Mt 100.

W25DS9
Richard Wagner's poem the Ring of the Ni

Ps-f 3 1924 021 791 524

CORNELL
UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

MUSIC
 Cornell University
Library

The original of tliis book is in

tine Cornell University Library.

There are no known copyright restrictions in

the United States on the use of the text.

http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924021791524
WOTAN'S FAREWELL TO BRUNHILD.
 RICHARD WAGNER'S
\ \^

POEM
The Ring of the Nibelung

EXPLAINED AND IN PART TRANSLATED

GEORGE THEODORE DIPPOLD, Ph.d.

AUTHOR OF "the GREAT EPICS OF MEDIiEVAL GERMANY,'' ETC.

NEW YORK
HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
1888
 Copyright, 1888, by
Henry Holt & Co.
 PREFACE.

One of the noblest heirlooms derived from Teutonic

antiquity is myth of the Nibelungs, that race of
the
supernatural beings who were supposed to dwell in
Nibelheim, the abode of mist and gloom. The begin-
ning of the myth dates back to the prehistoric era of
—
Teutonic life to the time when Wotan, Thor, Fricka,
and Freyja, together with other gods and goddesses,
were worshipped in the primeval forests of Germany.
The Nibelung myths and sagas have been transmitted
to us in several versions, which differ widely as to the
matter and leading ideas of the story. The primitive
features of the myth were more or less transformed in
the course of time, and certain events of historical
character, entirely foreign to the original traditions,
were gradually introduced.
Out of this great mass of various and often contra-
dictory elements Richard Wagner in a certain sense
created the Nibelung myth anew, endowed it with a
most beautiful and harmonious form, and preserved its
spirit By this work,
true to the earliest traditions.
apart from his other productions, Wagner is entitled to
hold a prominent place among German poets. The
IV PREFACE.

present volume is not written for musicians, and con-

sequently does not contain many references to Wagner's
music* It has been the principal aim of the author to
consider the literary and poetic character of " The Ring
of the Nibelung," and to show that Wagner was a
great poet as well as composer.
Before entering upon the study of Wagner's poem,
necessary to give some attention to those versions
it is

of the Nibelung story which form the source of the

poet's inspiration. In this connection the author is

obliged to refer to one of his former works, entitled

" The Great Epics of Mediaeval Germany, etc.," \ in
which the object was to present an historical and critical
account of those poems, and an essay on Wagner's
drama was then foreign to the purpose. Yet as the
Nibelungen Lied, the greatest of mediaeval German
poems, was one of the important works considered in
that volume, special attention was bestowed on the
elucidation of the whole Nibelung story. From the
nature of the subject, it will be impossible to avoid here
a repetition of a few statements made in the " Great
Epics," particularly as to the early Nibelung traditions,
since they throw light on Wagner's great drama. On
the other hand, some of the ancient sagas which have
no immediate bearing on the Nibelungen Lied, and
were therefore omitted in the " Great Epics," will be
here given because they play a prominent part in
Wagner's treatment of the subject.
* Whenever it has seemed expedient to allude to the music, Francis
Hueffer's words in his worlt on Richard Wagner have been quoted,
f Roberts Brothers, Boston, 1882.
 PREFACE. V

Besides an acquaintance with the important versions

of the Nibelung story, some knowledge of Teutonic
mythology is required to understand and enjoy Wagner's
poem. The purpose has not been to give a scientific
treatise on this ancient religion, but merely to present
such important features of early Teutonic belief as are
indispensable to the understanding of the " Ring of the
Nibelung." Thus the chapters on Teutonic mythology
and on the Nibelung traditions are to be considered
as an introduction to Wagner's drama. The greater
part of the mythological facts are quoted from Jacob
Grimm's " Teutonic Mythology" and R. B. Anderson's
" Norse Mythology."

The introductory chapters are followed by a running

commentary on the four dramas composing the " Ring
of the Nibelung." The most beautiful and important
passages of Wagner's poem have been translated by the
author in the metre of the original. It is hoped that
the present volume, aiming at a correct and thorough
representation of a very interesting subject, will be
found useful by the scholar as well as by the general
public.

Mass. Institute of Technology,

Boston, May i, 1888.
 —

CONTENTS.

PAGE
CHAPTER I.

Teutonic Gods and Goddesses i

CHAPTER II.

Giants; Dwarfs; Water-sprites; Norns; Valkyrs —Val-

HALL Teutonic Cosmogony, 21

CHAPTER III.

Traditions of the Nibelung Myth . 40

CHAPTER IV.

The Rheingold, .... ... . ... 76

CHAPTER V.

The Walkure, . . . . 115

CHAPTER VI.
Siegfried, ... . . ... 147

CHAPTER VII.

The Gotterdammerung, .... . , 190

NOTES, 237
 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

CHAPTER I.

TEUTONIC GODS AND GODDESSES.

"
The gods appearing in the " Ring of the Nibelung
are Wotan, Thor, Fro, and Loki the goddesses are
;

Fricka, Freyja, and Erda. The supreme divinity among

all Teutonic races was Wotan.* To his worshippers he
was the all-pervading creative power, the protector in
war and battle, and the dispenser of victory. To him
belonged the brave warriors who, having fallen on the
battlefield, thence were conducted by his war-maidens,
the Valkyrs, to the famous Valhall, their heavenly
abode. As Jacob Grimm says in his " Teutonic My-
thology," probably it has been the belief of all good
men that after death they would be admitted to a
closer communion with the deity. Dying is therefore,
even according to the Christian view, called going to
God, turning home to God.f As Zeus was imagined
by the Greeks to sit enthroned on Mount Ida,
looking down on the human race, Wotan, accord-
ing to old Norse tradition, surveyed the whole
world from his lofty seat, named Hlidhskialf. The
German sagas contain but few accounts of Wotan's
* See page 237, note i. t See page 237, note 2.
2 RtNG OF THE NIBELUNG.

outward appearance. In the Norse myths he is one-

eyed, this pecuHarity being accounted for in the follow-
ing manner: Wotan once came to Mimir's fountain,
in which the greatest wisdom lay concealed. He was
there compelled to leave one of his eyes in pledge be-
fore he could receive a drink.* According to the
Yngl. Saga, the Aesir, the chief gods, who dwelt in
Asgard, sent Mimir, the wisest of men, to Vanaheim,
the abode of the Vanir, originally a race of divinities
different from the Aesir. The Vanir cut off Mimir's
head and sent it back to the Aesir. Wotan spoke
magic words over it, so that it retained the power of
speech, and whenever Wotan sought advice, he held
conversation with it.

Wotan often wears a broad hat

In the Norse myths
and wide mantle he is armed with a powerful and
;

marvellous spear, Gungnir by name. He over whom

this spear flies in battle is doomed to perish, while the
wielder of it In the Volsunga
obtains the victory.
Saga Sigmund's sword breaks asunder against Wotan's
spear.f As the end of the world approaches, and the
long-foretold Gotterdammerung (the twilight or dark-
ening of time and gods) draws nigh, Wotan appears
clad in the shining coat of mail, with the golden hel-
met on his head, and the spear in his hand, to lead his
warlike host against the powers of evil and destruction.
To Wotan as god of victory belong two ravens % and
two wolves. The ravens are named Hiiginn (thought)
and Muninn (remembrance). They sit on the shoulders
of the god and whisper to him whatever they see
and hear. The wolves were named Gcri and Freki,
*See pages 36, 47 and 50. f See pages 50 and 139. \ See page 178.
 ;

TEUTONIC GODS ANB GODDESSES. 3

and to them Wotan gave whatever food was placed

before him, since he himself needed none. Wotan
rode the eight-footed steed, named Sleipnir, the best
of all horses. Jacob Grimm speaks in this connec-
tion of a curious custom of the people in Lower Sax-
ony at harvest-time. He says: "It is usual to leave
a clump of standing corn in a field to Woden for his
horse. . . . Sleipnis verdhr (food) is a poetic name for
hay. Yngl.Saga, cap. 21. Other sagas speak of a tall
white horse, by which the god of victory might be
recognized in battles. Christianity has not entirely
rooted out the harmless practice for the Norse any
more than for the Saxon peasant. In Schonen and
Blekingen it continued for a long time to be the cus-
tom for reapers to leave on the field a gift for Oden's
horses." Again, referring to the usage in Mecklen-
burg, Grimm says " that at the squire's mansions, when
the rye is all cut, there is Wodelbeer served out to the
mowers ; no one weeds fliax on a Wodenstag lest Wo-
den s horse should trample the seeds. From Christ-
mas to Twelfth-day they will not .spin, nor leave any
flax on the distaff and to the question why, they
;

answer, Wode is galloping across. We are expressly

told this wild hunter, Wode, rides a white horse." A
striking and well-known characteristic of nearly all my-
thologies is found in the belief that the god or gods
descend to the earth to observe the life, deeds, and cus-
toms of mortal men. Wotan often appears as wan-
derer, in the Edda generally together with Loki and
Hoenir. The name of Wotan can still be traced in
our Wednesday Anglo-Saxon Wddenes or Wodnesdaeg
,

in the names of certain mountains which formerly were

4 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

sacred to the god, particularly in and Lower Germany ;

in the designation of some towns and villages. Near "

the holy oak in Hesse, which Boniface brought down,

there stood a Wuodenesberg, still so named in a docu-
ment of 1 1 54. . . . In Oldenburg there is a Wodensholt,
now Godensholt, cited in a land-book of 1428. Ehren-
traut Fries, arch. i. 445." When Christianity came to
be introduced into Germany, the old faith could not
be eradicated at once the former gods and goddesses
;

still lived in the memory of the people, and were gener-

ally transformed into dark and dreadful powers. Thus

Wotan appears riding through the air followed by the
furious host, wiitende heer, named after him. The
Mecklenburg peasant of this day imagines that in
gloomy and tempestuous nights he hears the noise of
!"
Wotan's ride, and exclaims, " de Wode tiit
The god who wields the lightning-flash and hurls the
thunderbolt is The Old Saxon form was
called Thor.
Thunar, the Old High German Donar, the Anglo-Saxon
T/tufior, and the Old Norse Tkdr. Next to Wotan,
Thor was regarded as the most powerful of the gods.
He possessed the marvellous hammer, called Mjolnir,
which was forged by dwarfs. The giants feared the
mighty god when they saw his hammer flying through
the Once Thor's hammer had been stolen by a
air.

giant named Thrym, and buried eight miles under-

ground. The subject of this story forms one of the
most beautiful poems of the Elder Edda. Thrym ex-
claimed, " None shall again obtain the hammer from
me unless he bring to me Freyja as bride." Thor, dis-
guised as Freyja, went to the abode of Thrym, recov-
ered his hammer, and slew the giant and his race.
 :

TEUTONIC GODS AND GODDESSES. $

Thrym, whose name is derived from thruma, thunder,

was originally identical with Thor and was an older god

of nature, who had held possession of the hammer before
the coming of the Aesir, or race of gods to whom Thor
belonged. He assumed the power and position of a
winter giant, and buried Thor's hammer eight miles un-
derground that is, during eight winter months he held
;

his sway until Thor awoke, recovered his hammer, and

by it freed the earth from the power of winter. Thunder
and lightning, storm and rain, were attributed to Thor,
as the god of fertility who cleared up the cloudy atmos-
phere. Thor's power is chiefly beneficent ; in his con-
stant battle with the winter giants, he splits moun-
tains and rocks asunder by the mighty force of the
thunderbolt, and prepares the barren, stony soil for
cultivation.
Theold Scandinavian sagas represent Thor with a
red beard, " of course in allusion to the fiery phenome-
non of lightning when the god is angry, he blows in
:

his red beard,and thunder peals through the clouds. In

the Fornm. sog. 2. 182 and 10. 329 he is a tall, hand-
some, red-bearded youth. We have seen how, after
the overthrow of the Teutonic gods by the introduc-
tion and spread of Christianity, Wotan was changed into
a demon of evil; the like fate befell Thor. The god's
hammer strikes dead, and the curses '
thunder strike
you '
and '
hammer
you mean the same thing.
strike '

So, after the fall of the god Donar, there sprang up in

some parts of Lower Germany, especially, a personifica-
tion of the word Hamar in the sense of Death or Devil
'
dat die de Hamer ! i Hamer ! de Hamer sla !
vor den
'

are phrases still current among the people, in which you

6 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

can exchange Hamer for Duvel, but which, one and all,
can only be traced back to the god that strikes with
the hammer. . Consider also the curses which couple
. .

the two names, donncr and terifel, both of which stood

for the ancient god." According to the Edda, Thor's
thunder-car was drawn by two he-goats, and when he
drove, the earth groaned and the mountains trembled.
Thor either drove in his chariot or walked ; he was not
supposed to have, like Wotan, a horse. As goats were
sacred to Thor, common superstition attributed the
power of having created them to the evil spirit, who in
many ways came to be identified with the ancient thunder-
god. The Swiss shepherds believe in the unholy ori-
gin of the goat, and her feet are particularly suspected,
and not eaten. The name of thegod has been retained
in the appellations of many mountains in Germany,
Scandinavia, and other countries. Well known is the
Donnersberg in the Rhine palatinate. In Westphalia,
not far from Warburg, is the Thuncresbcrg, " first men-
tioned in a document of iioo, Schaten mon. paderb. i,
1649 ; in the Middle Ages it was still the seat of a
great popular assize, originally due, no doubt, to the
sacredness of the spot. ... In the immediate vicin-
ity of this mountain stands the holy oak, just as the
robiir Jovis bei Geismar in Hesse is near a Wuotansbcrg.
To all appearance the two deities could be worshipped
close to one another." In Norwaj' and Sweden man\-
statues and temples were sacred to Thor. Traces of
his name appear in Thorsborg in Gothland, and Thors-
klint in East Gothland. Yet, although in Norway he
was worshipped to such an extent that he might be
called the national god of the Norwegians, no vestige
 TEUTONIC GODS AND GODDESSES. /

of his name seems to have-survived there in the desig-

nations of rocks and mountains.
We have above referred to Thor's hammer as the
crushing thunderbolt. Although the god hurled it at
his foes, it always returned into his hands and was his
constant weapon. According to German traditions,
he threw wedge-shaped stones (Donnerkeile) from the
sky. " In popular belief there darts out of the cloud
together with the flash a black wedge, which buries
itself in the earth as deep as the highest church-tower
is high. But everj' time it thunders again, it begins to
rise nearer to the surface, and after seven years you
may find it above ground. Any house in which it is

preserved is damage by lightning when

proof against ;

a thunderstorm is coming on it begins to sweat."

The name of the god is retained in our Thursday,
Anglo-Saxon Thunresdaeg or Thunoresdaeg, in the
Swedish Thorsdag, the Danish Torsdag, and the Ger-
man Donnerstag. Thor, or Thunar, was one of the
greatest gods of the Teutons in many of his attributes
;

he bears a close resemblance to the Greek Zeus and

the Roman Jupiter, and we might expect him to rank
with them as the chief of the gods. It is possible
that he once held this supreme position before
Wotan came it as the god of the gods.
to assume
It is certainby the Swedes and Norwegians
that
Thor was held in higher esteem than Wotan, while
the latter seems to have been more fervently wor-
shipped by the Gotlanders and Danes, as well as
by the Saxons and other German tribes. In the
Edda we read : " Wrathful with thee is Odin, wrath-
8 KING OF THE XIBELUXG.

ful is Frey accurses thee." The

the chief of the Aesir :

chief of the Aesir is connection, and he is

Thor in this
placed in the middle between the two other gods, as
the mightiest of the three. Yet in spite of these
isolated instances of Thor's position, if we survey the

whole field of Teutonic mythology, as transmitted to

us by tradition, we find that Wotan was the higher,
loftier, and more intellectual divinity, while Thor's
attributes pointed more to the exhibition of rude force
and material strength.
The god Fro is called Frey in Norse mythology.
He did not originally belong to the race of gods called
Aesir, but to the Vanir gods, who, according to the
Elder Edda, were different from the former. The war
between the Aesir and the Vanir was ended by a treaty,
according to which hostages were exchanged Frey ;

and his sister Freyja were given to the Aesir, and

Hoenir, Wotan's brother, to the Vanir. Yet there was
primitively no essential difTerence in the worship of the
Aesir and Vanir, and the latter were received in As-
gard, the home of the Aesir, and joined them in their
battles against the jQtuns, or giants. Fro, or Frey,
was not a warlike god he gave away his horse and
;

sword when love of the beautiful Gerda had taken

possession of his heart. In the Elder Edda he is at
times mentioned next to \Votan and Thor as the third
god. He was chiefly invoked for fertility of the soil
and for peace. We have but little information in re-
gard to the worship of Fro (Frey) in Germany, but this
is no reason for assuming that he was not revered by the

German tribes as much as by the Scandinavians. The

Swedes considered him one of their highest gods, and.
 TEUTONIC GODS AND GODDESSES. 9

according to tradition, his statue at Upsala stood by

tiiose of Wotan and Thor.*
Loge, as Wagner calls him in his " Ring of the Nibe-
lung," is the Norse Loki, the god of fire. It belongs
to the province of mythological science to explain the
difference between this Loki, one of the Aesir gods,
and Logi, the giant. Yet it may be stated here that
the two often very closely resemble each other. Loki's
nature was twofold It appears in his former fellowship
:

with Wotan, and in his good intentions towards all the

gods in Asgard, and in his later malicious exploits, by
which at last the end of the world, the downfall of the
gods, the Gotterdammerung, was accomplished. The
two sides of Loki's character are explained by the be-
neficent and the destructive power of fire, his element.
There are few myths in which the noble part of his na-
ture is perfectly evident in most accounts his advice
;

and deeds, though eagerly sought for by the gods in

their anxiety and misfortune, are at least dubious. It
isproper here to give a short outline of the so-called
Svadilfarimyth, as it contains an incident of great im-
portance in the Nibelung story, and shows at the same
time Loki's duplicity. " When the gods were construct-
ing their dwellings a certain artificer came and offered
to build in the space of three half-years a resi-
dence so well fortified that they should be perfectly
safe from the incursions of the frost giants and the
giants of the mountains, even though they should have
penetrated within Midgard. But he demanded for his
reward the goddess Freyja,f together with the sun
and moon. After long deliberations the gods agreed
* See page 237. See Rheingold, page 87.
f
lO RING OF THE NIB EL UNO.

to his terms, provided he would do the whole work

himself without any assistance, and all within the space
of one winter; but if anything remained unfinished
on the first day of summer, he should forfeit the rec-
ompense agreed on. On being told these terms the
artificer stipulated that he should be allowed the use of
his horse, called Svadilfari (slippery-farer), and this, by
the advice of Loki, was granted him. He accordingly
set to work on the first day of winter, and during the
night let his horse draw stone for the building. The
enormous size of the stones struck the gods with aston-
ishment, and they saw clearly that the horse did one
half more of the toilsome work than his master. Their
bargain, however, had been concluded in the presence
of witnesses and confirmed by solemn oaths. As the
winter drew to a close, the building was far advanced,
and the bulwarks were sufficiently high and massive to
render this residence impregnable. When it lacked
but three days of summer, the only part that remained
to be finished was the gateway. Then the gods in-
quired of one another who among them could have
advised to give Freyjaaway or plunge the heavens in
darkness by permitting the artificer to carry awa\- the
sun and the moon. They all agreed that none but
Loki, the author of so many evil deeds, could have
given such bad counsel. Then they took I.oki and
threatened him with death if he did not contrive to
prevent the artificer from completing his task and ob-
taining the stipulated reward. Loki promised on oath
that, let it cost what it might, he would so manage
matters that the man should lose his recompense.
That very night, when the artificer went with Svadilfari
 : 1

TEUTONIC GODS AND GODDESSES. 1

for building-stone, a mare suddenly ran out of a forest

and began to neigh. The horse broke loose and ran
after the mare in the forest, which obliged the man
also to run after his horse and thus between one and
;

the other the whole night was lost, so that at dawn the
work had not made the usual progress. The man, see-
ing that he had no other means of completing his task,
resumed his own gigantic stature, and the gods now
clearly perceived that it was in reality a mountain
giant who had come amongst them. No longer regard-
ing their oaths, they called in Thor, who immediately
ran to their assistance, and lifting up his mallet Mjolnir
(the crusher), he paid the workman his wages in his
own manner. With the first blow he shattered the
giant's skull and hurled him headlong into Niflheim.
From Loki, in the disguise of the mare, and Svadilfari
came the horse with eight legs, which excelled all other
horses ever possessed by gods or men. It was called
Sleipnir, and became Wotan's battle-horse. The gods,
however, had perjured themselves and in reference to
;

this, the Elder Edda says

" Then went the rulers there.
All gods most holy,
To their seats aloft
And took counsel together;
Who all the winsome air
With guile had blended.
Or to the giants' race
Freyja had given.

" Then Thor, who was there,

Arose in wrathful mood,
For seldom sits he still

When such things he hears.

12 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Annulled were now all oaths,

And words of promise fair,
And faith not long before
In council plighted."

Loki's pernicious influence is seen in the myth of

Balder's death.* Loki was fair in appearance, but sly
and treacherous in disposition.He was the slanderer
of the gods, the spirit of fraud and deceit. Although
himself one of the gods, he was feared and hated by
them he represented the principle of evil in its entic-
;

ing and outwardly beauteous form. Loki is often seen

in the company of the gods, as they needed his skill
and strength, especially when their reign after the loss
of primitive innocence was endangered by the evils
resulting from the curse incurred through the acquisi-
tion of gold, the source of all ill. By his wife Sigyn,
Loki had a son,named Nari or Narvi, and by the
giantess Angrbodha (anguish-boding) three children,
the above-mentioned Fenris-wolf, the Midgard- ser-
pent called Jormungandr, and a daughter Hel. The
gods soon became aware that these monsters were
brought up in Jotunheim (the home of the giants), and
would bring destruction to Wotan and the other divini-
ties. Wotan threw the serpent into the deep ocean by
which the earth is surrounded. But the monster grew to
such an enormous size that, holding his tail in his mouth,
he embraced the whole earth. Wotan cast Hel into
Niflheim, and gave her power over nine worlds, among
which she distributes those who are sent to her, that is,
all who die through sickness or old age. The Fenris-
wolf was brought up among the gods ; butwhen they
* See page 239.
 TEUTONIC GODS AND GODDESSES. 13

saw that every day he increased prodigiously in size, and

that forebodings warned them how he would one day
become fatal to them, they determined to chain him.
After two useless attempts to fetter the wolf in iron
chains, Wotan sent Skirnir, the messenger of Frey, to
the home of the dark elves, to have certain dwarfs make
the magic chain called Gleipner, It was smooth and
soft as silk, and yet very strong. With it the gods
bound the wolf then drawing it through the middle of
;

a large rock which they sunk deep into the earth,

they fastened the end to a massive stone which they
sunk still deeper. The wolf in vain made the most
violent efforts to break loose, and, opening his tre-
mendous jaws, endeavored to bite the gods. They
thrust a sword into his mouth, whereupon he howled
terribly. There the wolf will remain until " Ragnarok,"
or the downfall of the gods.
Loki's wickedness had reached its highest point in
the death of Balder, and the hour for the terrible
punishment of the deceitfulgod approached. Accord-
ing to the Elder Edda, Aeger, the sea-god, gave a ban-
quet, to which the gods were invited. On that occasion
Loki abused all the gods and goddesses in the most
shameful manner, whereupon Thor entered the hall
and threatened Loki with cruel death. Although Loki
had been abusive, he yet spoke the truth, and exposed
the shortcomings of the gods, which preceded their
fall. Peace had fled from them with the death of
Balder, and, conscious of the approaching destruction
of the world, they were dismayed. Loki fled from the
banquet-hall after heaping curses on Aeger, and hid
14 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

himself in the mountains. There he built a

dwelling

with four doors, so that he could see everything that

passed around him. After various stratagems the gods
succeeded in capturing him. They dragged him into
a cavern wherein they had placed three sharp-pointed
rocks, boring a hole through each of them. They bound
him on the points of the rocks, and a serpent was sus-
pended over him in such a manner that the venom
should fall into his face, drop by drop. But Sigyn
stood by him, and received the drops, as they fell, in a
cup, which she emptied as often as it was filled.
While she was emptying the cup some of the poison
reached Loki's face, which made him shriek with
agony, and twist his body about so violently that the
whole earth shook. There Loki had to lie until Rag-
narok.
Foremost among the goddesses was Fricka, in Norse
called Frigg, the wife of Wotan. She knows the fate
of men, presides over marriages,* and her aid is in-
voked by the childless. It is a mother's love or con-
jugal love which is chiefly represented by Fricka, while
F"reyja is the love of the youth or maiden. " The forms
and even the meanings of the two names border closely
on one another. Freyja means the gladsome, gladden-
ing, sweet, gracious goddess ; Frigg, the free, beautiful,
lovable. To the former attaches the general notion
of /rrt« (mistress); to the latter that of yV/ (woman)."
Fricka (Frigg) was one of the Aesir while Freyja, to-
;

gether with her brother Fro (Frey), were descended

from the Vanir. Fricka can be compared to a certain
extent with Here or Juno ; Freyja is in many ways not
* See Hunding in the "Valkyr," page 129.
 TEUTONIC GODS AND GODDESSES. I^

unlike Venus. With were gathered

her, faithful lovers
after death. She was the goddess worshipped
chiefly
after or along with Fricka. At the same time she
was warlike to whatever field of battle she rode, she
;

claimed one half of the slain, the other half belonging to

Wotan. In the Edda she was the owner of a precious
necklace named Brisinga men. When Thor, to re-
cover his hammer from the giants, disguised himself in
Freyja's raiment, he adorned himself with the match-
less treasure. The latter was also known to the author
of the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf, and there is rea-
son to believe that other Teutonic tribes were ac-
quainted with it. " But this legend of the goddess's
necklace gains yet more in importance when we place
it by the side of the Greek myths. Brisinga men is no
other than Aphrodite's oppioi (Hymn to Venus, 88),
and the chain is her girdle, the Kearoi ipid; noiKikoi

which she wears on her bosom, and whose witchery

subdues all gods and mortals. How she looses it from

about her neck {ano crrridea-cpiv) and lends it to Here

to charm Zeus with, is told in a lay that teems with
world-old myths (11. 14, 214-18). As the ifia; is worn
in turn by Here and by Aphrodite, the Norse fable
gives the jewel now to Frigg (Fricka) and now to
Freyja." Freyja married Oder, but he forsook her
in order to travel in distant countries. She sought
him with tears the world over. Her tears were

drops of pure gold, and in Norse poetry gold is called

Freyja's tears. beautiful flowers were named

The most
after and
Freyja's hair, even animate objects were
named from their beauty after this goddess, as for in-

stance the butterfly (Icel. Freyjuhoena— Freyja's hen)-

l6 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.
" In almost all languages the Earth is regarded as

female, and (in contrast to the father Sky encircling her)

as the breeding, teeming, fruit-bearing mother: Gothic
airtha, Old High-German erada, crda, Anglo-Saxon
eordhe,0\d'^ox&QJdrdk. . The Old Norse-Jordh ap-
. .

pears in the flesh, at once wife and daughter of Odhinn,

and mother of Thorr. , Distinct from her was
. .

Rindr, another wife of Odhinn, and mother of Vali,

called Rinda in Saxo, and more coarsely painted ; her
name is the Old High-German rinta, Anglo-Saxon rind
= cortex, hence crusta soli vel terra. . But neither
. .

in Jordh nor in Rindr has the Edda brought out in clear

relief her specially maternal character nowhere is this ;

more purely and simply expressed than in the very old-

est account we possess of the goddess." This is found
in Tacitus (Germ. 40), who ascribes the worship of the
goddess Ncrtlius, whom he calls mother earth, to sev-
eral German tribes. Upon an island in the ocean there
was a sacred grove, in which the car of the goddess
was kept. It was concealed from view by a garment,
and only the priest was allowed to touch it. When he
felt the presence of the goddess in the sanctuarj', he

reverently accompanied her in her journeys throughout

the land the car was drawn by two cows. Then
;

happy days had come, and the people adorned them-

selves in festive attire wherever the goddess went.
War weapons were laid aside, all iron gear was
ceased,
put away peace and rest reigned in the land until the
;

goddess, satiated with the converse of men, returned

to her sanctuary. Then car, garment, and the goddess
herself were bathed in a secret lake, which at once
swallowed the slaves who had assisted at the bathing."
 7

TEUTONIC GODS AND GODDESSES. 1

The island of Nerthus has been supposed to be Riigen,

in the middle of which there is actually a lake, called
the Schwarze See. Legends preserved on the island of
Riigen seem to verify the supposition, yet on the
whole the Danish islands in the Baltic have as good a
claim to the former sanctuary of the goddess. Among
other names of the earth-goddess we may mention here
that of Hlddliyn. In Old Norse hlodh means a hearth.
Thor is called " mogr Hlodhynjar,'' son of the hearth,
or son of the earth. The name of the goddess means here
protectress of the hearth, the fire-place, the foundation
of human dwellings, like the German herd, and corre-
sponds to the mother earth. " In Sweden it was Frey,
son of Njordh, whose curtained car went round the
country in spring, with the people all praying and hold-
ing feasts but Frey is altogether like his father, and he
;

again like his namesake, the goddess Nerthus." It is

natural that the all-nourishing earth, the mother of the
human race, should be also the mother of the gods, in
the belief of the Teutonic world. In all mythologies
heaven is married to earth, as for instance Uranos to
Gala. According to Old Norse traditions, Wotan
(Odin) enters into marriage relations with Jordh, Frigg
(Fricka), and Rind. This is explained by Professor R.
B. Anderson* in the following manner : Jordh (Erda,
earth) is the original, uninhabited earth, or the earth
without reference to man ; Frigg is the inhabited, cul-
tivated earth, the abode of man ; and Rind is the earth
when it has again become unfruitful, when the white
flakes of winter have covered its crust : it is in this lat-
ter condition that she long resists the loving embraces
* Norse Mythology.
 8

1 kmC OF THE NIBE LUNG.

of her husband. These three relations are expressed
still more clearly by their children. With Jordh, Wo-
tan begets Thor with ; Frigg, Balder and with Rind,
;

Vale. Jordh is the Greek Gaia, Frigg is Demeter; but

the fortunate Greeks had no goddess corresponding to
Rind they
: knew not the severe Norse winter.

In the preceding pages the chief characteristics and

attributes of each of the gods and goddesses who take
part in Wagner's ''
Ring of the Nibelung" have been
described as far as necessary for our purpose. In con-
clusion of this subject we may call attention to a few
general facts concerning the condition of the gods, as
imagined by their worshippers. In the background of
Greek mythology is fate, the dim foreboding that the
day will come when Zeus' reign shall end. Yet in
spite of this fact there are but few allusions to the
finaloverthrow of the gods. On the contrary, in the
common belief of the people the gods were supposed to
be immortal and eternal. This idea is very different
from that entertained by the Teutonic race. In the
Edda the death of the gods is often mentioned, and
their final and inevitable downfall is distinctly stated.
Fate was higher than the gods the former reigns eter-
:

nally the gods rule for a limited time, although their

;

term of life far exceeds that of mortal men. The gods

have a means of preserving perpetual freshness and
youth, and of prolonging their li\es by particular kinds
of food and drink. Although it is distinctly- stated
that Wotan needs no food, and onlj- drinks wine, the
goddess Idhunn has certain apples entrusted to her
care, by eating of which the aging gods make them-
 9
:;

TEUTONIC GODS AND GODDESSES. 1

selves young again.* We are here reminded of the

apples of the Hesperides. As to the wine of the gods,
it must have been the nectar of the Greek gods.
like
In spite of the rejuvenating apples, the gods were con-
sidered as influenced by the encroachments of age
there are some young and some old gods. Wotan is
always represented as an old graybeard, Thor as in the
full strength of manhood. Balder as a blooming youth.

In like manner Uranos and Kronos appear old Zeus ;

(like our Thor or Donar) and Poseidon as middle-aged ;

Apollo, Hermes, and Ares as in the bloom of youth.

Growth and age, the increase and decline of power, ex-
clude the notion of a strictly eternal, immutable, immor-
tal being ; and death to gods of such attributes is, how-
ever long delayed, inevitable.
In the Teutonic and the Greek mythology no mon-
strous deformity of many heads, arms, or legs is ascribed
to the gods, except in the case of some Greek giants
called eKaTOYX^iP^'^A and in that of a four-armed Lace-
daemonian Apollo. Yet Wotan is one-eyed, and Hodhr
blind. Hel alone has a dreadful shape, black and white
the rest of the gods and goddesses, not excepting Loki,
are to be imagined as of a beautiful and noble figure.
The form of the gods and goddesses is like the human,
only huger and mightier, and their gait is swifter.
Their riding and driving, whether through the air or in
the water, is so vehement that the din of the elements is
explained by it. The driving of Thor arouses. thunder
in the clouds, and the rage and writhing of gods like
Loki, who were bound, produces earthquakes and other
terrible phenomena.
* See the apples of Freyja in the Rheingold, page 88.

\ See also page 23, line 26,

20 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

We have now drawn nigh the atmosphere which

pervades the mythic Teutonic world. Yet in order
to survey and understand the whole ground of events
in the " Ring of the Nibelung" we must devote

some attention to other mythological facts and per-

sons.
 GIANTS; DWARFS; WATER-SPRITES ; ETC. 21

CHAPTER II.

GIANTS; DWARFS; WATER-SPRITES; NORNS ;

VALKYRS— VALHALL— TEUTONIC

COSMOGONY.
In the statements just given concerning the gods
and goddesses, frequent mention has necessarily been
made of the giants. A brief account of the latter,
and of their relation to the gods, men, and dwarfs,
will be sufficient in this place. At the outset an impor-
tant point may be stated, as it is evident that the idea
of the overthrow of the gods was already suggested by
the Teutonic conception of the creation of the world.
The gods were considered as descended from the giants,
that is, from an evil source and moreover, that which
;

can be born must also die. An elf or dwarf is as much

below the human size as a giant towers above it. Man
rejoices in the happy mean, and is able to conquer the
giants' rude force and outwit the dwarfs' cunning and
slyness. Untamed natural force, which defies gods and
men in its consciousness of power, is the characteristic
of giants. Hence their intractableness and from the ;

latter there is but one easy step to stupidity, by which

they are generally, but not always, distinguished. " Yet
the Norse lays contain one feature favorable to the
giants. They stand as specimens of a fallen or falling
race, which with the strength combines also the inno-
cence and wisdom of the old world an intelligence —
22 RING OF THE NIBE LUNG.

that is objective and imparted at creation rather than

self-acquired. This half-regretful view of giants prevails
particularly in one of the finest poems of the Edda,

the Hymisgvidha. . . . When the verb threya, usually

meaning to wish, is employed as characteristic of giants,
it seems to imply a dreamy brooding, a half-drunken

complacency and immobility. Such a being when at

rest is good-humored, but becomes wild, spiteful, and
violent when provoked. Norse legend names this
rage of giants jotumnddhr which puts itself in de- ,

fiance against dsmodhr, the rage of the gods. When

their wrath is kindled, the giants hurl boulders, rub
stones till they catch fire, and squeeze water out of
rocks. . Their relation to gods and men is by
. .

turns friendly and hostile. Jotunheim (the home of the

giants) lies far from Asaheim (the home of the gods),
yet visits are paid on both sides. It is in this connec-
tion that they sometimes leave on us the impression of
older nature-gods who had to give, way to a younger
and higher race it is only natural, therefore, that in
;

certain giants, like Ecke and Fasolt, we should recog-

nize a precipitate of deity. At other times a rebellious
spirit breaks forth they make war upon the gods like
:

the heaven-scaling Titans, and the gods hurl them down

like devils into hell. Yet there are some gods married
to giantesses. . . . Among the Aesir gods the great
foe of giants is Thor, on them who like Jupiter inflicts
his thunder-wounds; his hammer has crushed many:
were it not for Thor, says a Scandinavian proverb, the
giants would get the upper hand. The kings . . .

