The Literature Book

HEROES AND LEGENDS

NIBELUNGENLIED

(c.1200)

The main characters of this work

have become internationally known

through Wagner’s Ring cycle of

operas. The Nibelungenlied, or

“Song of the Nibelungs,” is a richly

imagined anonymous epic poem

in Middle High German. Medieval

German literature had turned

to courtly refinement, but the

Nibelungenlied looked back to

older, more visceral notions of honor

and vengeance. It tells of stolen

treasure (Rhine gold) and magic

powers (including invisibility); of the

dragon-slayer Siegfried

and his wooing of the princess

Kriemhild; and of Kriemhild’s

revenge against the Nibelungen

(Burgundians) after the murder

of Siegfried by one of their most

prominent warriors, the king’s

brother Hagen. Some characters—

including the powerful queen

Brunhild—and some of the narrative

are rooted in Old Norse sagas.

ROMANCE OF THE ROSE

(c.1225–1280), GUILLAUME DE

LORRIS AND JEAN DE MEUN

Frenchman Guillaume de Lorris

(c.1200–c.1240) wrote 4,058 lines of

the Romance of the Rose; Jean de

Meun (c.1240–c.1305) took it to more

than 21,000 lines. Based on Ovid’s

Ars Amatoria (Art of Love), the

poem is one of the most popular

French examples of the late Middle

Ages. It is a dream allegory of the

wooing of a young lady, symbolized

by a rosebud, within courtly society,

represented by the garden. De Meun

gives opinions on topics of the day.

The first 1,705 lines were rendered

into English by Geoffrey Chaucer.

CANTIGAS DE SANTA MARÍA

(1252–1284), ALFONSO X

One of the largest collections of

medieval solo songs, the Cantigas

de Santa María (“Canticles of Holy

Mary”) were written in medieval

Galician-Portuguese, probably

(at least in part) by Alfonso X,

king of Castile, León, and Galicia.

Every song, or canticle, refers to

the Virgin Mary, whose miracles—

including local events prompted by

her intercession—provide narrative

content; every 10th song is a hymn

in her honor. The songs—written

with musical notation—have great

metrical variety, with lines ranging

from two to 24 syllables.

Cid) tells of the exploits of the

real-life Castilian hero El Cid

(1043–99) in the attempt to

recapture Spain from the Moors.

The poem focuses on military

and diplomatic prowess as well

as El Cid’s relationship with King

Alfonso VI, using a realist tone

to describe the hero’s efforts to

regain lost honor. The authorship of

the epic, which may have been

intended for public recital, has

never been established—the only

surviving manuscript is signed

Per Abbas, but the identity of the

writer has never been verified.

THE TALE OF IGOR’S

CAMPAIGN

(LATE 12TH CENTURY)

An anonymous epic poem in the

Old East Slavic language, The Tale

of Igor’s Campaign describes an

unsuccessful raid by a prince of

the “land of the Rus,” named Igor

Svyatoslavich. Igor’s heroic pride

leads him to face overwhelming

odds, and he is taken captive by

his enemies, but escapes. The tale

has elements of both epic and lyric,

with political overtones too. It has

become a Russian national classic.

57

...lives are laid out on the

threshing floor, souls are

winnowed from bodies.

The Tale of Igor’s

Campaign

Alfonso X

Born in 1221 in Burgos, the

capital of Castile (in the north

of modern-day Spain), Alfonso

X was a scholarly and wise

king who encouraged learning

and the arts. His reign began in

1252 following the death of his

father Ferdinand III, who had

greatly expanded Castile and

fought the most successful

campaigns of the Reconquista

against the Moors. Inheriting

a wealthy and stable land,

Alfonso commissioned and

personally oversaw a range of

texts, from law and astronomy

to music and history, ensuring

that Castilian would be the

forerunner of modern Spanish.

He died in Seville in 1284.

Key works

1252–84 Cantigas de

Santa María (see above)

c.1255–65 Siete partidas

1264 Premera crónica general

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