Kriemhild (legend)
Kriemhild or Krimhild is one of the main characters in the Middle High German Nibelungenlied . Historically, the figure is based on Ildikó , the wife of Attila, king of the Huns, who died on their wedding night in 453 . In other versions of the Nibelungen material, such as the Völsunga saga , the figure is named Gudrun or Kudrun .
Kriemhild in the Nibelungenlied
Part 1: Kriemhild lives at the court of Worms as the Burgundian king's daughter together with her three brothers Gunther , Gernot and Giselher . She is described as very beautiful and noble. She tells her mother, Ute , that she will never enter into a bond with a man, as this has already brought suffering to many women. But then Siegfried appears at court and later she marries the heir to the throne from Xanten. Both then go to Xanten , where she gives birth to her son Gunther.
At the urging of Brünhild (brother Gunther's wife), Gunther invites her and Siegfried to Worms. After a dispute between Kriemhild and Brünhild, Gunther's vassal Hagen decides to kill Siegfried. After the murder, Kriemhild had the “ Nibelungenhort ” brought to Worms, which she was entitled to after Siegfried's death. Hagen let the hoard sink into the Rhine. She sinks into insatiable suffering and swears bitter vengeance.
Part 2: Only the offer of marriage by the Huns King Etzel gives her the power to implement her plan of revenge. Kriemhild moves to the land of the Huns with a large retinue and becomes a powerful monarch there . After many years she invited her brothers and Hagen, whom she had never forgiven for the murder of Siegfried and the robbery of the Nibelung treasure, to a court festival in the land of the Huns. As was to be assumed, there were arguments. When Hagen kills Ortlieb, the son of Kriemhild and Etzel , a bloodbath ensues. In the course of the fighting, the heroes of both sides perish; Kriemhild is also killed at the end by Hildebrand , Dietrich von Bern's armorer .
For a more detailed description, see Nibelungenlied .
Interpretations
The Kriemhild figure caused lively discussions in the 13th century. It was disputed whether it should be condemned or defended. While the Nibelungenlied itself is largely written at Kriemhild's expense, it is more likely to be defended in the versions of the lawsuit .
Furthermore, the Kriemhild figure appears in the " Rose Garden of Worms ", also known as the Great Rose Garden . This forms part of the printed book of heroes and again depicts a clearly negative Kriemhild who, out of youthful recklessness, instigates a comparison of men between Dietrich von Bern and Siegfried.
See also
literature
- Hermann August Junghans: Gudrun. A Middle High German heroic poem . Reclam, Leipzig circa 1878 ( digitized version )
See also
For the meaning and for other namesake see Kriemhild .