Niblung and Schilbung had twelve strong giants for

friends (Nib. Lied), or vassals, as the Norse kings
 ;

GIANTS; DWARFS; WATER-SPRITES; ETC. 23

often had twelve berserks. But like the primal woods

and monstrous beasts of the olden time, the giants get
gradually extirpated off the face of the earth, and with
all heroes giant-fighting alternates with dragon-fight-
ing."
According to tradition, giants dwelt on rocks and
mountains stones and rocks were their weapons they
; ;

had no swords, only stone clubs and shields. In later

legends they are armed with steel bars and iron clubs.
In the Edda wonderful things are related of the giant
Skrymir, in the thumb of whose glove the god Thor
took a night's lodging. Skrymir goes to sleep under an
oak, and snores. When Thor with his hammer strikes
him on the head, he wakes up and asks if a leaf had
fallen on him. The giant lies down under another oak,
and snores so that the forest roars Thor hits him a
;

harder blow than before, and the giant, awaking, cries,

" Did an acorn fall on my face ?" He falls asleep a
third time, and Thor repeats his blow, making a yet
deeper dent but the giant merely strokes his cheek and
;

remarks, " There must be birds roosting in those boughs

I fancied, when I awoke, they dropped something on

my head."
The one eye of the Greek Cyclops is not ascribed to
the Teutonic giants yet like the Cyclops they are at
;

times represented with many hands and heads. The

forging of weapons is attributed to the dwarfs, and in
this respect the giants differ also from the Greek Cy-
clops. It seems from some traditions that giants, like
dwarfs, had reason to dread the daylight, and if sur-
prised by the break of day they were turned into stone.
" Grotesque, humanlike shapes assumed by stalactite,
 :

24 RING OF THE NIBELUN-G.

flint, and flakestone on the small scale, and by basalt

and granite rocks on the great, have largely engendered

and fed these fancies about petrified giants. Just as . . .

the elves found the spread of agriculture and the clear-

ing of their forests an abomination which compelled
them to move out, so the giants regard the wood as
their own property, in which they are by no means dis-
posed to let men do as they please. And no less
. . .

do giants (like dwarfs) hate the ringing of bells, as in

the Swedish tale of the old giant in the mountain (Af-
zelius, 3. 88) therefore they sling rocks at the belfries."
;

The Teutonic giants are not represented as a race of

cannibals, like the Greek and Oriental giants: they con-
form more to human ideas, and their savagery spends
itself chiefly in hurling huge stones, removing moun-

tains, and rearing colossal buildings.

The elves, or dwarfs, were imagined to be small, some
even tiny their height is sometimes distinctly stated
;

now they reach the stature of a four-year-old child,

again they appear so diminutive as to be measured by
a span or the thumb. The light elves are well-shaped
and symmetrical the black, ugly and deformed. The
;

elves, or dwarfs, are ruled by a king or queen. The old

French fable of Huon of Bordeaux mentions King
Oberon, that is, Auberon or Alberon, an alb, or elf.
In " Otnit kunec" (king), Alberich (Elberich) plays
a prominent part in the Nibelungen Lied he is a
;

vassal of the kings Nibelung and Schilbung. Human

heroes after conquering the king of the elves obtain
supreme power over the race of the defeated ruler. In
this sense Siegfried in the Nibelungen Lied, after
subduing Alberich, may be considered the chief of the
 GIANTS; DWARFS; WATER-SPRITES ; ETC. 25

conquered people. As elvish beings, the dwarfs are

naturally the collectors and custodians of subterranean
treasures. They
forge curiously-wrought weapons in
their caves,and by slipping into cracks and crevices of
the hills suddenly vanish from sight. Entrances into
mountains of dwarfs are found as into enchanted re-
gions, by gods, heroes, and men. The elves are often
considered as good-natured beings, kindly disposed
towards men when allowed by them to pursue the
even tenor of their way. Indeed, they are helpful
to mankind in the way of smith-work, weaving, and
baking. In their turn they also need at times the
assistance of men, especially in dividing treasure.
All elves are irresistibly fond of music and dancing.
By night they dance on the moonlit meadows, and at
dawn their tracks are seen in the dew. When their
sweet singing is heard on summer nights from their
hills, one may listen to them, or, as the ballads say,

lay his ear to the elf-hill but no one should be so cruel

;

as by the slightest word to destroy their hopes of salva-

tion, for then the spritely music will be turned into
weeping and lamentation. Being intimately acquainted
with the secret powers of nature, the elves and dwarfs
enjoy remarkable longevity. On the whole, they seem
to avoid the company of men, and give the impression
of an injured and conquered race, on the point
of yielding to new and more powerful invaders. Since
the elf requires at times the aid of man, and knows
that he is intellectually superior to him, there arises the
idea of hostility between the two. Both the black and
the white elves have the power of rendering themselves
invisible, either by a magic hat or cloak, called some-
26 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

times Nebelkappe or Tarnkappe. This is particularly

significant in the Nibelung stories.* From this power
of making themselves and the love of teasing
invisible,
mankind, generally attributed to them, popular belief
soon connected them with all sorts of malicious decep-
tion and trickery, and, especially in later times, retained
only the hateful side of their nature. Like the giants,
all dwarfs and elves were considered thievish, and were

supposed to steal well-shaped children from the cradle

and substitute their own ugly ones, or even themselves.
What is related of the doings of elves and dwarfs in
mountain-caves as to sunken or concealed treasures is
also ascribed to other mythological beings. What the
elves make, possess, or obtain in one case, the water-
sprites get hold of in the other. In the bosom of the
Rhine lie treasure and gold. The Nibelungs' hoard lies
sunk in the Rhine. Wise women, valkyrs, appear on
the waves as swans, and are merged into prophetic mer-
maids.f The water-man is generally pictured as old
and with a long beard he wears a green hat, and
;

when he grins you can see his green teeth. The nixe,
or mermaid, is represented as partially emerging from the
waves, and with the upper half of her body of dazzling
beauty. She sits in the sun and combs her long hair.
The idea of a fish-like tail, as in the case of sirens,
seems not to be truly Teutonic on the contrary, the
;

female water-sprite, nixe, or mermaid, when she appears

on shore, is formed and clad like the daughters of men,
being recognized only by her wet skirt. All water-
sprites, like the elves, delight in song, music, and danc-

* See pages 96, 102, 206 and 219.

f See the beginning of the
" Rheingold," pages 81 and 82.
 GIANTS; DWARFS; WATER- SPRITES ; ETC. 2J

ing. Well known is the common superstition that

they, like the sirens, attract the listeners to themselves
and lure them into the deep. According to early
Norse tradition, drowned men went to the goddess
R4n in later times they were believed to belong to
;

the water-sprites. The latter, however, were not sup-

posed to kill those who went to the bottom, but to
bear them gently to their abode, and harbor their souls.
The damsels of the lake, according to the tradition,
appear at evening among men, take part in the dance,
and visit their lovers. " In Sweden an alluring and en-
chanting strain of music was ascribed to the river-sprites.
It had eleven variations, but men might dance to
only ten of them the eleventh belonged to the spirit
;

of the night. When it was played, tables and benches,

pots and pans, graybeards and grandmothers, the blind
and the lame, even babes in the cradle, began to dance."
In the Swedish superstition, the water-sprite requires
the sacrifice of a black lamb before it will teach any one
to play the harp. "
Although Christianity forbids such
offerings,and pronounces the old water-sprites diabolic
beings, yet the common people retain a certain awe
and reverence, and have not quite given up all faith in
their power and influence accursed beings they are,
:

but they may some day become partakers of salvation.

This is the drift of the touching account of the strom-
karl, or neck (water-sprite), who desires one not only to
him in return for musical instruction, but to
sacrifice to
promise him resurrection and redemption. Two boys
were playing by the river-side the neck sat there touch-
;

ing his harp, and the children cried to him What do

:
'

you sit and play here for, neck ? You know you will
28 RING OF THE NIBELONG.

never be saved.' The neck began to weep bitterly,

threw his harp away, and sank to the bottom. When
the boys got home, they told their father what had
happened. The father, who was a priest, said You :
'

have sinned against the neck go back, comfort him,

;

and tell him he may be saved.' When they returned

to the river, the neck sat on the bank weeping and
wailing. The children said :
'
Do not cry so, poor
neck father says your Redeemer liveth too.'
; Then
the neck joyfully took his harp and played charmingly
till after sunset. I do not know that anywhere in our

legends it is so pointedly expressed how badly the

heathen stand in need of the Christian religion, and
how mildly it ought to meet them."
From time immemorial the Teutonic nations paid
great deference to woman, and the decrees of fate
seemed to be more hallowed when heard from her lips.
Soothsaying and sorcery were particularly a woman's
gift,and amiable or awful half-goddesses mediated be-
tween mankind and the deity. Tacitus bears testi-
mony to the high respect in which women were held
by the Teutonic race. The honor shown to them in
the chivalric period of the middle ages is evident from
the contents of the Minnelieder. The formula durch
aller frouwen ire ("by all women's honor") occurs both
in court-poems and folk-songs. The hero in stress of
battle thought of his love, uttered her name, and there-
by increased his strength. When Drusus with his
Roman legions arrived near the river Elbe, a woman of
gigantic stature met him in the land of the Cherus-
cans, forbade his farther advance, and foretold his early
death.
 GIANTS; DiVASFSj WATER-SPRITES ; ETC. 29

The norns, or goddesses of fate, the weird sisters,

were Urd, Verdande and Skuld, corresponding to our

Past, Present and Future, or what has been, what is,
and what is to be. They ruled the fate of the world,
and allotted to every man his term of life. Urdhar-
brunnr was the name of the fountain at the sacred ash-
tree, named Urd beside it stood the hall of the
after ;

three norns. They were present at the birth of every

child, and pronounced his doom. From the relation of
Helgi's birth in the Edda, we see that the norns entered
the castle at night, spun for the hero the threads of his
fate, and stretched the golden cord in the midst of
heaven the region between the eastern and west-
;

ern ends of the line fell to the hero's lot. kind A

disposition is often ascribed to the first two norns,
an evil one to the third. The latter is at times
called " the youngest ;" therefore they were of different
ages, Urd being the eldest. In the Edda it is distinctly
stated that there are good and bad norns and although
;

only three are named, there must have been more of

them. In the later fairy stories there usually appear
three fays, but sometimes seven and even thirteen are
mentioned. It is a very common characteristic in these
tales that the good luck promised by some norns or
fays is partly or altogether neutralized by an offended
one. An instance of this fact is found in the Norna-
gestsaga. One day the norns came to Nornagest's
father the babe lay in the cradle, and two tapers were
;

burning over him. When the first two norns had

gifted him and assured him of happiness beyond all
others of his race, the third or youngest norn, who in
30 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

the crowd had been pushed off her seat and fallen to
the ground, rose up in anger and cried, " I decree that
the child shall live only till the lighted taper beside
him has burnt out." The eldest norn quickly seized
the taper, put it out, and gave it to the mother with
the warning not to kindle it again till the last day of
her son's life. Well known is the story of the Sleeping
Beauty (Dornrbschen) and the twelve wise women the :

thirteenth had been overlooked, and revenged herself.

There is a great number of fairy tales of the same de-
scription. In the Norse traditions, Urd, the eldest-
norn, seems to be the mightiest ; while in Greek myth-
ology, Atropos, the fate of the future, who cuts the
thread, appears to be the most powerful.
The norns are represented as sitting on chairs or roam-
ing through the country among men, fastening their
threads. The valkyrs ride to war ; the issue of the bat-
tle is decided by them, and they conduct the fallen
heroes to Valhall. The name valkyr means chooser of
theslain. The Old Norse valr, Anglo-Saxon zvael. Old
High German w«/ signifies the slaughter on the battle-
field. KUr denotes choosing : siges kur, choosing of the
victory to own the val, or the slain heroes, to lead them
;

to Wotan's hall, was named kiosan German kiiren, to —

choose. But the valkyrs also take charge of heroes
while alive, and protect them until death they are :

guardian angels and death angels. Wotan is sei-ved in

Valhall by these half-divine maidens, and at his com-
mand they go forth into every battle to choose the
slain. Another name of the valkyrs is, in Old Norse,
valmeyjar, or battle-maids they are also called sl^iald-
;
 1

GIANTS; DWARFS j WATER-SPRITES; ETC. 3

meyjar, or shield-maidens, and hialmmeyjar, or helmet-

maidens, since they ride forth armed, under shield and
helmet. They are also sometimes termed oskmeyjar,
or wish-maidens ; they are in Wotan's service, and Wo-
tan is called Oski {Wunsc, wish), the god of wishing,
the divine wish. In Valhall the valkyrs handed the
drinking-horn to the gods and heroes. They longed
for battle, and not only chose the heroes that were to
be slain, but decided the victory. Nine valkyrs ride out
together; their lances, helmets, and shields glitter.
The steeds shake themselves, whereupon dew drips
from their manes into the valleys. The valkyrs, like
Wotan, are accompanied by eagles and ravens who
alight on the battle-field. Most of the valkyrs were
supposed to be mortal maidens of kingly race, deified
women or descended from the gods. It seems prob-
able that the obligation of virginity was imposed on
the valkyrs, since Wotan decreed that Brunhild, for
disobeying his will, should cease to be a valkyr and should
be given in marriage. Yet some of the valkyrs were
abducted by men will, while others were
against their
the lovers of heroes. There was some affinity between
norns and valkyrs Skuld, the youngest of the norns,
:

was also a valkyr. There is, moreover, a tale of three

valkyrs who sat on the sea-beach spinning costly flax.
Thus valkyrs as well as norns were at times imagined
spinning and weaving. Yet the chief ofifice and dis-
tinctive feature of the valkyrs was the award of vic-
tory, and their greatest pleasure was the excitement of
war and the clash of arms. Wotan and Freyja sum-
moned to their abode all those who fell in battle.
The account of the valkyrs which we have just given
32 HmG OP THE NIBBLVNG.

leads us to a consideration of Valhall, the hall of the

slain heroes, where they abide after death. When the
gods had set in order heaven and earth, they erected
for themselves a dwelling in the centre of the universe.
It was called Asgard, the home of the gods or, more
distinctively, of the Aesir. It contained many man-

sions, but none of them was so famous as Valhall. It

was covered with shields, and had five hundred and

forty doors, each affording passage to eight hundred
heroes at once. Wotan has the beautiful name of
Valfodhr, Valfather; and the heroes admitted to Val-
hall are called einherjar, the only {ein), or great, cham-
pions. In the midst of Valhall stood a mighty tree the
foliage of which was cropped by a she-goat, whose ud-
der yielded a barrelful of —
mead a day enough to nour-
ish all the einherjes. All heroes aspired to admission
to Valhall the cowards and evil-doers were excluded
;

from it. It appears, however, that the virtuous, even

though they had died a natural death, found an abode in
Valhall or in one of the other heavenly mansions. The
idea seemed to prevail that virtue, and not valor alone,
was entitled to recompense in another life, and that
wickedness and vice, although allied with personal
bravery, were to be punished. The reception of de-
parted heroes in Valhall is vividly pictured in sagas.
Valhall may be compared to the Greek Elysium in

the far west, in the happy isles of Okeanos.

As the whole atmosphere surrounding and pervading

Wagner's " Ring of the Nibelung" is entirely mythical,
and as, consequently, acquaintance with an outline of
Teutonic mythology is necessary for the full com-
 GIANTS; D WARPS; WATEH-SPklTES ; ETC. 33

prehension of the great drama, we have referred to the

gods, goddesses, giants, dwarfs, river-maidens, norns,
and valkyrs. The account would be incomplete with-
out some statements concerning the views of the an-
cient Teutonic race on the creation of the world, or
cosmogony. On the other hand, since both in Teuton-
ic mythology and in Wagner's poem such an impor-

tant part is played by the advent of the Gotterddm-

merung, or destruction of the world, it is evident that
first an account of its creation should be given.

In the beginning there was an immense chasm called

ginniinga gap, or chasm of chasms, answering in mean-
ing to the Greek chaos. " There were two extremities
of the chasm, opposed to one another; far to the north
was Niflheim, the nebulous world, and far to the south
Muspelheim, the fire-world. From the latter came light
and warmth, from Niflheim darkness and deadly cold.
In the middle was a fountain out of which flowed
twelve rivers. When they got so far from their source
that the drop of fire contained in them hardened, like
the sparks that fly out of flame, they turned into rigid
ice. Touched by the mild air of the south, the ice be-
gan to thaw and trickle by the power of him who sent
;

the heat, the drops quickened into life, and a man

grew out of them, Ymir (called Orgelmir by the Hrim-
thurses), a giant and evil of nature. Ymir went to sleep
and fell into a sweat then under his left hand grew
;

man and wife, and one of his feet engendered with the
other a six-headed son hence are sprung the families
;

of giants. But the ice dripped on, and a cow arose,

Audhumbla, from whose udder flowed four streams of
milk, conveying nourishment to Ymir. Then the cow
34 RIl^G OF THE NIBELUNG.

and on the evening of the

licked the salty ice-rocks ;

first day a man's hand came forth, on the second the

man's head, and on the third day the whole man

emerged. He was beautiful, large, and strong; his
name was Buri, and his son's name Borr. Borr took to
him Bestla, the giant Bolthorn's daughter, and begat
three sons, Odhinn (Wotan), Vili, and Ve and by;

them was the giant Ymir slain."

When the giant Ymir fell, there flowed so much blood
out of his wounds, that all the race of the frost-giants
was drowned in it, save one, who escaped with his wife.
From them came a new race of frost-giants. The sons
of Borr dragged the dead Ymir's body into the middle of
ginnHnga gap, and created out of his blood the sea and
water, of his flesh the earth, of his bones the mountains,
of his teeth and broken bones the rocks and crags.
Then they took his skull and made of it the sky and ;

the sparks from Muspelheim, that floated about free,

they fixed in the sky so as to give light to all. The
earth was round and encircled by a deep sea, on whose
shore the giants were to dwell but to guard the inland
;

parts of the earth against them, there was built of

Ymir's brows a castle, Midgard. The giant's brain was
thrown into the air and formed the clouds.
When all this was done, the sons of Borr went to
the seashore and found two trees, out of which they
created two human beings the man they called Ask,
;

and the woman Embla. To these Wotan gave soul

and life, Vili wit and feeling, Ve countenance, speech,
hearing and sight. According to another account the
gods were Wotan, Hoenir and Loder. The newly
created pair received from the gods Midgard as their
 GIANTS; DWARFS; WATER-SPRITES; ETC. 35

abode, and from them is descended the whole human

family.
As to the creation of dwarfs, the traditions do not
agree ; according to one account they came forth as
worms in the proto-giant's (Ymir's) flesh, and were then
endowed by the gods with understanding and human
shape ; in earlier myths they were created out of the
flesh and bones of another giant. Both accounts refer
only to the black elves. According to the Edda, in
the order of creation there came, first the giants, next
the gods, and then after an intervening deluge, caused
by the blood flowing from the wounds of Ymir, men
and dwarfs. Only men and dwarfs can therefore be
regarded as being really created the giants and gods
;

came, as it were, spontaneously out of chaos. " In

the dses (Aesir, gods) we see a superior and successful

second product in contrast with the first half-bungled
giant affair. On the giants an undue portion of inert
matter had been expended ; in the dses body and soul
attained a perfect equilibrium, and together with infi-

nite strength and beauty was evolved an informing and

creative mind. To men belongs a less full yet a fair

measure of both qualities while dwarfs, as the end of

;

creation, form the antithesis to giants, since mind in

them outweighs the puny body."
One of the finest conceptions of Norse cosmogony is
Ygdrasil, the world-tree, of all trees the greatest and
holiest. It is an ash-tree, whose branches shoot
through all the world and reach beyond heaven. It
has three mighty roots; one of them extends to the
gods in Asgard, another to the giants, the third stands
over Niflheim. From each root gushes a miraculous
36 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

fountain: from the heaven root Urdharbrunnr ; from

the giants' root Mimisbrunnr ; from the under-world
Hvergeltnir, the roaring caldron. All these foun-
i.e.

tains or well-springs were considered sacred. At the

Urdhar well the gods sat in judgment, and there they
and the norns held their councils. The giants' well was
guarded by Mimir, and in it wisdom was concealed ;

the snake Nidhhoggr lay below Hvergelmir, gnawing

at the root of the tree. The norns every day draw
water from the Urdhar-fount, and with it and the clay
that lies around the fount they sprinkle the ash-tree so
that the boughs may continue green and not wither
away. So holy is this spring that it imparts to every-
thing placed in it the color of the white of an egg.
From the tree there trickles a dew, called hundngsfall,
fall of honey, and it is the food of bees.
In the beginning Allfather (Wotan) appointed rulers,
ind bade them judge with him the destinies of man-
kind. The gods dwelled in Asgard. There were
twelve seats forthem beside the throne which was oc-
cupied by Allfather. The most renowned deities were
Wotan, Thor, Balder, Heimdal, Loki, Frey; Frigg,
Freyja and Erda. Njord with his children Frey and
Freyja originally belonged to the Vanir, or sea-gods,
who were received among the Aesir by virtue of a
treaty.
There was a golden age of the gods, and it lasted
until the arrival of three women from Jotunheim,
three so-called giantesses, who brought misfortune with
them. The three maidens are regarded as being the
daughters of Erda, the earth. Erda at the same time
represents that primeval world of waters from which
 GIANTS; DWARFS; WATER-SPRITES; ETC. 3/

later the earth arose. In this sense the maidens were

divinities of the Vanir race ; again they are identified
with the norns. The norns among the
arrival of the
Aesir gods was supposed to denote the end of the
golden age. Fate and guilt were considered as insepa-
rably connected. The pure gold symbolizes innocence ;
in the beginning the gods (Aesir), as well as the Vanir,
deemed it merely a thing to play with. From the ad-
mission of the Vanir into the company of the Aesir
came the source of all evil. The former brought the
gold with them from its pure abode at the bottom of
the water, and the Aesir desecrated it for selfish pur-
poses through the instrumentality of the dwarfs.
Hence arose the danger to the gods ; the curse rested
on the gold from the time it was taken from its bed in
the innocent deep.
" The unrighteous acquisition of gold, wealth and
power is the cause of guilt and sin, and with its dis-

astrous consequences leads to the destruction of the

world. The German Gotterdammerung and the Norse
Ragnarok have the same meaning ragna from regin,
:

god, and rok, darkness, i.e. twilight, darkening of time

and the gods, and with it final destruction. It was pro-
claimed by prophetesses, and was foreshadowed by the
death of Balder and by other events. The growing de-
pravity and strife in the world announced also its
coming. Then the evil beings, long held in check and
under spell, break loose and war against the gods. The
Fenris-wolf devours the sun, another the moon. The
stars are hurled from the heavens, the earth shakes
so violently that trees are torn up by the roots, the
tottering mountains tumble headlong from their found-
 ;;

38 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

ations. The monstrous world-snake Jormungandhr,

writhing in giant rage, rises out of the waters on to
the land, the sea rushes over the earth, the Fenris-
wolf is set free. On the waters floats the ship Naglfar
(nail-ship), constructed out of dead men's nails. The
Fenris-wolf advances and opens his enormous mouth
the lower jaw reaches to the earth, and the upper one
to heaven. Fire flashes from his eyes and nostrils.
The Midgard serpent Jormungandhr, placing himself
by the side of the Fenris-wolf, vomits forth floods of
poison which fill the air and the waters. Amidst these
devastations the heavens are rent in twain and the ;

sons of Muspel come riding through the opening in

brilliant array. Surt rides first, and behind him fol-
lows a glittering host it is from this flame-world that
;

the gods have most danger to dread. They ride over

Rifrost, the rainbow, in such a strength that they
break it down. Then they direct their course to the
battle-field called Vigrid. Thither repair also the
Fenris-wolf and the Midgard serpent, and Loki with
all the followers of Hel, and Hrym with all the frost-
giants. But the sons of Muspel keep their effulgent
bands apart on the battle-field, which is one hundred
miles on each side."
Meanwhile Heimdal arises, and with all his strength
he blows the Gjallarhorn to arouse the gods, who as-
semble without delay. Wotan then rides to Mimir's
fountain, to consult how he and his warriors are to
enter into action. The ash Ygdrasil begins to quiver
nor is there anything in heaven or on earth that does
not fear and tremble in that hour. The gods and all
the einherjes of Valhall arm themselves with speed ancj
 GIANTS J DWARFS; WATER-SPRITES; ETC. 39

sally forth to the field, led on by Wotan with his

golden helmet, resplendent cuirass, and spear called
Gungner. Wotan pits himself against the Fenris-wolf.
Thor stands by his side, but can render him no assist-

ance, having himself to combat the Midgard serpent.

Frey encounters Surt, and terrible blows are exchanged
ere Frey falls and he owes his defeat to his not hav-
;

ing the trusty sword which he gave to Skirner. Loki

and Heimdal fight and kill each other. The god Tyr
is killed by the hugest of all hounds, Garmr. Thor gains
great renown for killing the Midgard serpent, but at the
same time, retreating nine paces, he falls dead upon the
spot, suffocated with the floods of venom which the dy-
ing serpent vomits forth upon him. The wolf swallows
Wotan ; but at that instant Vidar advances, and setting
his foot upon the monster's lower jaw, he seizes the
other with his hand, and thus tears and rends him till

he dies. At the end Surt flings fire and flame over the
world. Smoke wreathes around the all-nourishing tree
Ygdrasil, the high flames play against the heavens, and
earth, consumed, sinks down beneath the sea. After
the world-conflagration a new and happier earth rises
out of the sea, with gods rejuvenated. The destruc-
tion of the world by water is in all mythologies regard-
ed as past that by fire is looked forward to as future.
;
40 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

CHAPTER III.

THE TRADITIONS OF THE NIBELUNG MYTH.

As has been stated, there exist several versions in
which the Nibelung story has been transmitted to us.
Some of them have been preserved in Iceland, others
in Germany. During the despotic reign of King Har-
old HUrfager (Fair-hair) in Norway, the flower of the
Norwegian race began to emigrate to Iceland. They
took with them the best of the ancient culture of their
home, the spirit of freedom, the love of song and
poetry, and all those characteristics which were com-
mon to the whole Teutonic race. They religiously
preserved the early traditions of their forefathers ; a
task which, however, was much easier for them to ac-
complish than for the kindred nations. In Iceland,
Christianity was introduced at a comparatively late
epoch — at the beginning of the eleventh century. It

was preached by native priests, who did not desire

to eradicate every vestige of the ancient customs;
a
proceeding very different from the manner in which
Christianity was introduced into Germany. Among
the Icelandic poems and sagas the following should be
mentioned here:
(i) The Elder Edda,* or Saemund's Edda. It consists

* The Nibelung traditions given in the following pages are mostly

taken from the two Eddas, and from the " Story of the Volsungs and
Nibelungs," by E. Magnusson and W. Morris.
 TRADITIONS OF THE NIBELUNG MYTH. 4I

of a series of lays more or less independent of each

other. They two
naturally divide themselves into
sections, a —
mythic and an heroic into poems referring
to the ancient gods, and poems treating of the heroes
of antiquity. The old parchment (Codex regius) of
the Elder Edda seems to have been written about the
year 1300, and was sent to Denmark in the middle of
the seventeenth century as a present from the Ice-
landic bishop Brynjolf Sveinsson to King Frederick
the Third. Unfortunately there are several pages want-
ing in this manuscript they contained a very impor-
;

tant part of the life that from

of Siegfried (Sigurd) —
his first meeting with Brunhild to his death and their —
contents can only be inferred from the Volsunga Saga,
to be presently described. When we consider the El-
der Edda in connection with the poetry of Germany, it

appears that the Edda literature in its nature and origin

belongs to the whole Teutonic race. The Edda poetry
has,on the whole, retained in the north a more original
character, while at the same time it has in some in-
stances assumed a specifically Norse garb. The Edda
poems in the form in which they have been handed
down to us belong mostly to the eighth century yet ;

they originated in a prehistoric time, when no difference

had as yet been developed between Scandinavians and
Germans.
(2) The Younger Edda, or Snorre's Edda as it is also
called, because its authorship has been ascribed to
Snorre Sturlason (born 1178, died 1241), is a work com-
posed at different times by different persons. It forms
a collection of narratives in prose, and has been very
appropriately called by Prof. R. B. Anderson* a sort

* The Younger Edda, translated by R. B, Anderson. Chicago, 1879.

42 RING OF THE NIBELONG.
of commentary on the Elder Edda. In its first part it

contains a general synopsis of the ancient faith of the

Norse people in its second the art of poetry is de-
;

scribed.
(3) Among the mytho-heroic sagas the Volsunga
Saga is the most important. It is partly a paraphrase in
prose of the songs of the Elder Edda, and was prob-
ably collected during the twelfth century. The whole "

middle portion of the saga is a transposing of the

poems which relate to the Volsungs, and the open-
ing chapters are also clearly based on very ancient
songs which are now lost, while the last chapters are
unmistakably a later addition to the original cycle of
poems. Viewed as a whole, the transposing is
. . .

faithfully done, and the impression we get from those

parts of which we possess only the prosaic paraphrase
is uniformly the same as that which we get from
those passages of which the original poems are pre-
served. The Volsunga Saga is particularly interest-
. . .

ing from the fact that it illustrates how the original and
ancient nucleus of the saga in the course of time has
received various additions, other traditions having be-
come united with the Volsung legends. remarkable A
example of this is the expansion which the Sigurd
(Siegfried) traditions have received by becoming united
with the traditions relating to the Viking king, Ragnar
Lodbrok, the latter's wife, Aslaug, being represented as
a daughter of Sigurd and Brynhild. This is a striking
illustration of the tendency quite common among the
ancients to connect the most prominent families with
kings and heroes of the heroic age."*
* History of the Literature of the Scandinavian North, by F. W.
Horn, translated by R. B. Anderson (Chicago, 1884), page 64.
 ;

TRADITIONS OF THE NIBELUNG MYTH. 43

(4) The Thidrek Saga (of Dietrich von Bern), or Vil-

kina Saga, including the Niflunga Saga, collected to-

wards the middle of the thirteenth century, was com-

posed from the saga-lore of Germany, or was to a great
extent at least, as is repeatedly stated by its author. This
saga bears the impress of later romantic tales in some
of its parts, especially in the account of Siegfried's
birth ; while other portions, based on old Saxon songs
and tales, agree with the Edda and Volsunga Saga
others again are derived from later German lays, and
agree in many points with the Nibelungen Lied, par-
ticularly with its second part.

(5) The Nornagestsaga of the fourteenth century is

based on the songs of the Elder Edda, and is a curious
blending of history and myth. Nornagest * lived three
hundred years, and related as an eye-witness Sigurd's
(Siegfried's) deeds and death, and other incidents of the
Nibelung story, to King Olaf Trygvason. He was
then baptized, lighted the taper at the king's com-
mand, and died.
In addition to the Icelandic poems and sagas, the old
Danish folk-lore (from the fourteenth century to the
sixteenth) may also be mentioned. It contains songs
belonging to the Nibelung subject, either based on the
ancient northern traditions, or related to the second
part of the Nibelungen Lied. In the lonely isles of
Faroe the old saga has so deeply penetrated the heart
of the people that the songs of Brunhild resound there
even at the present day.
Among the Nibelung traditions of Germany the
Nibelungen Lied takes the foremost rank. It is the
* See page 29.
44 l^I^G OF THE NlBELVNG.

greatest poem of mediaeval Germany. Composed

during the end of the twelfth century, it is imbued
with the spirit of feudalism and Christianity. The idea
of the original lays of the Nibelungs appears partly,
but not altogether, clouded yet despite this fact, the
;

poem is of such beauty and grandeur that its place

among the greatest epics of the world is undisputed.
As we shall see Wagner took the
hereafter, Richard
fundamental composition of his
facts for the literary
" Ring of the Nibelung" mostly from the earlier tradi-

tions, and consequently consulted chiefly the poems

and sagas of the Nibelungs as transmitted to us by the
Scandinavian north. Thus the Nibelungen Lied was
not a direct source of his work. Besides, the " Ring
of the Nibelung" ends with the death of Siegfried and
Brunhild, while in the Nibelungen Lied Brunhild sur-
vives Siegfried, sinks after his death into insignificance,
and Kriemhild (the northern Gudrun) plays the most
prominent part in the epic, especialljy in its second half,
which might be called Kriemhild's Revenge. In the
sketch of the Nibelung story to be given farther
on we shall, therefore, have little occasion to refer to
the Nibelungen Lied the reader who desires fuller in-
;

formation concerning that marvellous poem may con-

sult Auber charming prose version, or the
Forestier's
author's " Great Epics of Mediaeval Germany."
The Lay of Siegfried the Horny-skinned {Das Lied
vom Hiirnen Seyfried) belongs, from its versification,
to the thirteenth century, and, from its language, to
the fifteenth. This work, preserved only in printed
editions of the sixteenth century, is an agglomeration
of several ancient songs which originally had no rela-
 TRADITIONS OP THE mBELVNG MYTH. 4S

tion to each other, and consequently it contains some

contradictions ; still it shows even in its present shape

many traces of great antiquity.

The works named above are the most important ones
in which the Nibelung myths and sagas have been
handed down to us. In the following pages, as far as
possible only such facts and events will be sketched as
form the basis of Wagner's " Ring of the Nibelung."
The great poet and composer at times arranged the
material of his sources without any great modification
of their contents, while now and then they underwent
a more striking transformation at his hands. Yet even
in the latter case the principal ideas and facts of the
myth remained the type, or model, of his creation. As
has been said before, the spirit of the myth has been
wonderfully grasped by the master, and the idea of
its unity brought out in a harmonious form. This
fact must be borne in mind so much the more, as
there is not a single tradition extant in which the
original Nibelung story has been preserved complete
and It is only by comparing the
in its entire purity.
several versions with each other, and submitting each
and all of them to a critical examination, that the
primitive character of the myth can be fully detected.
Among the heroes who had been selected by Wotan
to strengthen the power of the gods, to enter Valhall,
and as einherjes* to take part with him in the last
combat, none were more renowned than those of the
race of the Volsungs. According to the Volsunga
Saga, Sigi was the son of Wotan. On account of a
murder which he had committed he fled, or, in the
* See page 32.
46 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

words of the saga, he was considered " a wolf in holy

—
places" that is, he was banished.
Thus at the very beginning of the history of this race
a deed is recorded which throws a gloomy shadow on
the son of Wotan. " Sigi, by the aid of Wotan, con-

quered the land of the Huns, that is, of the giants.

Sigi's son was Rerir, a mighty warrior who obtained
the land and kingdom of his father. The son of Rerir
was Valse * he married the daughter of a giant. They
;

had ten sons and one daughter and their eldest son ;

was hight Sigmund, and their daughter Signy,f and

these two were twins, and in all wise the foremost and
fairest of the children of King Valse even as has been ;

long told from ancient days, and in tales of long

ago, with the greatest fame of all men, how that the
Volsungs have been great men, and high-minded, and
far above the most of men both in cunning and in
prowess. So says the story that King Valse let build
a noble hall in such a wise that a big oak-tree stood
therein, and that the limbs of the tree blossomed fair

out over the roof of the hall, while below stood the
trunk within it.

