The Nibelungenlied Translated into Rhymed English Verse in the Metre of the Original — Context and Discussion

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Authors: Needler, G. H. (George Henry), 1866-1962 [Translator] Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2005 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Epic poetry, German -- Translations into English Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 112,239

Reading time 488 min

Text sections 15

This digital edition of The Nibelungenlied Translated into Rhymed English Verse in the Metre of the Original — Context and Discussion is described by source-level measurements including 112,239 words, 8 hr 8 min estimated reading time, and 15 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 19.2 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Epic poetry, German -- Translations into English,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #7321

Needler's 1904 translation preserves the original Middle High German meter, offering a rhymed English version that foregrounds the poem's formal structure. The excerpts reveal a pattern of ritualized grief, contested loyalties, and the tension between kinship bonds and vengeance, especially in Kriemhild's refusal to return with Siegmund.

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Undaunted was the valor / of all the chosen three. It was the land of Burgundy / o'er which they did command, And mighty deeds of wonder / they wrought anon in Etzel's land.

At Worms amid their warriors / they dwelt, the Rhine beside, And in their lands did serve them / knights of mickle pride, Who till their days were ended / maintained them high in state. They later sadly perished / beneath two noble women's hate.

A high and royal lady, / Ute their mother hight, Their father's name was Dankrat, / a man of mickle might. To them his wealth bequeathed he / when that his life was done, For while he yet was youthful / had he in sooth great honor won.

In truth were these three rulers, / as I before did say, Great and high in power, / and homage true had they Eke of knights the boldest / and best that e'er were known, Keen men all and valiant, / as they in battle oft had shown.

There was of Tronje Hagen, / and of that princely line His brother valiant Dankwart; / and eke of Metz Ortwein; Then further the two margraves, / Gere and Eckewart; Of Alzei was Volker, / a doughty man of dauntless heart.

Rumold the High Steward, / a chosen man was he, Sindold and Hunold / they tended carefully Each his lofty office / in their three masters' state, And many a knight beside them / that I the tale may ne'er relate.

Dankwart he was Marshal; / his nephew, then, Ortwein Upon the monarch waited / when that he did dine; Sindold was Cup-bearer, / a stately thane was he, And Chamberlain was Hunold, / masters all in courtesy.

Of the kings' high honor / and their far-reaching might, Of their full lofty majesty / and how each gallant knight Found his chiefest pleasure / in the life of chivalry, In sooth by mortal never / might it full related be.

Amid this life so noble / did dream the fair Kriemhild How that she reared a falcon, / in beauty strong and wild, That by two eagles perished; / the cruel sight to see Did fill her heart with sorrow / as great as in this world might be.

The dream then to her mother / Queen Ute she told, But she could not the vision / than thus more clear unfold: "The falcon that thou rearedst, / doth mean a noble spouse: God guard him well from evil / or thou thy hero soon must lose."

"Of spouse, O darling mother, / what dost thou tell to me? Without a knight to woo me, / so will I ever be, Unto my latest hour / I'll live a simple maid, That I through lover's wooing / ne'er be brought to direst need."

"Forswear it not so rashly," / her mother then replied. "On earth if thou wilt ever / cast all care aside, 'Tis love alone will do it; / thou shalt be man's delight, If God but kindly grant thee / to wed a right good valiant knight."

"Now urge the case, dear mother," / quoth she, "not further here. Fate of many another / dame hath shown full clear How joy at last doth sorrow / lead oft-times in its train. That I no ruth may borrow, / from both alike I'll far remain."

Long time, too, did Kriemhild / her heart from love hold free, And many a day the maiden / lived right happily, Ere good knight saw she any / whom she would wish to woo. In honor yet she wedded / anon a worthy knight and true.

He was that same falcon / she saw the dream within Unfolded by her mother. / Upon her nearest kin, That they did slay him later, / how wreaked she vengeance wild! Through death of this one hero / died many another mother's child.

There grew likewise in Netherland / a prince of noble kind, Siegmund hight his father, / his mother Siegelind-- Within a lordly castle / well known the country o'er, By the Rhine far downward: / Xanten was the name it bore.

