The Nibelungenlied. Anonymous

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       the source, or is the personification of the muse of poetry.

       (3) "Kriemhild" is the Upper German form of the Frankish

       "Grimhild". In the MSS., the name generally appears with a

       further shifting as "Chriemhilt", as if the initial

       consonant were Germanic "k". On the various forms of the

       name, which have never yet been satisfactorily explained,

       see Mullenhoff, ZsfdA. xii, 299, 413; xv, 313; and

       Bohnenberger, PB. Beit. xxiv, 221–231.

       (4) "Gunther" is the historical "Gundahari", king of the

       Burgundians in the fifth century.

       (5) "Gernot" was probably introduced by some minstrel in place

       of the historical "Godomar", who appears in the Norse

       version as "Gutthormr", though the names are not

       etymologically the same, as "Godomar" would be "Guthmarr" in

       Old Norse.

       (6) "Giselher" is the historical "Gislaharius". Although

       mentioned by the "Lex Burgundionum" as one of the Burgundian

       kings, he does not appear in the early Norse version, or in

       other poems dealing with these persons, such as the

       "Waltharius", the "Rabenschlacht", the "Rosengarten", etc.,

       and was probably introduced at a late date into the saga.

       Originally no role was ascribed to him, and not even his

       death is told. He probably came from some independent

       source.

       (7) "Etzel" is the German form for the historical "Attila"

       (Norse "Atli"). A discussion of his connection with the

       saga will be found in the introduction.

       (8) "Worms" is the ancient "Borbetomagus", which in the first

       century B.C. was the chief city of the German tribe of the

       "Vangioni". In the fifth century it was the capital of the

       Burgundian kingdom, but was destroyed by the Huns. The

       Merovingians rebuilt it, and in the seventh century it

       became a bishopric where Charlemagne at times held his

       court. It was later noted as the meeting-place of many

       imperial diets. It remained a free city till 1801. In the

       "Thidreksaga" the name is corrupted into "Wernize".

       (9) "Uta" (M.H.G. "Uote"). The name means ancestress, and is

       frequently used for the mother of heroes. The modern German

       form is "Ute", but in order to insure its being pronounced

       with two syllables, the form "Uta" was chosen.

       (10) "Dankrat" (M.H.G. "Dancrat") appears as the father only in

       the "Nibelungenlied" and poems dependent on it, e.g., the

       "Klage" and "Biterolf", elsewhere as "Gibiche" (Norse

       "Giuki").

       (11) "Hagen of Troneg". Troneg is probably a corruption of the

       name of the Latin colony, "colonia Trajana", on the Lower

       Rhine, which as early as the fifth century was written as

       "Troja", giving rise to the legend that the Franks were

       descended from the ancient Trojans. "Troja" was then

       further corrupted to "Tronje" and "Tronege". Hagen was

       therefore originally a Frank and had no connection with the

       Burgundian kings, as the lack of alliteration also goes to

       show. Boer thinks that not Siegfried but Hagen originally

       lived at Xanten (see note 3 to Adventure II), as this was

       often called Troja Francorum. When the Hagen story was

       connected with the Burgundians and Hagen became either their

       brother or their vassal, his home was transferred to Worms

       and Siegfried was located at Xanten, as he had no especial

       localization. Thus Siegfried is never called Siegfried of

       Troneg, as is Hagen. Other attempts to explain Troneg will

       be found in Piper, I, 48.

       (12) "Dankwart" is not an historical character nor one that

       belonged to the early form of the legend. He may have come

       from another saga, where he played the principal role as

       Droege (ZsfdA. 48, 499) thinks. Boer considers him to be

       Hagen's double, invented to play a part that would naturally

       fall to Hagen's share, were he not otherwise engaged at the

       moment. In our poem he is called "Dancwart der snelle", a

       word that has proved a stumbling-block to translators,

       because in modern German it means 'speedy', 'swift'. Its

       original meaning was, however, 'brave', 'warlike', although

       the later meaning is already found in M.H.G. In all such

       doubtful cases the older meaning has been preferred, unless

       the context forbids, and the word 'doughty' has been chosen

       to translate it.

       (13) "Ortwin of Metz" appears also in the "Eckenlied",

       "Waltharius", and in "Biterolf". He is most likely a late

       introduction (but see Piper, I, 44). Rieger thinks that he

       belonged to a wealthy family "De Metis". Though the "i" is

       long in the original, and Simrock uses the form "Ortewein"

       in his translation, the spelling with short "i" has been

       chosen, as the lack of accent tends СКАЧАТЬ