" Soon there appeared a suitor for Signy, and, although

the maiden had little love for him, she was betrothed
to King Siggeir at her father's command. As the
men sat by the fires in the evening of the wedding-da}',
a certain man came into the hall, unknown of aspect to
* In the Volsunga Saga he is called Volsung. This is an error. His
proper name is Valse, and that of his son is Valsing (Volsung). In the
Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf the names Valse and Valsing (17S7 and
1747) are correctly applied. It is evident that the name Volsung cannot

refer to the son of Rerir, but only to the son of Valse.

\ Sieglinde in Wagner,
 :

TRADITIONS OF THE NIBELUNG MYTH. 47

all men he wore

; a spotted cloak, and he had a sword
in his hand as he went up to the tree, and a slouched
hat upon his head huge he was he seemed old and
; ;

one-eyed. He drew his sword and smote it into the

tree-trunk, so that it sank in up to the hilt ;and all
held back from greeting the man. Then he said
'
Whosoever draweth this sword from this trunk shall
have the same as a gift from me, and shall find it
in good sooth that never bare he better sword in hand
than is this.' The old man went from the hall, and
none knew who he was, or whither he went. All the
noblest men tried to pull the sword out of the tree, but
none of them could do it. At last there came Sig-
mund, the son of Valse he seized the sword by its
;

hilt, and drew it from the tree-trunk, even as if it lay

loose before him."

In vain Siggeir offered for the weapon thrice its
weight of gold Sigmund kept what the god had be-
;

stowed on him. Siggeir, wrathful at the refusal, left

the country with his sorrowing wife, after bidding Valse,
his sonsand followers, come and see him in his king-
dom three months had passed.
after There with
treacherous intent Siggeir fell on them Valse and all
;

his men were slain his sons were captured and most
;

cruelly killed, save Sigmund, who by Signy's help

escaped. Then Sigmund dwelt in the woods like a
wolf among the wolves, while King Siggeir deemed that
all the Volsungs were dead. Signy, fearing that the
race of the Volsungs might become extinct, changed
semblance with a witch-wife, went to Sigmund, and
abode with him three nights. Their son, a true Vol-
sung, was called Sinfjotli. Sigmund brought him up in
48 Itmc OF THE NiBELUNG.

fierce hardihood, so that he might be inured to fatigue,

and brave enough to revenge the death of Valse.
Father and son roamed through the woods in the guise
of wolves, and accomplished many valiant deeds. At
last, at Signy's behest, they avenged the death of her

father and brothers on King Siggeir by setting fire to

the royal hall. They promised great honors to Signy,
but she answered to Sigmund " I went into the woods
:

to thee in a witch-wife's shape, and Sinfjotli is the son

of thee and me both and therefore has he this great
;

hardihood and fierceness, because he is the son both of

Valse's son and Valse's daughter. For naught else
have I so wrought that King Siggeir might get his bane
at last ;and merrily now will I die with the king,
though I was naught merry to wed him." Thereupon
she kissed Sigmund and Sinfjotli, went back into the
fire, and died with the king and all his men.

Sigmund returned to his father's land, took charge

of his hereditary realm, and became a king, mighty
and far-famed. He married Borghild, and had a son
by her named Helgi, who afterwards achieved great
renown among the heroes of his time. The two
songs of Helgi in the Edda are among the
Elder
noblest contributions ever made to the literature of
ancient Scandinavia. In this place we can only briefly
refer to Helgi. He slew Hunding in battle, and was
thence called Hundingsbani, the slayer of Hunding.
Hunding had been in deadly feud with Sigmund, and
probably taken possession of Valse's kingdom after
Siggeir's death. The valkyr Sigrun protected in battle
Helgi, the son of Sigmund, against her father's wish.
She loved and married Helgi, but hated the man whom
her father had sought to force on her as her husband.
 THADITIONS OP THE mSELuNG MYTH. 49

Sinfjotli died of poison given to him by his step-

mother Borghild, whom Sigmund therefore drove
away Helgi fell in strife with Sigrun's brother. Helgi
;

and Sinfjotli, though both great heroic figures, must

quit the scene to make way for the grandest of the Vol-
sungs, Siegfried (the northern Sigurd). After the close
of the second lay of Helgi Hundingsbani in the Elder
Edda we read " But a Httle while lived Sigrun, be-
:

cause of her sorrow and trouble. Bui: in old time folk

trowed that men should be born again, though their
troth be now deemed but an old wife's doting. And
so, as folk say, Helgi and Sigrun were born again, and
at that time was he called Helgi, the Scathe of Had-
ding, and she Kara, the daughter of Halfdan, and she
was a valkyr, even as is said in the lay of Kara."
According to mythical ideas and interpretations the
heroes and heroines were often represented as " born
again." With somewhat changed names and slightly
different characteristics and attributes they were
thought to be the same. Signy, Borghild (the warrior-
maid of the funeral-pyre), Hjordis (the sword-maiden),
the third wife of Sigmund and mother of Sigurd (Sieg-
fried), were all valkyrs and only variations of the same
type, just as Sinfjotli and Helgi were "born again" in
Sigurd.
Lyngi, a son of Hunding, had wooed Hjordis ; but
she preferred Sigmund, who, although well advanced
in years, was the more famous hero. The Handings
made war on Sigmund and his men. The battle was
fierce and fell and though Sigmund was old, yet he
;

fought most sturdily, and was ever foremost among his

men. Many an arrow and spear whizzed through the
50 JilNG OF THE NIBELUNG.

air that day ; and so valiantly did his valkyrs strive for
him, that he remained unscathed. When the battle
had lasted a while, there appeared a man clad in a
blue cloak and with a slouched hat on his head one- ;

eyed he was, and in his hand he bore a spear. Ad-

vancing upon Sigmund, he hurled his spear at him;
Sigmund smote fiercely with the sword, but it struck
upon the spear and snapped asunder. Thenceforth
Sigmund's luck deserted him, and soon he fell in the
thick of the fight, and the greater part of his men with
him.
That battle, Hjordis went about
night, after the
among and arriving where lay King Sig-
the slain,
mund, asked him if he might be healed but he an- ;

swered " Many a man lives after hope has grown

:

dim but my luck has left me, nor will I suffer myself
;

to be healed nor wills Wotan that I should ever draw

;

sword again, since this my sword and his is broken.

Lo, now, I have waged war while it was his will. But
thou wilt bring forth a child nourish him well and ;

with good heed, and our son shall be the noblest and
the most famous of all our kin. And keep well withal
the shards of the sword thereof shall a goodly blade
:

be made, and it shall be called Gram and our son shall ;

bear it, and shall do many a great deed therewith, even

such as time shall never lessen for his name ; shall
abide and flourish as long as the world shall last.
But
now I grow wounds, and must away
faint with my
to our kin that have gone before me." Thus Sig-
mund died. Hjordis fled, in her flight meeting Alf,
the son of Hjalprek, king of the Franks. When he
learned who she was, he held her in great honor.
 TRADITIONS OF THE NIBELUNG MYTH. SI

According to the Volsunga Saga, Hjordis, after the

death of Sigmund, gave birth to a child who was named
Sigurd and was brought up in the house of King Hjal-
prek. Sigurd's foster-father was called Regin,* the
son of Hreidmar; he taught Sigurd all manner of

arts, the lore of runes, and the speech of many tongues.

According to the Nibelungen Lied his parents were
Sigmund, king of the Netherlands, and the queen
Sieglinde. He was brought up in the arts of chivalry,
as was then customary with kings' sons. His father
and mother were still living when Siegfried left his
home as a knight in quest of adventures. The Nibe-
lung versions with which we are most concerned at
this stage are the " Lied vom Hiirnen Seyfried " f and
the Thidrek Saga.| In the latter, and in the second
part of the former version, Siegfried does not know
his parents, brought up by a smith. In both
and is

accounts he appears as the impetuous and unmanage-

able youth so well known in the later popular German
tales. In the Thidrek Saga the smith was called
Mimir (Mime) his brother was Regin, who had as-
;

sumed the form of a dragon.§ Since Siegfried did

—
altogether as he pleased, beat the smith and his men,
broke the iron asunder, and struck the anvil into the

* Mime in Wagner's dramas.

\ See page 44.
% See page 43.
§ The fact tliat the dragon was originally a human being is still re-
membered in the Thidrek Saga, as well as in the Lied vom Hiirnen
'
'

Seyfried," yet the primitive idea of the Nibelung hoard is not brought
out. Thus the transformation into a dragon is not caused here by a
desire to retain the treasure, as in the Eddas and the Volsunga Saga.
Moreover, Mime and Regin appear here as friends.
52 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.
ground, —thesmith sent him into the forest for coal,
hoping that he might be killed there by the dragon.
But Siegfried slew the dragon and roasted the body over
the fire. He dipped his finger into the bubbling blood to
see whether the monster was fully roasted. In doing
so he burned his finger, and on putting it into his mouth
the voice of the became intelligible to him.
birds
They warned him Mime's intentions. Then he
of
anointed his whole body with the blood of the dragon,
and thus became invulnerable, except at a spot be-
tween the shoulders which he could not reach. There-
upon he went home to Mime, who, to pacify his wrath,
presented him the costliest weapons, among them the
sword Gram; seizing which, Siegfried immediately slew
the smith.
For reasons which will appear from a comparison
of the above extract of the Thidrek Saga with Wag-
ner's " Siegfried," the second evening of the Ring of
the Nibelung, we have had to anticipate in the pre-
ceding lines some of the events which belong to a
later period of the story. We will now resume our
sketch of the Volsungs according to the Volsunga
Saga and the Eddas.
Regin, the smith, was, as has been said above,
the foster-father of Siegfried (Sigurd), and he took
it upon himself to rear the youth. He artfully
reminded him of his father's wealth which had
come into the possession of King Hjalprek's son
through the latter's marriage with Hjordis. Through
Wotan's aid Siegfried obtained the famous horse
Grani, which was descended from Sleipnir.* Then
* See page ii.
 TRADITIONS OF THE NIBELONG MYTH. 53

Regin said to Siegfried :

" I can tellthee where there
is much wealth for the winning, and great name and
honor to be gained in the getting of it." Sigurd
asked where that might be, and who had watch and
ward over it. Regin answered " Fafnir is his name, :

and but a little way hence he lies, on the waste of

Gnita-heath and when thou arrivest there, thou mayest
;

well say that thou hast never seen more gold heaped
together in one place, and that none might desire more
treasure, though he were the most ancient and famed
of all kings." Regin constantly egged Siegfried on to
slay Fafnir, and told him the following tale :*
" Hreidmar was my father's name, a mighty man

and wealthy and his first son was named Fafnir, his
;

second Otter and I was the third, and the least of

;

them all both for prowess and good conditions but ;

I was cunning to work in iron and silver and gold.

My brother Otter had another nature he was a great :

fisher, and had the likeness of an otter by day, and

dwelt eVer in the river. But Fafnir was by far the

greatest and grimmest, and would have all things
about called his. Now there was a dwarf, called
Andvari, who ever abode in that force which was
called Andvari's force, in the likeness of a pike my ;

brother Otter was ever wont to enter into the force

and bring fish aland. It befell that Odin (Wotan),
Loki and Hoenir, as they wandered about on the earth,
came to Andvari's force, and Otter had taken a sal-
mon, and ate it, slumbering upon the river-bank.
Then Loki took a stone and cast it at Otter, so that
he met his death thereby. The gods were well content
* Also in the " Great Epics," pages 60 and 61.
 :

54 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

with their prey, and flayed off the otter's skin. In the
evening they came to Hreidmar's house and besought
him to lodge them for the night, adding that they were
well supplied with provisions whereupon they showed ;

Hreidmar what they had caught. But when Hreid-

mar saw the otter, he laid hands on them and doomed
them to such ransom as that they should fill the otter-
skin with gold and cover it over without with gold.
They made a treaty accordingly, confirming it with
oaths. The gods thereupon sent Loki (who had been,
as often before, the cause of their misfortune) to gather
gold together for them. Loki borrowed the net of the
sea-goddess Ran, and went to Andvari's force, cast the
net before the pike, and the pike ran into the net and
was taken. Then said Loki

" '
What fish of all fishes
Swims strong in the flood,
But hath learnt little wit to beware ?
Thine head must thou ransom
From abiding in Hel,
And find me the wan waters' flame.' *

" He answered :

'" Folk call me Andvari,

CallOinn my father.
Over many a force have I fared ;

For a norn of ill-luck

Lay upon me this life
Through wet ways ever to wade.'

" Loki demanded of Andvari all the gold.he had in the

* The gold, since according to ancient tradition it was found in the

depths of the water.
 :

TRADITIONS OF THE NIBE LUNG MYTH. 5$

rock where he dwelt. Andvari produced it,* but Loki

observed that he concealed a gold ring, and ordered
him to give it up.f Then the dwarf went into a hol-
low of the rocks and cried out that that gold ring, yea,
and all the gold withal, should be the bane of every
man who should own it thereafter. ;{:

" The gods went with the treasure Hreidmar and to

filled the otter-skin, and set and covered
it on its feet,

it over with gold but when this was done, Hreidmar

;

came forth and beheld yet one of the muzzle-hairs and

bade them cover that withal then Wotan drew the ;

ring, Andvari's loom, from his hand, and covered up

the hair therewith ; then sang Loki

" '
Gold enough, wealth enough,
A great weregild, thou hast.
That my head in good hap I may hold.
But thou and thy son
Are naught fated to thrive,
The bane shall it be of you both.'

"Thereafter Fafnir slew his father and murdered

him, nor got I aught of the treasure; and so evil he

grew that he fell to lying abroad and begrudged any

* had evidently been the property originally of the spirits of the

It

deep, from whom Andvari had taken it. Giants and dwarfs, bcth
equally covetous of wealth, often changed their forms to gain posses-
sion of treasures and to retain them.
\ The dwarf begged Loki not to take it from him, for by the ring he
could renew his treasure. (Younger Edda.)
X "The gold shall be the bane of two brothers and the destruction
of eight nobles; no one shall rejoice in my wealth.'' (Elder Edda, Si-
gurdharkv, 2, 5.) Loki said that this seemed well to him, and that, in
order to keep this purpose, he should bring these words to the knowl-
edge of him who should possess the gold. (Younger Edda.)
 :

56 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

share in the wealth to any man, and so became the

worst of all now lies brooding upon
dragons, and ever
that treasure but for me, I
; went to the king and be-
came his master-smith and thus
: is the tale told of

how I lost the heritage of my father and the weregild

of my brother."
So spoke Regin ; and from this myth it is that gold
is called Otter-gild or Otter-ransom. As we have seen,
the curse was at once on the first possessor of
fulfilled

the ring. The gold, torn away from its original peace-
ful and innocent abode in the water where it was
guarded by the spirits of the deep (Rhine daughters*),
fell into the hands of the dark elves, the dwarfs, the

Nibelungs (Andvari, Alberich) from them the gods

;

wrested it and handed it over to the giants (Hreidmar,

Fafnir, Fasolt) by a treaty.
Siegfried (Sigurd) said to Regin " Make a sword
:

by thy craft, such a sword as that none can be made

like unto it, if thou wouldst have me slay this mighty
dragon." So Regin made a sword and gave it into
Siegfried's hands. He took the sword and said
" Behold thy smithying, Regin!" and therewith smote

it into the anvil, and the sword broke. Then Regin

forged another sword and brought it to Siegfried, who
broke it even as the first. Then he said to Regin
.

" Art thou, may happen, a traitor and a liar like to

those former kin of thine?" Then Siegfried brought

the shards of the sword Gram, the gift of Wotan, which
had belonged to his father Sigmund. He bade Regin
make a good sword thereof as he best might. Regin
grew wroth, but went into the smithy with the pieces
* In Wagner's drama.
 ;

TRADITIONS OF THE NIBELUNG MYTH. 57

of the sword. So he made a sword, and as he bore it

forth from the forge it seemed as though fire burned
along the edges of it. Siegfried smote the sword into
the anvil and cleft it down to the stock, and neither
burst the sword nor broke it. He praised the sword
much, and thereafter went to the river (Rhine*) with a
lock of wool, and threw it up against the stream, and it
fell asunder when it met the sword. Siegfried, after
avenging the death of his father Sigmund on the sons
and the whole race of Hunding, went up along the
heath that same way where Fafnir was wont to creep
when he fared to the water. Regin was sore afraid
and stayed behind he had treacherously advised Sieg-
;

fried to dig a hole in the ground and from it smite the

dragon to the heart, hoping that in this manner Sieg-
fried might be stifled in the pit by the blood flowing
from the monster's wounds. Siegfried by the advice of
Wotan, who came to him in the guise of an old man,
dug several pits so that the blood of the dragon might
run therein, and he sat in one of them. Now crept the
dragon down to his place of watering, and the earth
shook all about him, and he snorted forth venom on all
the way before him as he went but Siegfried neither
;

trembled nor was afraid of his roaring. So when the

dragon crept over the pits, Siegfried thrust the sword
under his left shoulder, so that it sank in up to the hilt
then Siegfried leaped up from the pit and drew the
sword back again unto him. Now when that mighty
dragon was aware that he had his death-wound, he
lashed out head and tail, so that all things soever that
* From the Sigurdharkv. According to the latter poem and the
Younger Edda he cleft the anvil after the trial of the sword in the Rhine.
58 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

were before him were broken to pieces. Then he asked

Siegfried " Who art thou ? and who is thy father ? and
:

what thy kin, that thou wert so hardy as to bear weapons

against me ?" Siegfried intended to conceal his name,
since in accordance with ancient beHef he feared the
words of a dying man, if he should accurse him by name ;

so he replied " Unknown to men is my kin.

: I am called

a noble beast neither father have I nor mother, and all

;

alone have I fared hither.'' Fafnir said " Though thou

:

tellest me not thy name on this my death-bed, yet thou

knowest verily that thou liest unto me." Siegfried an-
swered " Siegfried am I called, and my father was
:

Sigmund." Then said Fafnir " Regin, my brother, has

:

brought about my end, and it gladdens my heart that

thine too he bringeth about, for thus will things be ac-
cording to his will. A countenance of terror I bore up
before all folk, after that I brooded over the heritage
of my brother, and on every side did I spout out poison,
so that none durst come nigh me. Such counsel I give
thee that thou take thy horse and ride away at thy
speediest, for often it happens that he who gets a death-
wound avenges himself none the less." Siegfried an-
swered " Such as thy redes are I will nowise do after
:

them nay, I will ride now to thy lair and take to me

;

that great treasure of thy kin." "Ride there then," said

Fafnir, " and thou .shalt find gold enough to suffice thee
for all thy life-days yet shall that gold be thy bane and
;

the bane of every one soever who owns it." And there-
withal Fafnir died.
Thereafter Regin came to Siegfried, and after some
angry, words bade Siegfried to roast Fafnir's heart for
him. Siegfried roasted it on a spit, and when the blood
 : : ; '

TRADITIONS OF THE NIBELUNG MYTH. $9

bubbled out he laid his finger thereon to see if it were

fully done then he put his finger in his mouth, and
;

the heart -blood of the dragon touching his tongue, he

was enabled to understand the voice of the birds and
hear their warning of Regin's evil designs against him.
He followed their advice, drew his sword Gram and
struck off Regin's head, ate Fafnir's heart, and drank
the blood of both.* Then he heard one of the eagles
singing
" Bind thou, Siegfried,
The bright red rings ;

Not kingly it is

To fear many things.

A fair maid I know,
Fair of all fairest

If the treasure thou gainest,

Thou wilt gird her with gold."

Another eagle sang

"A hall there is.

High on Hindarfiall,
Without all around it
Sweeps the red flame aloft."
Another:
" High on the mount
A shield-maiden sleeps
The lime-trees' foet
Is playing about her.
The sleep-thorn set Wotan
Into the valkyr
For her felling in war
The one he would guard.
* According to ancient sagas wisdom and the gift of understanding
the voice of the birdscame from the eating of dragons' or serpents'
hearts.

\ Poetic term for fire.

 :

6o RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

" Go, hero, behold

The maid under helmet.
As from battle she rode
On showers tempestuous.
By the norns' decree
Sigurd ri fa's* sleep
Cannot be broken
By the hero before."

and rode along the trail

Siegfried leaped on his horse
of the dragon to his abiding-place. He found it open,
and the treasure buried deep in the earth. Thence he
took the helmet of terror (Aeger's helmet), the golden
byrny, and many things fair and good. He placed the
gold in two great chests and set them on the horse
Grani, but the horse would not stir until Siegfried
mounted it.

By till he came at
long stretches Siegfried rode on,
and turned southward to the land
last to Hindarfiall
of the Franks. There he saw before him on the
mountain a great light, as of burning fire, and the
flames shone up to the sky. When he had passed the
fiame-wall, there stood before him a castle covered with
shields,f and on the battlements hung a banner. Sieg-
fried went into the castle, and saw one lying there
asleep and all armed. He took the helmet from off the
sleeper's head, and saw that it was a woman. Her coat
of mail was so closely fastened on her that it seemed
to have grown to her flesh. So he rent the corselet with
his sword Gram downward from her neck and from
both arms. Thereupon she awoke and asked
* Siegfried will behold Sigurdrifa (the giver of victory), or Brunhild,
as she appeared riding, as one of the valkyrs, through the air.

f Like a funeral-pyre for heroes. Siegfried was in the realm of death,

whose magic power he was to destrov.
 : ! ! 1

TRADITIONS OF THE NIBELUNG MYTH. 6

" What has rent my coat of mail ?

What has broken my sleep ?
Who has freed me from my baneful bonds ?"

Siegfried answered :

" Sigmund's son

With Siegfried's sword
E'en now rent down
The raven's tree.*

Of the Volsungs' kin is he who has done the deed.

But I have heard that thou art daughter of a mighty
king, and folk have told us that thou wert lovely and
full of lore, and now will I learn the same."

Then Brunhild (Brynhild) sang

" Long have I slept.
And
slumbered long.
Many and long are the woes of mankind.
By Wotan's might
I could not break

The spells of my slumber.

" Hail to thee, day, come back ;

Hail, sons of the daylight

Hail to thee, daughter of night ! t
Look with kindly eyes down
On
us sitting here lonely.
And give us the gain that we long for.
" Hail to you, gods !

Hail to the goddesses !

Hail to the fair earth, nourishing all

Fair words, wise hearts
Would we win from you,
And healing hands, while life we hold."
* The coat of mail; since the raven, eager for prey, alights on it as
on a tree.
\ Daughter {niece by some translators) of night is the sun.
 :

62 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

She called herself Sigurdrifa (giving victory), and

was a valkyr, also named Brynhild, being a warrior-
maiden in coat of mail (byrny). She said to Siegfried
" Two kings fought, one of them being Helm Gunnar,

an old man, and the greatest of warriors, and Wotan had

promised the victory to him but his foe was Agnar, ;

and so I smote down Helm Gunnar in the fight and ;

Wotan, in vengeance for that deed, stuck the sleep-

thorn into me, and said that I never again should have
the victory (be Sigurdrifa), but should be given away
in marriage. I, however, vowed that I would never
wed a man who knew fear. Then Wotan enclosed
me with a wall of wavering fire,* so that only a fearless
hero should be able to free me from my sleep. Around
my hall the destroyer of woodf he summoned, and
commanded that through the fire that hero alone should
ride who would bring me the gold that lay under Faf-
nir."
Brunhild taught Siegfried much of her wisdom, the
lore of runes, and Siegfried said :
" None among the
sons of men and therefore
can be found wiser than thou ;

I swear that thee will I have as mine own, for thou art

as my heart desires." Brunhild replied " Thee would :

I fainest choose, though I had all men's sons to choose

from." And this they pledged to each other by oath.

According to the Volsunga Saga, Brunhild went thence
to the house of Heimir, where Siegfried met her again.
She said to Siegfried " It is not fated that we should
:

abide together I am a shield-maiden and wear helmet

;

on head even as the kings of war, and them full often

I help; neither has the battle become loathsome to

* See page 144. The flames.

f
 TRADITIONS OF THE NIBELUNG MYTH. 63

me." Siegfried answered :

" What fruit shall be of our
we live not together?
life if Harder it is to bear this
pain than the stroke of the sharp sword." Brunhild
replied " I shall gaze on the host of war-kings, but
:

thou shalt wed Gudrun, the daughter of Giuki (Gibich)."

Siegfried said " What king's daughter lives to beguile
:

me ? I swear by the gods that thee will I have for

mine own, or no woman else." And so spoke she.
Siegfried gave her the fatal ring of the dwarf Andvari,
by which she too became mysteriously involved in the
consequences of the curse that rested on the possessor
of the hoard.
In the Nibelungen Lied the idea of the primitive
abode of the gold " in the rolling waves of the Rhine,"
and of its later acquisition by the dark elves or Nibe-
lungs, is not distinctly brought forward, yet the gloomy
origin of the treasure is not entirely forgotten. Hagen
knows that Nibelung and Schilbung, the sons of old
King Nibelung, had quarrelled about their paternal in-
heritance, and were slain by Siegfried. To ayenge his
masters, Alberich (king of the elves) attacked Siegfried,
but the latter overpowered the " strong dwarf " * and
thus became the possessor of the hoard, among which
were Alberich's famous Tarnkappe, or magic cap of dark-
ness, rendering its wearer invisible, and the celebrated
wishing-rod. To the Tarnkappe correspond in the
northern traditions Siegfried's power of changing sem-
blance, and the helmet of terror, Aeger's helmet, made
by Regin, taken by Fafnir together with the hoard, and
gained by Siegfried after the dragon's death.f The
* " Das Starke Gezwerg."
\ " Oegis-hialmr (Aeger's helmet) must originally have been Oegi's
64 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

ring of the dwarf Andvari, by which the gold could ever

be renewed, is identical with the wishing-rod, in so far
as by the latter the treasure could always be replaced.
Siegfried left Brunhild and took the hoard* with him.
He came to the court of King Giuki (Gibich),t whose
realm was in the south on the Rhine.;]; According
to the Volsunga Saga his sons were named Gunnar (the
German Gunther), Hogni (the same in name as the
German Hagen) and Guttorm.§ Their sister was called
Gudrun,! and she was the fairest of maidens. Giuki
(Gibich) hadwedded Grimhild, the wise-wife, a fierce-
hearted woman. The days of the Giukings bloomed
fair, and chiefly because of those children, so far before
the sons of men. According to the Thidrek Saga the
kingT^ had three sons, named Gunther, Gemot and
own (and Oegi is at times indistinguishable from Odhinn, Wotan), as
Aegis is wielded by the two highest deities, Zeus and Athena; after-
wards the helmet came into the hands of heroes. Out of the magic
helmet sprang helot-helm, grim-helm, tamkappe, wunschmantel (Kin-
derm, no. 122), wunschhut, which bestow on dwarfs, heroes, and for-
tune's favorites the power
walk unseen, to sail swiftly through the
to
sky. . . . Besides cloak (tamkappe) imparts superior
invisibility, this

strength, and likewise control over the dwarf nation and their hoard."
(Grimm's Teutonic Mythology, vol. ii. pp. 463, 870.)
* In the Nibelungen Lied Siegfried had the treasure brought back
to the interior of the mountain, from which Schilbungand Nibelung had
carried it out.
j- Gibich is the name of the father of the three kings in the mediaeval
German epics with the exception of the Nibelungen Lied, where he is

called Dankrat. The children of Gibich are called Gibichungs.

% The residence of the kings is Worms in most of the German tradi-
tions.

§ In the Younger Edda and in the Hyndla song Guttorm is the step-
brother of the young kings.
jl
Grimhild (Kriemhild) in the Nibelungen Lied.
^ He is named Aldrian and , called king of the land of the Nibelungs.
 TRADITIONS OP THE NISELUNG MVTH. 65

Giselher, and a daughter, called Grimhild (Kriemhild),

renowned for her beauty.* Once it befell that the
wife of the king lay asleep in her garden, and a man
came to her in the likeness of the king. After some
time, when the queen was about to give birth to a child,
the same man appeared before her as she was alone,
and told her that the child was their son. He also said
to the queen that he, the child's father, was an elf
(Alberich), and " when the child has grown up, reveal
to him who is his father, but conceal it from every one
else. He will be a mighty man, and whenever he shall
find himself in dire distress he shall summon his father
to his aid." Thereupon the elf vanished like a shadow.
Thereafter the queen gave birth to the child, and he
was named Hagen (Hogni), and called the king's son.
When Hagen was four years old he was strong, and
harsh and evil was his disposition. When he was told
that his face was spectral, he waxed wroth at the re-
proach. He went to a stream and beheld his likeness
therein. He saw that his face was as pale as ashes, and
large his appearance was fierce and grim. Thereupon
;

he went to his mother and asked her how it happened

that his figure was thus. Then the queen told him the
truth about his father.
When the Nibelung myth in Germany became
changed into a hero-saga, it was combined and blended
with the saga of the historical Burgundians, whose king
Gundicar was slain, with thousands of his followers, by
the Huns in the year 437. The " Lex Burgundionum"
mentions four kings, whose names are Gibica (Gibich),
* The names of the sons and the daughter agree with those in the

Nibelungen Lied.
66 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Godomar, Gislahar (Giselher) and Gundahar (Gunther).

The combination of myth and saga was brought about
by the Franks, which is apparent from the fact that the
earhest evidences of the name " Nibelung" as an histor-
ical appellation are Prankish. The Burgundian kings
are called Franci Nebulones in " Waltharius," and Rhine
Franks in " Biterolf "
and in the " Lament;" moreover the
word " Nibelung" (Nivelongus or Nivelo) occurs as an
historical name of Frankish princes in documents of the
eighth and ninth centuries. Thus in the German tra-
ditions the Gibichungs appear as Burgundian kings,
dwelling at Worms on the Rhine, the transformation
having been brought about by the influence of historj',
the identity of mythical and historical names (Gibich
and Gibica; Gundahar, Gundicar and Gunther; Gislahar
and Giselher), and other circumstances. Hagen, who
did not belong to those historical Burgundians, was re-
tained in the saga, and together with his name of a
" Frank " he preserved his " more than heroic nature."

In " Waltharius" he is no relation of the royal house,

—
and is said to be of Trojan race a statement which is
based on the old tradition of the descent of the Franks
from Troy. In all the German poems of the twelfth
and thirteenth centuries he is a relative of the kings,
and their most powerful, trusty and distinguished vas-
sal. In the Eddas and in the Volsunga Saga he is one
of the royal brothers. He bears himself nobly, and
protests against Siegfried's murder; yet he does not
shrink from sharing the responsibility for the deed after
it was done. In the north the name of Hogni (Hagen)
was associated with lofty deeds, and the assassination
of Siegfried devolved on Guttorm, a stepbrother of the
 TRADITIONS OF THE NIBELUNG MYTH. 67

kings. The account of Hagen's descent from an elf, a

Nibelung, in the Thidrek Saga, as given above, is

without doubt an ancient tradition. It was only by

the change of the Gibichungs into Burgundian kings
that Hagen became a mere relative (mac) of the royal
house.
Siegfried was well received by Gunther (Gunnar) and
the other Gibichungs (Giukings), as he was by far the
most renowned of all heroes. According to the Vol-
sunga Saga, Grimhild, Gunther's mother, observed how
ardently Siegfried loved Brunhild and how often he
talked of her. She thought how well it might be
were he to abide there and wed her daughter Gudrun,
for she saw that none might come anigh to his great-
ness, and that he had more wealth withal than any
other man. So on a night as they sat drinking, the
queen arose and gave him the drinking-horn which con-
tained a draught of forgetfulness. Siegfried drank, and
from that time all memory of Brunhild departed from
him. One night Gudrun poured out the drink and
Siegfried beheld how fair she was, and graceful withal.
Gunther said " All things that may be will we do for
:

thee, so thou abidest here long both dominion shalt

;

thou have, and our sister freely and unprayed for,

whom another man would not get for his prayers."
Siegfried answered " Gladly will I take the same."
:

Therewith they swore brotherhood together and to be

even as if they were children of one father and one
mother; and a noble feast was holden and endured
many days. Now on a time went Grimhild to Gun-
ther, her son, and spoke " Fair blooms the life and
:

fortune of thee, but for one thing only thou art un-
:

wedded. Go woo Brunhild, and Siegfried will ride

with thee." Gunther replied " Fair is she indeed,
:
 ; :

68 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

and fain would I win her." Then Siegfried and Gun-

ther rode towards the hall enclosed with wavering fire.

But Brunhild had vowed to wed him only who would

ride the horse Grani and pass through the flame-wall,
well knowing that none durst do it save Siegfried
alone. Gunther spurred his steed against the fire, but
the horse shrank back. Thereupon Gunther and Sieg-
fried changed semblance, even as Grimhild had taught
them, and Siegfried in the likeness of Gunther mounted
his horse Grani and leaped into tht fire. A mighty
roar arose as the fire burned even madder, and the
earth trembled, and the flames went up even unto the
heavens. But now the fire sank, and he leaped from
his horse and went into the hall, even as the song says

" The flame flared at its maddest,

Earth's fields fell a-quaking
As the red flame aloft
Licked the lowest of heaven.
Few had been fain.
Of the rulers of folk,
To ride through that flame,
Or athwart it to tread.

" Then Siegfried smote

Grani with sword.
And the flame was slaked
Before the king
Low lay the flames
Before the hero of fame,
Bright gleamed the array
That Regin erst owned."

When had passed through the fire, he came

Siegfried
to a dwelling, and therein sat Brunhild. He said " I :

am Gunther, and thou art awarded to me as my wife,

since I have ridden through the wavering fire." While
 TJiJlDITIOI\/S OF THE NIBELUNG MYTH. 69

Siegfried stood on the floor of the hall and leaned on

the hilt of his sword, Brunhild, mindful of the true
Siegfried and of her valkyrian prowess, answered sor-
rowfully, but believed that he had spoken the truth.
There Siegfried abode three nights, and they lay on
one couch, but he placed his sword Gram between her
and him. Afterwards he took from her the ring of the
dwarf Andvari and rode back through the flames then ;

he and Gunther changed semblance again. Gunther

was wedded to Brunhild, and when the wedding-feast
was ended, Siegfried remembered all the oaths he had
sworn to Brunhild, yet he let all things abide in rest
and peace. One day as Brunhild and Gudrun went to
the river to bathe, Brunhild waded the farthest out
into the river; then Gudrun asked what that might
signify. Brunhild said " Why should I be equal to
:

thee in this matter more than in others ? My husband

is greater than thine, and has accomplished many glor-

ious deeds. It is he who rode through the flaming

fire." Gudrun replied wrathfully :
" Thou wouldst be
wiser to be silent ; there is none in this world like unto
my husband he was thy first beloved, and Fafnir he
;

slew, and he rode through thy flaming fire, whereas

thou didst deem that he was Gunther the king, and
from thy hand he took the ring Andvaranaut (Andva-
ri's loom) here mayest thou well behold it." Brun-
;

hild saw the ring and knew it, and waxed as wan as a
dead woman.
In the Elder Edda the quarrel between the queens
is not mentioned the Younger Edda contains an ac-
;

count of it very much like the one in the Volsunga

70 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Saga, which has just been given. Instead of the wav-

ering fire surrounding Brunhild's abode, as related in
the Edda and Volsunga Saga, the Nibelungen Lied
mentions the games of casting the spear, hurling the
stone, and leaping, in which each suitor of Brunhild
had to match his skill with hers. The successful com-
petitor she was pledged to marry all others were
;

doomed to death. Siegfried, rendered invisible by the

Tarnkappe, aided Gunther in the combat, and Brunhild
was defeated.
The quarrel arose through the comparison of the
two husbands ; and when Brunhild called Siegfried
Gunther's vassal,

" To her replied fair Kriemhild * Thou shalt

:
'
well understand,
As thou hast called my Siegfried a liegeman of this land,
This day by all the vassals it shall be plainly seen
That I'll go to the minster preceding Gunther's queen.'"

