Date: Mon, 8 May 1995 17:04:00 BST
We now turn to the question of the Ring itself. (Did I hear
someone say "About time too?)
In Wagner, the Ring which Wotan takes from Alberich, and
which Alberich curses, eventually becomes the ring which enables
Bruennhilde to recognise Siegfried, and realise how she has been tricked
into marrying Gunther - in fact, it is this ring which leads to
Siegfried's death.
VS does not at first make it clear that it is this ring that
Sigurd gives to Brynhild; it merely says that he gave her "a gold ring".
Only when he woos her in the guise of Gunnar does the saga make clear
which ring it is;
"Then he took from her the ring Andvaranaut which he had
given her, and gave her another ring from Fafner's inheritance."
It only become entirely clear to her in the quarrel with Gudrun what
has happened. Sigurd as obviously given the ring to Gudrun at some point,
just as Siegfried gives Brunhild's ring to Kriemhild in NL:
"and little it beseems thee of all folk to mock him who was thy
first beloved; and Fafnir he slew, yea, and rode thy flaming fire,
whereas thou didst deem that it was Gunnar the King, and by thy side
he lay, and took from thy hand the ring Andvari's Loom - here mayst
thou well behold it!"
In NL, the ring which Siegfried takes from Brunhild and gives to
Kriemhild is her own, not one that he had previously given her, as
the poet of NL does not make use of the prior betrothal motif of
Siegfried and Brunhild. He takes it from her when, in the guise
of Gunther (after she is married to Gunther) he had defeated her in
a "wrestling match" - he takes her ring and her girdle, which he then
gives to Kriemhild. As the poet says, this is going to cause a lot
of trouble for them all later. (The relevant strophes of the poem
are 679-680).
Perhaps we have got slightly ahead of ourselves here; we need
to discuss the origins of this ring, and how Siegfried came t
possess it.
In DAS RHEINGOLD, the idea that the gold can be obtained
and made into a ring by one who forswears love is Wagner's own, and
it did not figure in the earlier drafts. The idea of the Rheinmaidens
is probably taken from an episode in NL , although Wagner would also
have been familiar with the figure of the Lorelei. [And another
possible source is the Oceanides (daughters of Oceanus) is
the "Prometheus Unbound" of Aeschylus]. In NL, it is Hagen who encounters
"merewip" - mermaids - and askes them whether anyone will come home
safely from their journey to Etzel's court. He takes their clothes -
in order the get them back, they tell him that everyone will come
back ssafely, but when he has returned their clothes, they tell him
that no-one except the chaplain will ever return.
In a similar incident in TS, the mermiads tell Hogni that
he and all his companions will cross the river unharmed, but none
of them will return. He then kills the two women. There are no
similar incidents in the Norse literature. In both NL and TS, Hagen
encounters two women, not three.
Though Wagner may have derived the idea of the Rhinemaidens
from NL, his conception of their role is entirely original. It is
only in DAS RHEINGOLD that there is gold in the river, which has
the power to bestow infinite wealth on its possessor - if he is
prepared to renounce love. The idea that it is the ring which conveys
power is central in Wagner; in Morris's poem, it isn't so important.
The ring Andvaranaut is the ring that Sigurd gives Brynhild, and
lataer takes from her, but it doesn#t have the vital connection
with the gods, and the forswaering of love, that Alberich's ring has.
In DAS RHEINGOLD , as soon as Wotan hears about Alberich's
ring, he decides that he must have it for himself - he, like
Alberich, is greedy for power, and he is relieved to hear that he
can obtain it by stealing the gold - he doesn't need to forswear love
to get it. Fasolt and Fafner also lust after the gold, especially the Ring,
when Loge tells of his power. Fafner tells Fasolt that it would be
just as good as having Freia;
Gluab' mir, mehr als Freia
As we have seen, the idea that this is the ring which will
confer on its posessor incredible power is absent from the Norse
literature and from "Sigurd" - and the ring that Siegfried takes from
Brunhild in NL is herown.
Alberich curse the ring when Wotan wrest it from him. To some
extent this is a parallel to Andvari's curse in REGINSMAL, but it
is much more wide-ranging in scope;
Wie durch Fluch er mire gerit,
In REGINSMAL, Andvari merely warns that his ring will be the
downfall of its immediate possessors - which indeed it is. Alberich's
curse is aimed at Wotan, but is also intended to fall upon anyone,
other than himself, who gains the Ring. In "Sigurd", Morris indicates
in several passages that the gods, especailly Loki, act through greed,
whereas in the RING, Loge is the only one who is not affected by greed -
he just cynically comments upon the greed of the others. [I think this
should be regarded as another indication that "Sigurd the Volsung" should
be read as an anti-RING]. We have noted before that all the gold
seems to be cursed and to be destined to bring about grief, before
Andvari specifically curses the Ring:
Then the Elf drew off the gold ring and stood with empty hand
We have observed that, in "Sigurd", the gods seem almost
glad to get rid of the ring, although they had held on to it when they
gave the rest of the gold to Reidmar. This is not, of course, the
case in DAS RHEINGOLD. The demand of the giants that the gold be piled
up so as to hide Freia is taken from Reidmar's demand that the otter's
skin be filled with gold, and covered with gold on the outside. The
effect is one of deep humiliation for Freia. fasolt is reluctant to
let her go, and says he will not give her up while he can still see
her lovely eyes. We needn't interpret this as a manoeuvre to get the
Ring, as it is \Fafner who demands it, and later, when the brothers
quarrel over the hoard, Fafner points out that Fasolt was more
interested in Freia than in the gold.
In "Sigurd", Morris makes no use of the demand to cover
the otter;s skin with gold, and also stuff it with gold - in REGINSMAL,
the gods are made to surrender the ring to cover a whisker. In
Morris's poem, the gold is placed before Reidmar; he examines it,
then sees the Ring on Loki's finger:
And lo from Loki's right hand came the flash of the fruitful ring.
Loki surrenders the Ring without argument. Not so Wotan!
He is even prepared to go as far as letting the giants take Freia
after all - perhaps he assumes that it will gives the gods eternal
youth just as well as her apples, as Fafner had previously said -
and he is only persuaded to surrender it by the intervention of
Freia.
Jane ubzz018@ccs.bbk.ac.uk
We now return to Siegfried's acquisition of the treasure.
we have already observed that in NL he acquires it in an entirely different
manner from the other sources, and this version of events is used neither by
Morris nor by Wagner. What Wagner did take from NL is the name of the
dwarf Alberich, and the fact that he is the guardian of the treasure
belonging to the Nibelungs. [N.B. The whole topic of precisely who the
Nibelungs are is rather a vexed question, which will be discussed in
greater detail in another posting]. The treasure, known as Fafner's
hoard or the Nibelung's hoard, is now guarded by Fafner, who has turned
himself into a dragon and lies in front of his cave - deep in the forest,
according to wagner; on the Glittering Heath according to Morris (taken
from VS). In wagner, Fafner kills Fasolt to obtain the gold, including
the Ring and the Tarnhelm, then he turns himself into a dragon with the
aid of the Tarnhelm.
Mime had made the Tarnhelm for Alberich, and it had the power
of enaling its wearer to change shape and become invisible, and also
to cover great distances instantaneously, as we shall discover in
GOETTERDAEMMERUNG. In NL Siegfried has a TARNKAPPE - *cloak* of
invisibility - which he has won from Alberich as part of the Niblungs'
hoard. It enables him to help Gunther to defeat Brunhils. In VS, Regin
tells Sigurd that Fafnir has turned himself into a dragon, but doesn't
explain how - In REGINSMAL, Fafnir has a Helm of Terror, which
enables him to frighten every living creature.
In "Sigurd", Regin accompanies Sigurd when he sets out to
slay the serpent - as Mime accompanies Siegfried. Mime continues to
inspire Siegfried with a semse of fear, and continues to be
unsuccessful.
Act II of Siegfried opens with Wotan and Alberich encountering
each other outside Fafner's cave. This confrontation between the two
arch-rivals is unique to Wagner - there is nothing resembling it in
any of the sources, or in Morris's poem. In VS and PE, Andvari fades
out of the sdtroy as soon as his gold has been obtained. Although he curses
it, he makes no further attempt to recover it, nor do the gods show
any further interest in it. VS, in fact, shows very little further
interest in the gods, except that Odin intervenes one last time to help
Sigurd - that is, he counteracts Regin's trreacherous advice about
the best way to kill the dragon. Wotan is, of course, unable to intervene
to help Siegfried.
Morris's Sigurd has little interest in obtaining the gold for
himself - he repeatedly assures Regin that he will be able to do
what he likes with it. The following passages is particularly illustrative
of Sigurd's attitude;
The deeds shall be done tomorrow; thou shalt have that measureless gold
The attitude of wagner's Siegfried is rather similar; he only
takes the Ring and the Tarnhelm because the Woodbird tells him to, and
shows no particular interest in the hoard.
In VS, Sigurd asks regin what is the best way of dealing with
Fafnir - he really shows considerable foresight when he asks, what if
he should get in the way of the dragon's blood, but Regin taunts him
once more with cowardice. Odin then appears, and advises Sigurd to
dig several pits so that he won't be in danger of being drwoned bty
the flow of blood.
