delit1-2, Exercise 1: The Nibelungenlied in two halves

Model answer (check the details):

First half: Siegfried comes to the Burgundian court at Worms and wins Kriemhild, sister of King Gunther. He helps Gunther win the queen Brunhild by trickery. A quarrel between the two queens exposes the deception, and Hagen, Gunther's retainer, murders Siegfried.

Second half: years later Kriemhild marries Etzel (Attila) and invites the Burgundians to his court. Her revenge destroys them, Hagen and finally herself.

Change of tone: the first half is a courtly tale of love, honour and ceremony, though with a dark undercurrent. The second half is a bleak story of vengeance and absolute loyalty in which the courtly world collapses. Many readers see the poem as a courtly retelling of older, harsher legends that shows through in the second half.