Kriemhild entered the minster, and as she came out

she triumphantly showed Brunhild the ring (and the
girdle).
According to the Volsunga Saga Siegfried went to
Brunhild and said :
" Awake, Brunhild, cast off grief
from thee and take pleasure !" She answered " How :

then hast thou dared to come to me ? in this treason

none was worse to me than thou." Siegfried said :

" As one under a spell art thou, if thou deemest that

there is aught cruel in my heart against thee but thou ;

hast him for husband whom thou didst choose." "Ah,

nay," she replied " never did Gunther ride through
;

the fire, nor did he give me to dower the host of the

* Gudrun in the northern traditions.
 ;

TRADITIONS OF THE NIBELUNG MYTH. /I

slain. I wondered at the man who came into my hall

for I deemed indeed that I knew thine eyes, but I

could not see clearly, or divide the good from the evil,

because of the veil that lay heavy on my fortune."

Siegfried assured her that a king like Gunther was
worthy of her love ; but her rage became greater at
his words, as they were spoken by the man whom
she loved. She said :
" This is the sorest sorrow to
me, that the bitter sword is not reddened in thy blood."

But afterwards Siegfried exclaimed " I loved thee :

better than myself, although I fell into the wiles whence

our lives may not escape for whensoever my own
;

heart and mind availed me, then I sorrowed sore that

thou wert not my wife." Brunhild replied " Too late :

thou tellest me that my grief grieveth thee. I swore

an oath to wed the man who should ride through the
flaming fire, and that oath will I hold or die." And
she called to mind how they had met, they two, on the
mountain, and sworn oath each to each. Siegfried
said " Rather than thou die, I will wed thee, and put
:

away Gudrun." But Brunhild answered " I will not :

have thee, nor any other." Thereupon Siegfried left

her, as saith the song :

" Out then went Siegfried,

The great kings' beloved,
From the speech and the sorrow,
Sore drooping, so grieving,
That the corselet about him.
Of iron rings woven.
From the sides brake asunder
Of the brave in the battle."

When Gunther came to Brunhild, she spoke " I will :

not live, for Siegfried has betrayed me, and thee no

72 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

less ; and this shall be Siegfried's death, or thy death,

or my death." Gunther was bound to Siegfried by
oath, and this way and that way swung the heart
within him ; but at last he said :
" Brunhild is better to
me than all things else, and the fairest woman of all

women ; I will lay down my life rather than lose the

love of her." He also thought of the gold that Sieg-
fried had wrested from Fafnir. He therefore acceded
to Brunhild's demand death.* Gut-
for Siegfried's
torm, Gunther's stepbrother, who had
not sworn the
oath of brotherhood with- Siegfried, was urged to com-
mit the murder, and great rewards and honors were
promised to him. Guttorm, purposely excited by
magic drinks, went to Siegfried as he lay on his bed,
yet he durst not do aught against him, but shrank
back and even so he fared a second time, for so bright
;

and eager were the eyes of Siegfried that few durst

look upon him. But the third time he went in, and
there lay Siegfried asleep. Then Guttorm drew his
sword and thrust Siegfried through in such a manner
that the sword-point smote into the bed beneath him.
Siegfried awoke with the wound, and Guttorm drew
back unto the door. Siegfried seized the sword Gram
and cast it after him, and it smote him on the back
and struck him asunder in the midst, so that his feet
fell one way, and his head and hands back into the

room. When Brunhild heard Gudrun's loud bewail-

ings, she laughed heartily but soon after she began to
;

weep over the very deed to which she had urged her
husband, and foretold the woe that was to follow Sieg-
fried's murder. Then she thrust a sword into her
* Hogni (Hagen in the northern epics) protested against the deed.
 TRADITIONS OF THE NIBELUNG MYTH. 73

side and sank upon the pillows of her couch, while she
asked Gunther as a last boon to have her borne to
Siegfried's funeral-pyre, and a drawn sword placed be-
tween them, as once in the days of yore. There she
was burned by the side of her first and only love.
The Younger Edda, the Volsunga Saga, and most of
the songs of the Elder Edda relate that Siegfried was
murdered while sleeping in his bed yet according to
;

the " Lay of Brunhild," and to the " Second Lay of

Gudrun," in the Elder Edda, he was slain outdoors.
At the end of the " Lay of Brunhild " the collector of
the poems wrote a few lines in prose, referring to these
different tales of Siegfried's death, and also stating that
according to German traditions he was murdered in the
wood. Whatever may have been the original version
of the saga, the most important point is that in all ac-
—
counts Siegfried was treacherously slain a fact already
recognized in the concluding sentence of the prose re-

marks after the " Lay of Brynhild ": " But all say with
one accord that they betrayed him in their troth and
murdered him, as he lay unarrayed and unawares."
In the Nibelungen Lied, Hagen, whose stern coun-
tenance and grim appearance denoted his descent from
the dwarfs, the Nibelungs, the powers of darkness,
although he is called a relative of the kings, made a
solemn vow that Siegfried should have to atone for
Brunhild's sorrow. Gunther's weak nature made him
listen to the words of grim Hagen, whose wily tongue
depicted to Gunther the danger which he might incur
while so great a king as Siegfried lived, who outshone
the power and glory of the Burgundian monarch.
Kriemhild (Gudrun), struck with fatal blindness, be-
 : :;

74 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

lieved Hagen to be a sincere friend of Siegfried, and

she confided to the traitor a secret referring to Sieg-
fried's former slaying of a dragon by the side of a
mountain

" When from the wounded dragon the boiling blood streamed
down,
Deep gore bathed Siegfried, the knight of great renown.
in its
There fellbetween his shoulders a broad-shaped linden-leaf;
And there he can be wounded this gives me heart-felt grief."
:

Gunther ordered a great hunt to take place in the

Odenwald, and Siegfried declared himself ready to ac-
company the king. The chase began amidst a joyous
tumult and the sounds of the bugle, so that hill and
dale gave back the loud echoes. After a successful
hunt Siegfried sat down with Gunther, Hagen, and the
other hunters to enjoy the meal that had been prepared
for them. When he called for wine, Hagen told him
that the hampers had been sent by mistake to the
Spessart forest, but that he knew of a spring of cool
and clear water. When Siegfried desired to be directed
to the spring, Hagen, in an apparently careless manner,
said to Siegfried " I have been told that no one can
:

surpass thee in running." Siegfried replied to Hagen

" Let us run a race to the spring— King Gunther, you
and myself." Gunther and Hagen divested themselves
of their armor and heavy garments and ran like two
fierce panthers, yet Siegfried, laden with his weapons,
arrived first at the spring. Gunther stooped and drank
and when he had arisen, Siegfried did likewise. Then
Hagen stealthily put away Siegfried's sword and bow
beyond his reach, took the hero's spear that leaned
 TRADITIONS OF THE NIBELUNG MYTH. 75

against a linden-tree, and thrust it through the cross

which Kriemhild had embroidered on her husband's

mantle to show where he could be wounded. Sieg-
fried took his shield, and, with the deadly spear be-
tween his shoulders, overtook the traitor fleeing in
craven flight, and smote him with the shield until it
was broken into pieces. Thus Siegfried died. In the
Eddas and in the Volsunga Saga it is but natural and
in accordance with the lofty character of the valkyr
Brunhild that she should slay herself after Siegfried's
death. On the other hand, in the Nibelungen Lied,
where Brunhild and Siegfried's relations are different,
and Brunhild's pride, and not her love of Siegfried, ap-
pears to be the main motive of action, there seems to
be no reason why she should seek death after her honor
had been avenged. In the Nibelungen Lied Hagen
has the hoard sunk into the Rhine. This is the natural
conclusion of the myth, but not of the saga. The
different versions of the latter after Siegfried's death,
whether in the Scandinavian or in the German tradi-
tions, do not concern us here. We may, however,
state briefly that in the Nibelungen Lied Kriemhild
wreaks most cruel vengeance on her brothers and
on Hagen for the death of Siegfried. In the Eddas
and in the Volsunga Saga she (Gudrun) becomes rec-
onciled to her brothers and avenges their death on
their murderer, her second husband, Atli. As indicated
above, the true termination of the whole tragedy after
the death of atoning love (Brunhild and Siegfried) is
the return of the gold into the depths of the Rhine,
whereby the curse of the Nibelung is removed from
the "glittering valrings," the rings of strife and de-
struction.
-j6 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

CHAPTER IV.

THE RHEINGOLD.
Ever since the year 1845 the powerful tragedy of the
Nibelungs had exercised a most potent influence on
Richard Wagner's highly poetic nature. As Franz
Hueffer states, it was during the composition of
" Lohengrin " that the old contest in Wagner's mind

between the mythical and historical principles was

finally decided. " The representative of the former

was Siegfried, the hero of the earliest of Teutonic

myths that of the latter Frederick the First, the great
;

emperor of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, whose return

from his sleep of centuries was for a long time connected
by the German people with the revival of the old im-
perial glory. The victory remained with Siegfried." *
In the domain of history Wagner perceived merely
relations or circumstances and not man himself, or
man only so far as he was controlled by the power of
circumstances while in the realm of myth he saw the
;

pure soul of humanity. Desiring to give an artistic

form and expression to the inmost wishes of his heart,
he devoted himself to the ardent study of Teutonic
antiquity, especially of the mediaeval German poems
and the old Scandinavian epics and sagas. By strip-
ping the Teutonic myth of the various garbs in which
it had been clad, and to some extent disfigured, by later

* " Richard Wagner," by Franz Hueffer, page 65.

 ;

THE RHEINGOLD. 77

poetic productions and sagas, it was revealed to him at

raiment and chaste beauty
last in its pure, primitive
and with it he found in the myth what he sought
— the true man that is, what is purely human, freed
;

from all conventionalism —the tragedy of the human

soul.
The poem of the " Ring of the Nibelung " was printed
for circulation among the friends of the composer in
the year 1853; it was published in 1863. Although
the master deemed music the only language befitting
the ideal sphere of the myth, his dramas could not be
called operas in the ordinary sense of the word. He
named them, therefore, musical dramas, and the " Ring
of the Nibelung" is a festival play for three days
and a fore-evening. The fore-evening is entitled The
" Rheingold ;" the first day. The " Walkiire ;" the sec-

ond day, " Siegfried ;" the third day. The " Gotterdam-
merung," the dusk or downfall of the gods. As early
as 1848 he had written the drama " Siegfried's Death,"
which later, considerably modified, came to form the
fourth and last part of the Ring, the " Gotterdammer-
ung." He then wrote " Siegfried," afterwards " Die
Walkiire," and last " Das Rheingold." The poem is
written in alliterative lines, a form of versification most
appropriate to the contents and the whole atmosphere
of the drama. Wagner says that at the mythical source
where he found the youthful Siegfried he also found
the melody of speech, the only one in which such a be-
ing could express himself. It is a well-known fact that
alliteration {Stabreim, stave-rhyme) is used in the Elder

Edda and in all the other earliest remnants of Scandi-

navian and German poetry. " The strophe generally
contains eight verses or lines, four of which are so
 ;

78 RING OP THE NIBELUNG.

united that every half of the strophe contains an inde-

pendent thought, and each of these halves is again
divided into two parts, which form a fourth part of the
whole strophe and contain two lines belonging together
by alliteration. In these two lines three words occur
(in the oldest poems frequently only two) beginning
with the same letters, two of which must be in the first,
while the third is usually at the beginning of the second
line. The third and last of these letters is called the
chief letter (hofudhstafr, head-stave), because it is re-

garded as ruling over the two others which depend on

it and have the name sub-letters {siudlar, supporters).

The lines are metrically divided into accented and un-

accented syllables. These simple rules of versification
govern the lays of the Edda." Still there are excep-

tions to this rule in the Edda, some of the poems being

written in the so-called Ljddhahattr. This form of
versificationwas often employed in a more or less
modified manner in Wagner's Nibelung dramas. It is
a strophe of six lines, of which the first and second and
the fourth and fifth belong together, while the third
and sixth are independently alliterated. The following
is an example of Wagner's adaptation of the Lj6dha-

hattr.
Fricka.
Wotan ! Gemahl ! Erwache ! Wotan ! Husband ! Awaken !

IVotan.
Der Wonne seliger Saal The hall of hallowed delight
Bewachen mir Thiir und Thor Is guarded with bolt and bar
;

Mannes Ehre, Manhood's honor,

Ewige Macht, Infinite might,
Ragen zu endlgsem Ruhm Gleam with glory unending I*
!

* See page 86.

 THE RHEINGOLD. 79

The most melodious alliterative rhymes are formed

in German by the letters /, w and s, as is evident
from the well-known Spring-song of Siegmund in the
" Walkiire." * In this connection we may quote Franz
Hueffer's remarks on the subject " The strong accents
:

of the alliterating syllables supply his melody with

rhythmical firmness; while on the other hand the un-
limited number of low-toned syllables allow full liberty
to the most varied nuances of declamatory expression.
In order to exemplify the step in advance, I will ask
the reader to compare the song of Wolfram
Tann- in '

hauser'('Dir Hohe Liebe'), where the iambic metre

has been obliterated and the verse constantly cut to
pieces by the musical caesura, with the wonderful love-
song from the Walkiire
'
(' Winterstiirme wichen '),
'

where verse and melody seem to glide on together in

harmonious rhythms like the soft winds of spring of
which they tell."
Besides the Spring-song there are many other in-

stances of beautiful alliterative versification ; there are

necessarily also lines of a different character, though
they are just as appropriate to the contents as the lines
referred to above. To show the expression of wrath,
harshness and contempt, the verses in " Siegfried " on
page 169 may serve as an example. The alliterative
sound or rhyme is mostly consonantal and rests on the
radical or chiefly significant syllable.f These remarks

* See page 124.

\ If the alliterated words begin with a vowel, the vowels are differ-
ent. See the Spring-song in the "Walkiire" "Weit geoffnet, lacht
sein Aug'."
 —

8o RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

will be sufficient to show in a general way the poetic

form in which Wagner's drama is written.
As has been indicated above, the gold according to
ancient Teutonic traditions was imagined to lie in the
waters' depths. It was a common belief that the
golden sun descended every evening into the sea to
repose there at night, and thus the ocean came to be
considered as the abode of all wealth. In northern
sagas the gold is often called the fire of Aeger (the sea-
god). Later the sea-gold became the river-gold, the
Rhinegold, since in old German traditions the gold was
thought to be concealed especially in the waters of the
Rhine, the national river, hallowed in history, saga and
legend. When in the heroic era the dangers and abuses
of wealth began to be seen in the increasing power and
overbearing might of the kings and chieftains, the ideas
of evil, guilt and misfortune were easily connected with
the acquisition of riches. Thus the leading thought in
the " Rheingold " is this : the gold is ravished from its

primitive innocent abode and its original possessors,

personified here by the Rhine-daughters, the guardians
of the treasure, in order to acquire riches and power.
To this conception is added the ethical idea that he
only can rob the gold and employ it for that purpose
by whom love has been forsworn and accursed ; by him
alone can be wrought from the gold the ring, the sym-
bol of sensuous splendor and material power. But as
soon as the gold has ceased to be what it has been
the playful sport of the spirits of the deep as soon as —
it has become the object of acquisition for the sake of
wielding infinite power alone, the curse rests upon it,

and whoever owns it is doomed to destruction by the

 1

THE HHEINGOLD. 8

envy of others. It is the curse of the first evil deed

that it ever must bring forth new evils.

At the opening of the " Rheingold " the scene repre-

sents the bottom of the Rhine. "A short instrumental
introduction depicts the sound and motion of the deep.
It is founded on the chord of E flat, given out at

first in long-drawn notes, which soon dissolve them-

selves into shorter rhythmical formations, rising and

falling alternately from the highest to the lowest
octaves, like the murmuring waves of a rapid river. A
suave theme is gradually developed, Vi^ith the strains of
which the three water-maidens accompany their merry
gambols." * A greenish twilight prevails, lighter up-
wards, darker downwards. The water appears flowing
onward, the turbulent waves tossing from right to left.
Towards the bottom the water seems dissolved into a
mist, which gradually grows fainter and fainter, so that
the space of a man's height from the ground appears to
be entirely free from the water, which flows like a suc-
cession of clouds over the dark abyss. Everywhere
rugged rocky cliffs rise from the bottom and form the
boundary of the scene. The whole floor is broken into
a wilderness of jagged masses, so that nowhere is it
entirely level, and suggests in every direction deeper
abysses extending into thickest gloom. In the middle
of the scene, round a cliff which with its slender point
rises up and brighter waves, one of the
into the larger
Rhine-daughters, Woglinde, swims about in graceful
movement. She is soon joined by another, Wellgunde,
who dives down from the flood to the cliff, and they

* F. Hueffer, page 85.

 : :

82 Hmc OP THE NIBELVNG.

try playfully to catch each other. Flosshilde, the third

Rhine-daughter, joins them.
The three Rhine-maidens now swim away from each
other with joyful cries, and, laughing and playing, dart
from cliff to cliff. The gold lies still uncoveted at the
bottom of the Rhine. But presently, out of a dark
chasm from below, appears the wily dwarf Alberich,
the treacherous Nibelung, who looks with growing de-
light on the frolicsome game of the Rhine-daughters.
" His arrival is at once announced in the orchestra by

a new theme, the jerky abruptness of which indicates

the nature of the mischievous dwarf. The introduc-
tion of a surreptitious G flat into the graceful motions
of the water-music is a master-stroke of graphic charac-
terization." * Alberich exclaims

Aus Nibelheim's Nacht From Nibelheim's gloom

Naht' ich euch gern, I'd gladly draw near,
Neigtet ihr euch zu mir. Winning welcome to gain.

The maidens dive deeper and perceive the hideous

form of Alberich. Flosshilde is aware of impending

danger she swims swiftly upwards and says

;

Hutet das Gold ! Guard the gold !

Vater vvarnte Father warned us

Vor solchem Feind. 'Gainst such a foe.

Alberich, dazzled by the beauty of the maidens, begs

them to let him join in their play. Flosshilde, seeing

* F. Hueffer, page 85.

 THE RHEINGOLD. 83

that amorous passion has taken possession of the Nibe-

lung, says:

Nun lach ich der Furcht, Now laugh I at fear,

Der Feind is verliebt. The foe is in love.

" The scene which ensues, descriptive of the vain en-

deavors of the gnome to gain one of the maidens for
his desire, is full most subtle touches of musical
of the
illustration. The amorous rage
of Alberich, and the
mock tenderness with which the girls, each in her own
characteristic way, receive his offers, are rendered in
the most humorous way. Flosshilde's answer, for in-
stance, in its sweet, almost Italian softness, seems very
nearly to resemble the expression of true passion, but
for a slight touch of overstrained sentiment, which re-
minds us that all is put on, and that poor Alberich is

to be jilted mercilessly when he thinks his happiness

most secure. The easy grace with which these ele-
mentary beings are drawn by Wagner proves his dra-
matic vocation no less than the graver notes of passion
which are to follow soon." The Rhine-maidens, one
after the other, begin to tease Alberich by alternately
alluring and repulsing him. They swim away from
each other, hither and thither, now higher, now lower,
to provoke him to pursue them. In vain are all his
efforts to seize one of them and at last, foaming with
;

rage, he stretches his clenched fist up towards them.

At that moment his attention is suddenly caught by a
beautiful spectacle. Through the flood from above a
gradually brighter-growing light has penetrated, which
now, at a high spot in the middle cliff, kindles into a
dazzling and brilliant glare a magical golden light
;
 : :

84 RING OF THE NIBELUNG

breaks thence through the water. The Rhine-daugh-

ters joyfully salute the gold as the rays of the rising
sun upon it, while Alberich's glance is irresistibly
fall

attractedby the light. The maidens give expression

to the contempt they feel for the Nibelung, since he
had never heard of the Rhinegold before. If it is
naught but a plaything for the maidens, Alberich pre-
tends to disdain it but Wellgunde thoughtlessly says
;

Der Welt Erbe The realm of the world

Gewanne zu eigen, By him shall be won
Wer aus dem Rheingold Who from the Rhinegold
Schiife den Ring, Hath wrought the ring
Der maaslose Macht ihm ver- Imparting measureless power,
lieh'.

Despite the warning of Flosshilde, the sisters unwit-

tingly betray the secret. Woglinde exclaims

Nur wer der Minne Macht ver- Who the delight of Love for-
sagt, swears,
Nur wer der Liebe Lust ver- He who derides its ravishing
jagt, joy,
Nur der erzielt sich den Zauber He alone has the magic might
Zum Reif zuzwingen das Gold. To mould into ring the gold.

Yet the Rhine-daughters deem themselves safe from

danger, as all beings are born to love, and Alberich
especially appeared to pine away with amorous desires.
The Nibelung, however, had his glance fixed on the
gold, while he listened to the chatter of the maidens.
He forgets their charms and accurses love, since to him
it means but sensual enjoyment.
 — ! ; : ;

THE RHEINGOLD. 85

Albertch.
(Aside.)

Der Welt Erbe The realm of the world

Gewann' ich zu eigen durch By thy might may I ravish and
dich? win?
Erzwang' ich nicht Liebe, Though Love I relinquish,
Doch listig erzwang' ich mir In delight at least I may revel.
Lust.
(To the Rhine-daughters.)

* * * * * *
Das Licht losch' ich euch aus Your light I quickly quench
Das Gold entreiss' ich dem The gold from the rock I

Riff, wrench,
Schmiede den rachenden Ring And forge the wrathful ring.
Denn hor' es die Fluth To the waves I appeal
So verfiuch' ich die Liebe To witness how Love I ac-
curse

He plucks the gold from the cliff and plunges with it

into the depths, where he disappears. Dense night
breaks suddenly in on every side. The maidens dive
after the thief into the waters below.
It remains to mention the weird music accompanying
the rape of the gold by Alberich, and the lamentations
of the water-maidens sounding through the darkness at
the end of this scene. The latter are illustrated by the
identical but appearing
strains of their joyful song,
here in a sad C-minor transformation, continued by the
orchestra in an interlude which, founded on the melo-
dious materials already alluded to, leads gradually into
the second scene.
In the following scenes of the " Rheingold " appear
the gods Wotan, Thor, Fro and Loki ; the goddesses
Fricka, Freyja and Erda ; the Nibelungs Alberich and
Mime and ; the giants Fasolt and Fafnir. In this con-
 : !

86 RING OF THE NIBE LUNG.

nection the reader is referred to the sketch of Teutonic
mythology in the first two chapters of this volume,
especially to the Svadilfari myth on page
lo; and also
to the myth Andvari in the Nibelung traditions on
of
P3gs 53- It will be seen how beautifully Wagner
combined and blended the two myths. Instead of the
otter-skin which in the Andvari myth the gods must
cover with gold, it is Freyja, in Wagner's drama,
whose beauteous form must be concealed by the Nibe-
lung hoard from the eager glances of the giants.
In the second scene of the " Rheingold " an open coun-
try on mountain heights becomes visible, at first only in
a dim light. The breaking day illumes with growing
brightness a castle with glittering battlements that
stands on a rocky eminence in the background ; be-
tween rock and the foreground of
this castle-crowned
the scene a deep valley is to be imagined, through
which the Rhine flows. On the flower-decked bank
lies Wotan, with Fricka beside him both are asleep. :

Fricka awakes her glance falls on the castle she is sur-

; ;

prised and dismayed. She awakes Wotan he replies ;

in his dream with the words given on page 78. Fricka

retorts

Traume
Auf, aus der Up from alluring
;

Wonnigem Trug! Delusion of dreams!

Erwache, Mann, und erwage ! Awaken, and weigh what's be-
fall'n

Wotan awakes and raises himself slightly ; his eye is

immediately caught by the sight of the castle, " the

symbol and stronghold of his power. This power of
the gods is rendered in the grand melody opening the
 : : ! : ! ; ! : :

THE RHEINGOLD. 87

scene, which may be called the Valhall motive, Wo-

tan exclaims
Vollendet das ewige Werk : Achieved is the glorious work
Auf Berges Gipfel On mountain height
Die GStterburg, The hall immortal
PrachtvoU prahlt In gorgeous grandeur
Der prangende Bau. Glitter its walls.
Wie im Traum ich ihn trug, As Idrew it in dream.
Wie mein Wille ihn wies, As I marked it in mind,

Stark und schon Resplendent and strong

Steht er zur Schau It displays its might
Helirer, herrlicher Bau Lofty, lordly abode

Fricka.
Nur Wonne schafft dir, In delight thou revel'st.
Was mich erschreckt .'
When I am alarmed .''

Dich freut die Burg, Thou'rt glad of the fortress.

Mirbangt es um Freia. For Freyja I fear.
Achtloser, lass dich erinnern Bethink thee, thou thoughtless
god.
Des ausbedungenen Lohns ! Of the guerdon now to> be
given
Die Burg ist fertig, The castle is finished,
Verfallen das Pfand : And forfeit the pledge.
Vergiss'st du, was du vergab'st ? Forgettest thou, what is en-
gaged .?

The golden age of innocence had vanished. Wotan,

striving for power, planned to rule the world from his
lofty castle,an impregnable fortress. The giants Fa-
solt and Fafnir had agreed to build it for the gods.
They now demand the promised reward Freyja, the :

goddess of youth, love and beauty. Wotan endeavors

to calm the anger and apprehensions of Fricka, and
tells her that he relies on Loki's help. She reproves
him for trusting to the dubious services of the treach-
erous god. Wotan replies
 ! ; : ;

88 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Wo freier Muth fromrat, Where only valor avails,

Allein frag' ich nach keinem ;

I venture, aided by none.
Doch.des Feindes Neid But to fit to my fancy
Zum Nutz sich fiigen, The hatred of foes,
Lehrt nur Schlauheit und List, I list to the lore of deceit,
Wie Loge verschlagen sie iibt. To Loki's insidious art.

Der zum Vertrage mir rieth Who framed and planned the
plot,
Versprach Freia zu ISsen : Ispledged Freyja to ransom :

Auf ihn verlass ich mich nun. On him alone I rely.*

The giants are indignant at Wotan's refusal to de-

liver Freyja to them, and wrathfully on the ful- insist
filment of the agreement. more of Fasolt thinks
Freyja's womanly charms, while Fafnir knows how im-
portant it is for the welfare of the gods to keep the
goddess of youth among them. He says:

Gold'ne Aepfel Golden apples t

Wachsen in ihrem Garten, Grow in her garden ;

Sie allein None but she

Weiss die Aepfel zu pflegen Knows how to nurse them
Der Frucht Genuss The delicious fare
Frommt ihren Sippen Confers on her kindred
Zu ewig nie The flower of youth
Alteruder Jugend For years sempiternal
Siech und bleich But blanched appears
Doch sinkt ihre Bliithe, The bloom of their cheeks,
Alt und schwach Old and weak
Schwinden sie hin, They wax and wither
Miissen Freia sie missen : If Freyja's freedom they miss.

Ihrer Mitte drum sei sie ent- From their midst we'll lead
fiihrt her along.

* In the Svadilfari myth it is likewise Loki who advised the treaty

with theartificer. See page 9.
f See pages 18 and 19.
 : ;! ! : ! ! !

THE RHEINGOLD. 89

Wotan angry at Loki's delay the giants press

is ;

forward towards Freyja; Thor and Fro hurry in to

protect her.
Thor.
Fasolt und Fafner, Fasolt and Fafnir,
Fuhltet ihr schon Have ever you felt
Meines Hammer's harten My hammer's heavy blow ?

Schlag ?
Fafnir.
Was soil das Droh'n ? What means the threat ?

Fasolt.

Was dringst du her ? Wherefore the thrust ?

Kampf kies'ten wir nicht, War we choose not to wage,
Verlangen nur uns'ren Lohn. We claim the guerdon we've
gained.
Thor.
(Den Hammer schwingend.) (Swinging his hammer.)
Schon oft zahlt' ich Often I've dealt
Riesen den Zoll To giants their due ;

Schuldig blieb ich Never have rested

Schachern nie In debt of knaves ;

Kommt her ! des Lohnes Last Come hither ! the load of re-
ward
Geb' ich in gutem Gewicht ! I deliver in heaviest weight

Wotan.
(Seinen Speer zwischen den Streiten- (Interposing his spear between the
den ausstreckend.) adversaries.)

Halt,du Wilder Refrain from fury !

Nichts durch Gewalt Naught by force

Vertrage schiitzt The shaft of my spear
Meines Speeres Schaft Shelters my oath ;

Spar' deines Hammer's Heft Withhold thy hammer's haft!

Loki appears and, as was his custom, at first taunts

the gods. Unconcerned at their distress, he relates
 ! ! !

90 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

how he viewed the castle built by Fasolt and Fafnir, and

found it impregnable. Wotan reminds Loki of the
solemn promise he had given to rescue Freyja from the
giants but Loki replies that he only vowed to do
;

everything in his power to attain that end. Yet de-

spite all his efforts, he says, he has not succeeded.

Fricka.
(Zu W^otan.) (To Wotan.)
welch trugvoUem
Sieh', Lo! what untruthful
Schelm du getraut I Rogue thou hast trusted
FrS.
Lege heisst du, Loki thou'rt hight,
Doch nenn' ich dich Liige But liar I name ihee.

Thor.
Verfluchte Lohe, Accursed fire,
Dich losch' ich aus ! I quench thy flame

As Thor and Fro are about to attack Loki, Wotan

interferes in his behalf. He knows the dilatory habits
of the wily god, and is convinced that Loki will at last
unfold his plan for saving Freyja. Loki reproves the
gods for their ingratitude, and tells them that far and
wide in every corner of the world he sought to find a
ransom for Freyja, but it became evident that nowhere
could sufficient wealth be found to compensate man
for the delight the companionship of fair and gentle
woman brings. At these words the gods are sur-
prised. He found, continues Loki, in the water, on the
earth and in the air all beings bent on love, save one
— the Nibelung, dark Alberich, who rifled the gold of
the Rhine. Loki artfully relates the whole adventure
of the Rhinegold and the ring, and arouses the greed
 ! ! : ! ! — 1

THE RHEINGOLD. 9

of gain and power both in the gods and the giants.

Perceiving the effect of his cunning, and knowing at
heart the real designs of Wotan, he asks him with
crafty insinuation and feigned frankness, worthy of
Mephistopheles, if he will restore the gold to the
Rhine-daughters. Wotan stands in silent struggle
with himself ; the other gods, in speechless suspense,
fix their eyes on him. Gods and giants know what
dangers fate has in store for them if the gold remains
in the hands of Alberich. Meanwhile Fafnir, aside,
has consulted with Fasolt. The giants declare that
they will be satisfied with the Nibelungs' ruddy gold
as ransom for Freyja. Wotan angrily refuses their de-
mand, since he will not encounter the Nibelung for the
sake of Fasolt and Fafnir.

Fasolt.

(Ergreift plotzlich Freia und fuhrt sie (Suddenly seizes Freyja and takes her
mit Fafnir zur Seite.) with Fafnir aside.)

Hieher, Maid ! Hither, Maid !

In uns're Macht Mark our might

Als Pfand folg'st du jetzt, Till ransom be furnished,
Bis wir Losung empfah'n. As pledge thou must follow us
now.
(Freia schreit laut auf, alle Goiter sind (Freyja shrieks ; all the gods are in
in hochster Bestiirtzung.) the greatest consternation.)

Fafnir.

Fort von hier Away from here

Sei sie entfiihrt We hasten with her
Bis Abend, achtet's wohl, Till evening — heed it well
Pflegen wir sie als Pfand We hold her in pledge ;

Wir kehren wieder ;

We then shall return ;

Doch kommen wir. But if at that time

 — —— —

92 HING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Und bereit liegt nicht als Lo- The Rhinegold, ruddy and
sung light,

Das Rheingold roth und licht— Lie not ready for ransom

Fasolt.

Zu End' ist die Frist dann. Then all will be over,

Freia verfallen : Freyja be forfeit,

Fiir immer folge sie uns! For e'er she'll follow us hence.

Freyja is carried away by the giants the gods hear ;

with amazement her cries of distress dying away in the

distance. Loki gazes after the giants and describes
how clumsily they hurry down the valley across the
Rhine to Riesenheim. Then he turns to the gods and
sarcastically says " What means Wotan's wrath ? How
:

fare the heavenly gods ?" All at once a pale mist be-
gins to rise and gradually increases in thickness in it ;

the gods appear pale and old all stand looking with ;

anxiety and expectation at Wotan, who fixes his eyes

on the ground in thought.

Loki.

Triigt mlch ein Nebel .' Deludes me a mist.'

Neckt mich ein Traum ? Mocks me a dream ?

Wie bang und bleich How sad and wan

Verbliiht ihr so bald ! Have you waned so soon .

Euch erlischt der Wangen Blanched is the bloom of

Licht ; your cheeks ;

Der Blick eures Auges ver- The flame of your eyes has
blitzt !— fled !—
Frisch, mein Froh, Cheer up, ray Fr&,
Noch ist's ja friih ! Yet early it is !

Deiner Hand, Donner, From thy hand, dear Thor,

Entfallt ja der Hammer ! Is dropping the hammer!
Was ist's mit Fricka ? How fares it with Fricka.''
 !; ! ! ! . !

THE RHEINGOLD. 93

Freut sie sich wenig Faintly she smiles

Ob Wotan's gramlichemGrau, At Wotan's grayness and
gloom,
Das schier zum Greisen ihn As old in aspect he grows,
schafft ?

Then Loki tells the gods, in a manner highly satisfac-

tory to himself, the cause changed aspect. of their
With the disappearance gods are bereft
of Freyja, the
of youth, beauty and strength. As for himself, Loki
adds, he is less concerned about it, since Freyja had
ever given him but sparingly of the precious fruit. The
golden apples in her garden have begun to wither.

Fricka.

Wotan, Gemahl, Wotan, husband !

Unsel'ger Mann ! Behold thy doom

Sieh', wie dein Leichtsinn Lo how thy lightness
!

Lachend uns alien Hath laughingly wrought

Schimpf und Schmach erschuf Ruin and wreck for us all

Wotan.

(Mit plotzlichem Entschluss auf-

fahrend.)
(Starting up with sudden resolution.)

Auf, Loge Up, Loki

Hinab mit mir! Follow along
Nach Nibelheim fahren wir To Nibelheim's night we must
nieder fare ;

Gewinnen will ich das Gold. The glittering gold I will gain.

Loki.

Die Rheintochter The river-maidens

Riefen dich an : Thy might implored :

So diirfen ErlSsung sie hofifen ? May they hope to be heard ?

 : ! !

94 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Wotan.
(Heftig.) (Impetuously.)

Schweige, Schwatzer ! Enough of thy nonsense

Freia, die gute, Freyja, the goddess,
Freia gilt es zu 16sen. Freyja be ransomed and freed.

Lokz.

Wie du befiehlst, At thy behest

Fuhr' ich dich gern , We hasten from here ;

Steil hinab In steep descent

Steigen wir denn durch den Through the stream of the
Rhein ? Rhine shall we stride ?
Wotan.
Nicht denn durch den Rhein ! Not through the Rhine

Lokz.

So schwingen wir uns Then come we'll descend

!

Durch die Schwefelkluft Through the sulphurouschasm;

Dort schlQpfe mit mir hinein ! Slyly we'll slip through the
cleft.