Then Sigurd spake;
"How sayedst thou, Regin, that this drake was no greater than
other lingworms; methinks the track of him is marvellous great?"
The said Regin, "Make thee a hole, and sit down therein, and
whenas the worm comes to the water, smite him into the heart, and so
do him to death, and win for thee great fame thereby."
But Sigurd said, "What will betide me if I be before the blod
blood of the worm?"
Says Regin, "Of what avail to counsel thee if thou art still
afeard of everything? Little art thou like thy kin in stoutness of
heart."
Then Sigurd rides right over the heath; but Regin gets him gone,
sore afeard.
But Sigurd fell to digging a pit, and whiles he was at that work, there
came to him an old man with a long beard, and asked him what he wrought
there, and he told him.
Then answered the old man and said, "Thou doest after sorry counsel;
rather dig thee many pits, and let the blood run therein; but sit thee
down in one thereof, and so thrust the worm's heart through."
And therewithal he vanished away; but Sigurd made the pits even
as it was shown to him.
In Morris's poem, Sigurd encounters Odin, who, as in VS, gives
him advice about killing the dragon. This is in complete contrast to
Siegfried's only face-to-face encounter with Wotan, in which Siegfried
manifests hostility from the beginning. In "Sigurd", the young hero
treats the old man with respect.
That's all for today - will try to send some more tomorrow.
Jane ubzz018@ccs.bbk.ac.uk
We are still dealing with Siegfried's fight with the dragon - O.K.?
In SIEGFRIED, before Fafner emerges from his cave, Siegfried has
a long reflective passage - who were his parents, what did they look like?
He tries unsuccessfully to imitate the birdsong he hears on a makeshift
pipe, then decides to blow his horn instead - and this entices Fafner out
of his cave. It doesn't take long for Siegfried to deal Fafner the
death-blow. Fafner is able to ask Siegfried who he is - Siegfried replies
that he doesn't know - and to warn him against Mime:
Blicke nun hell, bluehender Knabe;
Siegfried asks Fafner, who seems to have gained wisdom in death, to tell
him more -
Woher ich stamme, rate mir noch;
but as Fafner repeats the name Siegfried, he dies. This bears some
resemblance to the episode in FAFNISMAL (in the Poetic Edda) - Sigurd
first conceals his name, because of an ancient belief that revealing one's
name to an enemy could give the enemy power, but later he tells Fafnir
who he is. Fafnir warns him that the gold will eventually lead to his
death; after an exchange of gnomic verses, Fafnir warns Sigurd to beware
of Regin. [Remember that, in this redaction, Regin - Sigurd's foster-
father - is Fafnir's brother.] The dialogue is reproduced in prose
in VS, including the gnomic utterances, which Wagner omits.
So whenas Fafnir had his death-wound, he asked, "Who art thou? and who
is thy father? and what thy kin, that thou wert so hardy as to bear
weapons against me?
Sigurd answered, "Unknown to men is my kin, I am called a
Noble Beast ; neither father nor mother have I, and all alone have
I fared hither."
Said Fafnir, "Whenas thou hast neither father nor mother, of
what wonder wert thou born then? But now, though thou tellest me not
thy name on this my death-day, yet thou knowest verily that thou liest
unto me."
He answered, "Sigurd am I called, and my father was Sigmund."
Says Fafnir, "Who egged thee on to this deed, and why wouldst
thou be driven to it? Hadst thou never heard how that all folk were
adrad [sic; == "frightened"] of me, and of the awe of my countenance?
But an eager father thou hadst, O bright-eyed swain!"
Sigurd answered; "A hardy heart urged me on hereto; and a strong
hand and this sharp sword, which well thou knowest now, stood me in
stead of the doing of the deed.....
....Fafnir answered; "In angry wise dost thou take my speech; but
hearken, for that same gold which I have owned shall be thy bane too."
Quoth Sigurd; "Fain would e keep all our wealth till that
day of days; yet shall each man die once for all."
In "Sigurd, Fafnir's appearance is not described, except that
he has a human face - instead, the narrator conveys the atmosphere of
gloom and dread that emanates this presence. I love this passage, and
I find that Morris had a distincrt advantage over Wagner in choosing
the medium of poetry rather than the stage - putting a believable
Fafnir on stage has been an insuperable difficulty ever since the
RING was first produced. Rossetti apparently didn't think too highly
of it, but this was probably a minority verdict. Judge for yourselves...
But now, how the rattling waxeth till he may not heed nor hark!
And the day and the heavens are hidden, and o'er Sigurd rolls the dark,
As the flood of a pitchy river,and heavy-think is the air
With the venom of hate long-hoarded, and lies one fashioned fair;
Then a wan face comes from the darkness, and is wrought in man-like wise,
And the lips are writhed with laughter and bleared are the blinded eyes;
And it wandereth hither and thither, and searcheth through the grave
And departeth, leaving nothing , save the dark, rolled wave on wave
O'er the golden head of Sigurd and the edges of the sword,
And the world weighs heavy on Sigurd, and the weary curse of the Hoard;
Him-seemed the grave grew straiter, and his hope of life grew chill,
And his heart by the Worm was enfolded, and the bonds of the Ancient Ill.
*****************************************************************
Do you agree that this is splendid poetry? If any of you
have managed to have a look at my edition of "Sigurd", you'll see that
I discuss Morris's poetic/narrative style in the intro .
That's all for today! (Probably quite enough to be going
on with!)
Shalom
***************************************************************
Oh for the wings, for the wings of a dove;
the cat ate the chicken wings yesterday.
(THanks for all your good wishes! I am on the way to recovery now,
and probably won't be permanetly scarred.)
We got to the death of the dragon last time, if my memory
serves me well.
Siegfried now learns to understand the speech of the birds.
Some of the dragon's blood spills onto his finger, and when he puts
the finger into his mouth to cool it, he understands what the Woodbird
is saying to him. It first advises him to take the Ring and the Tarnhelm
from the hoard;
Hei! Siegfried gehoert nun der Niblungen Hort!
When Siegfried goes into the cave to find the Ring and the
Tarnhelm, there follows a scene of rather less than fraternal affection
between Alberich and Mime. Each is determined to win the Ring and
Tarnhelm for himself, and not to share anything with the other. Much
to their chagrin, Siegfried has obtained both items for himself, because
the Woodbird told him to, not because he knows what use they are;
Was ihr mir nuetzt, weiss ich nicht;
Perhaps there is some dramatic irony in the Woodbird's advice - "Wollt'
er den Tarnhelm gewinnen,/ der taugt' ihm zu wonniger Tat" (If he could
obtain the Tarnhelm, it would help him accomplish a glorious deed),
because when he does use it, it is to accomplish a deed of treachery
and betrayal. Similarly in NL he uses his Tarnkappe (cloak of
invisibility) twice to deceive Brunhild. So this is device is actaully
only used by Siegfried to deceive. And one does wonder whether it could
ever be used for a worthy purpose, considering who made it and why.
The Woodbird's next piece of advice is to warn Siegfried about
Mime:
Hei! Siegfried gehoert nun
There now follows the scene in which Mime cannot help revealing
his plans to kill Siegfried and take the Ring for himself. In this scene,
Wagner adopt the dramatic device of having Mime tell Siegfried that he
wants to kill him, and furthermore that he has always hated him and hisd
family and has just been waiting for this opportunity to get him out of
the way.
In VS and FAFNISMAL, Regin instructs Sigur to roast the dragon's
heart. When Sigurd touches the heart to see if it is cooked, he burns
his finger; when he puts his finger to his mouth, he can understand
what the birds are saying to him. They first of all warn him to
beware of regin, who is plotting the death of Fafnir. (The translations
which follow are bby Henry Adams Bellows: Princeton University Press,
1936).
32. There sits Sigurd sprinkled with blood,
[Explanation by me - "breaker of rings" is an heroic epithet meaning
"king", "warrior" . In Old Norse it is *spillir bauga* , and there is
a similar expression in Anglo-Saxon]
33There Regin lies and plans he lays
34.Less by a head let the chatterer hoary
[The birds go on for several verses, until finally -]
Sigurd hewed off Regin's head, and then he ate Fafnir's heart,
and drank the blood of both regin and Fafnir.
------------------------------------------------------
Examination of the dragon-killing episode in TS reveals that
the saga summarises all the versions of the episode. After he has killed
the dragon - which he does by beating it to death, not by stabbing it -
Sigurd is hungry, having eaten all the food that Mime provided, which
was supposed to last for nine days. There is no mention at this stage
of any treasure, but it is mentioned in passing much later by Grimhild,
the saga's equivalent of Gudrun/Kriemhild,when she is married to Attila ;
she talks of Sigurd's wealth, which her brothers are withholding from her, and
says that this wealth includes the gold he took from the dragon that
he killed. TS also introduces the theme of Siegfried's invulnerability,
which does not occur in the Norse sources.In NL the dragon-slaying is
first mentioned by Hagen, who does not appear to know of this vulnerable
spot; the secret is only revealed to him later by Kriemhild - something
which, as the poet says, she would have done better to conceal. Wagner
also makes uses of the motif of Siegfried's invulnerability - in
GOETTERDAEMMERUNG, it is Bruennhilde who has made him invulnerable, but,
as she knows that he would never turn his back on an enemy, he is not
invulnerable there.