Siegfried they did call him, / this bold knight and good; Many a realm he tested, / for brave was he of mood. He rode to prove his prowess / in many a land around: Heigh-ho! what thanes of mettle / anon in Burgundy he found!

In the springtime of his vigor, / when he was young and bold, Could tales of mickle wonder / of Siegfried be told, How he grew up in honor, / and how fair he was to see: Anon he won the favor / of many a debonair lady.

As for a prince was fitting, / they fostered him with care: Yet how the knightly virtues / to him native were! 'Twas soon the chiefest glory / of his father's land, That he in fullest measure / endowed with princely worth did stand.

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George Henry Needler's 1904 translation of the Nibelungenlied is distinguished by its attempt to reproduce the metrical form of the Middle High German original—a feature he notes in his preface as lacking in prior English versions. The excerpts from the latter part of the poem show a world where formalized mourning and political calculation intertwine. When Siegmund urges Kriemhild to return with him to the Nibelungen land, offering her power and service, she refuses, stating she cannot bear to see Hagen. Her brother Giselher then promises to shield her from that sight, and she agrees to stay. This moment crystallizes a central tension: the pull of her husband's kin versus the safety offered by her own blood, a choice freighted with consequences for the vengeance to come.

Ritualized Grief and the Body

The excerpts dwell on the physical aftermath of Siegfried's death. Kriemhild's mourning is described in stark bodily terms: she kisses the lifeless knight, and weeps so that “ran blood from out her eyes so bright.” The warriors who accompanied Siegmund are said to be “beyond all measure sad,” and for three days many “did nor drink nor eat.” The poem lingers on the opening of the casket and the act of bearing the body to the grave. These details are not merely decorative; they establish grief as a public, ritualized performance that binds the community. Yet the narrator also notes that “for food they turned from mourning / as people still are wont to do,” a pragmatic observation that undercuts the ideal of perpetual sorrow.

Contested Loyalties and the Language of Kinship

Kriemhild's decision to stay with her brothers rather than return with Siegmund is negotiated through a series of appeals that reveal the competing claims of kinship. Siegmund offers her “all the power to hold” and the service of Siegfried's warriors, invoking her status as his son's widow. Her mother Ute and brothers Gernot and Giselher urge her to remain, with Gernot reminding her that “to thee they all are strangers” in Siegfried's country. Giselher's promise to “help to still thy sorrow” and to keep her from seeing Hagen tips the balance. The language of these exchanges is formal and repetitive, each speaker reiterating their offer or plea. This verbal patterning mirrors the structural repetition of the poem's adventures, where characters often restate positions before action unfolds.

The Weight of the Past: Allusions and Foreknowledge

Even in these excerpts, the poem's narrative voice carries a sense of impending doom. When Siegmund speaks of Siegfried's death as the work of a “foul traitor's hand,” the reader knows that Hagen is that traitor, and that Kriemhild's refusal to return will set the stage for further bloodshed. The mention of the Nibelungen hoard, which appears in the adventure titles (Adventure XIX: “How the Nibelungen Hoard was Brought to Worms”), hints at the treasure that will become a tool of vengeance. The poem's structure—its numbered adventures and repeated formulas—creates a rhythm of expectation. The translator's decision to retain the original meter reinforces this sense of a story already known, where the interest lies not in surprise but in the unfolding of fate.

Readers approaching Needler's translation should attend to the interplay between the poem's formal constraints and its emotional content. The rhymed couplets and consistent meter can feel repetitive, but they also mirror the ritualistic nature of the society depicted. Pay particular attention to how characters use formal speech to mask or advance their intentions, and to the way the narrator's asides—like the comment on eating after mourning—puncture the epic solemnity. The excerpts here are from the second half of the poem; the first half establishes the relationships and grievances that make these scenes resonate.

There’s something in Needler’s old verse that lingers—those measured lines of Kriemhild’s grief, how loyalty and vengeance blur. I found myself thinking of it again while turning through The Years Between — Themes and Context, which carries that same quiet ache of time passing between choices and their consequences. A familiar sadness, really.