Loki descends first, and disappears sideways in a

cleft, out of which immediately issues a sulphurous
mist. Wotan follows.
Wotan had made a solemn compact with the giants,
and the stability of his realm depends on the sacred-
ness of his oath. " As if to remind him of this limit of

his power, the orchestra intones a solemn theme, which

might be called the law or bond motive. It appears
first as the scale descending from B flat to the octave C

natural, and occurs again frequently in the course of the

piece, being recognizable by its peculiar rhythmical
formation. Another important melody of great sweet-
ness, which first occurs in this scene, is that which
 ;

THE RHEINGOLD. 95

marks the entrance of Freyja, the goddess of youth

to sounds she implores the assistance of Wotan
its

against her pursuers, whose clumsy footsteps, following

the lovely maiden, are characterized by a heavy rhyth-
mical phrase in the orchestra. The contrast between
the natures here brought in contact is thus expressed
by the music with an intensity wholly unattainable by
verbal explanation. As to Loki, the chromatic motive
expressive of his character resembles the fitful flicker-
ing of fire. In Loki's flames the splendor of Valhall is

doomed to perish, and it is also by his means that the

moral guilt of the gods, which already in the Eddie
poems is the cause of their fate, is brought about."
The mist that had risen out of the cleft after Loki
and Wotan disappeared in it spreads itself over the
whole scene and quickly fills it with thick clouds, so
that the gods who remained behind have become in-
visible. The sulphurous mist darkens until it becomes
a dense black cloud which moves from below vpward.
This is transformed into a firm dark chasm of rock
which is moving upward, so that it seems as if the stage
were sinking deeper and deeper into the earth.
" A short interlude depicts in broad touches the de-

scent of Wotan and Loki to the subterraneous realm of

Alberich the Nibelung. A hammering rhythm in the
orchestra, enforced by eighteen tuned anvils behind the
scenes, tells us that we are approaching the country of
the smiths." From different directions in the distance
dawns a dark-red glimmer huge subterranean cavern
; a
becomes visible, which on sides seems to issue in
all

narrow clefts. Alberich drags the shrieking Mime* by

* As to the work and general character of the dwarfs, see pages
24-26.
 ! — — !

96 RING OP THE NIBELUNG.

the ear out of a side-passage, and threatens him with

dire punishment if he does not at once produce the work
which Alberich had imposed upon him. Mime, after
some hesitation, says that something is still missing to
complete the task yet, trembling with fear, he lets fall
;

a piece of metal-work which he held convulsively in his

hands. Alberich immediately picks it up and examines
it closely.

Alberich.

Schau, du Schelm ! See, thou rogue !

Alles geschmiedet All is wrought

Und fertig gefUgt, And fully finished.
Wie ich's befahl Fit to my fancy !

So wollte der Tropf The wily fiend

Schlau mich betriigen, Would fain outwit me,
FiJr sich behalten Guard for himself
Das hehre Geschmeid, The gorgeous gear
Das meine List He learned to weld
Ihn zu Schmieden gelehrt. By the wiles of my lore.
Kenn' ich dich duramen Dieb? Thy foolish knavery I know
(Er setzt das Gewirk, als Tarn-helm, (He places the piece, as Tarn-helm,*
auf den Kopf.) on his head.)

Dem Haupt fiigt sicli der Helm The helmet : fits my head,
Ob sich der Zauber auch zeigt } Behold if the wonder will
work !

— " Nacht und Nebel, — " Night and mist,

Niemand gleich !" Alike to none!"

Alberich's figure vanishes ; in its place a pillar of

cloud His voice is heard as he threatens
appears.
Mime with punishment for his thievish designs. Mime
screams and writhes under the audible lashes of an in-
visible whip. Then Alberich haughtily summons all

* See pages 102, 206 and 219.

 : :

THE kHEINGOLB. 97

the Nibelungs and tells them that henceforth ceaseless

toil shallbe their fate they must serve him, the lord of
;

the Nibelungs, although he be not visible to them. The

pillar of cloud recedes towards the background, where
it vanishes. Alberich's wrathful tones gradually become
fainter and howls and cries resound from the
fainter ;

lower clefts. The sound by degrees dies away in the

further distance. Mime from agony has fallen to the
ground his groaning and whimpering are heard by
;

Wotan and Loki, who come down by a cleft from

above.
Loki.

Nibelheim hier Nibelheim here !

Durch bleiche Nebel Through night and gloom

Wie blitzen dort feurige Fun- What a glitter of fiery sparks I

ken !

Wotan.
Hier stohnt as laut What moans so loud ?

Was liegt im Gestein ? What lies on the mound .'

Loki recognizes Mime and bids him be cheerful ; he

even promises to aid him in his misfortune.

Mime.
(Sich etwas aufrichtend.) (Raising himself slightly.)

Wer halfe mir ? Who bodes me help?

Gehorchen muss ich Obey I must
Dem leiblichen Bruder, The law of my brother
Der raich in Bande gelegt. Who boldly laid me in bonds.

Loki.

Dich, Mime, zu binden, To bind thee, Mime,

Was gab ihm die Macht 1 What gave him the might ?
 : ; —

98 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Mime.

Mit arger List With artful malice

Schuf sich Alberich Alberich made
Aus Rheines Gold From the gold of the Rhine
Einen gelben Reif A ruddy ring
Seinem starken Zauber At its magic power
Zittern wir staunend ;
Amazed, we tremble ;

Mit ilim zwingt er uns alle, With the ring he bends to his
rule
Der Niblungen niichiiges Heer. The Nibelungs' night-born
host.
Sorglose Schmiede Gleefully once
Schufen wir sons, ivohl We worked on glittering
Schmucic unserii Weibern, Gifts for our wives,
Wonnig Geschmeid, Wiiisomest gear,
NIedlichen Niblurigentand : Neatest Niblung toys.
Wir lachten lustig der Miih'. We laughed for love of the toil.

Then Mime relates how Alberich now compels the

dwarfs to work for him alone. By the power of the
ring he discovers where the precious metals are hidden
in the bowels of the earth. Ceaselessly the Nibelungs
must dig up and smelt the ore. Mime also tells Loki
about the helmet he made for Alberich, and how, sus-
pecting its great magic power, he tried to keep it for
himself, so that by this means he might free himself
from Alberich's rule, and perhaps even wrest the ring
from him. Yet, he continues, too late he divined the
secret charm which was connected with the helmet and
by which its wearer could render himself invisible. In
the mean time Alberich's voice is heard in the distance,
and Mime warns Loki and Wotan of his approach.
Wotan seats himself on a stone; Loki stands at his side.
Alberich, who has taken the Tarn-helm off his head
 : :

THE RHEINGOLD. 99

and hung it at his girdle, with hiswhip drives before

him a throng of Nibelungs upwards from the lower
chasm. They are laden with gold and silver treasure,
which under Alberich's constant goading they store in a
pile and so heap to a hoard. Alberich severely scolds
them, then draws the ring from his finger, kisses it,
and with threatening mien shows it to his brother and
the other Nibelungs. They disperse, trembling with
fear,and escape to the chasms below to bring up more
gold. Alberich with a fierce gesture approaches Wotan
and Loki.
Wotan.
Von Nibelheim's nachtigem From Nibelheim's night-born
Land land
Vernahmen wir neue Mahr': We lately tidings have learned
Machtige Wunder Of wonders rare
Wirke hier Alberich ;
That Alberich wrought.
Daran uns zu weiden To behold their splendor
Trieb uns Gaste die Gier. Hither we hied as thy guests.

Alberich gives vent tc his suspicions of the two

strangers, and particularly of Loki, who reveals his
identity to him. Yet the powerful dwarf defies the
gods, and boasts of his might through the power of the
gold and as Wotan asks him of what use the hoard
;

could possibly be in joyless Nibelheim, he repHes

Schatze zu schaffen Treasures to raise

Und Schatze zu bergen. And treasures to hide,
Niitzt mir Nibelheim's Nacht; Avails me Nibelheim's night;
Doch mit dem Hort, But with the hoard,
In der Hohle gehauft, Upheaved in the hollow,
Denk' ich dann Wunder zu wir- Wonders to work I intend ;

ken
 ! ; : —— —
: ! ——
;

lOO RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Die ganze Welt The realm of the world

Gewinn ich mit ihm mir zu I'll win, and rule by my wifi.

eigen.

When Wotan sarcastically requests Alberich to tell

him how he intends to achieve this benevolent pur-
pose. Alberich retorts

Die in linder Liifte Weh'n Though in breath of tranquil

breezes
Da oben ihr lebt, Ye live aloft,
Lacht und liebt Laugh and love ;

Mit gold'ner Faust With the gold in my palm.

Euch Gottliche fang' ich mir Ye gods, in my power you fall-'
alle!
Wie icli der Liebe abgesagt, As love I forswore for aye,
AUes was lebt All that lives
Soil ihr entsagen Shall forsake its delight
Mit Golde gekirrt, Allured with gold,
Nach Gold nur sollt ihr noch For gold alone you shall pine.
gieren.
Auf wonnigen Hoh'n On winsome heights
In seligem Weben In hallowed weaving
Wiegt ihr euch ; Ye wave above;
Den Schwarz-Alben The dusky elf
Verachtet ihr, ewige Schwel- Ye disdain in your revels un-
ger. ending.
Habt Acht !— Have heed !

Habt Acht !— Have heed !

Denn dient ihr Manner When first you men

Erst meiner Macht, Are foiled by my might,
Eure schmucken Frau'n With your dainty women
Die mein Freien verschmaht Whom to woo I disdain
Sie zwingt zur Lust sich der The dwarf in delight will dally.
Zwerg,
Lacht Liebe ihm nicht !
Though love dwells in him not!
Hahahaha Hahahaha
 ! 1

THE RHEINGOLD. 10

Hort ihr mich recht ? Hear you aright ?

Habt Acht Have heed !

Habt Acht vor dem nachtli- Have heed of the night-born

chen Heer, host,
Entsteigt des Niblungen Hort When the Niblung's hoard
shall ascend
Aus stummer Tiefe zu Tag ! From silent depth into day!

Mime's account of Alberich's cruelty and power is

" an exceedingly interesting piece of music. Accom-
panied by the anvil rhythm, he sadly recalls his former
happy life as a careless smith, working with his com-
rades pretty trinkets for their wives. The melody of
his song very simple, and reminds the hearer some-
is

what of the Volkslied, or popular ballad. fine touch A

of humorous instrumentation has been pointed out by
a German critic. When Mime
mentions the Tarn-
helmet, and adds how he was
hopes of cheating his
in
brother out of its possession, his vain attempt at cun-
ning is charmingly parodied by the semi-quavers of the
somewhat clumsy fagotti. The satire is quite as per-
spicuous, although not quite as broad, as the celebrated
horn by which Mozart supplements Figaro's tale of his
imaginary conjugal troubles. The entire scene is con-
ceived in a thoroughly humorous spirit. The flagella-
tions of the cruel Alberich and the pitiful shrieks of his
victims are depicted by the music in the most realistic
manner. In the ensuing dialogue between Wotan and
the Nibelung the contrast is particularly remarkable
between the latter's spasmodic, outbreaks and the lofty
though passionate bearing of the higher god. The first
notes of Wotan's address betray at once the dignified
reserve of the gentleman in his unwilling intercourse
I02 KING OF THE NIBELUNG.

with the clown. Even Loki's restlessness is vastly dif.

ferent from the coarser acents of the dwarf. In the
economy of the trilogy the present scene holds a posi-
tion analogous to the satyr-drama of the antique tra-
gedy."
Loki pretends to admire Alberich's cunning and
power, but slyly intimates that possibly the ring might
be stolen from him at night during his sleep. Albe-
rich derides him, and boasts of the power of the Tarn-
helm that renders its wearer invisible, while he may be
everywhere without being seen by any one. Moreover,
he tells Loki that by the might of the magic helmet he
can change his semblance at will. Of this information
Loki is determined to take advantage he pretends to
;

doubt Alberich's word, and assures him that he will

only believe the marvel when he sees it with his own
eyes. Alberich, scorning Loki's seeming stupidity, puts
on the helmet and utters a few words of incantation.
He suddenly disappears in his place a huge snake is
;

visible, rearing and stretching its open jaws towards

Wotan and Loki. The latter pretends to be terror-
struck, while Wotan laughs at the appearance of the
serpent. The monster and Alberich be
disappears,
comes again visible in his real form. When he asks
Loki if he will now believe him, the wily god replies
that he has certainly achieved an unheard-of wonder.
Yet Loki insinuates that perhaps it may not be so
easy for Alberich to transform himself into a very small
creature. The Nibelung again puts on the magic hel-
met, and the gods become aware of a toad among the
stones, creeping towards them. Wotan puts his foot
on the toad ; Loki grasps at its head and holds th^
 THE RHEINGOLD. IO3

helmet in his hand. Alberich suddenly appears in his

real form, as he writhes under Wotan's foot. Loki
takes a rope and binds his arms and legs. Alberich
wrathfully struggles to free himself, but he is over-
powered by the gods, who drag him with them towards
the cliff by which they had come down.
We may here again quote Hueffer's remarks :
" Al-

berich is caught in the snare thus laid for his vanity.

The orchestra intones a strange melody, which sounds
like some runic formula of conjuration and instead of
;

Alberich we see an enormous worm wriggling slowly

on the ground. At Loki's bidding the charm is ap-
plied a second time, Alberich appearing now as a toad,
the hopping of which is like the slow movements of
the worm on first occasion, graphically illustrated by
the
the music. A
change of tempo from moderato to
presto announces that the gods have torn the helmet
from Alberich's head and are dragging the powerless
dwarf from the dark recesses of his realm. On passing
the smithies we once more hear the monotonous rhythm
of the anvils."
The scene is gradually transformed back to the open
region on mountain heights, as beheld in the second
scene. It is, however, still shrouded in a pale mist,

as before the second transformation, after Freyja's

departure. Wotan and Loki, leading Alberich in

bonds, ascend from the cleft. Loki greets the des-

perate Nibelung with mocking words, while Alberich's
helpless rage grows fiercer and fiercer when Wotan
tells him to give up the hoard for his ransom. He up-
braids the gods for their greed of gain, yet he needs
must agree to deliver the gold. He puts the ring to
 ! — ! — ! !! ! ! !

I04 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

his lips, and at his behest the Nibelungs arise from the
cleft, laden with the treasures of the hoard.

Alberich.
(Aside.)

O schandliche Schmach, O shameful disgrace.

Dass die scheuen Knechte That the groping wretches
Geknebelt selbst niich er- My rueful grief should behold !

schauen !
(To the dwarfs.)
Dorthin gefuhrt, Heap it up there
Wie ich's befehl'! Heed my behest
All zu Hauf Pile up the hoard,
Schichtet den Hort And heave it on high !

Helf ich euch Lahmen ? Linger not lamely,

Hieher nicbt gelugt !— Look not at me !

Rasch da Rasch ! ! Hasten Hasten

! !

Dann riihrt euch von hinnen ;

Then hurry from hence
Dass ihr mir schafft, Down to your toil
Fort in die Schachten ! In the dusky shafts !

Weh' euch, find' ich euch faul Woe to the weary and faint
Auf den Fersen folg' ich euch On your heels I follow you
nach. fast.

The Nibelungs, after they have piled up the hoard,

slip timidly down again into the cleft.

Alberich.

Gezahlt hab' ich, The ransom I've paid.

Lasst mich nun zieh'n t Now let me depart
Und das Helmgeschmeid, And the lordly helmet.
Das Loge dort halt, That Loki there holds,
Das gebt mir nun giitlich zu- In friendship remit unto me
riick

Loki throws the magic helmet on the hoard, where-

upon Alberich becomes furious. Yet inwardly he con-
 : :

THE RHEINGOLD. lOS

soles himself, thinking that Mime at his command

might forge for him another helmet of like power. He
now from his bonds but as Loki
desires to be released ;

asks Wotan if he is satisfied with the ransom, Wotan

replies, turning to Alberich :

Ein gold'ner Ring A golden ring

Glanzt dir am Finger Gleams on thy finger
Horst du, Alp ? Hearest thou, elf ?
Der, acht' ich, gehort mit zum Methinks it belongs to the
Hort. hoard.

Alberich, terrified at Wotan's demand, refuses to

give up the ring, and says that it belongs to him as well
as his hands, head, eyes and ears belong to his body.
But Wotan scornfully upbraids him for deeming the ring
his own, and tells him to ask the Rhine-daughters if
they have willingly given him the gold from which he
made the ring.
Alberich.

Schmahliche Tucke ! O shameful fraud !

Schandlicher Trug ! O frightful sham !

Wirf'st du, Schacher, Darest thou, wretch.

Die Schuld mir vor. Arraign me for deeds
Die dir so wonnig erwiinscht ? Thou hail'st with delight in
thy heart ?
Wie gem raubtest From the Rhine the gold
Du selbstdem Rheine das Gold, Thou gladly thyself wouldst
have wrenched,
War nur so leicht Hadst thou been aware
Die List, eszu Schmieden, er- Of the wisdom to fashion the
langt } charm ?
Wie gliickt' es nun For thy weal then befell it,

Dir Gleissner zum Heil Thou feigning knave,

Dass der Niblung, ich, That the Niblung here
 : !, ! —

io6 RING OF THE NIB EL UNG.

Aus schmahlicher Noth, In wretched need.
In des Zornes Zwange In the heat of wrath.
Den schrecklichen Zauber ge- The charm terrific had
wann, wrought
Dess' Werk nun lustig dir lacht ? Which now is thy laughing
delight ?

Des Unseligsten, Fraught with curses,

A n gstversehrten The frightful deed
Fluchfertige, Which I, the most wretched,
Furchtbare That, BanefuUy wrought,
Zu fiirstlichem Tand For princely display
Soil sie frohlich dir taugen ? Should now be pleasing to
thee?
Zur Freude dir frommen mein My curse should cause thee de-
Fluch ? light ?

Hiite dich, Have heed.

Herrischer Gott Thou haughty god !

Frevelte ich, If wrong I did,

So frevelt' ich frei an mir I wronged but a deed of mine :

Doch an allem, was war, But on all that was.

1st und wird, Is and will be,

Frevelst, Ewiger, du, A crime, thou god, is thy craft.

Entreissest du frech mir den If the ring is wrenched from
Ring my grasp

Wotan with vehement force tears the ring from Al-

berich's finger, the Nibelung shrieking horribly, and
puts it on his, contemplating it with delight. Alberich's
bonds are loosed by Loki. The Nibelung raises him-
self from the ground, and with furious laughter utters a
frightful curse on every one who thereafter shall wear
the ring. Death shall it bring to its wearer no happi- ;

ness shall come from its glaring light he who possesses ;

the ring shall be the prey of unending sorrows, and he

who has it not shall pine for its might. The possessor of
the ring shall be its slave, until it comes back into Al-
 ! :

THE RHEINGOLD. 10/

bench's hand. The Nibelung then vanishes quickly

down and the mist in the foreground of
into the cleft,
the scene gradually grows clearer. Loki, looking to-
wards the right, perceives Fasolt and Fafnir from
afar, leading Freyja. From the other side Fricka,
Thor and Fro appear. Fricka anxiously inquires after
the success of Wotan's undertaking, whereupon Loki
points to the hoard. The foreground has become
bright again ;the appearance of the gods assumes in
the light its former freshness. Over the background,
however, the mist is still visible, so that the distant
castle cannot be seen. Fafnir and Fasolt appear, with
Freyja between them. Fricka joyously hastens to-
wards her and embraces her.

Fasolt.

Das Weib zu missen. To part with the maid

Wisse, gemuthet mich weh : Painfully preys onmy mind
Soil aus dem Sinn sie mir My heart henceforth she would
schwinden, harass,
Des Geschmeides Hort Unless the hoard
Haufe denn so, Be heaped aloft,
Dass meinem Blick Till from my face
Die Bluhende ganz er verdeck' The fair one wholly be hid !

Fafnir and Fasolt thrust their staves in front of

Freyja into the ground in such a way as to comprise
the same height and breadth as her figure. Loki and
Fro swiftly heap up the treasure between the staves.
Fafner with rude force presses it close together, and
stoops down to see if there are any open spaces. In
the mean time, while Wotan can hardly suppress his
rage against the giants, Fricka, fixing her glance on
Freyja, bewails the shameful treatment to which the
 ! !

Io8 RING OF THE NIB EL UNO.

lofty goddess is thus exposed. Fafnir rudely calls for

more gold ;and Thor is about to attack the giant, when
Wotan exclaims that Freyja's figure is hidden by the
hoard. At the same time Loki says that all the gold
had been parted with. Fafnir, measuring the hoard
with his eyes, replies that he can see Freyja's hair,
and demands the magic helmet. Loki throws it on
the pile of gold. Fasolt then approaches the hoard
and spies through it he perceives Freyja's gleaming
;

eye, and at once declares that she cannot be freed

unless she be wholly concealed from sight. Fafnir
demands the ring, but Wotan stubbornly refuses to
give it up. Fasolt then furiously drags Freyja from
behind the hoard, and cries out that the goddess must
follow the giants to their home. Despite the entreaties
of Fricka, Fro and Thor to yield the ring and thereby
procure Freyja's ransom, Wotan is still determined to
keep it. Fafnir for a moment holds off Fasolt, who is
about to lead Freyja away. The gods stand amazed,
and Wotan wrathfully turns away from them. Dark-
ness reigns again on the scene. From the rocky cliffs at
the side a bluish light breaks forth. In it Wotan im-
mediately perceives Erda, who half emerges from the
depth she is of noble mien, with long black hair. Erda
;

stretches her hand warningly towards Wotan.

Erda.
Weiche, Wotan, weiche Yield,O Wotan, yield
Fiieh' des Ringes Fluch ! Escape from the curs^ of the
ring!
Rettungslos, To hopeless woe,
Dunlclem Verderben To doleful harm,
Weiht dich sein Gewinn. Dooms thee the gain of the
ring.
 : ; ! :: : ! ! ; : ; ;; !

THE RHEINGOLD. 109

Wotan.
Wer bist du, mahnendes Weib ? Who art thou, warning
woman ?
Erda.

Wie alles war, weiss ich ;

All that was I know
Wie alles wird, How all now is,

Wie alles sein wird, And hence shall be.

Seh' ich auch Behold I too
Der ew'gen Welt The measureless world's
Ur-Wala, Immortal Vala,
Erda, mahnt deinen Muth. Erda, warns thee : beware !

Drei der Tochter, To daughters three.

Ur-erschaflE'ne, Yore- begotten.
Gebar mein Schooss Birth I gave
Was ich sehe, What I view,
Sagen dir nachtlich die Nornen. Unveil to thee nightly the
Norns.*
Doch hochste Gefahr But dreadful danger
Fuhrt mich heut' Draws me hither
Selbst zu dir her In haste to-day
Hore ! hore ! h5re Hearken ! hearken ! hearken 1

Alles was ist, endet. All that is, shall end.

Eindiist'rer Tag A gloomy day
Dammert den Gottern Dawns for the gods
Dir rath' ich, meide den Ring My rede is : refrain from the
ring!

Erda slowly sinks down, up to her breast, while the

bluish gleam begins to darken.

Wotan.
Geheimniss-hehr Mystery weird
Hallt mir dein Wort Resounds in thy words :

Weile, dass mehr ich wisse Delay, till more I have learned
* See page 29.
 — : — ! — ;

no RING OP THE NlBELUNG.

Erda.
(Im Verschwinden.) (As she is disappearing.)
Ich warnte dich Iwarned thee now
Du weisst genug Thou knowest enough
Sinne in Sorg' und Furclit! Consider in sorrow and fear!
(Sie verschwindet ganzlich.) (She vanishes.)

Wotan.
Soil ich sorgen und furchten — Shall fear and sorrow beset
me
Dich muss ich fassen, I'll hold thee now,
Alles erfahren ! All I will know

He is about to rush into the cleft to seize Erda, but

Thor, Fro and Fricka throw themselves before him
and prevent him. He remains lost in deep thought for
some time, and then suddenly, by a strong effort of
the will, arrives at a decision. He throws the ring on
the hoard, and the giants let Freyja go. She joyfully
hastens towards the gods, who display their great de-
light by caressing her.
" Erda is the pantheistic symbol of the universe, the

timeless and spaceless mother of god and man. In the

melody which accompanies her words we recognize the
gradual rising of the waves in the orchestral prelude, a
significant circumstance establishing the affinity of the
primeval sources of the world."
Fafnir has spread out a huge sack, and begins to pack
the hoard in it. Fasolt becomes angry with Fafnir,
since the latter takes the greater part of the treasure for
himself. Fasolt begs the gods to settle the dispute, but
Wotan disdainfully turns away from him. Loki per-
fidiously advises Fasolt to let the hoard go and care
 THE RHEINGOLD, 111

only for the ring. Fasolt rushes on Fafnir and grasps

at the ring they wrestle with one another, until Fasolt
;

wrenches the ring from Fafnir. The latter strikes

furiously at Fasolt with his staff, and with one blow
stretches him on the ground. While Fasolt is dying,
Fafnir hastily snatches the ring from him, which he
puts in the sack, and then slowly gathers together the
rest of the hoard. All the gods stand amazed at the
deed and Wotan, having thus witnessed the death of
;

the first victim of Alberich's curse, ponders in long and

solemn silence on the events that fate may have in
store for the gods. He is deeply agitated, and resolves
by himself to descend to Erda's abode, so that he may
learn from her the tidings of the future.* Even when
Fricka presses caressingly towards him, and points to
the castle whose lofty walls bid welcome to their lord
and master, Wotan's gloom does not vanish he says ;

that with baneful pay he acquired the abode. Thor

pointing to the background, still enwrapped in a veil
of mist, ascends a high rock in the slope of the valley
and swings his hammer. The clouds gradually draw
closer about him, until he vanishes wholly in a huge
mass of thunder-cloud which grows darker and darker.
Then the blow of his hammer is heard falling heavily
on the rock fierce flashes of lightning dart out from
;

the cloud, and a violent thunder-clap follows. He sum-

mons to him Fr6, who disappears with him in the
cloud. All at once the cloud vanishes. Thor and Fro
are visible ; from their feet in dazzling brightness a rain-
bow-bridge extends over the dale to the castle. The
latter, now illumined by the setting sun, shines in
* See page 131.
 ! ! !

112 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

brightest splendor. Fafnir, who, by the side of his
murdered brother, had at last packed the whole hoard,
has left the scene with the huge sack on his back, dur-
ing Thor's storm-spell. Wotan turns to Fricka and
says :
"
Follow me, wife ; in Valhall abide with me !"
They walk towards the bridge ; Fro and Freyja,
and, a little further behind, Thor, follow. Loki re-
mains standing for a short while, looking after the gods.
Foreseeing their final destruction, he derides them
in an undertone, and expresses his wish to transform
himself again into flickering flames, so that he may de-
vour the gods that of yore had bound him and forced
him to serve them. At last he leisurely joins them.
Out of the depth resounds the song of the Rhine-
daughters :

Rheingold ! Rhinegold
Reines Gold ! Purest gold !

Wie lauter und hell How once thy flame

Leuchtetest einst du uns Around us flashed its rays !

Um dich, du klares, And now the loss

Nun wir klagen ! Of thy light we bewail
Gebt uns das Gold, Give us the gold,
O gebt uns das reine zuriick ! O give us again its gleam !

Wotan, who is just about to set foot on the bridge,

halts, turns round, and asks Loki whence come the
plaintive strains. When he learns the truth, he gives
vent to his anger against the river-maidens. Loki
scornfully tells them to rejoice in the new splendor of
the gods. The gods laugh and step on the bridge.
From the depth is heard again the song of the Rhine-
daughters :
 : ! ! ! ! !

THE RHEINGOLD. II3

Rheingold ! Rhinegold
Reines Gold ! Purest gold !

O leuchtete noch O would that thy light

In der Tiefe dein laut'rer Tand Waved in the waters below
Traulich und treu Unfailing faith
Ist's nur in der Tiefe Is found in the deep,
Falsch und feig While above, in delight,
1st was dort oben sich freut Faintness and falsehood abide

The gods stride over the bridge towards the castle.

Thus closes the " Rheingold."
" It remains to point out the fine psychological use
to which the leading motives are turned in this scene.
While Wotan is still under the power of the gold, the
ring-motive in the orchestra paints the struggle of his
soul ; his moral effort in parting with the ring is power-
fully expressed by the bond-motive, which in a manner
connects his act with the moral order of the world, of
which he is the guardian and representative. The . . .

musical conception of this extremely powerful scene

(the quarrel between Fasolt and Fafnir) is founded on
a combination of the ring-motive and the formula of
Alberich's curse, the former being representative of the
irresistible attraction of the gold, the latter of its bane-
ful power. . . . The gathering of the thunder-storm up
to the fortissimo of the actual outbreak is rendered by
the wild rhythms of triplets and semi-quavers in the
strings. When the fury of the storm is expended, the
wind-instruments commence a quiet, long-drawn melody
in G flat, which indicates the rainbow thrown by Fro
across the valley. The grand chords of the Val-
. . .

hall Motive bring the Rheingold to a splendid musical ' '

conclusion. The Rheingold might be compared to the

' '

8
114 Jil^G OF THE NIBELUNG.
prologue in Heaven prefixed to Goethe's Faust, for it
foreshadows in the minds of divine beings the sufferings
and aspirations of the human actors. In the present
drama, however, the gods are not placid contemplators
of the events to follow they are themselves tragic ob-
;

jects, and their own their very existence, is

fate, nay,
at stake. The germs of the whole trilogy may indeed
be recognized in the introductory piece."
 THE WALK Ore. 115

CHAPTER V.

THE WALKURE.
At the close of the " Rheingold " we have seen how
Wotan, striding over the rainbow-bridge towards the
castle erected by the giants, conceived the thought of
calling the new abode of the gods " Valhall " (the hall
of the slain heroes). To aid the gods in the approach-
ing struggle —the "
Gotterdammerung" the Valkyrs,—
Wotan and Erda's daughters, had to select on the
battle-field the noblest and greatest warriors of the
world and lead them to Valhall. But all these cham-
pions were of little avail, since they could act only
according to Wotan's command. What was most
needful for the welfare of the gods was a hero not
included in the curse resting on the possessor of the
Nibelung hoard, who should by his own free will, un-
aided by Wotan, obtain the ring, and by returning it to
the Rhine accomplish the work of redemption. In fur-
therance of this, two human children, the twins Sieg-
mund and Sieglind, were born to Wotan. Early in
youth they were separated, since the mortal foe of their
house, Hunding, destroyed their home and carried off
Sieglind as his bride. Siegmund grew up to manhood
in the forest, amidst battles and storms. At first he was
with his father Valse, as Wotan called himself, but
Il6 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

one day the father disappeared forever.* Siegmund

was not the free hero that could accompHsh the object
held in view by Wotan, for the curse on the Nibelung
gold was transferred to him by his father.
The first act of the "Walkiire" opens at the house of
Handing. In the centre of the hall rises the trunk of
a gigantic ash-tree whose mighty roots extend far over
the ground. The branches reach over the high roof,
and are supposed to spread over the whole building.
The walls are made of roughly-hewn wood, covered here
and there with plaited and woven hangings. To the
right, in the foreground, is a hearth behind it an inner
;

room, like a kind of larder. In the background is a

large door with a plain wooden bolt. To the left a
few steps lead up to the door of an inner apartment.
Farther towards the foreground are a table, with a bench
fastened to the wall, and a few wooden footstools. A
short orchestral prelude, weird and stormy, recalling
partly the Valhall scene at the closing act of the
" Rheingold," forms the introduction. It portrays a
fierce storm, first in its most violent and then in its
calmer aspect. " The triplets of the violins denote the
beating of hail and rain on the leaves of tall trees, the
rolling phrase in the double basses being suggestive of
the angry voice of thunder." At the rise of the curtain,
Siegmund, with a bear-skin thrown over his shoulder,
hurriedly opens the door in the background and enters.
Evening is approaching the storm is passing away; the
;

fire blazes fitfully on the hearth, and lightnings now and

then flash through the hall. Siegmund stops for a

moment and surveys the room he seems utterly ex
;

* See page 121.

 : !

THE WALK Ore. 117

hausted, and his apparel and appearance denote that

he has been pursued by an enemy. Perceiving no
one in the hall, he closes the door behind him, walks
towards the hearth, and throws himself wearily on a
bear-skin rug lying in front of it.

Siegmund.

Wess' Herd dies auch sei, Whose hearth soe'er this be,
Hier muss ich rasten. Here must I rest.

He sinks back and remains for some time stretched

out motionless. Sieglind comes in through the door
of the inner apartment. From the noise she has heard
she imagines that her husband has returned ; she grows
serious and is surprised at finding a stranger stretched
out before the hearth.
Sieglind.
(Noch im Hintergrunde.) (Still in the background.)

Ein fremder Mann ! A stranger here

Ihn muss ich fragen. What brought him hither?
(Sie tritt ruhig einige Schritte (She calmly approaches a few steps.)
naher.)

Wer Icam in's Haus Who came to this house

Und liegt dort am Herd ? And lies at the hearth ?

As Siegmund remains motionless, she draws a little

nearer and looks at him. Then she bends closer to
him.

Noch schwillt ihm der Athem ; His breath still heaves,

Das Auge nur schloss er Though his lids be lowered.
Muthig diinkt mich der Warlike and manful I deem
Mann, him.
Sank er miid' auch hin. Though, wearied, down he has
sunk.
 !

Il8 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Siegmund suddenly raises his head and calls for a

cooling draught. Sieglind takes a drinking-horn and
returns with it filled with mead. She hands it to Sieg-
mund with sympathetic words and gestures. He drinks
and returns the horn to her, then gazes a long time on
her countenance. They seem
to become strongly and
irresistibly attractedtowards each other yet no words, ;

only their glances full of interest and emotion, denote

the expression of their feelings. Siegmund starts quickly
as if to go away, but Sieglind asks why he will not
tarry.
Siegmund.
Misswende folgt mir Misfortune follows
Woliin ich fliehe : Whither I fare ;

Misswende naht mir Misfortune is near

Wo mich neige
ich : Where I am nigh ;

Dir, Frau,doch bleibe sie fern ! But from thee be

far its fate
Fort wend' ich Fuss und Blick. Forth from here will I hie.

Siegmund walks quickly to the door and lifts the

bolt. Sieglind with impetuous self-forgetfulness bids
him to remain, and exclaims that he can bring no sorrow
to the house in which sorrow already reigns. He halts,
deeply moved, and gazes searchingly in Sieglind's
countenance she at last casts down her eyes, abashed
;

and sad. A
long silence reigns in the hall. Siegmund
returns and sits down, leaning against the hearth, deter-
mined to wait for Hunding's arrival. " The musical
treatment of this scene is of great tenderness. A grave
melody indicates the lonely sadness of the Volsung,
but a motive of tenderest pathos expresses the feeling
of lovewhich at first sight unites the pair. It always
appears in two parts, betokening thus the inseparable
 THE WALKURE. II9

duality of the emotion. Another love-motive of equal

beauty belonging to this scene deserves mention as a
specimen of that sustained melodiousness which of all
Beethoven's followers Wagner alone shares with that
master."
Sieglind remains in embarrassed silence. Footsteps
are heard outside, while the music gloomy, and ill-
is

boding strains announce Hunding's return to his

home. At the sound of the bugles Sieglind starts,
listens, and hears how Hunding leads his horse to the
stall
; she hastily goes to the door and opens it. Hun-
ding, armed with shield and spear, enters, but halts at
the threshold as soon as he perceives Siegmund.
Hunding casts a grave and searching glance at Sieglind
in regard to the stranger, whom, however, he receives
hospitably. While Sieglind hangs Hunding's weapons
on the branches of the ash-tree and then places food
and drink on the table for the evening meal, Hunding
scans sharply and with astonishment Siegmund's feat-
ures and compares them with those of his wife. He
finds that they resemble each other, and the same glare
flashes from their eyes yet he conceals his surprise, and
;

with seeming unconcern invites Siegmund to share the

evening meal with him and Sieglind. Hunding proudly
reveals his name to Siegmund, and boasts of his posses-
sions and the great number of chieftains " who protect
Hunding's honor." He then expresses the wish to
know who his guest is. Siegmund, who in the mean
time had seated himself at the table, looks thoughtfully
before him. Sieglind, sitting opposite Siegmund, casts
wondering and sympathetic glances at him.
 ;; —! ;! ! ; — !

