FIRST CHAPTER: THE RISE AND DEATH OF SIEGFRIED Introduction: The Palace of Burgundy and Kriemhild's Dream The epic begins in the magnificent city of Worms on the banks of the Rhine River. Here, King Gunther rules with his brothers Gernot and Giselher and their mother Queen Ute. The greatest jewel of the palace is the legendary beauty of their sister Kriemhild. Right at the beginning of the story, a terrifying dream that Kriemhild has foretells the tragedy to come: A wild falcon she nurtures for love has been torn apart by two eagles. Her mother Ute interprets this dream: The falcon is a noble husband, and if God does not protect him, her daughter will lose him very quickly. To avoid experiencing this pain, Kriemhild swears to stay completely away from love and marriage. However, fate has already set things in motion. Siegfried's Youth and Dragon's Blood In the Lower Rhine region, in the city of Xanten in the Netherlands, Siegfried, the son of King Siegmund and Queen Sieglind, is growing up. He is famous not only for his physical strength but also for his courage and nobility. While still a young man, he leaves his father's palace and sets out to explore the world. During these travels, according to the epic, he kills a fearsome dragon and bathes in its blood. This blood makes his body as hard as a horn and impervious to weapons. However, while bathing, a linden leaf falls on his back, and that area does not come into contact with the dragon's blood; that spot remains his only mortal weakness. In addition to this physical invincibility, after resolving the inheritance dispute between two dwarf kings (Nibelung and Schilbung), he also acquires their legendary treasure and a magical sword named Balmung. He fights against the dwarves pursuing the treasure and a giant, defeats them, and receives a magical cloak ( Tarnkappe ) from the dwarf Alberich that makes him invisible. Siegfried is now an invincible warrior, the owner of immeasurable wealth, and a hero with almost supernatural powers. Siegfried's Arrival in Worms and Hagen's First Description Hearing of Kriemhild's beauty, Siegfried decides to marry her. He arrives in Worms with twelve brave friends. As he enters the palace, King Gunther's most trusted man, Hagen of Tronje, sees him and immediately recognizes him. Hagen recounts Siegfried's past heroics one by one: how he killed the dragon, how he seized the Nibelungen treasure. Hagen's narration shows not only his respect for Siegfried but also that he is aware of him being a potential threat. Siegfried has come to the palace specifically to ask for Kriemhild's hand. Gunther and his brothers greet him with respect, but despite staying in the palace for a full year, Siegfried does not get to see Kriemhild's face even once. Kriemhild secretly watches him from her window, and a love begins to blossom between them from afar. During this time, Siegfried leads the army in an attack on Burgundy (against the Saxons and Danes) and achieves a great victory. This victory solidifies his position in the palace, and he is finally introduced to Kriemhild. They fall in love at first sight. The Iceland Expedition: Brunhild's Game At this moment, King Gunther decides to seek the hand of the Queen of Iceland, Brunhild, who is famous for her extraordinary strength and beauty. However, Brunhild will only accept a suitor if he can defeat her in three athletic contests; the losing suitor will lose his life. Gunther asks Siegfried for help with this impossible task. Siegfried's condition is clear: if Gunther wins Brunhild, he will give him Kriemhild upon his return. An agreement is made. A small group consisting of Siegfried, Gunther, Hagen, and Dancwart sets sail for Iceland. When they arrive at Brunhild's castle, Siegfried's behavior as a vassal (servant) of Gunther rather than a king is the first step of a deception. The day of the competition arrives. Brunhild appears with a gigantic spear, a shield, and a huge stone. Gunther's strength will never be enough. Here, Siegfried stands beside Gunther wearing the invisibility cloak. Gunther makes the moves, but the real strength comes from Siegfried. They throw the spear, lift and throw the giant rock, and finally, during the leap, Siegfried jumps alongside Gunther. Brunhild is defeated and is forced to accept marrying Gunther. Double Wedding and Forced Consummation Upon returning to Worms, the promised double wedding takes place: Gunther marries Brunhild and Siegfried marries Kriemhild. However, on the wedding night, Brunhild's suspicions are rekindled. Believing that she is marrying the sister of a vassal, she refuses to submit to Gunther and hangs him from the ceiling with her own belt. The next night, a desperate Gunther tells Siegfried about the situation. Siegfried enters Gunther's room again with the invisibility cloak, struggles with Brunhild in the dark, and forces her to submit. During this struggle, he takes the ring from Brunhild's finger and the belt from her waist. From that moment on, Brunhild's extraordinary strength disappears, and she turns into an ordinary woman. Siegfried thoughtlessly gives these items to his wife Kriemhild, which becomes the greatest seed of future disaster. The Queens' Fight Ending in Disaster (The Turning Point of the Epic) Years pass. Siegfried and Kriemhild live a happy life in the land of the Nibelungen and have a son. Meanwhile, within Brunhild, a worm gnaws at her about why Siegfried has not visited them for years and why he has not served as a vassal. She convinces Gunther to invite them to Worms. During the festivities, while two queens watch their knights in the tournament, a competition of pride begins between them. Kriemhild claims that her husband is the greatest hero in the world; Brunhild, on the other hand, insists that Siegfried is merely a vassal. The argument escalates, and Kriemhild tries to step in front of Brunhild at the door of Worms Cathedral. Brunhild insults her, saying, "The wife of a vassal cannot