In VS, Regin reminds Sigurd that, although Sigurd actually killed
Fafnir, it was at Regin's instigation; in fact it is clearer in VS than
in REGINSMAL and FAFNISMAL that Regin actually encourages Sigurd to kill
Fafnir for him, so that he can obtain what he considers to be his
ingeritance. But by the time the birds warn Sigurd about Regin, he is
actually plotting revenge for his brother, though he originally wanted
him killed.
Regin never really implied that Sigurd should have the gold for
himself - this is clearer in Morris's poem than in the sources, as Regin
repeats his demands in such a way as to make it clear that Sigurd is
expected to tuen the gold over to him. This Sigurd is quite happy to do, as
his main motivation is the love of adventure.
As in VS, Regin in SIGURD accuses Sigurd of killing his brother.
Sigurd's response is that Regin can have the gold, and they have come
to a parting of the ways:
Bur Regin darkened before him, and exceeding grim was he grwon,
Then Regin demands that Sigurd roast the dragon's heart for him,
The poem conveys the atmosphere of desolation that reigns on the
Glittering Heath:
But Sigurd took the Heart, and wood on the waste he found,
Morris makes the birds into seven eagles; in his translation of VS, he calls
them woodpeckers. The word in Old Norse is *igdur* - variously
translated as "tits" or "nuthatches".In fact, it probably doesn't matter
all that much what type of birds they were, and Wagner was thinking along
the right dramatic lines when he reduced the number of birds to one,
and called it just a Woodbird. But it is a neat illustration of Morris's
attention to detail that in his poem he makes the birds into eagles;
since he has already conveyed that the Glittering Heath is a place of
desolation, where wood is very sparse, he couldn't then make the birds
into woodpeckers, and eagles fit very well into the desolate atmosphere -
"and the ernes cried over his head"....
The eagles warn Sigurd, somewhat cryptically, that Regin is
plotting his death, and Sigurd understands what is going on in Regin's
mind - "But lo, how the eyes of Sigurd the heart of the guileful behold"
When he realises what Regin has been plotting, he strikes him
dead. There is now no reason why Sigurd should not gain the treasure
for himself, although that was not his original intention. The sequence
of events is the reverse of that in Wagner's SIEGFRIED. There, the
Woodbird's first instruction to Siegfried is to obtain the Ring and the
Tarnhelm - because he knows nothing about the Hoard, Mime having
deliberately kept him in ignorance. In SIGURD, the first necessity
is to warn Sigurd about Regin, since he already knows about the treasure.
Jane ubzz018@ccs.bbk.ac.uk
VS summarises the advice of the birds into one passage,
including the advice that, if Sigurd kills Regin, he can have the
treasure for himself. This advice is also contained in the continuation
of the verses from FAFNISMAL, which I quoted in the last section, but
it is omitted by Morris, who is more concerned with the warning against
Regin's treachery. What is more interesting is that he also omits
any direct reference to Sigurd's next adventure, namely the meeting
with Brynhild. In VS, the instructions from the birds are prefectly
clear - they tell him to take all of Fafnir's gold, and then ride to
Hindarfjall [Hindfell] where he will find Brynhild lying asleep.
In FAFNISMAL, the instructions are not quite so direct - first
the birds tell him about GUDRUN, then they beacktrack and tell him
about the Valkyrie sleeping on Hindarfjall, and it is by no means
certain that the Valkyrie is the same woman as Brynhild. Or rather,
in PE she is not necessarily the same woman. By the time VS was
compiled, Sigrdrifa the Valkyrie is identical with Brynhild. It is
possible that *Sigrdrifa* is not a woman's name, but an epithet meaning
"giver of victory". The way FAFNISMAL tells the story implies that
Sigurd is going to Giuki's hall, where he will meet the woman he will
marry, but that on the way he will meet the sleeping Valkyrie- who
may or may not be Brynhild.
Bind thou, Sigurd the bright red rings!
Green go the ways toward the hall of Giuki
A high hall there is reared upon Hindfell,
Soft on the fell a shield-may sleepeth,
Go son, behold that may under helm
The poem quite clearly states that Sigurd is going to marry
Giuki's daughter, but that on the way he will meet this Valkyre - the
poem need not necessarily be taken to imply that he is going to have
a broken romance with her, or rather, it doesn't imply that she is the
woman with whom the broken romance occurs.
Close examination of SIGRDRIFUMAL reveals that at no time does
she say that she is Brynhild, or that she is Sigurd's destined bride.
She does say that she has sworn never to marry anyone who knew what fear
was.
"But there-against I vowed a vow, that never would I wed one who
knew the name of fear".
Later redactions have identified this woman with Brynhild, and
Sigurd with the fearless man she has sworn to marry. But if we just had
SIGRDRIFUMAL as it stands, we would not necessarily be justified in
assuming that Sigrdrifa and Brynhild are one and the same woman.
FAFNISMAL definitely indicates that Giuki's daughter is the woman that
Sigurd is going to marry, and the Valkyrie is just someone he meets on
the way. In SIGRDRIFUMAL, there is no exchange of vows between the pair;
she gives Sigurd some advice in gnomic verses, and then he goes on his way.
In VS, where the Valkyrie is identified with Brynhild, the couple do
exchange vows.
Sigurd spake; "None among the sons of men can be found wiser
than thou; and thereby swear I, that thee will I have as my own, for
near to my heart thou liest."
She answers, "Thee would I fainest choose, thou I had all
men's sons to choose from."
**********************************************************************
In SIGURD, the eagles hardly refer to Brynhild at all; the only
reference is this rather obscure prophecy;
Bind the red rings, O Sigurd! and gladden all thy heart!
One episode in the poem that may throw some light on this]
is *Of Gripir's Foretelling*. It is based on GRIPISPA in PE, which may
have been compiled as a way of drawing all the strands of the various
legends together. According to PE, Gripir is Sigurd's uncle, whom
Sigurd visits to ask him to foretell the future. At first Gripir
prophecies a wonderful future for Sigurd - he says that he will kill
both Fafnir and Regin, and win the hoard for himself. He also prophecies
that Sigurd will meet the Valkyrie, still unnamed at this juncture.
15. GRIPIR.
16. SIGURD
17. GRIPIR
Gripir says that Sigurd will arrive at Heimir's court, not saying
at this stage who Heimir is [Brynhild's uncle and foster-father] -
and then he claims that he can't foretell anything else. Sigurd insists,
and then Gripir warns him that he will wish to marry Brynhild and will
betray her. He also foretells that the whole thing will end in Sigurd's
death.
(Gripir)
(Sigurd)
(Gripir)
(Sigurd)
(Gripir)
In SIGURD, Gripir's prophecies are somewhat more cryptic. The
reader understands that he is referring to Fafnir, when he says;
There the child in the noon-tide smitheth, the young king rendeth apart,
(I.e. eating the dragon's heart will help Sigurd to gain wisdom.)
Gripir also foretells Gudrun:
How green are the garths of King-folk, how fair is the lily and rose
And he foretells, again rather cryptically, that Sigurd will be killed
by his brother-in-law;
Dawn now; but the house is silent, and dark is the purple blood
This tells Sigurd nothing about Brynhild. The only passage that
might be foretelling her existence is this;
Cry out, O waste before him! O rocks of the wilderness, cry!
But, as Gripir has just referrred to the return of Baldur after the
destruction of the gods, he may not be referring to Brynhild's mountain
and the fire surrounding it, but to the impending destruction of the
world.
We may therefore arrive at the provisional conclusion that Morris
structured his poem in such a way as to convey the idea that Sigurd meets
Brynhild more or less by chance; the few references that might refer to
her are too cryptic for us to assume that she is definitely intended,
In SIGURD, there is no prophecy that he is intended to meet her, or that
they are destined to marry; the eagles foretell that Sigurd will marry
GUDRUN, although she is not named at this stage.
Jane ubzz018@ccs.bbk.ac.uk
Brynhild has specified that she will not marry a coward, but it
does not appear in VS that she has specified that the man who will breach
her barrier of flame and awaken her is to be Sigurd; that identification
seems to come at a later stage of the development of the legend, as does
the identification of Brynhild with the sleeping Valkyrie.
Morris follows the Norse sources VS and HEIREITH BRYHILDAR
(Brynhild's ride to Hel) from PE - in making Brynhild a mortal woman
whom Odin has chosen to be a Valkyrie. In VS, Sigurd tells Brynhild
that he has heard she is the daughter of a powerful king, and she tells
him how she came to be asleep on the mountain: she asks him if he is Sigurd son
of Sigmund, to which he replies in the affirmative. She goes on to
explain that she gave the preference in battle to one whom Odin had
marked out for death, and Odin in revenge cast her into the enchanted
sleep from which Sigurd woke her. In VS, she doesn't give a reason why
she defied Odin's order; in SIGRDRIFUMAL she implies that it may have been
out of a feeling of sympathy with King Agnarr, because Odin did not
look upon him with favour.