I20 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Sieglind.

(Unbefangen und theilnahmvoU.) (Without embarrassment and sym-

pathetically.)

Gast, wer du bist Guest, thy name

Wiisst' ich gern. I fain would know.
Siegmund.
(Blicktauf, sieht ihr in das Auge, und (Looks up, gazes into her eyes, and
beginnt ernst.) begins earnestly.)

Friedmund darf ich nicht heis- Friedmund * I cannot be

sen; called
Frohwak mocht' ich wohl sein. Frohwalt t fain would I be :

Doch Wehwalt muss ich mich ButWeliwaltt I now must be

nennen. named.
Wolfe, der war mein Vater Wolf my father was ;

Zu zwei kam ich zur Welt, At once to the light of the

world
Eine Zwillingsschwester und Awoke a sister and I.

ich.
Friih schwanden mir Ere long both mother
Mutter und Maid. And maid I lost.
Die mich gebar Her who bore me
Und die mit mir sie barg. And her with whom I was
born,
Kaum hab' ich sie je gekannt. Hardly 1 ever beheld.
Wehrlich und stark war Wolfe Warlike and mighty was Wolf
Der Feinde wuchsen ihm viel. And many the foes that he
felled.
Zum Jagen zog To the hunt in the woods
Mit dem Jungen der Alte; Together we went
Von Hetze und Harst From hurry and toil
Einst kehrten sie heim : When home we returned.
Da lag das Wolfsnest leer There lay the Wolf's nest
waste
Zu Schutt gebrannt A glowing heap
Der prangende Saal, The glorious hall

* Peaceful. Woful.
t Gleeful. \
 ; ; ; ; ; ;

THE WALKURE. 121

Zum Stumpf der Eiche A stump the oak's

Bliihender Stamm ;
Stalwart stem
Erschlagen der Mutter The fearless mother
Muthiger Leib Fell in the fray
Verschwunden in Gluthen In cinders was trampled
Der Schwester Spur. The sister's trace.

Uns schuf die herbe Noth The fearful harm had been
wrought
Der Neidinge liarte Schaar By the hateful host of the foe.
Geachtet floh Harassed, the father
Der Alte mit mir. Fled with the son.
Lange Jahre For many years
Lebte der Juiige The youngling remained
Mit Wolfe im wilden Wald. With Wolf in forests wild.

Manclie Jagd Many a hunt

Ward auf sie gemacht For their haunt was made
Doch muthig wehrte But fearlessly fought
Das Wolfspaar sich. The Wolves in the fight.

(Zu Hunding gewendet.) (Turning to Hunding.)

Ein Wolfing kiindet dir das. A Wolfing tells thee the tale, *

Den als Wolfing mancher wohl Who as Wolfing is feared by his

kennt. foes.

At Sieglind's request Siegmund relates more of his

adventures, in one of which he was separated from his
father, lost all trace of him, and only found a wolf's skin
in the forest. He bewails his fate, since wherever he
tarries he meets with ill-fortune, and this is the reason
why he calls himself " Wehwalt." Woe alone is his lot.
When Sieglind asks him how he lost his weapons, he
recounts in a spirited manner the last conflict in which
he had been engaged. Foiled in his attempt to rescue
a maiden from the power of her enemies, he flees, after
his spear and shield had been hewn in splinters, to
Hunding's house, without knowing that he had slain,
 —

122 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

though in self-defence, the kindred of his host, and that

Hunding on the very same day had left his home to
wreak vengeance on the unknown slayer of his friends.
The sacred right of hospitality shields Siegmund for
the night, but Hunding challenges him to deadly com-
bat for the morrow.
Sieglind pensively takes a drinking-horn from the
table,goes to a cupboard, from which she takes spices,
and turns towards the side apartment at the left. Hav-
ing reached the highest step by the door, she turns
towards Siegmund, and her glance rests long and wist-
fully upon him. Suppressing his wrath, he calmly
stands by the hearth, gazing on her alone. At last she
directs his attention in a significant manner to a spot on
the trunk of the ash-tree, which for a moment is illu-

mined by the fitful blaze on the hearth. Hunding,

who has become aware of her delay, commands her by
a gesture to leave the hall, whereupon she disappears
through the doorway, holding the horn in her hand.
Hunding takes his weapons from the tree, and after re-
minding Siegmund again of the combat that is to take
place on the following day, he enters the door of the
inner apartment. Siegmund remains alone. Night
has come. The hall is dimly illumined by a faint fire
on the hearth. Siegmund sinks down on the couch by
the fire he is greatly agitated, and for some time re-
;

mains silent and brooding.

Siegmund.
Ein Schwert verhiess mir der A sword —so promised my
Vater, father
Ich fand' es in hochster Noth. — In sorest need I should find.—
Waffenlos fiel ich Weaponless falling
 — : ; ! ; —

THE WALKURE. 123

In Feindes Haus: In the house of the foe.

Seiner Rache Pfand Here in pledge
Rast' ich hier To his wrath I am held.
Ein Weib sah' ich A woman I saw
Wonnig und hehr; Bewitchingly sweet
EntzUckendes Bangen My heart is rent
Zehret mein Herz With hallowed rapture ;

Zu der raich nun Sehnsucht For her I languish and long

zieht, Who lured me to thrilling de-
Die mit siissem Zauber mich light-
zehrt In thralldom holds her the
Im Zwange halt sie der Mann, spouse,
Der mich —Wehrlosen — hohnt. Who me—^the weaponless
spurns.
Walse! Walse! Valse ! Valse
Wo ist dein Schwert ? Where is thy sword ?
Das starlie Schwert, The stalwart sword
Das in Sturm ich schwange ? That in storm I would swing ?

The embers of the fire fall together. The flickering

flame lights up for a moment the spot on the ash-tree
trunk which Sieglind's glance had indicated, and where
the hilt of a sword becomes plainly visible. Siegmund
gazes at the glistening object, but does not know what
it is whose glow flashes before his eyes and momen-
tarily hall. The music of the
rends the darkness in the
sword-motive resounds and apprises us of the meaning
of the glittering light. Siegmund falls back into his
reveries ; on the hearth is extinct deep night.
the fire :

Sieglind softly enters from the inner apartment, and

approaches Siegmund. She tells him to flee and avail
himself of the darkness of the night for his safety.
Then she points to the hilt of the sword, and relates
how at Hunding's wedding feast, while she was sad
and the warriors kept up their carousals, an old man
 ; ;

124 ^/A^C OF THE NIBELUNG.

entered the hall, clad in gray raiment, his hat slouched

down, hiding one of his eyes. He glared at the aston-
ished crowd, and swinging a sword in his hand, he
thrust it deep into the ash-tree's trunk. To him alone
the weapon should belong who was able to draw it
from the tree. Many had dared to try their strength,
but not one had succeeded.* " From the Valhall Mo-
tive accompanying her tale we know that this stranger
was Wotan himself who thus left the sword for his son
in his highest need."
Sieglind tells Siegmund how she knows for whom
the sword is destined. She sees in him the hero that
can release her from the unbearable life with a hated
and tyrannical husband. Siegmund ardently embraces
her, and assures her that he is the one to whom weapon
and wife are to belong. All at once the large door in
the background has sprung back as if by magic, and
remains wide open a charming night of spring-time is
;

revealed outside the moon sheds her light on them

;

both and the surrounding objects. Gazing on the

beautiful spectacle, and drawing Sieglind towards him,
Siegmund is heard in the peerless Love-song or Spring-
song:

Winterstiirme wichen Winter-storms have waned

Dam Wonnemond, 'Fore winsome May,
Iramilden Lichte In gentle blaze
Leuchtet der Lenz, Blushes the Spring.
Auf lauen Liiften On languid breezes,
Lind und lieblich, Light and lovely,
Wunder webend Wonders weaving
Er sich wiegt He wends his way

* See page 47.

 ; : ; : ! ; ! ; :

THE WALKURE. 125

Ueber Wald und Auen Over wood and meadows

Weht sein Athem, Waves his breath,
Weit geoffnet Widely opened
Lacht sein Aug'. Laughs his eye.
Aus sel'ger Voglein Sange In song of happy birds
Suss er tout. He sweetly sings.
Holdeste Diifte Lovely fragrance
Haucht er aus Flows from his lips.
Seinem warmen Blut entbluhen His blood is warming the
blooming,
Wonnige Blumen, Winsomest blossoms.
Keim und Spross Germ and sprout
Entspriesst seiner Kraft. Spring from his might.
Mit zarter Waffen Zier With dainty weapons' sway
Bezwingt er die Welt. Subdues he the world.
Winter und Sturm wichen Winter and storm have waned
Der starlien Wehr 'Fore his warlike gear.
Wolil musste den tapfren Strei- To the strokes of his dauntless
chen strength
Die strenge Thiire auch wei- The stalwart door had to yield.
chen,
Die trotzig und starr That stubborn and hard
—
Uns trennte von ihm. Withheld us from him.
Zu seiner Schwester Hitherward fleetly
Schwang er sich her ; He flew to his sister
Die Liebe lockte den Lenz By Love was lured the Spring;
In uns'rem Busen Deep in our hearts
Barg sie sicli tief. She long lay hidden.
Nun lacht sie selig dem Licht. She hails now, laughing, the
light.
Die brautliche Schwester The bride and the sister
Befreite der Bruder Is freed by the brother.
Zertriimmert liegt. To pieces is dashed
Was sie getrennt What held them apart.
Jauchzend griisst sich With greatest rapture
Das junge Paar They greet each other
Vereint sind Liebe und Lenz United are Love and Spring!
 !! ! ; ! ! ! !!

126 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Sieglind answers with tender and glowing passion,

and faint memories of a nearly forgotten past dawn
upon them. Siegmund springs to the ash-tree and
seizes the hilt of the sword.

Siegmund.
Siegmund heiss' ich, Siegmund I'm hight.
Und Siegmund bin ich; And Siegmund I am.
Bezeug' es dies Schwert, As proves the sword
Das zaglos ich hake ! That, dauntless, I seize.
Walse verhiess mir, Valse had vowed.
In hochster Noth In direful venture
Sollt' ich es finden : The sword I should have.
nun
]ch fass' es ! I hold it now.

HeiHgster Minne Sorest pang

Hocliste Noth, Of passion most sacred.
Sehnender Liebe Relentless woe
Zehrende Noth, Of languishing love.
Brennt mir hell in der Brust, Flash their flames through my
breast.
Drangt mich zu That und Tod ;
Drive me to deeds and death
Nothung ! Nothung Nothung Nothung
!

So nenn' ich dich Schwert. So name I the sword !

Nothung! Nothung! Nothung! Nothung!

NeidHcher Stalil Terrific steel
Zeig' deiner Scharfe Blazon thy trenchant.
Schneidenden Zahn : Keen-edged blade!
Heraus aus der Scheide zu mir Out from thy sheath unto me

With a strong wrench he draws the sword out of the

tree-trunk and displays it before Sieglind, who is ovei^
come with joy and wonder.
Siegmund, den Walsung, Siegmund, the Volsung,
Siehst du, Weib Seest thou beside thee !

Als Brautgabe For bridal gift

Bringt er dies Schwert He bringsi thee this sword.
 ! ! ;: — ! ! — —

THE WALKURE. 127

So freit er sich He wooes with the blade

Die seligste Frau The blissfullest wife.
Dem Feindeshaus From the house of the foe
Entfuhrt er dich so. He hies with thee.
Fern von hier Forth from here
Folge ihm nun, Follow him far,
Fort in des Lenzes Hence to the laughing
Lachendes Haus : House of the Spring,
Dort schiitzt dich Nothung, das Where Nothung the sword de-
Schwert, fends thee.
Wenn Siegmund dir liebend er- When Siegmund infolds thee
lag! in love

Siegmund puts his arms around Sieglind to take her

with him.
Sieglind.

Bist du Siegmund, Art thou Siegmund

Den ich hier sehe ?- I see beside me ?
Sieglinde bin ich. Sieglind am I,

Die dich ersehnt Sighing for thee.

Die eig'ne Schwester And so thy sister
Gewannst du zueins rait dem Hast won at once with the
Schwert sword

Siegmund.
Braut und Schwester Bride and sister
Bist du dem Bruder Art thou to the brother
So bliihe denn Walsungen So bloom then the Volsungs'
Blut blood

Siegmund draws her with glowing passion towards

him, and she sinks on his breast with a cry. So closes
the first act of the " Walkure."
The love-scene between Siegmund and Sieglind has
often furnished an opportunity to Wagner's opponents
for attacking the " Walkure," and even the whole " Ring
 :

128 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

of the Nibelung." In the first place, it must be borne

in mind that Wagner did not invent the incident, but
adapted it from the Volsunga Saga.* Moreover, it
forms in his composition the ideal garb in which the
awakening of Love by the approach of Spring is repre-
sented. Again, it must be said that Siegmund and
Sieglind love each other before they are aware of their
relationship. It is only at the last moment when Sieg-
lind reveals her name to Siegmund that they know each
other with full certainty as brother and sister. Their
passion seems increased by the delusive idea that, the
fate of the Volsungs being at stake, their race can be per-
petuated only by the union of the last survivors of the
once powerful family. The crime thus accomplished
is not excused in the drama, but, as we shall see, is

quickly and terribly punished. Franz Hueffer says,

in regard to the marriage of Siegmund and Sieglind
" It should, moreover, be remembered that we are not

dealing with ordinary men and women, but with the

—
children of a god mythical beings, that is, who have
hardly yet emerged from the stage of natural forces.
Who has ever been shocked at the amours of the Greek
divinities on account of their being within the forbidden
degrees of relationship, or at the intermarriage of the
children of Adam and Eve which the Pentateuch im-
plies ?"
In the second act of the " Walkiire" the scene repre-
sents a wild rocky mountain-chain. Wotan appears
clad in warlike garb, holding the spear in his hand.
Before him stands Brunhild, as Valkyr, also completely
armed. Wotan bids Brunhild prepare for strife and
* See page 47.
 ;

THE WALKURE. 1^9

bestow victory on Siegmund against Hunding in the

coming fray. Brunhild gladly listens to Wotan's be-
hest, and, shouting and springing from rock to rock,
while the ''
Valkyr Motive " resounds with its wild
''
Hoyotoho !" she finally disappears behind the heights.
Fricka, in a chariot drawn by two rams, comes forth
from the ravine. On the ridge she quickly alights and
walks impetuously towards Wotan.

Fricka.

Ich vernahm Hunding's Noth, Hunding's lament I have

learned,
Um Raclie rief er mich an : Vengeance aloud he demands;
Der Ehe Hiiterin As wedlock's warder
Horte ihn, I heard his wish
Verhiess streng Ivowed to doom
Zu strafen die That To vengeance dire
Des frech frevelnden Paars, The fierce, nefarious pair
DaskiihndenGattengekrankt. That harshly the husband has
hurt.

Wotan vainly endeavors to calm Fricka's wrath. She

sternly upbraids him and when he asks
for his duplicity ;

her, as the patroness of marriage, to bless Siegmund's

and Sieglind's love, her indignation knows no limits.
She tells him that he always has deceived her and
broken the oath of holy wedlock. Her greatest sorrow
is to see him go forth to battle with the Valkyrs, the

daughters of Erda and Wotan. She does not believe

nor comprehend him when he says that a hero free
from the protection of the gods can alone accomplish
the deed- that will redeem them from the Nibelung
curse this cannot be done by the gods, although it is
;

most needful to their welfare. Fricka apprises Wotan

9
 — ! — —

130 RING OF TH^ NIBEL UNO.

that she knows full well his intentions in regard to

Siegmund, his son. She is aware of the fact that
Wotan had thrust the sword into the trunk of the
ash-tree so that the Volsung, hateful to her, might find
it. At last Fricka extorts from Wotan the prorrtise
that he will not protect Siegmund in the approaching
conflict. At the same time the exulting Valkyr cry is
heard, and Brunhild, Wotan's most beloved daughter, is
seen on the rocky pathway with her steed. Her ap-
pearance reminds Wotan of the command he had given
her to bestow victory on Siegmund.

Fricka,
Deiner ew'gen Gattin Thy holy wife's
Heih'ge Ehre High renown
Schirme heut' ihr Schild Be sheltered to-day by her
shield !

Von Menschen verlacht, Derided by men,

Verlustig der Macht, Bereft of might,
Gingen wir GStter zu Grund, We gods were fated to fall,

Wurde heut' nicht hehr Were not high to-day

Und herrlich mein Recht My holy right
Geracht von der muthigen Avenged by the valiant maid !

Maid.
Der Walsung fallt meiner The Volsung shall (all as my
Ehre : victim ;

Empfah' ich von Wotan den Win I from Wotan the oath ?-
Eid?—

Wotan inward rage and fearful dejection casts

in
himself on a seat on the rocks. Fricka receives his
oath, and Siegmund is thus doomed to death. Brun-
hild, perceiving Fricka, leads her horse slowly down the
rocky path. She takes it to a cavern, while Fricka
returning to her chariot passes by. Brunhild, aston-
 ;

THE WALK Ore. 131

ished and anxious, approaches Wotan, who, reclining

on the rocky head resting on his hand, is ab-
seat, his
sorbed in gloomy brooding over his weakness. As
Brunhild asks him what causes him such grief, he gives
vent to his wrath and despair. Her affectionate words
arouse him for a short time from his brooding grief, and
call to his mind that she is dearest to him of all his
daughters. She says " : Who am I, if not Wotan's
will?"and he replies: "With myself I take counsel
when I speak to thee." Thereupon, in a low voice
and intently gazing into her eyes, he relates the story
of the Rhine-maidens and Alberich, already told in
the preceding pages." He further tells her that he
had relied on the aid of the Valkyrs. Once he de-
scended to Erda's abode in the bowels of the earth,
determined to learn from her the fate of the gods.
By means of a love-charm he overcame her, the all-
knowing Vala, and the Valkyrs were born to him, of
whom Brunhild
is the wisest. Bythehelpof the war-
who lead the heroes slain in battle to Val-
like sisters
hall, Wotan had hoped to avert the threatened over-

throw of the gods but Alberich 's host he now fears

;

for ever again the Nibelung should win the ring,

if

Valhall would be doomed. None can resist its magic

power. Fafnir, Wotan continues, now guards the
hoard ;
but the god cannot wrest it from him, since, by
the treaty he had made with the giants for building
and the hoard had come into Fafnir's
Valhall, the ring
possession after the
murder of Fasolt, his brother.-)-
Only that hero can save the gods from destruction

*See Chapter IV. \ See page in.

 —
! ! ! —— : — !! —

132 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

who, without their behest, of his own motion dares

achieve the deed that is dearest to Wotan's wish,
though it cannot be accomphshed by him. Wotan de-
spairs of finding such a champion and moreover he ;

knows the end is fast approaching.

Wotan.
(In wilden Schmerz der Verzweiflungf (In an outburst of wild despair.)
ausbrechend.)

Ich beriihrte Alberich's ring For Alberich's ring I reached

Gierig liielt ich das Gold ! In raging greed of the gold.
Der Fluch, den ich floh, The curse, that I fled from,
Nicht jflieht ernun mich : From me will not flee.
Was ich liebe, muss ich ver- What I love I must lose and
lassen, forsake.
Morden was je ich minne, And doom to death what I
long for,

Triigend verrathen By falsely betraying

Wer mir vertraut Who trusts in my faith !

Fahre denn hin, Begone, then, and perish.

Herrische Pracht, Thou gorgeous pomp,
Gottlichen Prunkes Thou glittering disgrace
Pr;ihlende Schmach Of godhood's grandeur!
Zusammen breche Asunder shall burst
Was ich gebaut The walls I built
Auf geb' ich meine Werke, My work abandon, I

Eines nur will ich noch. For one thing alone I wish
Das Ende The end
Das Ende The end
(Er halt sinnend ein.) (He pauses in thought.)

Und ftir das Ende And to the end

Sorgt Alberich ! Alb'rich attends
Jetzt versteh' ich Now I conceive
Den stummen Sinn The secret sense
Des wilden Wortes der Wala Of the Vala's bewildering
word :
 ; :

THE WALKURE. 133

" Wenn der Liebe finstrer " When Love's ferocious foe
Feind
Ziirnend zeugt einen Sohn, In rage begetteth a son,
Der Seligen Ende The night of the gods
!" "
Siiumt dann nicht Draws near anon !

Vom Nib'lung juiigst Of the Nibelung lately

Vernahm ich die Mahr', The tiding I learned,
Dass ein Weib der Zwerg he- That the dwarf a woman had
wait igt, wooed,
Dess GunstGold ihm erzwang. Whose guerdon he won for
his gold.
Des Hasses Frucht A woman hoards
Hegt eine Frau The fruit of hate ;

Des Neides Kraft The strength of spite

Kreisst ihr im Schooss Spreads in her womb :

Das Wunder gelang The wonder was wrought

Dem Liebelosen : By the loveless rogue
Doch der in Liebe ich freite, But I who, loving, have wooed.
Den Freien erlang' ich mir nie ! The free one I never have won I

Wotan, in despair, tells Brunhild of the promise he

had made to Fricka, and commands her to give the vic-
tory to Hunding. Brunhild beseeches Wotan to take
back his v^ford, as she knows that the god in his inner-
most heart loves the Volsung. Yet Wotan leaves her,
threatening dire punishment if his will be not obeyed.
She sadly gathers up her weapons and disappears.
Sieglind enters, as though in great haste, closely fol-
lowed by Siegmund. Their coming is announced by
melodious strains, recalling the former love-scene. Sieg-
lind is pursued by a wild fear of the consequences
of her deed. Siegmund tries to calm her apprehen-
sions suddenly she throws herself passionately on his
;

breast, but a moment after she starts up and seems to

listen.
 ! —— — • ! : !! ! —
! ! :

134 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Sieglind.

Horch Die Horner

! Hark ! the horns
H6rst du den Ruf ? Hear'st thou the blast ?

Ringsher tont All around us

Wuthend Getos'; Wild uproar
Aus Wald und Gau From field and forest
Gellt es herauf. Furious yells
Hunding erwachte Hunding awoke
Von hartem Schlaf; From slumber hard;
Sippen und Hunde Kinsmen and ho-jnds
Ruft er zusammen. To the hunt he calls.
Muthig gehetzt Set on by him
Heult die Meute, Howleth the pack.
Wild bellt sie zum Himmel Wildly barking to heaven
Um der Ehe gebrochenen Eid ! O'er wedlock's broken bond !

(Sie lacht wie wahnsinnig auf, dann (She laughs as if beside herself ; then
schrickt sie angstlich zusammen.) cowers down in terror.)

Wo bist du, Siegmund ? Where art thou, Siegmund .'

Seh' icli dich noch ? See I thee still .'

Briinstig geliebter, Intensely beloved.

Leuchtender Bruder Loftiest brother
Deines Auges Stern The glow of thine eye
Lass noch einmal mir strahlen : Once more let gleam on my
gloom
Wehre dem Kuss O ward not off
Des verworf'nen Weibes nicht The worthless woman's kiss
Horch O horch
! ! Hark O hark
! !

Das ist Hunding's Horn! It is Hunding's horn !

Seine Meute naht His pack approaches

Mit machtiger Wehr. Eager for prey.
Kein Schwert frommt No sword can help
Vor der Hunde Schwall : — 'Gainst the host of the hounds
Wirf es fort, Siegmund ! Cast it off, Siegmund !

Siegmund, wo bist du ? Siegmund, where art thou ?

Ha, dort — ich
sehe dich —
Ha, there I behold thee-=
Schrecklich Gesicht !
Horrid the sight
 —— ——
! —— — ! !

THE WALKURE. 135

Ruden fletschen Hounds are gnashing

Die Zahne nach Fleisch : Their teeth as they near.
Sie achten nicht No longer they reck
Deines edlen Blicks ; Thy lofty mien.
Bei den Fussen packt dich To thy feet they cling
Das feste Gebiss With the clinch of their fangs.
Du fallst— Thou fallest

In Stiicken zerstaucht das Asunder is shattered the

Schwert sword
Die Esche stiirzt The ash-tree falls
Es bricht der Stamm ! Broken's the stem !

Bruder mein Bruder

! ! Brother my brother
!

Siegmund ha — Siegmund —ha

With a cry of anguish Sieglind falls unconscious in
Siegmund's arms. He listens to hear if she breathes, and,
convinced that she is still alive, places her in a sitting
posture, so that, as he now himself sits down, her head
rests upon his knee. There is a long silence, while
Siegmund bends over Sieglind with tender care. Brun-
hild, leading her horse by the bridle, approaches and
remains standing in front of Siegmund. In grave
silence she gazes on him for some time. Siegmund and
Sieglind retain their position as long as Brunhild is

present, while the music depicts their love and sorrow

in sad sweetness. The following scene is one of the
most beautiful and pathetic whole drama, itsin the
effect being heightened by the sublime music accom-
panying it.
Brunhild.
Siegmund— Siegmund
Sieh' auf mich ? Seest thou me ?
Ich — bin's, Me—soon
Der bald— du folgst. Must—thou follow.
 : — —
!

136 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Siegmund.
(Richtet den Blick zu ihr auf.) (Looks up at her.)

Wer bist du, sag', Who art thou, —speak,

Die so schon und ernst mir er- Of aspect so fair and stern ?

scheint ?
Brunhild.
Nur Todgeweihten Who's fated to die
Taugt mein Anblick. Alone sees my face.
Wer mich erschaut, Who gazes on me
Der scheidet vom Lebenslicht. Foregoes the light of his life.

Auf der Walstatt allein In the heat of the fray

Erschein' ich Edlen : Heroes behold me ;

Wer mich gewahrt. Who spies my glance,

Zur Wal kor ich ihn mir. To death is doomed by my
spear.

Siegmund.
das Auge, senkt
(Blickt ihr lange in (He looks her in the eye for some
dann sinnend das Haupt, und wen- time, then drops his head in
det sich endlich mit feierlichem thought. At last, with solemn
Ernst wieder zu ihr.) earnestness, he turns again to her.)

Der dir nun folgt, Where leav'st thou, speak, —

Wohin fiihrst du den Helden ? The hero who falls by thy
spear ?

Brunhild.
Zu Walvater To Valfather,
Der dich gewahlt, Who chose thy fate,
Fiihr' ich dich : I lead thee forth
Nach Walhall folgst du mir ! To Valhall follow me
Siegmund.
In Walhall 's Saal In Valhall's halls
Walvater find' ich allein ? Find I Valfather alone ?

Brunhild.
Gefallner Helden The fallen heroes'
Hehre Schaar Faithful host
 ! : : ? : !

THE WALKURE. 137

Umfangt dich hold Will hail thee with grace

Mit hoch-heiligem Gruss. And greeting holy and high.
Siegmund.
Fand' ich in Walhall Find I in Valhall
Walse, den eignen Vater ? Valse, the Volsung's father ?

Brunhild.
Den Vater findet His father there
Der Walsung dort. The Volsung shall find.

Siegmund.
mich in Walhall
Griisst Greets me a woman
Froh eine Frau ? Gladly in Valhall ?

Brunhild.
Wunschmadchen Wish-maidens *
Waken dort hehr: Rule there with might:
Wotan's Tochter Wotan's daughter
Reicht dir traulich den Trank. WInningly gives thee to drink.

Siegmund.
Hehr hist du : Hallowed art thou
Heilig gewahr' ich Wotan's daughter
Das Wotanskind : Holy I deem
Doch eines sag' mir, du Ew'ge But tell me, goddess eternal
Begleitet den Bruder The brother will see
Die brautliche Schwester? The bride and the sister?
Umfangt Siegmund Will Siegmund embrace
Sieglinde dort? Siegelind there

At Brunhild's reply that Sieglind and Siegmund will

not meet in Valhall, Siegmund exclaims

So griisse mir Walhall, Then greet for me Valhall,

Griisse mir Wotan, Greet for me Wotan ;

Griisse mir Walse, Hail unto Valse,

* See page 31.

 — :

138 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Und alle Helden And all the heroes !

Griiss' auch die holden Greet, too, the graceful

Wunschesmadchen : Warlike wish-maidens
Zu ihnen folg' ich dir nicht. For now I follow thee not.

Brunhild is deeply moved by Siegmund's words, al-

though she does not comprehend how he can pre-
fer the woful sister and bride to the joys of Valhall.
Her sympathy with the forlorn hero increases, and,
fully aware of Wotan's secret wish, she bids Sieg-
mund prepare for the fray, promising to turn the
fate of the battle and bestow the victory on him.
She hastily disappears, and Siegmund joyfully gazes
after her. Heavy thunder-clouds descending in the
background, and the distant sound of horns, which
is heard gradually nearer and nearer, announce the
approaching contest. Siegmund bends over Sieglind,
who still appears to be asleep, and hastens towards the
background to encounter Hunding. Sieglind dreams
of the destruction of her father's house, but is suddenly
awakened by terrific peals of thunder. On all sides
the blast of the horns resounds amidst lightning and
thunder. She gazes about her in terror. Hunding's
voice is heard, and soon after Siegmund's. The two
warriors encounter each other ; a flash of lightning for
a moment illumines the rock on which
they fight.
Sieglind about to rush towards the combatants, but
is

draws back at a sudden burst of light, in the midst

of which Brunhild becomes visible, protecting Siegmund
with her shield. Brunhild urges Siegmund on to trust
to his sword but just as he is about to fell Hunding to
;

the ground, a glowing red light breaks through the

clouds. In it Wotan appears, standing over Hunding,
 THE WALKURE. 139

and stretches his spear across Siegmund's weapon.

The latter breaks asunder, and Siegmund falls, pierced
by Hunding's sword. Brunhild, amazed, withdraws
from Wotan's sight, raises Sieglind from the ground,
and disappears with her. Wotan, leaning on his spear,
looks mournfully on Siegmund's corpse. By a disdain-
ful wave of his hand Hunding falls lifeless to the

ground. Wotan, in fearful rage, threatens to punish

Brunhild's disobedience. Thus closes the second act
of the " Walkiire." For the sake of the ring Wotan de-
stroys his own beloved Volsungs Siegmund
children, the
and Sieglind. Their death atones for their guilt, and
Wotan, in despair, relinquishes his plan he waits for
;

the " end of the gods."

The third act of the " Walkiire" represents a scene of
uncommon beauty and interest. To the right appears
the beginning of a forest of fir-trees to the left opens
;

the entrance to a cavern in the rocks. Above this the

cliffsattain their highest point; towards the back-
ground huge rocks are supposed to lead towards a
steep abyss. Clouds, driven by the storm, sweep by the
mountains. The region is the gathering-place of the
Valkyrs, the so-called " Walkuren Stein," or rock of the
Valkyrs. At the rise of the curtain four of the Valkyrs
are seen on the point of a rock near and above
the
cavern. With helmet, shield and spear, and glittering
coat of mail over the long flowing dress, they
await the
coming of their sisters. A
sudden blaze of lightning
flashes through one of the clouds passing
by, and in
it is seen a Valkyr on horseback,
the form of a slain
warrior hanging across her saddle. Again
a flash of
hghtning displays another Valkyr, until
at last eight
140 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

of the nine are assembled. Laughingly they greet each

other and glory in their warlike deeds. The music
plays the famous " Ride of the Valkyrs," portraying
their wild flightthrough the air, the clash of arms, the
neighing of the steeds and the laughter of the maidens,
while the exulting Valkyr cry " Hoyotoho !" resounds
from the lips of the warrior-maids.
Suddenly in a glowing light in the sky Brunhild is
espied by her sisters. She rides at furious speed, and,
to the amazement of the other Valkyrs, instead of a
dead hero carries a woman — Sieglind — on her horse
Grani. As she comes upon the scene, supporting and
leading Sieglind, she surrounded by her sisters, but she
is

hardly listens to their joyous greeting. In haste she

relates to them the events connected with Siegmund's
death and as she is aware of Wotan's wrath, she asks
;

them for a fresh steed so that she may escape by flight

the pursuit of the enraged god. They all refuse, ap-

palled at Brunhild's disobedience to Wotan's command,
and dreading vengeance if they should comply with
his
their sister's request. As Brunhild implores them to
save at least Sieglind, the latter, who has been staring
in gloomy thought before her, at once starts up and
conjures Brunhild to thrust the sword into her heart.
Siegmund being slain, she yearns for death. But
when Brunhild tells her that she carries a pledge
of Siegmund's love —a —
true Volsung she appears
at first amazed and then suddenly enraptured. Then
she implores the Valkyrs to save her for the sake
of the child. In the mean time a dreadful storm arises
in the distance ;
peals of thunder reverberate, announc-
ing wrathful Wotan's ride and approach. Brunhild
 ! — ; :! ! — —: — : ! —! !

THE WALKURE. 141

resolves to await his arrival and suffer the penalty of

her crime, but she urges Sieglind to flee at once. To
the east a forest extends where Fafnir, the giant, in the
shape of a dragon guards the Nibelung hoard and ring.
There, and there alone, Sieglind from Wotan's is safe
fury, as the god never draws nigh the wood. ill-fated

Brunhild indicates to Sieglind the way to the forest.

Brunhild.
Fort denn, eile Off, then, hie thee
Nach Osten gewandt And haste to the east
Muthigen Trotzes Fearlessly dare
Ertrag alle Miih'n And defy all dangers,
Hunger und Durst, Hunger and thirst.
Dorn und Gestein The thorns and the rocks ;

Lache, ob Noth Laugh at the need

Und Leiden dich nagt And pain that may gnaw thee
Denn eines wisse For one thing know
Und wahr' es immer And never forget
Den hehrsten Helden der Welt The highest hero on earth
Hegst du, O Weib, —
Shall be Sieglind
Im schirmenden Schoos !
And Siegmund's —child t

(Sie reicht ihr die Stucken von Sieg- (She hands her the fragments of Sieg-
mund's zerbrochenera Schwert.) mund's sword.)
Verwahr' ihm die starken Save for thy son
Schwertes-Stiicken ; The broken sword
Seines Vaters Walstatt Where his father fell
Entfiihrt ich sie gliicklich On the field I found it.
Der neu gefiigt Who welds it anew .

Das Schwert einst schwingt, And waves it again.

Den Namennehm'ervonmir His name he gains from me
now
"Siegfried" freu' sich des "Siegfried" the hero be hailed!*
Sieg's

* See page 60, note *.

142 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Sieglind in ecstatic joy thanks Brunhild, and wends

her way to the forest. After she leaves, the summits of
the rocks are shrouded in black thunder-clouds. Amidst
a fearful storm a lurid blaze illumines the fir-wood. Be-
tween the peals of thunder Wotan's voice, calling for
Brunhild, is heard. The Valkyrs mount to the point
of the rock, concealing Brunhild in their midst. Wotan,
having left his steed, comes in great anger out of the
wood and stops in front of the group of Valkyrs, who
in vain endeavor to appease his wrath. Brunhild is still
hidden by them.

Wotan.

