just as Siegfried was about to lead Liudegast away, they charged at him, thirty strong, whereupon the hero defended his mighty captive with…

In The Song of Roland, translated by John O'Hagan, the antagonist, Ganelon, believes he is purposely volunteered by his stepson to go on a suicide mission. As a result, he is greatly angered by this and seeks revenge. In The Nibelungenlied, Kriemhild, the princess of Burgandy, falls in love with and marries a noble prince, who is murdered by her kin. Through the help of heathen kings, both of these characters seek revenge after being wronged by their kin and face a brutal end as a consequence of…