"She said that her name was Sigrdrifa, and that she had been
a Valkyrie. She said that two kings had been fighting, one was called
Helm-Gunnar, an old man and a mighty chieftain, to whom Odin had
promised the victory; and "the other was Agnarr, Audi's brother, and
there was no-one to help him."
Other poems in PE refer to Brynhild's past as a warrior-
maiden; the most explicit of these is HELREID BRYNHILDAR. On her
ride to the Netherworld, she is accosted by a giantess, who accuses
her of having been an evil woman.
Brynhild.
The Giant-woman
Brynhild
The changeful shapes of us eight sisters,
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The reference to a warrior past in SIGURDTHARKVITHA IN SKAMMA
(Short Lay of Sigurd) refers to her considering whether it is worthwhile
resisting the pressure exerted by her brother, Atli, who has threatened
to withhold her inheritance if she does not marry.
If to fight I should fall and to the felling of folk,
In other words, this poem doesn't imply that she was once a Valkyrie
who defied Odin by granting victory to the wrong warrior.
In SIGURD, there is only the vaguest of hints that Brynhild
might be Sigurd's destined bride, and it seems that when he sees the
fire-wreathed mountain, he is first inspired to climb it by the
love of adventure already mentioned;
Long Sigurd rideth the waste, when lo, on a morning of day,
Sigurd doesn't know what - or whom - he can expect to find
once he has penetrated the flame. In the event, he finds what he takes
to be a man asleep behind a protective ring of shields. It is customary
to laugh at the scene in Wagner's SIEGFRIED in which Siegfried discovers
that Bruennhilde is a woman after all, but, taken in context, his reaction
is not so surprising. True, he was expecting to find a woman, but
(a) he had never seen a woman before, and we will recall that he has
spent some time speculating about what a human woman - his mother -
might have looked like; (b) women are not usually found in full armour.
[This was a part of the RING about which Morris was very dismissive,
acc. to May Morris: "But he raged most at the representation of the
great scene of the Awakening on the Mountain, when the most enthusiastic
of his musical friends could not hide the inadequacy of that difficult
moment when the tenor, laying his hand on the breast of the stalwart
Brunhilde, reclining decently composed in her unimaginative 'princess-
robe' of gold mail, warbles, with all the surprise he can manage to
force into his voice, "Das ist kein Mann!"]
It is true that Sigurd does know what women look like - his
mother, after all, played a significant part in his upbringing - but
point (b) still applies. In SIGURTHARKVITHA IN SKAMMA , he doesn't
realise that the person in armour is a woman until he removes the
helmet; this is in spite of the fact that he is expecting to meet a
woman. Perhaps, therefore, we should not be too hard on Wagner's Siegfried.
......and when he came thereto, lo, a shield-hung castle before him, and
a banner on the topmost thereof; into the castle went Sigurd, and saw one
lying there asleep, an all-armed. Therewith he takes the helm from off the
head of him, and sees that it is no man, but a woman.
We have seen that Brynhild has been cast into an enchanted sleep
by Odin for defying him and giving the victory to a warror whom Odin
did not favour - AND THAT THIS WARRIOR IS NOT SIGMUND, SIGURD'S FATHER,
WITH WHOM SHE HAS NOTHING TO DO. (Remember this!)
Jane ubzz018@ccs.bbk.ac.uk
In SIGURD, the pair fall in love as soon as Brynhild wakes; in
fact Sigurd has fallen in love with her as soon as he sees her - and
she asks him to identify himself;
And mighty and measureless now did the tide of his love arise,
He said, "The hand of Sigurd and the Sword of Sigmund's son,
She then identifies herself, and explains how she came to be there -
she doesn't give her name at this stage, nor does she name the two kings
over whom she came into conflict with Odin;
She said; "I am she that loveth; I was born of the earthly folk,
In the course of he narration, she implies that she came into conflict
with Odin more than once before he wearied of her defiance - she doesn't
refer to a specific battle, but speaks instead of being at variance with
Odin in more general terms, and perhaps implies that she is distressed at
the indifference of the gods to the fates of men.
The Bruennhilde of Wagner's RING is obviously based on the
ex-Valkyrie of SIGRDRIFUMAL, but there are some inportant differences.
In the Norse literature,she is a mortal woman (unless we accept the
identification of Brynhild with Sigrdrifa, and there is in fact no
indication that Sigrdrifa isn't a mortal woman) whereas Wagner makes
his Bruennhilde into Wotan's daughter by Erda. (This also makes her
into Siegfried's aunt, but perhaps we had better not let that concern
us too deeply.)
Wotan had originally ordered Bruennhilde to protect Siegmund
in the battle with Hunding, but was forced to rescind his order after
the intervention of Fricka, who forced him to acknowledge that Siegmund
was not the free hero he had been seeking. She reminds him, with devastating
accuracy, that he created the circumstances in which Siegmund suffered
unhappiness, and that it was Wotan who placed the sword in the tree for
Siegmund to find.
FRICKA
WOTAN
FRICKA
Wotan is left with no option but to rescind his order to
Bruennhilde, and instruct her to protect Hunding instead. The reason
behind all this is that the gods need a free hero to do that which
he is forbidden to do - i.e. obtain the Ring. Wotan has been forced
to realise that Siegmund isn't this hero, and commands Bruennhilde
to fight for Hunding instead. Bruennhilde defies him, because she
sees Siegmund and Sieglinde and is moved with pity for their plight,
and by Siegmund's love for Sieglinde. She chooses, in fact to ally herself
with humanity in defiance of the cold, loveless worls of the gods.
Wotan deprives her of her godhead and casts her into an enchanted
sleep - he sees this as a punishment, but Wagner sees it as a moral
gain. (Though her moral character has deteriorated in GOEETERDAEMMERUNG).
Wagner has given the Wotan-Siegmund-Bruennhilde relationship
a motivation it lacked in the Norse literature. Once the gods have
handed over Andvari's gold (including the Ring, which he curses)]as ransom
for Otter, they have no further interest in it - indeed, as we have
seen, they seem almost glad to get rid of it. Sigmund has no connection with
it - and, although Odin does take a close personal interest in the fate
of the Volsungs, it is not because he needs them to retrieve the gold
and the Ring. Nor is Brynhild Odin's daughter, but a mortal woman
who has spent some time as a Valkyrie. It is Bruennhilde who plans
that the man who wwakes her shall be Siegfried and no other; indeed, it]
is she who has given the unborn child his name, and given his mother
the pieces of Siegmund's sword for her son, who, Bruennhilde predicts,
will be the greatest of heroes.
The scene of Bruennhilde's awakening is one in which Wagner
remains close to his sources, even adapting the vocabulary of some
stanzas of SIGFDRIFUMAL. In bother versions, she first greets the sun,
the gods and the earth, and rejoices in her return to life.
Hail to the day come back!
Hail to the Aesir,
BRUENNHILDE
*********************************************************************
In SIGURD, the awakening of the Valkyrie takes place as the
sun rises - the reader is reminded how the sun shone again on the
Glittering Heath after Sigurd had killed Fafnir. Brynhild then greets
the world, in terns similar to Sigrdrifa and Wagner's Bruennhilde:
All Hail, O Day and thy Sons, and thy kin of the coloured things!
A note to the above-
It is curious that contemporary critics of SIGURD did not always
realise that these lines are a reasonably faithful paraphrase of the
corresponding scene in SIGRDRIFUMAL, as is shown by the following unsigned
review of 1877:
"To reproduce the antique, not as the ancients felt
it, but as we feel it - to transfuse it with modern
thought and emotin - this is the method that is now
"in the air", as the French say, among Mr. Morris's
fellow-artists, and it is the main source of interest
which Mr. Morris has given to his own work, as well
as the source of its waekness.
Now we need hardly remark that this method is
essentially falsifying, nor shall we have to seek
far in the present poem for illustrative instances.
Take, for instance, this passage in the second book,
an apostrophe put into Brynhild's mouth...
This represents no possible sentiment of the medieval North.
Evidently this anonymous reviewer is not familiar with Morris's sources.
******************************************************************
Enough for one mailing, I think!
Does anyone have any opinions about Morris's poem, by the way?
Jane ubzz018@ccs.bbk.ac.uk
There is a significant difference between Morris's Brynhild
and Wagner's Bruennhilde - the former shows no reluctance whatsoever to
accept Sigurd's embraces, whereas for Bruennhilde it takes rather a long
time for her to realise precisely what being a mortal woman entails.
But then she shows no hesitation, and claims, in fact, to be the more
passionate of the two. Bruennhilde promises to teach Siegfried wisdom -
Wagner doesn't reproduce the gnomic verses of SIGRDRIFUMAL, but from
what is said in GOETTERDAEMMERUNG, we may conclude that this teaching has
taken place - although Siegfried, being Siegfried, has promptly forgotten
it all. She tells him that she is only wise for his sake:
Was du nicht weiss,
Later, she is afraid that her wisom may vanish, but Siegfried
reminds her that she previously said that her wisdom was a product of her
love;
Bruennhilde
Siegfried
In SIGURD, Brynhild expresses a similar idea;
I have spoken the words, beloved, to thy matchless glory and worth,
She then tells him of her antecedents and her family home, and
invites him to visit her there; this is the first time she actually
tells him what her name is;
Yet I bid thee look on the land 'twixt the wood and the silver sea
----------------------------------------------------------------------
BRYNHILD'S FAMILY AND BACKGROUND
Brynhild acquires a family in the course of the development
of the legend (in the Norse source). In NL she appears to have kinsmen -
she leaves her country to her uncle when she leaves to marry Gunther.