Horst du's, Briinnhilde .-'

Hearest thou, Brunhild,
Du, der ich Biiinne, To whom the hauberk,
Helm und Wehr, Helmet and weapons,
Wonne und Huld, And winning grace,
Namen und Leben verlieh? Glory and life I gave?
Horst du mich Klage erheben, Hearest thou how I arraign
thee,
Und birgst dich bang dem Yet shyly thou shunnest my
Klager, wrath,
Dass feig' du der Straf ent- In dastardly dread of thy
floh'st } doom ?

Brunhild steps forth from amid the other Valkyrs,

descends with humble mien but with firm tread from
the height of the cliffs, and approaches Wotan in order
to hear his command. He tells her that she herself has
brought her fate down upon her, and, to the horror of
her sisters, announces that she has ceased to be Wish-
maid and Shield-maid in short, she is no longer one
;

of the Valkyrs.
 : ; ; ! ; — ;

THE WALKURB. 143

Wotan.
Nicht send' ich dich mehr aus No more from Valhall I send
Walhall, thee
Nicht weis' ich dir mehr Thy fate is no more
Helden zur Wal With heroes to fight,
Nicht fuhrst du mehr Sieger Or show to the warriors
In meinen Saal The way to my hall.
Bel der Gotter traulichem At the hallowed meal of the
Mahle gods
Das Trinkhorn reichst du No more shalt thou hand me
Mir traut nicht mehr ;
The horn of mead
Nicht kos' ich dir mehr No more thy lips
Den kindischen Mund. I'll lovingly kiss.
Von gottlicher Schaar From Asgard's * host
Bist du geschieden. Thou art thrust out,
Ausgestossen, Cast off from the race

Aus der Ewigen Stamm ;

Of the Aesir t eternal
Gebrochen ist unser Bund ;
Asunder is broken our bond ;

Aus meinem Angesicht bist du And banished thou art from

verbannt. my sight

Then Wotan pronounces the fearful penalty on the :

cliff where she stands she shall sink into sleep, and to

the man who shall find and awake her she shall be given
in marriage. Him she must obey, and sit and spin in
his house. The other Valkyrs are appalled at the dis-
grace that threatens their sister, and offer to share the
same fate with her ; but Wotan bids them leave the
rock at once and shun it wrath he
forever, lest in his
inflict dire punishment on all of them. Brunhild has
fallen with a shriek at Wotan's feet her sisters disperse ;

with wild cries of woe, and in hasty flight rush to the

forest. Soon afterwards they are heard as if riding
away at furious speed. The storm gradually ceases,
the clouds vanish, and anon calm night enshrouds
* The castle of the gods. \ The dwellers of Asgard, or the gods.
 ! ! : ! !

144 RI^G OF TB£ NIBELUNG.

the scene. After a long silence, Brunhild, slowly

raising her head, tries to meet Wotan's averted glance,
and then gradually rises from the ground. In most
pathetic words she entreats the god not to disgrace his
once favorite daughter, as he would thus dishonor him-
self. She begs and conjures him not to let her become
the booty of the cowardly wayfarer who may chance to
meet her and awake her from her sleep. One request
the god must grant to his most beloved child fearful :

terrors shall frighten the dastard away from her rocky

abode, so that none but the most dauntless hero
will endeavor to approach her and interrupt her sleep.
Wotan begins to be moved by her prayer, and his heart
beats as of old with love for his daughter. She clings
to him and wildly exclaims

Auf dein Gebot At thy behest

Entbrenne ein Feuer ; A holy fire
Den Fels umgliihe Shall enfold the rock
Lodernde Gluth. In raging flames,
Es leek' ihre Zunge To lick with their tongues
Und fresse ihr Zahn And tear with their teeth
Den Zagen der frech The coward who rashly may
es wagte come
Dem freislichen Felsen zu The terrific rock to approach.
nah'n
Wotan.
(Blickt ihr ergriffen lange in's Auge.) (Deeply affected, gazes long into her
eyes.)

Leb' wohl, du kiihnes Farewell, thou charming,

Herrliches Kind ! Warlike child !

Du meines Herzens Thou, my heart's

Heiliger Stolz, Holiest pride
Leb' wohl ! Leb' wohl Leb' Farewell ! Farewell ! Farewell
wohl
 —
! : ! — —

THE WALKUR&. US
Muss meiden,
ich dich Must I forsake thee.
Und minnig
darf And may I no more
Mein Gruss nimmer dich grus- Hail thee with hallowed love ?

sen;
SoUst du nicht mehr Shalt thou no more
Neben mir reiten, Ride with me.
Noch Meth beim Mahl mir Nor hand me the horn at the
reichen ;
feast ?

Muss ich verlieren Must I then lose thee,

Dich, die ich liebte, Thee whom I loved.
Du lachende Lust meines Thou laughing delight of mine
?
Auges : eyes
Ein brautliches Feuer A bridal fire

Soil dirnun brennen, Shall blaze around thee.

Wie nie einer Braut es ge- As ne'er for bride it has
brannt blazed !

Flammende Gluth Sheaths of flame

Umgluhe den Fels Shall enshroud the rock.
Mit zehrenden Schrecken And with terrors tremendous
Scheuch' es den Zagen, Dismay the timid !

Der Feige fliehe Brunhild's castle

Briinnhilde's Fels The coward shall fear.
Denn einer nur freie die Braut, To win her but one is fated
Der freier als ich, der Gott. Who's freer than I, the god !

Brunhild, overwhelmed with emotion and delight,

throws herself into Wotan's arms. From the depths of
his heart he bids her again a most affectionate fare-
well. He then kisses her on both eyes, which at once
are closed and she sinks into sleep. He carries her
to a low and soft mossy
which a large fir-
spot, over
tree spreads its branches, and tenderly lays her down.
Again he gazes long and mournfully on her features,
closes the visor of her helmet, and once more casts
a sorrowful glance on his beloved daughter. He
covers her body with her long shield, and then ap-
 ! ! ! ! ! !

146 HING OF THE NIBELUNG.

proaches the huge rock, turning the point of his spear

towards it.
Wotan.
Loge, hOr Loki, hark
Lausche hieher Hitherward list

Wie zuerst ich dich fand As at first I found thee

Als feurige Gluth, In glowing fire,

Wiedann einst du mirschwan- As once thou fleddest

dest
Als schweifende Lohe : In flickering flame,
Wie ich dich band. As then I held thee,
Bann' ich dich heut'! I hold thee to-day!
Herauf, wabernde Lohe, Arise, thou wavering fire,

Umlodre mir feurig den Fels Enwrap inthy flame the rock !

Loge Loge
! Hieher
! Loki ! Loki Arise ! !

At the last conjuration he strikes the rock three times

with the point of his spear, whereupon a stream of fire
bursts forth which swiftly swells to a sea of flames.
With the point of his spear he indicates the direc-
tion of the flames until they describe a complete circle
around the rock. Then he exclaims " fears the : Who
point ofmy spear shall never stride through the fiery
stream." He disappears in the flames toward the back-
ground.
Sweet, enrapturing strains accompany the sinking of
Brunhild into her long sleep, from which she is to be

awakened by Siegfried, Siegmund and Sieglind's son.

With the first stream of flames, the famous " Fire Charm"
resounds from the orchestra, imitating in a wonderful
manner the flaming, sparkling, leaping and dancing
play of the fire. Thus closes the third and last act of
the " Walkure."
 CHAPTER VI.

SIEGFRIED.

Henceforth Wotan in the guise of a wanderer roams

through the world. He is hardly more than a witness
of the events which he knows will come to pass. He is
fully aware of the approaching end of the gods. Sieg-
Hnd, weary and worn, yet upheld by Brunhild's prophecy,
had dragged herself to the forest where Fafnir lay in
the shape of a dragon, guarding the Nibelung hoard
and the ring. There, dying, she gave birth to Siegfried,
whom Mime, the Nibelung, Alberich's brother, brings
up in the hope that the youth will slay Fafnir and thus
obtain the ring for him. From a comparison of the
Nibelung traditions with Wagner's " Siegfried " it will
become evident that the composer has more closely
adhered to the ancient sagas in this than in any other
drama of the " Ring." In their leading incidents Sieg-
fried'syouth and adventures with the smith in the for-
est correspond to the tales in the " Thidrek Saga" and
in the "Lied vom Hurnen Seyfried,"* while, on the

other hand, the events attending the slaying of the

dragon and the awakening of Brunhild are depicted in
the drama according to the Elder Edda and the Volsunga
Saga.f The dramatis personce in " Siegfried " are
Mime,
the Wanderer (Wotan), Alberich, Fafnir, Erda, Brun-
hild and Siegfried.

* See pages 43, 44, 51, 52. See pages 56-64.

|
 — — ! ;

148 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

" Wagner's Siegfried'

is the apotheosis of youth.
'

Everything in it is young and fresh, from the hero to

the little bird of the forest, whose language is no secret
to one brought up in immediate contact with nature."
In the first act the scene represents a forest. The
foreground is formed by part of a rock cavern which
towards the left extends deeper inward, but towards
the right fills nearly three quarters of the stage. Two
entrances formed by nature face the forest. Against
the back wall of the entrance at the left stands a large
natural forge, formed of pieces of rock: the huge
bellows are all that is artificial. A rude chimney goes
up through the roof of the rock. A very large anvil,
and other smith's utensils, are visible. After a brief or-
chestral prelude, recalling the gloomy Nibelung Motive,
the curtain rises, and Mime is seen sitting at the anvil
and, with growing uneasiness, hammering at a sword
at last in bad humor he stops in his work.

Mime.
Zwangvolle Plage ! Tiresome task !

Miih' ohne Zweck ! Aimless toil

Das beste Schwert, The mightiest sword
Das je ich geschweisst. That ever I made.
In der Riesen Fausten In the giants' hands
Hielte es fest: Fast it would hold ;

Doch dem geschmiedet,

ich's But the reckless wight
Der schmahliche Knabe, For whom I have wrought it
Er knickt und schmeisst es ent- Will bend it and break it in
zwei, two,
Als schiif ich Kinderge- Like a toy for boyhood's dis-
schmeid !
play.
Es gibt ein Schwert A sword I know
Das er nicht zerschwange: That he ne'er could sever ;
 ! : !! ! ; ;!! ! ! ;

SIEGFRIED. H9
Nothung's Triimmer From Nothung's fragments
Zertrotzt' er mir nicht, He needs would refrain.
Konnt' ich die starken O, could I have wrought

Stucken schweissen, The terrific sword

Die meine Kunst That all my wisdom
Nicht zu kitten weiss ! Fails to weld
Konnt' ich's dem Kuhnen Might I but forge the weapon,
Schmieden,
Meiner Schmach erlangt' ich A reward for my woe I should
da Lohn find!
(Er sinkt tiefer zuruck, und neigt (He sinks farther back, and bends his
sinnend das Haupt.) head in thought.)
Fafner, der wilde Wurm, Fafnir, the dragon wild.
Lagert im finstern Wald ; Lies in the darksome wood ;

Mit des furchtbaren Leibes With his body's unwieldy

Wiicht weight
Der Niblungen Hort The Nibelungs' hoard
Hiitet er dort. Hides he beneath.
Siegfried's kindischer Kraft By Siegfried's dauntless force
Erlage wohl Fafner's Leib Fafnir to death might be
doomed
Des Niblungen Ring The Nibelung's ring
Errange er mir. He would ravish for me.
Ein Schwert nur taugt zu der Naught but a sword I need
That:
Nur Nothung niitzt meinem Nothung is fit for my fury.
Neid,
Wenn Siegfried sehrend ihn When Siegfried waves it in
schwingt war:
Und nicht kann ich's schweis- But Nothung, the sword,
sen,
Notliung, das Schwert I never can weld
(Er fahrt in hochstem Unmuth wieder (He continues his hammering in
fort zu hammern.) greatest ill-humor.)

Zwangvolle Plage Tiresome task

Miih' ohne Zweck Aimless toil
Das beste Schwert, The mightiest sword
 ; ! :

ISO RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Das je ich geschweisst, That ever I made

Nie taugt as je Would ne'er be fit

Zu der einzigen That For the fatal deed !

Ich tappr' und ham m 're nur I batter and beat it, alone
Weil der Knab' es heischt For the sake of the boy.
Er knickt und schmeisst es He bends it and breaks it

entzwei two,
Und schmahlt doch, schmied' Yet taunts me if idle I be.
ich ihm nicht.

Siegfried, in wild forest garb, with a silver horn held

by a chain, comes impetuously in from the wood. He
has bridled a huge bear with a rope, and drives the
beast with boisterous joy at Mime. In his terror Mime
drops the sword and seeks refuge behind the hearth,
but Siegfried drives the bear after him in all direc-
tions.
To the anger and alarm of Mime, and to gratify his
own pleasure, Siegfried continues the sport for a few
minutes. But when Mime tells him that his sword is
ready, he loosens the bear, giving it a blow on the back

with the bridle, and the beast runs back into the forest.
Mime comes forth from behind the hearth, still trem-
bling, while Siegfried seats himself to recover from
his laughter. Then he goes toward Mime, seizes the
sword, and smites it to pieces on the anvil, while Mime,
terror-struck, tries to get out of the way. Siegfried
gives vent to his wrath and overwhelms Mime with
reproaches. In the subsequent conversation ensuing
between them, Siegfried, who purposely has been
brought up by Mime in utter ignorance of his parents
and of the world in general, suddenly asks the smith to
tell him who were his father and mother. In this con-
 : ; —

SIEGFRIED. 151

nection it repeated that throughout this drama

may be
Siegfried appears as the impetuous but candid, trust-
ful and generous youth, so familiar in
the later Ger-

man tales. None of his generous qualities can appear

in hisdealings with the treacherous Nibelung smith,
and he treats the latter with utter contempt. But as
Mime, trusting to Siegfried's supposed ignorance, at-
tempts to evade the answer to his question about his
parents by some absurd remarks, Siegfried seizes him by
the throat and forces him to tell what he knows.

Mime.

Einst lag wimmernd ein Weib Wailing, a woman once lay

Da draussen im wilden Wald, Without in the wilds of the

wood
Zur Hohle half ich ihr her, To the cave I helped her to
hie
Am warmen Herd sie zu hUten. And rest by the heat of the
hearth.
Ein Kind trug sie im Schooss ; With child she was she gave ;

Traurig gebar sie's hier, Most wofuUy birth to it here.

Sie wand sich hin und her, With rueful throes she writhed;
Ich half, so gut ich Iconnt' I rendered help in her harm ;

Starlc war die Noth, sie starb — Dire was the woe she died ;

Doch Siegfried, der genas. But Siegfried awoke here to

life.

At Siegfried's request Mime informs him that he re-

ceived his name by his mother's behest. After some

hesitation the Nibelung also tells him that he is the son
of Sieglind, but of his father he pretends to know only
that he was slain. Siegfried demands visible proofs of
Mime's and after some meditation the smith
assertion,
shows him the two pieces of the broken sword.
 ! : !

152 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Mime.
Das gab mir deine Mutter Lo ! what thy mother had left

me!
Fiir Miihe, Kost und Pflege For my pains and worry to-
gether
Liess sie's als schwachen Lohn. She gave me this poor reward.
Sieh' her, ein zerbroch'nes See !
—a broken sword,
Schwert
Dein Vater, sagte sie, fUhrt' es, Brandished, she said, by thy
father,
Als im letzten Kampf er erlag. When foiled in the last of his
fights

Siegfried orders Mime to weld immediately the pieces

of the sword, and threatens him with severe punish-
ment if the weapon should not prove to be perfect
after it has left the hands of the smith. This veiy day,
Siegfried says, he must have the sword. When Mime,
greatly alarmed, asks Siegfried to tell him what he in-
tends to do with the sword, he replies that he will go
out into the world, enjoy his freedom, as nothing now
fetters him, and see Mime no more. He dashes off
into the wood, and Mime in greatest alarm shouts
after him at the top of his voice. Not receiving any
reply, he sinks in despair on the stool behind the anvil.
The Wanderer (Wotan) appears, entering from the
wood by the rear door of the cave. He wears a long, dark
blue cloak, and carries a spear as a staff. On his head
is seen a large hat with broad round brim, which hangs

far down over the place of the missing eye. He greets

the smith,who at his entrance has started up in great
terror. The Wanderer solicits Mime's hospitality, but
he is received by the smith in an unfriendly and suspi-
cious manner. Yet he gradually advances a few steps,
 : : :

SIEGFRIED. 153

Mime's fear the while increasing, and at last sits down

by the hearth. Then he says that he pledges his head,
and is willing to lose it if he cannot answer the ques-
tions that Mime may ask him. Mime, although in fear
and embarrassment, agrees to the bargain, and an-
nounces that he will ask three questions. After some
meditation he requests the Wanderer to tell him what
race lives in the depths of the earth.

Wanderer.
In der Erde Tiefe In the bosom of the earth
Tagen die Nibelungen The Nibelungs abide.
Nibelheirn ist ihr Land. Nibel-Heim is their home.
Schwarzalben sind sie, Dark-elves we call them ;

Schwarz-Alberich Dark-Alberich
Hijtet' als Herrscher sie einst Once was the king of their clan.
Eines Zauberringes By the mighty runes
Zwingeiide Kraft Of a magic ring
Zahmt ihm das fieissige Volk. He doomed them to delve in
the depths.
Reicher Schatze Of glittering gold
Schimmernden Hort A gorgeous hoard
Hauften sie ihm They heaped for him :

Der sollte die Welt ihm ge- The world by it meant he to

winnen. win.

Mime, after long reflection, asks the second ques-

tion. The Wanderer is to tell him who lives on the
ridges of the earth.

Wanderer.
Auf der Erde Riicken The back of the earth
WuchtetderRiesenGeschlecht: By bulky giants
is burdened :

Riesenheim ist ihr Land. Riesen-Heim is their home.

Fasolt und Fafner, Fasolt and Fafnir,
Der Rauhen FUrsten, The chieftains fierce,
 ; ; ; ; ;; : ; : ; ; ;: ;;

154 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Neideten Nibelung's Macht Pined for the Nibelung's power.

Den gewaltigen Hort The wondrous hoard
Gewannen sie sich, They won for themselves,
Errangen mit ihm den Ring; And ravished the ring withal
Um den entbrannte It brought a broil
Den Briidern Streit Between the brothers
Der Fasolt fallte, Fasolt fell

Als wilder Wurm In dragon's guise

Hiitet nun Fafner den Hort. Fafnir guards now the gold.

Mime, who is now absorbed in thought, asks the third

and last question. He requests the Wanderer to say
who live in the cloud-enshrouded heights.
Wanderer.
Auf wolkigen Hoh'n On lofty mansions
Wohnen die Gotter: Live the Immortal
Walhall heisst ihr Saal. Valhall is hight their hall.
Lichtalben sind sie Light-elves they are
Licht-Alberich, Light-Alberich,
Wotan, waltet der Schaar. Wotan is head of the host.
Aus der Welt-Esche From Yydrasil's*
Weihlichstem Aste Most hallowed arm
Schuf er sich einen Schaft A terrific shaft he wrought
Dorrt der Stamm, Though the stem may rot.
Nie verdirbt doch der Speer The spear shall ne'er be ruined
Mit seiner Spitze And with its point
Sperrt Wotan die Welt. Wotan governs the world.
Heil'ger Vertrage Sacred runes
Treue-Runen With solemn oaths
Sind in den Schaft geschnitten : Are hewn in the holy shaft
Den Haft der Welt The hold of the world
Halt in der Hand He has in his hand
Wer den Speer fuhrt, Who wields the spear
Den Wotan's Faust umspannt. That Wotan holds in his span.
Ihm neigte sich The Nibelungs' host
Der Nib'lungen Heer Heeds his nod
* See page 35.
 :

SIEGFRIED. 155

Der Riesen Gezucht The giant's race

Zahmte sein Rath : Is ruled by his rede,
Ewig gehorchen sie alle And all forever submit
Des Speeres starkem Herrn. To the mighty lord of the spear.
At this moment the Wanderer strikes, as if involun-
tarily, on the ground vi^ith his spear faint thunder is
;

heard, at which Mime is greatly frightened. He has

awakened from his dreamy forgetfulness, and does not
dare to look at the face of the Wanderer. He orders
him to depart, but the Wanderer reminds him that he
has staked his head to enjoy the hospitality of Mime's
hearth. He avails himself now of the right, according
to the terms of the wager, to ask three questions in
turn. If Mime cannot answer them, his life will be
forfeited. Mime, with timid resignation, pleads that he
has long been absent from home and knows little of
heroes and their deeds. Moreover, he is now fully
aware of the fact that the dreaded Wanderer is Wotan,
the god. Wotan's first question is " What is the name
:

of the race to which Wotan shows his displeasure, while

yet it is dearest to him ?" Mime can easily answer that
it is the race of the Volsungs, by Wotan begot and ten-

derly beloved. The Wanderer's second question is

" What sword must Siegfried, the foster-child of a wise

Nibelung, wield in order to bring about Fafnir's death ?"

Mime readily replies that it is Nothung, the sword
which Wotan thrust into the trunk of the ash-tree, and
which Siegmund brandished in the fray until it split on
Wotan's spear. The third question appalls Mime he is ;

to say who will forge Nothung anew from the broken

pieces. He starts up in terror and admits that he
knows not who will do the wonder. The Wanderer
 ! ! ! ! ! :

156 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

rises from by the hearth and derides Mime on

his seat
account of his When he might have asked what
folly.
was most momentous for him to know, his mind had
wandered in idle questions to distant regions.

Wanderer.
Hor', verfallener Zwerg: Hark, thou forfeited dwarf
Nur wer das Furchten None but he
Nie erfuhr, Who never feared,
Schmiedet Nothung neu. Nothung forges anew.
(Mime starrt ihn g;ross an; er wendet (Mime stares at him with eyes wide
sich zum Fortgange.) open Wotan turns to go.)
;

Dein weises Haupt Henceforth beware

Wahre von heut'; Thy wily head
Verfallen — lass ich's dem, Is forfeit to him
Der das Furchten nicht gelernt. Whose heart is free from fear.
(Er lacht und geht in den Wald.) (He laughs and goes into the wood.)

Mime if crushed, on the stool behind the

has sunk, as
anvil ; vague manner out into the wood,
he stares in a
which is illumined by the rays of the sun. After a
long silence he is seized with fear and trembling.

Mime.
Verfluchtes Licht Accursed flame
Was flammt dort die Luft What a flash of fire
Was flackert und lackert, What flutters and flickers,
Was flimmert und schwirrt, What wavers and floats.
Was schwebt dort und webt What hovers and flits there.
Und wabert umher? And flares and waves ?
Da glimmert's und glitzt's It glitters and glistens
In derSonne Gluth : In the glow of the sun ;

Was sauselt und summt What whizzes and hums,

Und saus't nun gar ? And hisses and whistles?
Es brummt und braus't It rustles and roars
Und prasselt hierher. And runs and rushes.
Dort bricht's durch den Wald, It breaks through the wood
 ! ! — :! ! ! —
!

SIEGFRIED. IS7

Will auf mich zu ! And hitherward bounds

Ein grasslicher Rachen A ghastly jaw
Reisst sich mir auf Gasps and gapes
Der Wurm will mich fangen The fangs of the dragon !

Fafner ! Fafner Fafnir ! Fafnir

(Er schreit laut auf, und knickt hinter (He screams, and sinks down behind
dem breitem Ambos zusammen.) the broad anvil.)

At this moment Siegfried breaks forth from the

thicket and calls from without for the sword. When
he enters, he is astonished at not seeing Mime. The
latter in a faint voice asks Siegfried from behind his
hiding-place whether he had returned alone. Sieg-
fried upbraids him for his cowardice, and grows very-
angry when he learns that Mime had not yet forged
the sword. Mime, mindful of the fact that only he
who knows no fear can weld Nothung anew and slay
Fafnir, says to Siegfried

Fuhltest du nie Hast never felt

Im finstern Wald, In forest night,
Bei Dammerschein When twilight dims
Am dunlclen Ort, The dismal twigs,
Wenn fern es sauselt, When afar it hums,
Summs't und saus't, Hisses and whizzes,
Wildes Brummen And wildly roaring
Naher braus't, Nearer it rushes,
Wirres Flackern When flaring beams
Um dich flimmert, About thee flash.
Schwellend Schwirren When
and rages it swells
Zu Leib dir schwebt, And around
thee sweeps
Fuhltest du dann nicht grleselnd Hast then not felt the pang
Grausen die Glieder dir fah'n ? Of horror pierce through thy
heart ?
Gluhender Schauer Shuddering flames
Schuttelt die Glieder, Shake thy limbs,
Wirr verschwimmend Wildly swim
Schwinden die Sinne, Thy wandering senses.
 ! ! ! !

158 RING OF THE NIBEL UNG.

In der Brust bebend und bang In thy breast it quakes and

quivers,
Berstet hammernd das Herz ? And hammering bursts thy
heart ?—
Fuhltest du das noch nicht. If ne'er such awe thou hast
felt.

Das FUrchten blieb dir dann Naught thou knowest of fear,

fremd.

From Siegfried's reply it is evident that fear is un-

known to him, but he fain would learn what he calls
the delight of that feeling. Mime now tells him of
Fafnir, and Siegfried eager to go at once to the
is

dragon's den, but he urges Mime to forge the

first

sword. The smith in rage and despair confesses his

inability to achieve the desired work, and says that
he who knows no fear might perhaps accomplish it.
Siegfried at once prepares for work he has soon piled ;

a huge mass of coal on the hearth and keeps up the

fire, while he fastens the pieces of the sword in the vise

and files them to dust. Mime looks on in wonder.

When Siegfried has reduced the pieces and placed the
filings into a melting-pot on the fire, he fans the flames
with the bellows. Mime tells him the name of the
broken sword.

Siegfried.
(Zu der Arbeit.) (While he is at work.)

Nothung! Nothung! Nothung ! Nothung

Neidliches Schwert Stalwart steel
Was musstest du zerspringen ? What shock hath shivered
thee so?
Zu Spreu nun schuf ich To chaff thy blazing
Die scharfe Pracht, Blade I've changed,
Im Tigel brat' ich die Spahne The metal I melt o'er the
fire!
 ; ! ! :!!! —! ! ! ; !
! !!!! ! —— !

SIEGFRIED. 1 59

Hoho! hoho! Hoho hoho!

Hahei ! hahei Hahei ! hahei

Blase, Balg, Blow, bellows
Blase die Gluth !— Blow up the blaze !

Wild im V/alde In thicket untrodden

Wuchs ein Baum, Thrived a tree.
Den hab' ich im Forst gefallt. Its trunk in the forest I felled.

Die braune Esche The ash-tree dun

Brannt' ich zu Kohl', As dusky coal
Auf dem Herd nun liegt sie On the hearth now lies in

gehauft heaps.

Hoho! hoho! Hoho! hoho!

Hahei ! hahei Hahei ! hahei
Blase, Balg, Blow, bellows
Blase die Gluth .'— Blow up the blaze !

Des Baumes Kohle, How fleetly flames

Wie brennt sie kiihn, The flashing fire!
Wie gluht und hehr
sie hell It glistens, glitters, and glows.
In springenden Funken In flickering sparks
Spruht sie auf, It sputters and flares
Schmilzt mir des Stahles To melt the metal's spray.
Spreu.

Hoho hoho! Hoho hoho ! !

Hahei ! hahei Hahei ! hahei

Blase, Balg, Blow, bellows
Blase die Gluth !— Blow up the blaze !

Nothung ! Nothung Nothung Nothung !

Neidliches Schwert Stalwart sword

Schon schmilzt deines Stahles Now melts the spray of thy
Spreu steel
Im eignen Schweisse In thy flaming stream
Schwimm'st du nun Thou floatest now.
Bald schwing' ich dich als mein I'll wave thee soon as my
Schwert sword.
 : — ;

l6o RING OP THE NJBELUNG.

Mime.
(Wahrend der Absatze von Siegfried's (Sitting apart, during the pauses of
Lied, immer fur sich, entfernt Siegfried's song.)
sitiend.)

Er schmiedet das Schwert, He forges the sword,

Und Fafner fallt er And Fafnir he fells
Das seh' ich nun sicher voraus ;
The unfailing fate I foresee.
Hort und Ring Hoard and ring
Erringt er im Harst :
He will wrest from his haunt.
Wie erwerb' ich mir den How gain I the guerdon for

Gewinn ? me }
Mit Witz und List With wisdom and craft
Erlang' ich Beides, I'll win them both

Und berge heil mein Haupt. And shield from harm my

head.

Mime is delighted at the thought that by the fell

power of soporific drugs, with which he is well ac-

quainted, Siegfried would die after he had slain the
dragon. Then he fetches vessels and pours various
kinds of spices out of them into a pot. Siegfried has
now run the melted steel into a mould and plunged
it into the water the loud hiss of cooling is heard.
;

After some time he thrusts the steel into the fire, which
is now red hot. He then turns to Mime, who, from the
other end of the hearth, places a pot at the edge of
the fire. Siegfried taunts the smith with brewing a
broth while he forges a sword but Mime continues the ;

preparation of the fatal draught. Siegfried has drawn

out the glowing steel, and hammers it for some time
on the anvil with the great smith's hammer. At last
he plunges the steel into the water and laughs at the
hissing then he fastens the welded sword-blade to the
;

hilt.
 ——! : ;! — ; ——

SIEGFRIED. i6i

Mime.
(Im Vordergrunde.) (In the foreground.)

Er schafft sich ein scharfes A wondrous sword he welds,

Schwert,
Fafner zu fallen, To fell for me Fafnir,
Der Zwerge Feind The foe of the dwarfs.
Ich braut' ein Trug-Getrank, A magic draught I made.
Siegfried zu fallen, That Siegfried may die.
Dem Fafner fiel. When Fafnir be doomed.
Gelingen muss mir die List, My cunning must carry the
day.
Lachen muss mir der Lohn! The gorgeous guerdon I'll gain!
Den der Bruder schuf. The brilliant ring
Den schimmernden Reif, That my brother wrought,
In den er gezaubert Endowed with might
Zwingende Kraft, Of magic dire.
Das helle Gold, The ruddy gold.
Das zum Herrscher macht Inwrought with power,
Ich hab' ihn gewonnen, I've won it well,
Ich wake sein ! I'll wield reward !—
its

Alberich selbst, Albrich himself.

Der einst mich band, Whose slave I was,
Zu Zwergenfrohne I'll force to delve
Zwing' ich ihn nun : And dig like a dwarf;
Als Niblungenfiirst As the Nibelungs' lord
Fahr' ich danieder I'll alight beneath ;

Gehorchen soil mir And all the host

Alles Heer !
Shall heed my behest !

Der verachtete Zwerg, The derided dwarf

Was wird er geehrt Shall revel in honor I

Zu dem Hort hin drangt sich To the hoard the god

Gott und Held : And hero shall hie
Vor meinem Nicken At the nod of my head
Neigt sich die Welt, The world shall kneel.
Vor meinem Zorne And writhe with fear
Zittert sie hin Before my wrath !

Denn wahrlich miiht sich Mime, forsooth.

 !
: —
! ! ! ; !.

1 62 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Mime nicht mehr No more will toil

Ihm schaflfen And're His bondmen shall heap
Den ewigen Schatz. The boundless hoard.
Mime, der kiihne, Mime, the bold one.
Mime KSnig,
ist Mime is king.
Ftirst der Alben, Lord of the Nibelungs,
Walter des Alls. And leader of all

Siegfried, during the pauses of Mime's song, has

filed and sharpened and hammered the sword with the
small hammer.

Siegfried.

Nothung Nothung ! Nothung ! Nothung!

Neu und verjiingt Anew thou art wrought
Zum Leben weckt' ich dich Back unto life I have brought
wieder. thee.
Todt lag'st du Dead thou lay'st
In Triimmern dort, In doleful night.
Jetzt leuchtest du trotzig und Now flashes defiant thy fire.

hehr.
Zeige den Schachern Blast the fiend
Nun deinen Schein With thy flaming blade
Schlage den Falschen, Slay the rogue,
Falle den Schelm ! Smite the wretch !

Schau, Mime, du Schmied : See, Mime, my smith :

So schneidet Siegfried's Schwert! So sunders Siegfried's sword !

During the last verse Siegfried has brandished his

sword, and now strikes with it on the anvil. The latter
is cleaved into two pieces from top to bottom, and
falls asunder with a great noise. Mime, overcome with
fright, sinks to the ground. Siegfried exultingly waves
the sword. The curtain falls quickly.
 : ;;

SIEGFRIED. 163

In the second act of " Siegfried " the scene represents

a dense forest. Far in the background is the opening
of a cave. The ground rises as far as the middle of the
stage,where it forms a small plateau thence it descends ;

backwards towards the cave so that merely the upper

part of its opening is visible. To the left appears
through the trees a rocky wall, full of clefts. It is dark
night, and especially gloomy over the background,
where at first nothing can be distinguished by the
spectator.

Alberich.

(An der Felsenwand zur Seite gelagert, (Leaning against the rocky wall at the
in dusterem Bruten.) side, absorbed in gloomy thought.)

In Wald und Nacht In wood and night

Vor Neidhohr half ich Wacht At the den of wrath I watch
Es lauscht mein Ohr, With hearkening ear
Miihvoll lugt mein Aug'. My eyes heavily gaze.
Banger Tag, Timorous day,
- Beb'st du schon auf ? Dawn'st thou so soon .'

Dammerst du dort Dimly thy light

Durch das Dunkel her ? Illumines the dark?

(Sturmwind erhebt sich rechts aus dem (A storm-wind rises on the right, otJt
Walde.) of the wood.)

Welcher Glanz glitzert dort auf ? But yonder what glimmers and
glares ?

Naher schimmert Nearer gleams

it

Ein heller Schein ; With glittering glow

Es rennt wie ein leuchtendes Like the flash of a flaming
Ross, steed,
Bricht durch den Wald It darts through the wood
Brausend daher. And dashes along.
Naht schon des Wurmes Wiir- Must the dragon die to-day ?

ger?
Ist's schon, der Fafner fallt ? Is it he who Faf nir shall fell ?
 —— : : ;

164 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

(Der Sturmwind legt sich wieder; der (The wind subsides, the light van-
Glanz verlischt.) ishes.)

Das Licht erlischt The flash has fled ;

Der Glanz barg sich dem Blick : The glow is hid from my
glance
Nacht ist's wieder. Again it is night.
Wer naht dort schimmernd im Who nears with glare in the
Schatten ? gloom .'

Wanderer.
(Tritt aus dem Wald auf, und halt (Steps forth from the wood, and stops
Alberich gegenuber an.) opposite Alberich.)

Zur Neidhohle To the den of wrath

Fuhr ich bei Nacht I rode through the night
Wen gewahr ich ira Dunkel Who hideth here in the dark ?
dort .'

Suddenly the moonlight breaks forth, the clouds are

dispelled,and the Wanderer's figure becomes visible in
the light. Alberich recognizes Wotan and starts back
in terror, but soon after breaks out into violent anger.
In wrathful words he reviles and taunts the god for the
disgrace he had suffered through him when the Nibe-
lung hoard was seized by Wotan. Alberich tells him
that he is fully aware of the bargain which the gods
concluded with the giants to ransom Freyja from their
power. Therefore, he says, Wotan himself can never
wrest the gold from Fafnir if he did, he would break
;

his word and his spear would be shivered. Wotan re-

plies that there is no treaty by which he is bound to
Alberich. As to the spear, the Nibelung knows that as
yet he must bend to its power.

Alberich.

Wie stolz du drau'st With menace proud

In trotziger Starke, Thy might thou displayest,
 — ! — —— !

SIEGFRIED. 165

Und wie dir's im Busen doch While terror is haunting thy

bangt !
heart !

