On Beowulf and the Nibelungenlied: counselors, queens, and characterization

This article deals with two longstanding interpretive problems in Beowulf criticism. The Beowulf poet’s laconic style, grounded in the assumption of audience familiarity with legendary tradition, has rendered the representation of various characters rather obscure to modern readers. Comparison of Beowulf with the Nibelungenlied , which contains fuller portraits of characters derived from related oral traditions, is undertaken here in order to point toward the archetypes behind some of the poem’s shadier characters. The utility of the Nibelungenlied as a comparandum in Beowulf scholarship is illustrated in two case studies, the first of which focuses on Unferth and Hagen, the second of which focuses on Hildeburh and Kriemhild. In each case, the reticence of Beowulf is complemented by the verbosity of the Nibelungenlied , as evidence from the latter helps to tilt the scales in favor of certain interpretations of the former.