Only in Wagner is she Wotan's daughter;this isn't in any of the sources,
but it is consistent with Wagner's dramatic purpose. It also makes the
conflict between her and Wotan more poignant, as she is the person who
is closest to him and means most to him. Also, as she says, it is the
fact that she is so close to him that enables her to defy him.
In VS, Sigurd goes to visit Brynhild's relatives.
"Forth Sigurd rides till he comes to a great and goodly dwelling, the
lord wherof was a mighty chief called Heimir; he had to wife the sister
of Brynhild, who was hight Bekhild, because she had bidden at home, and
learned handicraft, whereas Brynhild fared with helm and byrny to the
wars, wherefore was she called Brynhild."
This chapter introduces Heimir as Brynhild's brother-in-law,
but the next chapter has him as her foster-faher; in fact the two roles
are not necessarily incompatible in Norse society. It transpires that
Brynhild is the daughter of Budli.
In Chapter 25 of VS the Giukings are introduces, and then more
is said about Brynhild, including the fact that Atli is her brother;
"Now Budli was the name of a king mightier than Giuki, mighty though
they both were; and Atli was the brother of Brynhild; Atli was a fierce
man and a grim, great and black to look on, yet noble of mien withal,
and the greatest of warriors."
The compiler of VS may have overlooked this when he has Brynhild
foretell their future to Gudrun, although one would have thought that
such a family relationship would be very important.
"Brynhild answers; 'I will arede thy dream, even as things shall come
to pass hereafter; for Sigurd shall come to thee, even he whom I have
chosen for my well-beloved; and Grimhild shall give him mead mingled
with hurtful things, which shall cast us all into mighty strife. Him
shalt thou have, and him shalt thou quickly miss; and Atli the king
shalt thou wed; and thy brethren shalt thou lose, and slay Atli withal
in the end.' "
For his marriage to Brynhild, Gunnar obtains the consent both
of her father, Budli, and her foster-father Heimir, although both say
that the final decision rests with Brynhild alone. Her father and brother
are present at her wedding to Gunnar. After the quarrel with Gudrun,
Brynhild tells Gunnar that her father, Budli, pressurised her into
marriage:
"Yea, at that time he led me apart, and asked me which I had chosen of
those who were come; but I prayed him that I might be able to ward the
land and be chief over the third pat of his men; then were there two
choices to deal betwixt, either that I should be wedded to him who he
would, or lose al my weal and friendship at his hands; and he said
withal that his friendship would be better to me than his wrath."
In SIGURTHARKVITHA IN SKAMMA, however, as we have seen, it is Brynhild's
brother, Atli, who pressurises her into marriage. In SIGURD, Brynhild's father,
Budli, is already dead, but in VS he is still alive, to give his consent
to his daughter's marriage to Gunnar. But he seems to fade out of the
story after this.
In VS, it transpires that Sigurd and Brynhild have a daughter,
Aslaug, who is fostered by Heimir. The story of Aslaug forms an appendix
to VS; she later marries Ragnar Lodbrok. We don't hear anything more about
her after Brynhild is married to Gunnar, however, and she is not mentioned
in SIGURD (although on of the poems in Morris's THE EARTHLY PARADISE is
THE FOSTERING OF ASLAUG). After the murder of Sigurd (in VS), we are
reminded again that Atli is Brynhild's brother; and before Brynhild dies
she foretells the future to Gunnar; that Gudrun will reluctantly marry
Atli, and also that Gunnar will wish to marry Oddrun, another sister whom
Atli has acquired in the development of the legend. {Which I find a
bit strange - you'd think Gunnar's experience with Brynhild would have
taught him to stay well clear of Atli's sisters! However......}
This episode is not used by Morris, who adapts the second half
of NL for the conclusion of SIGURD.
All branches of the legend establish Brynhild as a mortal woman;
in VS she is chosen by Odin to be a Valyrie, but defies him and is sent
back to the world of mortals. In NL there is no connection with the gods -
Brunhild is an amazon, her background is rather mysterious, and there
are some indications that the poet may have known of the prior betrothal
motif and decided not to use it. For instance, in the episode of the
wooing expedition, Brunhild first assumes that Siegfried, not Gunther,
is the wooer; but Brunhild and Siegfried appear to dislike each other
from the start. This may indicate that there is a background of a
prior betrothal, giving Brunhild a reason to dislike Siegfried for
having betrayed her, or it may indicate that they just dislike each other.
VS gives Brynhild a family background. It is not clear whether
this was an integral part of the work from the beginning, or whether
it was tacked on as the legend developed. Kinship is in any case vital
in VS - more important than marriage, it will transpire in the second
half of the work. In NL, the situation is reversed - the tie of marriage
turns out to be more important than that of kinship. It is probably
that Morris and Wagner decided to adapt NL rather than VS because they
lived in a society which regarded the tie of marriage as more important
than that of kinship - the avenging of a husband's death more important
than vengeance for a brother.
Jane ubzz018@ccs.bbk.ac.uk
(Sorry about the gap between this and the previous mailing!
There seem to be some gremlins in the Mailing System at present, so
I hope this gets delivered!)
Book III of SIGURD THE VOLSUNG - "Brynhild" - is subtitled
"In this book is told of the death of Sigurd, and of his sojourn with the
Niblungs, and in the end of how he died."
This does, of course, raise the question of identifying precisely
who the Niblungs are, and this is by no means straightforward. For Morris,
it is not too much of a problem, as he identifies them throughout with the
Giukings (Wagner's Gibichungs, more or less) - Gunnar, Hogni, Gudrun, the
younger brother Gutthorm, their scheming mother Grimhild and their father
Giuki:
And now of the Niblung people the tale beginneth to tell,
Here, the Giukings are the same as the Niblungs, and identification i
is constant throughout. In VS, however, the family are introduced without
any mention of Niblungs(I'm using Morris's trans. as usual).
There was a king hight Giuki, who ruled a realm south of the Rhine;
three sons he had, thus named; Gunnar, Hogni and Gutthorm, and Gudrun
was the name of his daughter, the fairest of maidens; and all these
children were far before other king's children in all prowess, and in
goodliness and growth withal; ever were his sons at the wars and wrought many
a
deed of fame. But Giuki had wedded Grimhild the Wise-Wife.
Now Budli was the name of a king mightier thaat Giuki, mighty though
they both were; and Atli was the brother of Brynhild : Atli was a fierce
man and a grim, great and black to look on, yet noble of mien withal, and
the greatest of warriors. Grimhild was a fierce-hearted woman.
Now the days of the Giukings bloomed fair, and chiefly because of
those children, so fair before the sons of men.
They are no-where referred to as Niblungs or Niflungs - but later
it will transpire that Hogni does have a son called Niflung, who is
instrumental in helping Gudrun to her revenge against Atli.
In BROT AF SIGURTHARKVITHA (Fragment of a Sigurd Lay) Brynhild at
one point calls the Giukings "Niflung Kin". She tells Gunnar that she dreamt
of his death, and continues
So now all ye o House of the Niflungs
There are further references in ATLAKVITHA and ATLAMAL (the psoms
sorry POEMS about Atli in the Poetic Edda) to the Nifluns
(sorry, typo again)
NIFLUNGS. For instance, after Atli has had Hogni killed, Gunnar says
The great Rhine shall rule o'er the hate-rasing treasure,
In the Prose Edda, Snorri mentions that Niflungs is another name
for the children of Giuki. The Prose Edda also refers to Niflheim - world
of mist - and at some stage in the development of the different redactions
of the legend, the Niflungs and/or Giukings became identified with the
inhabitants of this shadowy realm - or vice versa. (Morris calls the
Niblungs/Giukings the Cloudy People).
In NL, Gunther, his brothers and Hagen (a vassal, not a brother)
do not actually become the Nibelungs until Siegfried is dead. In the first
part of the poem, the Nibelungs are SIEGFRIED'S followers, and are not
dwarves. Alberich is a dwarf, but he appears to be a vassal of the
Nibelungs, rather than a relative, and transfers his allegiance to
Siegfried in any case. (see Aventiure 3, Strophes 86-100). Usually
Siegfried is referred to as *der held uz Nederlant* (the hero from the
Netherlands) but after his death reference is made to *sine recken von
Nibelunge lant* - his knights from Nibelungland. It seems to become
*Nibelunge lant* after Siegfried's death, and his followers are *die
kuenen Nibelungen* (the brave Nibelungs).
Then, in Aventiure 25, the BURGUNDIANS (ie. Gunther and family)
are referred to as Nibelungs - the Aventiure is subtitled *Wie die
Nibelunge zen Hiunen fuoren* _ how the Nibelungs went to visit the
Huns. Confused? You will be! You might like to look up further
info. in the Introduction to the translation of NL by A.T. Hatto
(Penguin Classics), which I think some of you have got.
