The Heroic Armageddon in Poetic Terms

University Distinguished Professor Albrecht Classen will speak on Das Nibelungenlied (ca. 1200), one of the greatest epic literary works in Middle High German. The anonymous poet talks about war and death, betrayal and revenge, hatred and love, with tragedy looming large on the horizon. The stories of Siegfried and Kriemhild, and Brunhild and Gunther, here preserved in a 15th-century manuscript, are embroiled in dynastic struggles, war, and mutual destruction. The themes and legends preserved in the codex continue to contribute to the Germanic arts today and speak to people all over the world and throughout time.