Contains the elements of the literature and our analysis.

1. Presented by
Ms. Emary V. Rodaje
Mrs. Jane Mavel M. Lacaba

2. Author
Unknown Austrian from the Danube
region
Genre
German Epic Poem

3. 3. Setting
3.1 Time
a. Middle High German epic poem
written about 1200 or 13th Century
3.2 Place
b. Germany

4. 1. Siegfried - a
prince of
Netherlands

5. 2. Kriemhild - the
beautiful sister of the
king of Burgundy. She
marries Siegfried and is
subsequently tricked
into revealing the
secret of his
vulnerability.

6. 3. Gunther - king of
Burgundy. He
promises that
Siegfried shall
marry Kriemhild in
return for aiding
him in winning
Brunhild.

7. 4. Brunhild - The Queen of
Iceland, a beautiful maiden of
almost superhuman strength.

8. 5. Hagen - Lord of
Troneck, brother
of Dancwart, son
of Aldrian and
chief vassal of the
kings of
Burgundy.

9. 6. Alberich - The dwarf
who was the Lord
Treasurer of the
Nibelung dynasty.

10. 8. Giselher - The
youngest brother of
Gunther, Gernot, and
Kriemhild.
7. Gernot - Brother of
Gunther, Giselher,
and Kriemhild.

11. 7. Dancrat -king of the
Burgundians, and the
husband of Uta. He
passed the kingship to
his three sons and
deceased father of
Gunther, Giselher, and
Gernot.
8. Etzel - king of the
Huns in Hungary.
Marries Kriemhild after
his wife Helche dies.
9. Dancwart - Hagen's
younger brother and also
a vassal of the
Burgundian kings. He
often aids his brother.

12. 5. Point of View
5.1 Third Person Point-of-View (omniscient)
6. Conflict
6.1 Courtly Rivalry, Loyalty Conflict, and the Figure of Hagen
in the Nibelungenlied
6.2 Kriemhild becomes a blood thirsty avenger of her husband’s
death in the second part of the book

13. When king Dancrat reached old age, he let
his son Guther take over the throne
together with his brothers Giselher,
Gernot and only sister Kriemhild. The
fair and beautiful Kriemhild vowed to
remain unwed because of her dream
that whosoever betroth her will be slain
by her own family. Having heard the
extreme pulchritude of Princess
Kriemhild, Siegfried the prince of Xanten
decided to wed her.
Siegfried journeyed to the land of Burgundy
and met King Gunther. With Hagen,
Burgundy’s chief vassal, the king knew
that the young prince was from the
Netherlands whose heroic deeds include
his conquest with the Nibelungs and his
acquisition of their treasure. Moreover,
he also subjugated Nibelungs' loyal
dwarf Alberich, who unable to defeat
Siegfried himself, swore his loyalty to
the prince. He also slew Fafnir the
dragon after which Siegfried became
invincible by bathing in its blood.

14. All these deeds established
Siegfried’s reputation to
King Gunther’s eyes, as
the strongest, most
powerful male figure to the
Burgundians. He lead
them in a decisive victory
against the invading
Saxons.
King Gunther pursued
Queen Brunhild with the
help of Siegfried disguised
as his vassal. And with
Siegfrid’s, invisibility cloak
and strength, the clueless
queen gave in to King
Gunther’s proposal and
she agreed to return to
Burgundy with him.
Princess Kriemhild and Prince
Siegfried fell in love with each
other; however, King Gunther
would not allow the matrimony
unless Siegfried will aid him in
wooing the queen of Iceland,
Queen Brunhild. The Icelandic
queen is known for her
matchless strength in battle and
her fate tells her to marry a man
of pure strength and force equal
to her own.

15. Siegfried and Kriemhild got married and so as
King Gunther and Brunhild. However, Brunhild became
suspicious with the princess’ matrimony to Siegfried
whom she thought to be the king’s lowly vassal.
On their first night, Brunhild insistently asked
the king about Siegfried’s identity but failed. She denied
Gunther’s entrance into her bed until he is truthful, and
that night Gunther and Brunhild's marriage was not
consummated. She left him bounded and hanging by a
nail in their bedchamber.
The poor king shared his woes to Siegfried and
the latter once more agreed to help him. The next night,
the invisible Siegfried helped the king to wrestle Brunhild
in bed and held her until she finally submitted. Then
Siegfried left Gunther and his now subservient wife lying
together while he got his trophies: Brunhild’s girdle and
ring to which she gave to Princess Kriemhild.

16. The queen of Iceland remained suspicious for 10 years
span. One day she took the matters to her hand. She
invited Siegfried and Kriemhild to a great feast and
there she knew from the very mouth of Kriemhild that
it was Siegfried who subjugated her and not King
Gunther. This was proven with the girdle and the ring
Siegfried took when he helped Gunther one night.
Hagen, King Gunther’s faithful vassal, seeing his
queen’s distress swore revenge against the man who
had caused her grief. To know Siegfried’s weakness,
he deceived Kriemhild. With his canny ways, he knew
that between Siegfried’s shoulder blade laid his weak
part of which was not covered by the dragon’s blood
because of a fallen leaf.