After this, is the second half of the poem, it is Gunther, his
brothers, Hagen and all their followers, who become the Nibelungs.
The historical background is not strictly relevant to our
purposes, but it is interesting to look at it briefly. The main historical
sources are examined by Ursula Dronke in her introduction to
ATLAKVITHA, for which the following is of most immediate interest:
"Gubdaharius....ruled the Burgundians west of the Rhine for
at least twenty-five years....the contemporary historian Olympiodorus
mentions 'Guntiarios' as leader of the Burgundians who...supported the
Gaulish usurper Jovinus as Emperor in 411. After the defeat (of Jovinus)
the Burgundians were accorded by the Romans the right to settle in Gaul,
on the Rhine. It was probably at this time that Gundaharius established
the kingdom of Worms attributed to him in heroic legend. After the
slaughter of Gundaharius and great numbers of his people by the Huns in
437, the remnant of the Burgundians west of the Rhine were given Savoy to
settle in by the Romans ... The memory of Gundaharius was kept alive
by the Burgundians in their new place of settlement. In the Lex
Burgundionum of Gundobad (c.480-516) Gibicha, Gundomaris, Gislaharius
and Gundaharius are ciited as the ancestral kings of the Burgundians....
....NIBLUNG appears to have been a personal or family name among
the Burgundians...."
The historical background is not of central relevance, certainly
not to Morris, who was not particularly interested in the historical
reality out of which the legend grew. It is of some relevance to Wagner,
however, who had his own idiosyncratic interpretation of the historical
reality, as we shall shortly discover.
**********************************************************************
To be continued! My next mailing will not be for a few days,
as I am going to Leeds for the weekend. But this is probably enough
to be going on with!
Jane ubzz018@ccs.bbk.ac.uk
****************************************************************
The foregoing (i.e. last week's mailing) established that, in all
the Norse literature, the Niblungs or Niflungs are identified with the
Giukings,
and not with a race of dwarves who fraudulently obtain a treasure - this
is unique to Wagner, who has interpreted his sources in a different way.
In his essay DIE WIBELUNGEN, Wagner uses a somewhat forced folk-
etymology to indentify the Nibelungs with the Ghibellines (descendants of
Charlemagne). This idea was not entirely original to Wgner, but had already
been mooted in 1816 by K.W. Goettling in his NIBELUNGEN UND GIBELLINEN.
"Ihm [dem Verfasser] sind die Nibelungen nicht ein besonderes Geschlecht,
sondern die Koenige, welche ein Streben beseelt, das naemlich fuer den
weltlichen Hort."
(further info. in "The Study of the Nibelungenlied", by Mary Thorp.
Oxford, 1940).
I quote here some examples of Wagner's train of thought. (In German,
I'm afraid! If anyone needs/wants a translation, please let me know!)
Unbestritten ist die Sage von den Nibelungen das Erbeigenthum des
fraenkischen Stammes. Dem Forscher ist erwiesen, dass der Urgrund auch
dieser Sage religioes-mythischer Natur ist; ihre tiefste Bedeutung des
Mythos, in wlcher wir Siegfried als Licht- oder Sonnengott zu erkennen
haben, wollen wir fuer jetzt absehem; zur vorlaeufigen Hindeutung auf
seinen Zusammenhang mit der Geschichte, gedenken wir der Sage hier erst
von da an, wo sie das menschlichere Gewand des Urheldenthuns umwirft.
Hier erkennen wir Siegfried, wie er den Hort der Nibelungen und durch
ihm unermesliche Macht gewinnt. Dieser Hort, und die in ihm liegende
Macht, bleibt der Kern, zu dem sich alle weitere Gestaltung der Sage wie zu
ihrem unverruekbaren Mittelpunkte verhaelt; alles Streben und alles
Ringen geht nach diesem Horte der Nibelungen, als dem Inbegriff aller
irdischer Macht, und wer ihn besitzt, wer durch ihm gebietet, ist oder
wird Nibelung......
Von den deutschen Voelkern von jeher fuer jenes wunderbare....
fraenkische Koenigsgeschlecht ein Name bekannt war, den wir endlich
in italiensicher Entstellung als Ghibelini wiederfinden. Dass dieser
Name nicht nur die Hohenstaufen in Italien, sondern in Deutschland
schon deren Vorgaenger, die fraenkishen Kaiser, bezeichnete, ist durch
Otto von Freisigen historisch bezeugt; die zu seiner Zeit in
Oberdeutschland gelaeufige Form dieses Namens war WIBELINGEN oder
WIBELUNGEN. Diese Benennung traefe nun vollstaendig mit dem Namen der
Haupthelden der urfraenkischen Stammsage, sowie mit dem bei den Franken
nachweislich haeufigen Familiennamen NIBELUNG ueberein, wenn die
Veraenderung des Anfangsbuchstabens N in W erklaert wuerde. Die
linguistische Schwierigkeit dieser Erklaerung loest sich mit Leichtigkeit,
sobald wir eben den Ursprung jener Buchstabenverwechslung richtig
erwaegen; dieser lag im Volksmunde, welcher sich die Namen der beiden
streitenden Parteien der Welfen und Nibelungen nach der, der deutschen
Sprache inwohnenden Neigung zum Stabreim gelaeufig machte.....
In DER NIBELUNGEN-MYTHOS ALS ENTWURF ZU EINEM DRAMA the identification
of the Nibelungs with the Ghibellines is not sustained - they resemble much]
more closely the dwarves of Norse legend, although it is not explicitly
stated that they are dwarves.
(Incidentally, "dwarf" doesn't always, or even necessarily, mean
a person small of stature. It nearly always implies someone skilled
in metalwork, and in Norse legend this seems in fact to be its primary
meaning.)
<
That's all for this week - to be continued! But could I have
some more feedback please? are people still interested?
Have you noticed how analyses/discussions of the RING tend to
be longer that the work itself? Which is no mean achievement!
Jane ubzz018@ccs.bbk.ac.uk
**************************************************************
More on identifying the Niblungs, I'm afraid! (It does get rather
complicated, as I think you have realised by now!)
The first paragraph of Wagner's DER NIBELUNGEN-MYTHOS ALS ENTWURF
ZU EINEM DRAMA is as follows:
Dem Schoose der Nacht und des Todes entkeimte ein Geschlecht, welches in
Nibelheim (Nebelheim), d.i. in unterirdischen duesteren Klueften und Hoehlen
wohnt; sie heissen Nibelungen; in unsteter, rastloser Regsmakiet durchwuehlen
sie (gleich Wuermen im Todten Koerper) die Eingeweide der Erde; sie gluehen,
laeutern und schmieden die harten Metalle.
From the foregoin, therefore, it would seem that we can conclude that
Wagner's decision to identify the Niblungs with the dwarves who once owned
(or fraudulently obtained) a treasure is his own original concept. It
is based on a somewhat strained etymology, but this need not detain us, as the
etymology suited his dramatic purpose.
To establish the family relationships of the Gibichungs and the
Nibelungs in GOETTERDAEMMERUNG, Wagner drew on both NL and the Norse sources,
including THIDREKS SAGA. Hagen is the half-brother of Gunther and Gutrune,
his father being Alberich, who bought the favours of Grimhild. Grimhild never
appears in the RING, but references to her in GOETTERDAEMMERUNG establish her
as a formidable character, while in VS and PE she has some claim to be
considered the villain of the piece. It is she who drugs Sigurd into fogetting
(sorry) forgetting Brynhild, and she who forces the reluctant Gudrun into a
seconf marriage with Atli. In GOETTERDAEMMERUNG we can assume that Grimhild
is dead, ny the time we are introduced to Gunther, Gutrune and Hagen; but
in SIGURD she is very much alive.
(See my article "The Role of Grimhild in SIGURD THE VOLSUNG" - Journal of the
William Morris Society, Autumn 1989).
Each source tells a somewhat different story about who is related
to whom, and what part they play in the tragedy. Morris, as usual, remains
close to VS/PE, whereas Wagner amalgamates the various sources to provide the
dramatic scenario he needs. Some information about Wagner's Gibichungs - e.g.
Hagen's (Hogni's) parentage - comes from THIDREKS SAGA.
"There was a king called Aldrian, who ruled over Niflungaland...
One day it happened, when the king was absent from home, that [the queen]
fell asleep in the garden. A man came and lay with her. As she awoke, she
thought it was King Aldrian, but before she could be sure, the man vanished.
{A likely story! :) }
After a while, the queen realised that she was pregnant. Before the
birth, when she was once more on her own, it happened that the same man
appeared and told her what had happened at their first meeting. The child she
was expecting was his, and he was an elf.
'If the child grows to manhood, tell him who his father is, but
conceal my identity from everyone else. I foretell that it will be a boy.
Whenever he is in such straits that he can't save himself, let him call on hisd
father. He will be there if needed."
Then the elf vanished like a shadow. And after a while the queen gave
birth to a baby boy, whom she named Hogni, and he was considered to be the
son of King Aldrian."