walk before a queen!" In response, Kriemhild, succumbing to her anger, reveals a terrible secret: "My husband is the man who first lay with you and took your virginity!" and shows Brunhild's belt and ring as proof. Realizing she has been deceived and that her honor has been trampled twice, Brunhild collapses. Crying in front of everyone, she goes to Gunther. Hagen sees Brunhild's tears and vows to take revenge for his master's wife. Hagen's Conspiracy and Siegfried's Death Hagen immediately takes action to eliminate Siegfried. He convinces King Gunther that Siegfried's death will increase Burgundy's power. As an official reason, they fabricate a new threat of war. Upon hearing this false news, Kriemhild, with her trust in Hagen, reveals to him her husband's only weak point. In fact, under the pretense of protecting him, she sews a small white cross on the back of Siegfried's hunting outfit to mark that sensitive spot. With the triumph of learning this secret, Hagen sets his plan into motion. The next day, a great hunting party is organized in the Odenwald Forest. Siegfried, as always, is cheerful and flamboyant; he catches a lion, a wild boar, and even a bison with his bare hands. During a break, Hagen organizes a race to quench everyone's thirst, claiming that their wine has been poisoned: whoever reaches a spring first will drink from it. Despite carrying all his weapons and hunting gear, Siegfried wins the race. However, due to chivalry, King Gunther does not bend down to drink from the water without first drinking. Just as he leans down to drink from the spring, Hagen pushes Siegfried's spear and shield aside. He thrusts his own spear, marked by Kriemhild herself, with all his might into Siegfried's back. The spear pierces Siegfried's body. The mortally wounded hero rises to his feet with one last effort and searches for a weapon to attack Hagen, but finds nothing. Hagen flees into the forest. Siegfried collapses to the ground in a pool of blood and, in his last breath, tells Gunther that he entrusts his wife Kriemhild to him. Without showing any signs of remorse, Hagen has Siegfried's body left in front of Kriemhild's door at midnight. Kriemhild encounters her husband's lifeless body on her way to the morning service, and her world collapses. During the funeral, Hagen's approach to Siegfried's wound causes it to bleed again (according to the beliefs of that time, the display of the murderer), revealing to everyone that he is the killer. SECOND PART: KRIEMHILD'S REVENGE Treasures and Years of Mourning Kriemhild cannot bear the pain of continuing to live in the same palace as her husband's killers. Siegfried's father Siegmund wants to take her in, but she stays in Worms at the insistence of her brother Giselher. Hagen thinks that if Kriemhild gets her hands on Siegfried's Nibelungen treasure, she could raise an army with this wealth and take revenge. Therefore, he forcibly takes the treasure from Kriemhild and sinks it into the depths of the Rhine River, hiding it forever. This greatly increases Kriemhild's pain and hatred. She mourns for thirteen years. Power Through Marriage: Etzel's Proposal Meanwhile, the wife of the Hun Emperor Etzel (Attila), Helche, has died, and his advisors suggest Kriemhild as a new wife. The master bard and also Etzel's vassal, Rüdiger von Bechlarn, comes to Worms to convey this marriage proposal. Kriemhild initially rejects the idea of marrying a pagan king. However, Rüdiger swears loyalty to her and promises to fulfill all her wishes. Kriemhild realizes that this marriage will give her the power she needs to take revenge for Siegfried and says, "I accept to be Etzel's wife." When Hagen hears this decision, he immediately senses that Kriemhild will bring great disaster upon them with the power of the Huns. Kriemhild arrives in the land of the Huns with a magnificent ceremony and marries Etzel. For seven years, she is a respected queen in Etzel's court and gives him a son (Ortlieb). However, the fire of revenge in her heart never extinguishes. Years later, she decides that the time has come. Invitation to Death and Dark Journey Kriemhild convinces her husband Etzel, her brothers, and especially Hagen to invite them to the land of the Huns for a midsummer feast. The messengers sent reach Worms. King Gunther is inclined to accept the invitation, but Hagen strongly opposes it. "Kriemhild's heart has never forgiven," he says, claiming it is a death trap. However, Gunther and his brothers accept the invitation to avoid being accused of cowardice. When Hagen realizes they will go, he requests a large army to be gathered for the journey. They set out as a huge army with one thousand sixty knights and nine thousand servants. This journey is filled with a series of prophecies and warnings: While crossing the Danube River, water nymphs tell Hagen that only the priest will return safely from this journey. To test the prophecy, Hagen throws the priest into the river, but when the priest swims back to safety, Hagen believes the prophecy to be true and kills all the boatmen, destroying the return route. On the last night, at the castle where they stay on the Bavarian border, Rüdiger's wife Gotelind and daughter Dietlind host them. Hagen is very fond of Rüdiger's young son and asks Gotelind for a gift of a shield; she gives him the shield she had made for her son, which her deceased son could not use. Bloody Finale at the Hun Court When the Nibelungen army arrives at Etzel's capital Gran, Dietrich von Bern (Great Theoderic) warns them that Kriemhild cries for Siegfried every day. When Kriemhild greets them, she only kisses her brother Giselher; she behaves coldly towards Gunther and Hagen. Hagen defiantly sits before Kriemhild, carrying Siegfried's sword Balmung on his knees. Kriemhild signals the Hun warriors, but no one dares to make the first attack in the face of Hagen's and the Burgundians' intimidating stance. The tension rises on the feast night. Kriemhild incite