17. Hagen with King Gunther’s aid and
consent arranged a great hunt to
which Siegfried was also invited.
Despite Kriemhild’s disapproval,
Siegfried attended the hunt and
was slain by Hagen.
Mourning with the murder of his
beloved husband, Princess
constatntly planned revenge. One
of which is by giving gifts to
Burgundy’s strong warriors using
Seigfried’s treasures but Hagen
knew well her plans of alliance. He
then took the hoard of treasure and
sank it in the river.

18. Princess Krienhild found refuge by
accepting King Etzel of Hungary or Huns
as his husband after the death of his
queen. It took seven years before
Kriemhild was able to act on her desires
of revenge, first having to appear the
happy and content bride of the
Hungarian king, providing him an heir for
his throne.
With heart full of vengeance for the lost of
her beloved Siegfried, Kriemhild invited
her brothers and Hagen to her new
home and, though Hagen is weary, they
all deigned to go.

19. Princess Kriemhild planned the perfect
revenge. She used his son, Ortileb, to
instigate Hagen’s fear. The young
prince died in the hands of Hagen
and the Hungarian warriors attack the
outnumbered Nibelungs. Gunther and
Hagen were captured by Kriemhild's
men, and Kriemhild ordered
Gunther's death and she herself
slaughtered Hagen with
Siegfried'ssword, Balmung.
Kriemhild was later slain by one of
Eztel's warriors, a man named
Hildebrand, a soldier horrified by the
actions of his second queen.

20. 8. Theme
8.1 Love
The story highlighted the idea of how one’s love
can conquer odds. This was evident when
Siegfried pursued Kriemhild, King Gunther
deceived Queen Brunhild and Kriemhild avenged
the death of Siegfried. Moreover, the characters
showed love when they pledged devotion, service,
and respect towards their beloved ones.

21. 8.2 Chivalry and Loyalty
This is the combination of qualities expected of an ideal
knight, especially courage, honor, courtesy, justice, and
a readiness to help the weak. In the medieval times,
which Nibelungeleid was belived to come about, being
chivalrous is a big thing. This was seen on how the
characters in the story interact with each other. Like
when Siegfried came first to Burgundy and how he
helped King Gunther in defeating the Saxons. Another
instance, is Siegfried's respectful treatment of Kriemhild
and their closely-regulated courtship followed the code
of chivalry.

22. 8.3 Deception
The theme of deception is present throughout
"Nibelungenlied," but it is intermingled with acts
of bravery and courage. This manifested when
King Gunther deceived Brunhild, when Hagen
treacherously killed Siegfried and showing it to
be an accident, and when Kriemhild married
King Etzel to her advantage.

23. 8.4 Betrayal
In the epic, Gunther, Hagen and Seigfried were
knights who pact to loyalty to each other but
because of deceit, hatred, jealousy and bitter
feelings the first two turned their back to the latter.
In this literary piece the paradox: Your greatest
friends are also your greatest enemies are
definitely manifested. The theme betrayal is
extremely highlighted that even families would kill
their own just to feed their dire emotions.

24. 8.5 Tragedy and Violence
Though Nibelungenleid is a story of heroism it is still
apparent how tragic it is, with a bloodbath war
between the Huns and Nibelung and Kriemhilds
own death. Moreover, the epic poem presents the
Norse conception of life which is somber.
Moroever, it adheres that the only sustaining
support possible for the human spirit, the one
pured unsullied good men can hope to attain is
heroism. The hero can prove what he is only by
dying.

25. 1. Main Idea of the Literary Piece
1.1 Love without ceasing.
1.2 Women are both wish and fear-
projection of men.
2. Thesis Statement
2.1 The Nibelungenlied is a reflection
of our society.

26. 3. Facts and Important Ideas
3.1 The epic started with the
allude of a very idealistic
kingdom in which an old king
smoothly abdicates his
throne to his son. This is an
allusion of how we want our
society to be, smooth and
free of distress. However, in
reality it is not.

27. 3.2 The complex characters in the story
portray human nature. Brunhild’s
adaptation of male characteristics and
how, through this, she is deemed a
monster. Brunhild, however, transforms
into a courtly (although not ideal) woman
after her marriage to Gunther. Sigfried and
Kriemhild also experience transformations
throughtout the epic- Siegfried begins the
Nibelugnenlied as a cocky and, at times,
foolish “hero,” only to learn patience and
diplomacy later. Kriemhild, once the
courtly ideal that the women of Burgunden
land strived towards, morphs into a hateful
and vengeance-driven fiend.

28. 3.3 Charismatic rulers
demand quick action
(sometimes before proper
reflection), whereas
traditional leaders must
practice patience and
wisdom.
3.4 The story also portrays
misogynistic characteristics
of women.

29. 3.5 In the society, men show
power through violence. This
was evident when Hagen, a
sworn loyal vassal to King
Gunther killed Siegfried because
of his threat to the king and
queen. Medieval ages also show
that the more violent you are the
more powerful you can be.

30. 4. Message of the Author
4.1 The author’s message to the audience is that, it raises important
questions about the nature of loyalty, honor, and what constitutes
tragedy. its displays of violent emotion and its uncompromising
emphasis on vengeance and honour.
4. 2 Another message of the author to the audience is how to value
friendship. Friendship is one of the best thing in the world which has
no demand and no complaints between two people.