In NL, Hagen is not a brother, but a kinsman and a vassal. He is
continually hostile to Siegfried, and this is something that Wagner takes over
into GOETTERDAEMMERUNG - with, however, a shift of emphasiis. In
GOTTERDAEMMERUNG, he plans from the outset to separate Siegfried and
Bruennhilde, and marry
them off respectively to Gutrune and Gunther, in order to get hold of the
Ring. This is not Hagen's plan in NL - he becomes interested in Siegfried's
treasure after the quarrel between the queens, and more particularly after
Siegfried's death, but this is principally to stop Kriemhild from using it, as
he has it sunk in the Rhine. In NL and TS, Hagen is to a large extent
motivated by a sense of loyalty to Brunhild, as the wife of his feudal
overlord; we need not interpret this as insincere, although it is true that he
uses the quarrel as anm excuse to get rid of Siegfried, and that he had shown
some hostility to Brunhild on the wooing expedition, as had his brother
Dankwart, saying that her pride should be humbled. Siegfried expresses himself
in a similar vein about Brynhild's pride, but the hostility between Siegfried
and Brunhild persists throughout the first half of the poem, and is the main
cause of Siegfried's death.
In GOETTERDAEMMERUNG, Hagen claims to be acting on Bruennhilde's
behalf, but he has an ulterior motive; nevertheless, some of the attitudes
he strikes are borrowed from NL. He reminds the vassals of their duty to
avenge Bruennhilde if she suffers any affront:
Hold seid der Herrin,
During the quarrel in act II, Hagen is quick to turn the situation
to his advantage, by encouraging Bruennhilde's anger, and again reminding
the vassals of their duty to her:
Jetzt merket klug
It is not true that Bruennhilde "gave" Gunther the Ring, since Siegfried,
in the guise of Gunther, tore it from her finger, but this is the situation
as Hagen desire the bystanders to see it.
In NL, it is Hagen rather than Gunther who takes Brynhild's part,
as Gunther is unable to do so with any degree of sincerity. It is Hagen
who promises to avenge her shame. He uses the argument about gaining wealth
and power by Siegfried's death to convince Gunther, but the way the poet
narrates the story may imply that this is a scondary consideration, used more
because Gunther is likely to be convinced by such an argument than because
Hagen himself has any particular interest in Siegfried's wealth. This is not
to say that Hagen is not hostile to Siegfried in NL; on the contrary, the
indications are that they always disliked each other. But then, Siegfried
went out of his way to antagonise people when he forst arrived in Worms,
by issuing a completely unmotivated challenge to Gunther. Wagner softens this
approach by having Siegfried offer Gunther the choice:
Dich hoert' ich ruehmen
Just why Gunther should be expected to fught in the first place is not clear.
It is just possible that the contemporary audience of NL regarded Siegfried's
behaviour as accepatable, but the text seems to indicate that in fact
Siegfried's irruption into the ordered society of Worms is not acceptable, and
Hagen and his nephew Ortwin von Metz are more offended by it that Gunther and
his brothers. In NL, therefore, there is hostility between Hagen and Siegfried
from the beginning. In GOETTERDAEMMERUNG, Hagen is hostile to Siegfried, but
for a reason which has nothing to do with codes of correct behaviour in
feudal society.
In the Norse literature, which Morris follows, the situation is
different. Hogni is a full brother, and he is more hostile to Brynhild than
to Sigurd - he advises against the murder of Sigurd, though he doesn't
actually try to prevent it; whereas in NL and TS, which Wagner followed,
Hagen is the perpetrator.
Jane ubzz018@ccs.bbk.ac.uk
Reply-To: "OPERA-L: Discussion of opera and related issues"
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From: Jane Ennis
Subject: Wagner's Sources (cont.)
(Volsunga Saga, Morris's trans)
(Sorry - typo again"!)
Glaub' mir, mehr als Freia
frommt das gleissende Gold;
auch ew'ge Jugend erjagt
wer durch Goldes Zauber sie zwingt.
verflucht sei dieser Ring!
Gab sein Gold mir Macht ohne Mass,
nun zeug' sein Zauber Tod dem, der ihn traegt!
Kein Froher soll seiner sich freu'n;
keinem Gluecklichen lache sein lichter Glanz!
Wer ihn besitzt, den sehre die Sorge,
und wer ihn nicht hat, den nage die Neid!
Jeder giere nach seinem Gut,
doch keiner geniesse mit Nuetzen sein!
Ohne Wucher halt' ihn sein Herr,
doch den Wuerger zieh' er ihm zu!
Dem Tode verfallen, sterb' er lechzen dahin,
des Ringes Herr als des Ringes Knecht -
bis in meiner Hand den geraubten wieder ich halte!
E'en where the flood fell over 'twixt the water and the land,
And he gazed on the great Guile-master, and huge and grim he grew,
And his anguish swelled within him, and the word of the Norns he knew;
How that gold was the seed of gold to the wise and the shapers of things,
The hoarders of hidden treasure, and the unseen glory of rings;
But the seed of woe to the world and the foolish wasters of men,
And grief to the generations that die and srping up again.
And at last spake Reidmar scowling; "Ye wait for my yea-saying
That your feet may go gree on the earth, and the fear of my toils
may be done;
That then ye may say in your laughter; the fools of the time agone!
The purblind eyes of the dwarf-kind! they have gotten the garnered
sheaf
And have let their Masters depart with the Seed of Gold and of Grief;
O Loki, friend of Allfather, cast down Andvari's ring,
Or the world shall yet turn backward and the high heavens lack a king.
Date: Thu, 11 May 1995 19:29:00 BST
Reply-To: "OPERA-L: Discussion of opera and related issues"
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From: Jane Ennis
Subject: Wagner's Sources (cont.)
And devour the garnered wisdom that blessed thy realm of old,
That hath lain unspent and begrudged in the very heart of hate;
With the blood and the might of thy brother thine hunger shalt thou sate;
And this deed shall be mine and thine; but take heed for what follows
then!
Let each do after his kind! I shall do the deeds of men;
I shall harvest the fields of their sowing, in the bed of their strewing
shall sleep;
To them shall I give my life-days, to the Gods my glory to keep.
Date: Fri, 12 May 1995 19:39:00 BST
Reply-To: "OPERA-L: Discussion of opera and related issues"
Sender: "OPERA-L: Discussion of opera and related issues"
From: Jane Ennis
Subject: Wagner's Sources
der dich Blinden reizte zur Tat,
beraet jetzt des Bluehenden Tod!
Merk, wie's endet! Acht' auf mich!
weise ja scheinst du, Wilder, im Sterben;
rat' es nach meinem Namen -
Siegfried bin ich genannt!
Jane ubzz018@ccs.bbk.ac.uk
Date: Sun, 21 May 1995 16:27:00 BST
Reply-To: "OPERA-L: Discussion of opera and related issues"
Sender: "OPERA-L: Discussion of opera and related issues"
From: Jane Ennis
Subject: Wagner's Sources.
Oh, faend' in der Hoehle den Hort er jetzt!
Wollt' er den Tarnhelm gewinnen,
der taugt' ihm zu wonniger Tat;
doch wollt' er den Ring sich erraten,
der macht' ihm zum Walther der Welt!
doch nahm ich euch
aus des Horts gehaeuftem Gold,
weil guter Rat es mir riet.
So taug' eure Zier als des Tages Zeuge,
es mahne der Tand,
dass ich kaempfend Fafner erlegt,
doch das Fuerchten noch nicht gelernt.
der Helm und der Ring!
O, traute er Mime, dem treulosen nicht!
Hoerte Siegfried nun scharf
auf des Schelmen Heuchelgered'!
Wie sein Herz es meint
kann er Mime verstehen;
so nuetzt' ihm des Blutes Genuss.
And Fafnir's heart by the fire he cooks;
Wise were the breaker of rings I ween
To eat the life-muscles all so bright.
The youth to betray who trusts him sel;
Lying words with wiles will he speak
Till his brother the maker of mischief avenges.
Go from here to hell;
Then all of the wealth he alone can wield,
the gold that Fafnir guarded.
And he spake; "Thou hast slain my brother, and wherewith wilt thou atone?"
"Stand up, O Master," said Sigurd, "O Singer of ancient days,
And take the wealth I have won thee, ere we wend on the sundering ways.
I have toiled and thou hast desired, and the Treasure is surely anear,
And thou hast wisdom to find it, and I have slain thy fear."
But Regin crouched and drakened; "Thou hast slain my brother", he said,
"Take thou the gold", quoth Sigurd, "for the ransom of my head".
The wood that grew and died, as it crept on th niggard ground,
And grew and died again, and lay like whitened bones -
Date: Tue, 23 May 1995 20:13:00 BST
Reply-To: "OPERA-L: Discussion of opera and related issues"
Sender: "OPERA-L: Discussion of opera and related issues"
From: Jane Ennis
Subject: Wagner's Sources: Brynhild
Not meet it is many things to fear.
A fair may know I fair of all the fairest,
Girt about with gold, good for thy getting.
That the fates show forth to those who fare thither;
There the rich king reareth a daughter;
Thou shalt deal, Sigurd, with gold for thy sweetling.
Without all about it sweeps the red flame aloft.
Wise men wrought that wonder of halls
With the unhidden gleam of the glory of gold.
The linme-trees red plague playing about her;
The sleep-thorn set Odin into that maiden
For choosing in war the one he willed not.
Who from battle Vinskornir bore,
From her may not turn the torment of sleep
Dear offspring of kings in the dread Norns' despite.
(FAFNISMAL. Morri's trans.)
For the world shall make thee merry ere thou and she depart.
"A lovely king's daughter sleeps on the mountainside; you will cut
her armour with the bright sword, Fafnir's bane."
"I pierce the armour, the girl wakes from her sleep. What will the maiden
say to Sigurd?"
"She will teach you powerful runes, all you need to conduct your life,
and also runes of healing."
A maid in Heimir's hall there dwells,
Brynhild her name to men is known,
Daughter of Buthli, the doughty king,
And Heimir fosters the fearless maid.
What is it to me though the maiden be
So fair, and of Heimir the fosterling is?
Gripir, truth to me shalt thou tell,
For all of fate before me thou seest.
Of many a joy the maiden robs thee
Fair to see, whom Heimir fosters;
Sleep thou shalt find not, feuds thou shalt end not,
Nor seek out men, if the maid thou seest not.
What may be had for Sigurd's healing?
Say now, Gripir, if see thou canst;
May I buy the maid with the marriage price,
The daughter fair of the chieftain famed?
Ye twain shall all the oaths then swear
That bind full fast; few shall ye keep;
One night when Giuki's guest thou hast been,
Will Heimir's fosterling fade from thy mind.
(Trans. by |Henry Adams Bellows)
The old guile by the guile encompassed, the heart made wise by the
heart.
In the House of the Cloudy People, 'neath the towers of kings and foes!
On the breast of the Queen fair-fashioned; and it riseth up as a flood
Round the posts of the door beloved; and a deed there lieth therein,
The last of the deeds of Sigurd; the worst of the Cloudy Kin -
The slayer slain by the slain within the door and without.
For tomorn shalt thou see the glory, and the mane not made to die!
Cry out, O upper heavens! O clouds beneath the lift!
For the golden King shall be riding high-headed midst the drift;
The mountain waits and the fire; there waiteth the heart of the wise
Till the earthly toil is accomplished, and again shall the fire arise...
Date: Wed, 24 May 1995 12:15:00 BST
Reply-To: "OPERA-L: Discussion of opera and related issues"
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From: Jane Ennis
Subject: Wagner's sources: Brynhild(cont.)
Sigrdrifa killed Helm-Gunnar in the battle."
Nay, blame me naught, bride of the rockhall,
Though I roved a-warring in the days that were;
The higher of us twain shall I ever be holden
When of our kind men make account.
Thou, O Brynhild, Budli's daughter,
Wert the worst ever born into the world;
For Giuki's children death hast thou gotten,
And turned to destruction their goodly dwelling.
I shall tell thee true tale from my chariot,
O thou who naught wottest, if thou listest to wot;
How for me they have gotten, those heirs of Giuki,
A loveless life, a life of lies.
The wise king bade under oak-tree to bear;
Of twelve winters was I, if thou listest to wot,
When I sware to the young lord oaths of love.
(HELREITH BRYNHILDAR, Morris's trans.)
Bold in byrny because of my brother,
A deed of fame had that been to all folk
But to many a man sorrow of mind.
>From out of the tangled crag-walls, amidst the cloud-land grey
Comes up a mighty mountain, and it is as though there burns
A torch amidst of its cloud-wreath; so thither Sigurd turns,
For he deemed indeed from its topmost to look on the best of the earth;
And Greyfell neigheth beneath him, and his heart is full of mirth.
Date: Fri, 26 May 1995 15:18:00 BST
Reply-To: "OPERA-L: Discussion of opera and related issues"
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From: Jane Ennis
Subject: Wagner's Sources: Brynhild (Cont)
For their longing had met and mingled, and he knew of her heart that she
loved
As she spake unto nothing but him and her lips with the speech-flood moved;
"O what is the thing so mighty that my weary sleep hath torn,
And rent the fallow bondage, and the wan woe over-worn?"
And the heart that the Volsungs have fashioned this deed for thee have
done."
But of old Allfat her took me from the Kings and their wedding-yoke,
And he called me the Victory-Wafter, and I went and came as he would,
And I chose the slain for his war-host, and the days were glorious and
good.
......
So schuetz' auch heut' ihn nicht!
Nimm ihm das Schwert, das du ihm geschenkt!
Das Schwert?
Ja, das Schwert;
das zauberstarkzuckende Schwert,
das du Gott dem Sohne gabst!
(Die Walkuere, Act II)
Hail, sons of the daylight!
Hail to thee, dark night, and thy daughter!
Look with kind eyes adown,
On us sitting here lonely,
And give us the gain that we long for.
and the sweet Asyniur!
Hail to the fair earth fulfilled of plenty!
air words, wise hearts,
(sorry - typo!)
Fair words, wise hearts,
Would we win from you,
And healing hands while life we hold.
(Morris's trans.)
Heil dir, Sonne! Heil dir Licht!
Heil dir, leuchtender Tag!
We ist der Held, der mich erweckt?
....
Heil euch, Goetter!
Heil dir, Welt!
Heil dir, prangende Erde!
Zu End' ist nun mein Schlaf;
erwacht, seh' ich -
Siegfried ist es, der mich erweckt!
Hail, following Night, and thy daughter that leadeth thy wavering wings!
Look down with unangry eyes on us today alive,
And give us the hearts victorious, and the gain for which we strive!
All hail, ye Lords of God-home, and ye Queens of the House of Gold!
HAil, thou dear Earth that bearest, and thou wisdom of field and fold!
Give us, you noble children, the glory of wisdom and speech,
And the hearts and the hands of healing, and the mouths and the hands that
teach.
(QUOTES THE ABOVE LINES)
Date: Sun, 28 May 1995 16:38:00 BST
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From: Jane Ennis
Subject: Wagner's Sources: Brynhild (cont)
weiss ich fuer dich;
doch wissend bin ich nur,
weil ich dich liebe.
Mir schwirren die Sinne;
mein Wissen schweigt;
soll mir die Weisheit schwinden?
Sangst du ir nicht,
dein Wissen sei
das leuchten der Liebe zu mir?
But thy heart to my heart hath been speaking, though my tongue hath ser
set it forth;
For I am she that loveth, and I know what thou wouldst teach
>From the heart of thine unlearned wisdom, and I needs must speak thy
speech.
To the bight of the swirling river, and the house that cherished me!
There dwelleth my earthly sister and the king that she hath wed;
There morn by morn aforetime I woke on the golden bed;
There eve by eve I tarried mid the speech and the lays of kings,
There noon by noon I wandered and picked the blossoming things;
The little land of Lymdale by the swirling river's side,
Where Brynhild once I was called in the days ere my father died.
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 1995 12:17:00 BST
Reply-To: "OPERA-L: Discussion of opera and related issues"
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From: Jane Ennis
Subject: Wagner's Sources: Identification of the Niblungs.
How they deal with the wind and the weather, in the cloudy drift they
dwell...
Now the king of this folk is Giuki, and he sits in the Niblung hall
When the song of men goes roofward and the shields shine out from the wall;
And his queen in the high-seat sitteth, the woman overwise,
Grimhild the kin of the god-folk, the wife of the glittering eyes;
And his sons on each hand are sitting; there is Gunnar the great and fair,
With the lovely face of a king 'twixt the night of his wavy hair;
and there is the ise-heart Hogni; and his lips are close and thin,
and grey and awful his eyen, and a many sights they win;
And there is Gotthorm the youngest, of the fierce and wandering glance,
And the heart that never resteth till the swords in the war-wind dance;
And there is Gudrun his daughter, and light she stands by the board,
And fair are her arms in the hall as the beaker's flood is poured;
She comes, and the earls keep silence; she smiles, and men rejoice;
She speaks, and the harps unsmitten thrill faint to her queenly voice.
Shall be brought to naught O ye oath-breakers!
That gold of the Niblungs, the seed of the gods;
In the weltering water shall that wealth lie a-gleaming,
Ere it shine on the hands of the children of Huns!
"Ensure brain is engaged before putting mouth into gear"
Date: Fri, 23 Jun 1995 18:04:00 BST
Reply-To: "OPERA-L: Discussion of opera and related issues"
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From: Jane Ennis
Subject: Wagner's Sources: identifying the Nibelungs (cont.)
(These extracts are from DIE WIBELUNGEN).
"Ensure brain is engaged before putting mouth into gear"
Date: Mon, 26 Jun 1995 14:44:00 BST
Reply-To: "OPERA-L: Discussion of opera and related issues"
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From: Jane Ennis
Subject: Wagner's sources: identifying the Niblungs (cont).
helfet ihr treu;
traf sie ein Leid,
rasch sein zur Rache!
rasch sein zur Rache!
(sorry = Typo!)
rasch seid zur Rache!
was die Frau euch klagt!
Bruennhild', kuehne Frau!
Kennst du genau den Ring?
Ist er's, den du Gunthern gabst,
so ist er sein,
und Siegfried gewann ihn durch Trug,
den der Treulose buessen sollt'!
weit am Rhien -
Rhein-
nun ficht mit mir,
oder sei mein Freund!
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