Verfallen dem Tod Forfeit to death

Durch meinen Fluch By the doom of my curse
1st Fafner, des Hortes Hliter: Is Fafnir, who hideth the
hoard :

Wer—wird ihn beerben ? Who — shall own it hereafter ?

Wird der neidliche Hort Shall the gorgeous hoard

Dem Niblung wieder gehoren ? Belong again to the Nibe-
lung ?
Das sehrt dich mit ew ger That thrills thee with anguish
Sorge. unending.
Denn fass' ich ihn wieder For lo if I hold it
!

Einst in der Faust, Anew in my hand.

Anders als dumme Riesen Thou know'st if like reckless
giants
Ub' ich des Ringes Kraft: I'll wield the Nibelung's ring;
Dann zitt're der Helden Then the hallowed king
Heiliger Huter Of heroes shall cower
Walhall's H5hen Valhall's heights
Stiirm ich mit Hella's Heer: Storm I with Hella's host.
Der Welt walte dann ich ! And rule the world by my
will!

Wotan retorts that he knows full well the Nibelung's

aim, but he recks not the danger. The god exclaims
that he who has won the ring shall wield it. Alberich
scornfully alludes to a youth of warlike descent who
may pluck the fruit for the god which the latter dares
not touch. But by Wotan's remarks he is led to be-
lieve that Mime is the only one who will contend with
him for the hoard. This is true, in so far as Siegfried
knows as yet naught of its existence. Wotan vanishes
in the wood a storm-wind rises and quickly subsides.
;

Alberich gazes long and wrathfully after the god he ;

vows that at last the hoard again must be his. The day
1 66 RING OF THE NJBELUNG.

dawns ; the Nibelung conceals himself among the

clefts.

Mime and Siegfried enter, the latter carrying the

sword in a belt. Mime carefully looks about, casts
anxious glances towards the background, which re-
mains in deep shadow, while the eminence in the
middle is gradually more and more lighted by the sun.
Mime draws Siegfried's attention to the cave ; Sieg-
fried seats himselfunder a large linden-tree. Mime is
seated opposite to him, but, from fear of the dragon, in
such a manner as to be able to keep the cave in sight.
The dwarf tells Siegfried of the fierceness of Fafnir,
his poisonous breath and his fearful tail but Siegfried ;

does not mind the danger. Mime, as he departs, ex-

presses to himself the wish that Fafnir and Siegfried
may slay each other.
When Siegfried is alone, he shows his pleasure at
knowing that Mime is not his father. After a long and
thoughtful silence he thinks of the mother he never has
seen, and bewails her fate. The singing of birds attracts
his attention he plays a lively tune on his little silver
;

horn. " In an orchestral piece of almost symphonic

import Wagner describes the mysterious whirr and life
of the forest. The whole idyllic intermezzo is replete
with the sweetest charm of romanticism." All at once
a noise is heard in the background. Fafnir, in the
shape of a huge lizard-like serpent, has risen from his
hiding-place he breaks through the thicket and
;

rolls himself forward out of the depth to the rising

ground. He has reached it with the foremost part of
hisbody, and utters a loud yawning sound. Siegfried
turns round, looks at Fafnir in great astonishment, and
 ! !

SIEGFRIED. 167

laughs. Fafnir has halted at sight of Siegfried.

When the dragon exclaims :
" What is here ?" Sieg-
fried, perceiving that the monster can speak, tells him
that he knows naught and asks him if he cannot
of fear,
learn it from him. He adds that if the dragon will not
teach him what fear is, he will wreak vengeance on
him. Fafnir laughs, opens his jaws and shows his
fangs. At Siegfried's scornful words he threatens him
with his tail and roars. Siegfried seizes his sword and
takes a position opposite Fafnir. The latter raises
himself further forward on the rising ground. Siegfried
leaps aside ; Fafnir swings forward his tail to seize
Siegfried, but the latter evades it by springing over the
back of the dragon. As the tail at once follows Sieg-
fried and well-nigh lays hold of him, he wounds it
with his sword. Fafnir hastily withdraws his tail, roars,
and raises the forepart of his body in order to hurl him-
self towards the side with his full weight on Siegfried.
In this manner he exposes his breast Siegfried espies ;

the place of the heart, and thrusts his sword into it up

to the hilt. Fafnir rears with pain and, after Sieg-
go the sword and has leaped
fried lets aside, falls down
on the wound.
Siegfried.

Da lieg', neidischer Kerl Die then, thou niggardly

knave
Nothung tragst du im Herzen. Nothung has hit thy heart.

Fafner,
(Mit schwacherer Stimme.) (In a weaker voice.)

War kuhner Knabe,

bist du, Who the dauntless youth
is

Der das Herz mir traf ? That's done me to death ?

Wer reizte des Kindes Muth Who stirred thy childish mood
1 68 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Zu der mordlichen That ? To the murderous deed ?

Dein Hirn briitete nicht Thy reckless brain did not
breed
Was du vollbracht. What thou hast wrought.

Siegfried.
Viel weiss ich noch nicht. Much is unknown to me,
Noch nicht auch wer ich bin : I know not the name of my

sire.

Mit dir mordlich zu ringen Thy wrath aroused my soul

Reiztest du selbst meinen To ferocious strife with thy
Muth. strength.

Fafnir Siegfried that he has slain the last of the

tells

giants' race he also informs him of Fasolt's death, of

;

the accursed gold bestowed by the gods on the giants

for the ransom of Freyja, and at last warns him against
the treachery of that one who stirred him up to the fatal
deed. When Siegfried, desirous to know the race of
his kindred, tells his name dragon groans,
to Fafnir, the
and rearing, expires. He has rolled over on his side.
Siegfried draws the sword out of his breast in doing ;

this his hand is wetted with the dragon's blood. He

starts up and exclaims " Like fire burns the blood !"
:

Involuntarily he puts his fingers to his mouth to

suck the blood from them. As he looks before him
in deep thought, his attention is at once aroused by
the song of the wood-birds. He listens with bated
breath, and after a little while exclaims that he under-
stands the song of the birds. The voice of a bird in
the linden-tree is heard. It hails Siegfried as the pos-
and calls his attention to the Tarn-
sessor of the hoard,
helm and the ring. Siegfried descends into the cave,
where he soon completely disappears.
 : —

SIEGFRIED. 169

Mime creeps forward, gazing timidly about him, to

convince himself of Fafnir's death. At the same time,
from the opposite side, Alberich appears, coming for-

ward out of the clefts. He keenly observes Mime. As

the latter, perceiving nothing of Siegfried, turns cau-
tiously towards the cave, Alberich rushes against him
and blocks the way. There is a fierce altercation be-
tween the two brothers, Alberich boasting of the fact
that it was he who wrested the gold from the Rhine-
daughters and wrought the magic ring, while Mime
contends that he forged the Tarnhelm, and moreover
claims that he brought up Siegfried, and now for his
toil and worry expects to receive the coveted reward.

Alberich.

Fiir des Knaben Zucht For his nursing care

Will der knick'rige Now the niggardly,
Schabige Knecht Shabbiest knave.
Keck und kuhn Forward and fierce,
Gar wohl Konig nun sein ? Perhaps fain would be king?
Dem raudigsten Hund The lowest cur
Ware der Ring Might covet the ring
Gerath'ner als dir More rightly than thou ,

Nimmer erring'st Never shall ravish

Du, Rtipel, den Herrscherreif ! Thou, wretch, the royal hoop.

Mime tries to conciliate his brother, and proposes

to let him have the ring, while he will keep the Tarn-
helm. Alberich derisively retorts, and assures Mime
that he would not give him even the smallest portion of
the hoard. Mime in rage threatens his brother with
Siegfried's power. The two Nibelungs perceive Sieg-
fried coming out from the cave with the Tarnhelm and
the ring. Mime laughs maUciously, and vanishes in the
 : ! ! ;

I/O RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

wood. Alberich disappears among the cliffs. Siegfried
has walked slowly and thoughtfully forward from the
cave. He contemplates his booty, and stops near a
tree on the height. Great silence reigns Siegfried ;

knows naught of the value of the hoard, but is deter-

mined to keep the spoils as witnesses of his fight with
the dragon, and also on account of the warning of the
bird. He puts the Tarnhelm in his belt, and the ring
on his finger. The sounds of life in the wood increase.
Siegfried's attention is again called to the bird he holds ;

his breath and listens.

Stimme des Waldvogeh. Voice of the Wood-bird.

(In der Linde.) (In the linden-tree.)

Hei ! Siegfried gehort Ha ! Siegfried now holds

Nun der Helm und Ring! Both helmet and ring!
O traut' er Mime O, would that in Mime
Dem Treulosen nicht No more he might trust
Horte Siegfried nur scharf Siegfried keenly must watch
Auf des Schelmen Heuchler- The wily words of the rogue
gered'
Wie sein Herz es meint What he means at heart
Kann er Mime versteh'n He can hear from his lips
;

So niitzt ihm des Blutes By dint of the dragon's blood,

Genuss.

Siegfried's gesture and mien denote that he has well

understood the song of the bird. He sees Mime draw-
ing nearer, and remains immovable in his position on
the rising ground, leaning on his sword, attentive and
composed in manner, until the end of the following
scene. Mime approaches slowly, and thinks that Sieg-
fried is pondering over the value of the spoils taken
from Fafnir's den. The Nibelung asks Siegfried if he
 : ;

SIEGFRIED. 171

now knows what fear is. Siegfried replies that fear is

as yet unknown to him. When Mime refers to the

slaying of the dragon, Siegfried exclaims that he is al-

most sorry for Fafnir's death, since greater malefactors

are still unslain. Then Mime, despite his efforts to dis-
semble his real intentions, discloses his hatred of Sieg-
fried. In spite of himself, so to speak, he tells the
young hero that he is determined to obtain possession
of the hoard, and therefore the slayer of Fafnir must
die. Mime now closely approaches Siegfried and holds
out to him with loathsome importunity a drinking-
horn into which he had poured the baneful liquid from
a vessel. Siegfried has already grasped his sword, and,
as if in a fit of violent disgust, strikes Mime with a blow

dead to the ground. Alberich is heard from the clefts

as he bursts out into scornful laughter. Siegfried
seizes Mime's body, drags it to the cave and throws it in ;

then he rolls the body of the dragon before the entrance

of the cave so as to entirely block it up. He stretches
himself again under the linden-tree, and after a long
silence gives expression to his feeling of loneliness. He
bewails his fate, since he has neither brother nor sister;
his father had fallen in battle, and his mother he had
never seen. He begs the bird to comfort him in his
grief.

Stimme des Waldvogeh. Voice of the Wood-bird.

Hei ! Siegfried erschlug Ha ! Siegfried has slain

Nun den schlimmen Zwerg ! The slanderous dwarf.
Jetzt wiisst' ich ihm noch O, would that the fairest
Das herrlichste Weib. Wife he might find !

Auf hohem Felsen sie schlaft, On lofty height she sleeps,

Ein Feuerumbrennt ihren Saal A fire embraces her hall
 :! ! :! ! :

172 RING OP THE msELUNG.

Durchschritt er die Brunst, If he strides througn the blaze

Erweckt erdie Braut, And wakens the bride,
Briinnhllde ware dann sein ! Brunhild he wins as his wife.

Siegfried springs up from his seat with great vehe-

mence ; the first feeling of love pervades his heart, and
he asks the bird if he can break through the flame-wall
and arouse Brunhild from her sleep.
Der Waldvogel. The Wood-bird.
Die Braut gewinnt. The bride to win,
Brunnhild' erweckt, Brunhild to wake,
Ein Feiger nie No coward draws nigh :

Nur war das Furchten nicht None to whom fear is known,

kennt.

Siegfried with rapturous delight asks the bird to

show him the way to the rock. The bird flutters up,
floats over Siegfried and flies away he hastens after the
;

bird. Thus closes the second act of " Siegfried."

In the third act the scene represents a wild country

at the foot of a rocky mountain, which on the left rises

steeply towards the background. a storm, It is night ;

with thunder and lightning, prevails. Before a gate in

the rock, forming the entrance of a grave-like cavern,
stands the
Wanderer.
Wache ! Wache Awake ! Awake
Wala, erwache Vala, awake
Aus langem Schlafe From lengthy sleep
Week' ich dich schlummernde The slumbering woman I

wach. wake;
Ich rufe dich auf Hark to my rede
Herauf herauf
! Arise ! arise
 !!! ! :
! ; ! : ! ! !! !
;

SIEGFRIED. m
Aus neblicher Gruft, From the misty dark.
Aus nacht'gem Grunde herauf From the depth of dismal
night
Erda! Erda Erda ! Woman
Ewiges.Weib ! Eternal, awake
Aus heimischer Tiefe From thy home below
Tauche zur Hoh' Hie thee aloft.
Dein Wecklied sing' ich, To wake thee I sing,
Dass du erwach'st My song shall arouse thee.
Aus sinnendem Schlafe From pondering sleep
Sing' ich dich auf. I summon thee now,
Allwissende Seeress omniscient.
Urweltweise Wisest of women
Erda! Erda! Erda! Woman
Ewiges Weib awake
Eternal,
Wache, du Wala I erwache Waken, thou Vala ! Awaken !

A dim light has begun to dawn in the cave Erda ;

arises from the depth in a bluish gleam. She appears

as if covered with frost her hair and raiment shed a
;

glittering light. AsWotan informs the goddess that

he aroused her from her sleep to receive from her the
light of her wisdom, she refers him to the Norns.
Wotan replies that the Norns are the tools of fate, but
cannot alter the course of events.

Erda.
Mannerthaten Deeds of men
Umdammern mir den Muth Dimly dismay my mind.
Mich Wissende selbst E'en me and my wisdom
Bezwang ein Waltender einst, A mighty one once over-
powered.
Ein Wunschmadchen A wish-maiden
Gebar ich Wotan To Wotan I bore
Der Helden Wal The heroes' host
 ;

174 ^/yVG OF THE NIBELVNG.

Hiess er fur ihn sie kuren. He bade her choose for his hall.
Kiihn ist sie Bold is she,
Und weise auch : And wise withal
Was weck'st du mich. Why trouble ray sleep,
Und frag'st urn Kunde And wisdom
trust not the
Nicht Erda und Wotan's Kind ? Of Erda and Wotan's child ? *

At this reference to Brunhild Wotan apprises Erda

of the Valkyr's disobedience to his command, and of
the punishment he had to inflict upon her. Erda, ab-
sorbed in thought, and after a long silence, upbraids
him for punishing the maid. Wotan reminds the god-
dess of her gloomy foreboding in regard to the over-
throw of the gods at the time she appeared before
them and Wotan refused to give the Nibelung's ring to
the giants in ransom for Freyja.f He now wishes to
learn from her lips how the danger may be averted.
Erda does not answer his question, but bids him to free
her from his magic power so that she may descend to
her abode. Thereupon he tells her that her wisdom is
gone, and her knowledge is naught compared with
Wotan's will. No more he grieves for the approaching
doom of the gods, since by his will the decree of fate
shall be accomplished. As formerly in disgust and de-
spair he had doomed the world to the Nibelung's hate,
he now bestows its kingdom on the noble Volsung,
Siegmund and Sieglind's son, who had gained the
ring. Siegfried shall awaken Brunhild from her sleep,
and thus the daughter of Wotan and Erda shall ransom
the world from Alberich's curse. After these words
Erda descends to her home in the bosom of the earth.
The cavern has become dark again Wotan leans ;

* See page 131. \ See page 109.

 : ; : ; —

SIEGFRIED. 175

Feeble moonlight
against a rock and awaits Siegfried.
dimly lights up the scene. The storm has entirely
ceased. Siegfried appears from the right in the fore-
ground.
Siegfried.
Mein VSglein schwebte mir My bird has floated aloft ;

fort ;—
Mit flatterndem Flug With fluttering flight
Und sussem Sang And warbling sweet
Wies es mir wonnig den Weg He swiftly showed me the way ;

Nun schwand es fern mir davon. But now he has fled.

afar
Am besten find' ich The rock without fail
nun den Berg;
Selbst I'll find by myself.

Wohin mein Fiihrer mich wies, On the way which I learned as

he flew
Dahin wandr' ich jetzt fort. Now fleetly I wander along.
(Er schreitet welter nach hinten.) (He goes farther towards the back-
ground.)
Wanderer.
(In seiner Stellung an der Hohle ver- (Remaining in his position at the
bleibend.) cave.)

Wohin, Knabe, Whither, my lad.

Heisst dich dein Weg ? Wends thy way ?
Siegfried.
(Da redet's ja (A voice I hear
Wohl rath das mir den Weg.) Perhaps it will help in my
search.)
Einen Felsen such' ich, A rock I must find.
Von Feuer ist der umwabert In raging fire inwrapped

Dort schlaft ein Weib, There sleeps a woman

Das ich wecken will. I wish to wake.

Wanderer.
Wer sagt' es dir Who bade thee find
Den Fels zu suchen, The fiery rock
Wer nach der Frau dich zu With fervent love of the maid ?
sehnen ?
 :: ;: ; ; ;

176 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Siegfried.
Mich wies' es ein singend From a warbling bird
Waldvog'lein In the wood I learned
Das gab mir gute Kunde. Delightful lore of the woman.

Wanderer.
Ein VSg'lein schwatzt wohl The voice of a bird may chat-
manches ter
Kein Mensch doch kann's ver- His chirp, though, of meaning
steh'n : is void :

Wie mochtest du Sinn What led thee to see

Dem Sange entnehmen ? Sense in the song?

Siegfried.
Das wirkte das Blut The blood of a dread,
Eines wilden Wurms, Blustering dragon
Der mir vor NeidhShl' er- I doomed to death at its den.
blasste
Kaum netzt' es ziindend My tongue it barely
Die Zunge mir, Had burned, when I grasped
Da verstand' ich der Voglein The sense of the sound of the
Gestimm'. birds.

Wanderer.
Erschlug'st du den Riesen, Who roused thy mind
Wer reizte dich, To murderous wrath.
Den starken Wurm zu be- To ferocious fight with the
steh'n? foe?
Siegfried.
Mich fiihrte Mime, Mime, the feigning,
Ein falscher Zwerg Faithless dwarf
Das Furchten woUt' er mich To teach me fear he presumed.
lehren
Zum Schwertschlag aber, But to deal the death-blow,
Der ihn erschlug. That doomed him to die,
Reizte der Wurm mich selbst ; Fafnir had stirred my mind,
Seinen Rachen riss er mir auf. When he stared and gaped
upon me.
 ;;

SIEGFRIED. 177

Wanderer.
Wer schuf das Schwert Who forged the sword,
So scharf und hart, So strong and fierce,
Dass der starkste Feind ihm To fight with so fell a foe ?
fiel?
Siegfried.
Das schweisst' ich mir selbst, I wrought it myself,
Da's der Schmied nicht konnte: As the smith could not weld it
Schwertlos noch war' ich wohl Or swordless I still should be
sonst. seen.

Wanderer.
Doch wer schuf But who had made
Die starken Stucken, The mighty splinters
Daraus das Schwert du ge- From which thou weldedst the
schweisst ? weapon ?
Siegfried.
Was weiss ich davon ! Imind not who made them.
Ich weiss allein, Imerely know
Dass die Stucken nichts mir For naught they were fit in the
niitzten, fight
Schuf ich das Schwert mir Unless I had forged them
nicht neu. anew.

At this ingenuous answer of Siegfried Wotan breaks

out in good-humored laughter but Siegfried takes his
;

mirth amiss. He bluntly asks him to show him the

way to the fiery rock or to be silent. While he draws
nearer to Wotan, he observes that the god has only
one eye.* He gives expression to his belief that he had
lost the other in an affray when he barred some wan-
derer on his road. Wotan is grieved at Siegfried's harsh
words, and insinuates that he loves him and his race
but Siegfried in his anger heeds not the words of the
* See page 2.
 — : : ! ;! ; ! !

178 RING OP THE NIBELUNG.

god. In the mean time the scene has become dark

again. Wotan's ire is at last aroused by Siegfried's
obstinacy, and especially when the hero expresses his
determination to follow the bird that had shown him
the way to the rock, but had fled as he came near the
cave.
Wanderer.
Es floh dir zu seinem Heil To save his life he has fled;
Den Herrn der Raben The lord of the ravens
Errieth es hier He believed was nigh :

Weh' ihm, holen sie's ein ! Woe unto him, if they near
him !

Den Wag, den es zeigte, The way that he showed thee

Sollst du nicht zieh'n ! Thou shalt not walk !

Siegfried.

Hoho du Verbieter
! Haha He forbids it
!

Wer bist du denn, But who may be

Dass du mir wehren willst ? The bold one that bars my way ?
Wanderer.
Furchte des Felsens Huter Fear the mountain's defender
Verschlossen halt Fast in sleep
Meine Macht die schlafende My might enfolded the maid.
Maid ;

Wer sie erweckte, He who awakes her

Wer gewanne,
sie And wins her away,
Machtlos macht' er mich Mightless he makes me for
ewig !
e'er.
Ein Feuermeer A sea of flames
Umfluthet die Frau, Around her floats.
Gluhende Lohe With glowing rage
Umleckt den Fels It licks the rock
Wer die Braut begehrt, Who wooes the bride
Dem brennt entgegen die Must brave the withering
Brunst, blaze.
 !; — ; :! !! ; ! ! !

SIEGFRIED. 179

(Er winkt mit dem Speer.) (He points with liis spear.)

Blick' nach der Hoh' Look on the height

Erlug'st du das Licht ? Behold the light,

Es wachst der Schein, The searing flames,

Es schwillt die Gluth ;
The soaring flare
Sengende Wolken, Fiery blast
Wabernde Lohe, And wavering blaze
Walzen sich brennend Leap and roll
Und prasselnd herab. Rushing below.
Ein Lichtmeer Sheaths of fire
Umleuchtet dein Haupt Will enshroud thy face;
Bald frisst und zehrt dich Direful flames
Zundendes Feuer: Will doom thee to death :

Zuriick denn, rasendes Kind ! Back, thou reckless boy

Siegfried.

Zuriick, du Prahler, mit dir! Back, thou boaster, thyself!

Dort, wo die Briinste brennen. The fiery sea I defy,
Zu Briinnhilde muss ich jetzt Forth to Brunhild I fare!
hin!
(Er schreitet darauf zu.) (He strides towards the rock.)

Wanderer.
(Den Speer vorhaltend.) (Stretching out his spear.)

Furchtest das Feuer du nicht, Know'st thou no fear of the

fire.

So sperre mein Speer dir den My spear shall harass thy

weg! haste
Noch halt meine Hand My palm yet wields
Der Herrschaft Haft The powerful weapon ;

Das Schwert das du schwing'st, Once this shaft

Zerschlug einst dieser Schaft Shivered the sword that thou
wield'st
Noch einmal denn Asunder again
Zerspring' es am ewigen Speer It shall split on the godlike
spear
 ! ! ! ! — ! ! ! !! ! — ! !

l8o RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Siegfried.
(Das Schwert ziehend.) (Drawing his sword.)
Meines Vaters Feind ! My father's foe
Find' ich dich hier ? Here have I found thee ?
Herrlich zur Rache Wrathful vengeance
Gerieth mir das I'll wreak anon !

Schwing' deinen Speer : Brandish thy spear :

In Stiicken spalt' ihn mein My sword shall break it

Schwert asunder

Siegfried fights with the Wanderer and breaks his

spear in pieces. A terrible thunder-clap follows.

Wanderer.
TA€a' hin! Ich kann dich nicht Hence! No more can I hold
halten thee
(Er verschwindet.) (He disappears.)

" On this spear the laws of the universe are cut, and
its destruction is symbolical of that of the old order
of things. Henceforth Wotan resigns the world to the
unimpaired impulse of youth, and returns to Valhall to
await his final doom. The broken rhythm of the bond-
motive from the Rheingold denotes that Wotan's
'
'

power and the law on which it was founded are gone

forever." With increasing brightness fiery clouds have
descended from the height of the background. The
whole stage is filled as with a floating sea of flames.
Siegfried.

Ha, wonnige Gluth ! Ha, glorious glow

Leuchtender Glanz Glittering glare
Strahlend ofTen A flaming road
Steht mir die Strasse. Flashes before me !

Im Feuer mich baden ! To bathe me in fire

Im Feuer zu finden die Braut In fire to find the bride
 ! ! ! ! ! ! !

SIEGFRIED. l8l

Hoho hoho ! Hoho hoho

!

Hahei! hahei! Hahei! hahei!

Lustig ! lustig How merry how merry !

Jetzt lock' ich ein liebes Gesell ! With a loving mate I shall
meet

He puts his horn to his lips and, playing his alluring

tune, rushes into the fire. The flames rage now also
over the whole foreground. Siegfried's horn is heard,
at first near by, then farther off. The fiery clouds pass
constantly from back to front, so that Siegfried, whose
horn is heard again nearer, appears to move towards
the background up the height. At last the flames be-
gin to become paler. They dissolve, as it were, into a
fine, transparent veil. The latter gradually clears off
and an intensely bright blue sky in broadest daylight is
seen. The scene, from which the clouds have entirely
disappeared, represents the summit of a rocky moun-
tain as in the third act of the " Walkiire." On the left,
the entrance to a natural rocky hall ; on the right, broad
fir-trees ; the background In the fore- is entirely open.
ground, under the shadow of a large fir-tree, lies Brun-
hild in deep sleep. She is completely encased in glit-
tering armor ; her helmet is on her head, and her long
shield covers her. Siegfried, in the background, has
just arrived on the rocky border of the height, and
gazes about in astonishment.

Siegfried.

Selige Oede Wilderness hallowed

Auf sonniger Hoh' On sunniest height
(In den Tann hineinsehend.) (Looking into the wood.)

Was ruht dort schlummernd What sleeps there fast

Im schattigen Tann ? By the shadowy fir ?
 ! — —— ! ! —— !

1 82 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Ein Ross ist's, A horse I behold

Rastend in tiefem Schlaf Resting in slumber here

Siegfried appears on the highest point of the summit

and walks slowly forward when, still at some distance, ;

he perceives Brunhild, he stops, lost in astonishment.

Siegfried.
Was strahit mir dort entgegen ? What gleams and glistens
beyond ?
Welch' glanzendes Stahlge- What a glittering glare of
schmeide steel
Blendet mir noch Is my look still dimmed
Die Lohe den Blick? By the dazzling light ?

(Er tritt naher hinzu.) (He steps nearer.)

Helle Waffen !
Shining weapons !

Heb' ich sie auf ? Away with the shield !

He takes off the shield and perceives Brunhild's face,

which, however, is still covered to a great extent by
the helmet.
Siegfried.

Ha in Waffen ein Mann

! : Ha ! a mail-clad man !

Wie mahnt mich wonnig sein With delight my mind is

!—
Bild elate !—
Das hehre Haupt The helmet burdens
Driickt wohl der Helm ? The hallowed brow.
Leichter wiird' ihm. If loosened, more softly
L6st' ich den Schmuck. The head would lie.

Siegfried cautiously unfastens the helmet and raises

it from the head of the sleeper ; long, flowing hair
breaks forth. Siegfried starts.

Ach ! — wie schon ! Alas ! — how fair !

(Er bleibt in den Anblick versunken.) (He remains lost in the sight.)

Schimmernde Wolken Glittering clouds

 ! — : — — ! ! ;

SIEGFRIED. 183

Saumen in Wellen Enclose with their gleam

Den hellen Himmelssee : A lake of heavenly light
Leuchtender Sonne A radiant sun's
Lachendes Bild Rapturous image
Strahlt durch das Wogenge- Darts its rays on the dark !

wolk!
(Er lauscht dem Athem.) (He listens to her breathing.)

Von schwellendem Athem With heaving breath

Schwingt sich die Brust :
Beats the heart ;

Brech' ich die engende Briinne? Shall I rend the rings of the
mail ?

(Er versucht es mit grosser Behutsam- (He tries with great care to unfasten
keit —aber vergebens.) the armor, but in vain.)

Komm', mein Schwert, Out, my sword.

Sclineide das Eisen ! Sunder the iron.

With tender care he cuts through the rings of the

hauberk on both sides of the whole armor. He then
Hfts off the coat of mail and greaves, so that Brunhild
lies before him in a soft womanly raiment. He starts
up in surprise and wonder.

Das ist kein Mann ! No man it is !

Brennender Zauber Hallowed rapture

Ziickt rair in's Herz; Thrills through my heart
Feurige Angst Fiery anguish
Fasst meine Augen Enfolds my eyes.
Mir schwankt und schwindelt My senses wander
Der Sinn ! And waver.
Wen ruf ich zum Heil, Whom shall I summon
Dass er mir helfe ? Hither to help me?
Mutter! Mutter! Mother Mother
!

Gedenke mein' Be mindful of me !

He drops his forehead on Brunhild's bosom. A long

silence ensues. Then he starts up and sighs.
 — — — ——— —
!! ! : — — — ! ; ! ; ! —

1 84 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Wie week' ich die Maid, How wake I the maid
Dass sie die Augen mir That her eyes be opened for
off 'ne ? me?
Das Auge mir off'nen ? Her eyes be opened ?
Blende mich auch noch der Though her glance may singe
Blick ? my sight ?

Wagt' es mein Trotz? Dare I the deed ?

Ertriig' ich das Licht ? Endure I the light ?
Mir schwebt und schwankt What flickers and floats
Und schwirrt es umher. And flutters around me ?
Seiirendes Sengen My senses glow
Zehrt meine Sinne : With searing flames
Am zagenden Herzen O my throbbing heart
Zittert die Hand ! There thrills through my veins
Wie mir Feigem ?
ist A feeling strange.
1st es das FUrchten ? Could it be fear ?
O Mutter Mutter ! ! O Mother Mother ! !

Dein muthiges Kind! Thy manly son

Im Schlafe liegt eine Frau : A maiden is fast asleep
Die hat ihn das Fiirchten And fills his mind with
gelehrt
i)t 4: H< 3^ % It ******
dismay !

Wie end' ich die Furcht ? How conquer the fear ?

Wie fass' ich Muth ? How find I my courage ?
Dass ich selbst erwache, To waken myself.
Muss die Maid ich er- The maid I first must awake.
wecken
Siiss erbebt mir Sweetly allure me
Ihr bliihender Mund Her blooming lips
Wie mild erzitternd Faintly quivering
Mich Zagen er reizt They quell my fear
Ach, dieses Athems With sweetest fragrance
Wonnig warmes Gediift' !
Her swelling breath is

fraught !

Erwache ! erwache ! Awaken Holy

!

Heiliges Weib !
Woman, awake!
Sie h6rt mich nicht. She hears not my words.
 ! ! ! !: : ! —; ! ! ; ;!

SIEGFRIED. i8s

So saug' ich mir Leben Then life will I sip

Aus sussesten Lippen From sweetest lips,
Sollt' ich auch sterbend ver- Though death be my lot for
geh'n the deed.

He imprints an ardent and lingering kiss on her lips.

He then starts up appalled. Brunhild has opened her
eyes. He gazes on her in astonishment. Both remain
for some time lost in contemplation of each other.

Brunhild.
(Langsam und feierlich sich zum Sitze (Slowly and solemnly rising to a sitting
aufrichtend.) posture.)

Hail dir, Sonne Hail to thee, sun !

Heil dir, Licht Hail to thee, light

Heil dir, leuchtender Tag! Hail to thee, luminous day
Lang' war mein Schlaf Deep was my sleep ;

Ich bin erwacht Dark was the night

Wer ist der Held, Who is the hero
Der mich erweckt' ? That woke me here }

Siegfried.
(Von ihrem Blick und ihrer Stimme (Solemnly impressed by her look and
feierlich ergriffen.) voice.)

Durch das Feuer drang ich, I broke through the fire

Das den Fels umbrann ; That embraced the height
Ich erbrach dir den festen Thy brazen helmet I loosed.
Helm.
Siegfried heiss' ich, Who woke thee here
Der dich erweckt. Siegfried is hight.

Brunhild.
(Hoch aufgerichtet sitzend.) (Sitting up fully erect.)

Heil euch, GBtter Gods, I hail you !

Heil Welt
dir, I hail thee, world !

Heil dir, prangende Erde I greet thee, glorious earth !

Zu End' ist nun mein Schlaf; Ended at last is my slumber,

Erwacht seh' ich Awakening I see
 ! ;; — ; —
; ! ;

1 86 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Siegfried ist es, Siegfried, the brave,

Der mich erweckt Who broke my sleep !

Brunhild still further gives vent to her joyful feelings

she remembers how she had sheltered Sieglind from
Wotan's wrath.* To Siegfried she discloses the events
immediately following Siegmund's death she asserts ;

that her shield had protected Siegfried even before he

saw the light of the world. She also says that Wotan's
secret intentions had always been known to her, and that
her deeds and her sufferings came from her love of Sieg-
fried. The hero barely understands her allusions to the
past he is aware of one thing only the sensation he
; :

has never felt before now thrills his heart. As he is

about to draw closer to Brunhild, she gently wards him
off and her glance turns towards the wood. She per-
ceives Grani, her noble horse, that had been aroused
from the magic sleep at the same time as herself.

Brunhild.
(Ihn mit der Hand bedeutend.) (Pointing with her hand.)

Dort seh' ich den Schild, I behold my shield

Der Helden schirmte That sheltered heroes
Dort seh' ich den Helm, My helmet is here
Der das Haupt mir barg: That covered my head ;

Er schirmt, er birgt mich nicht Alas ! it hides me no longer

mehr.
Siegfried.
Eine selige Maid A hallowed maid
Versehrte mein Herz Seared my heart
Wunden dem Haupte A woman sorely
Schlug mir ein Weib :
Wounded my head ;

Ich kam ohne Schild und No buckler nor helmet I bore!

Helm!
* See page 141.
 !! — ; ::: ; ! ;; ; ;; ; ; —

SIEGFRIED. 187

Brunhild.
(Mit gesteigerter Wehmuth.) (With increased sadness.)

Ich sehe der Brunne My hauberk's flashing

Prangenden Stahl Steel 1 behold
Ein scharfes Schwert A keen-edged sword
Schnitt sie entzwei Cut it asunder
Von dem maidlichen Leibe No coat of mail
L8st' es die Wehr Now covers the maid .

Ich bin ohne Schutz und Defenceless I am and forlorn I

Schirm,
Ohne Trutz ein trauriges Weib A woful woman, alas !

Siegfried.

Durch brennendes Feuer Through the fiery stream

Fuhr ich zu dir Fearless I strode
Nicht Briinne noch Panzer No corselet nor hauberk
Barg meinen Leib : Covered my heart
Mir in die Brust But now in my bosom
Brach nun die Lohe. The blaze is burning
Es braust mein Blut Devouring flames
In bliihender Brunst; Flash through my veins
Ein zehrendes Feuer Fiercely rages
1st mir entzundet And roars the fire
Die Gluth die Brunnhild's The heat that embraced
Felsen umbrann, Brunnild's height
Die brennt mir nun im Burns now here in my heart !

Gebein !

Du Weib, jetzt losche den Thou, woman, quench the fiire !

Brand
Schweige die schaumende Silence the foaming surge !

Gluth

Siegfried passionately embraces her; she leaps up,

wards him off with the strength of greatest terror, and
hastens to the other side. No god nor hero, she ex-
claims, has ever dared to embrace her. As a holy
maiden she went forth from Valhall's heights. In spite
 : —
!! ! ! ! ! ! : ! ; ! — !

188 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

of all she cannot easily forget, that once she was a Val-
kyr, while now she is a mortal woman. At last, how-
ever, her love of Siegfried triumphs over all other emo-
tions, and, unmindful of her past, she sacrifices every-
thing for the sake of the dauntless hero.

Brunhild.
Fahr' hin, Walhall's Away, Valhall's
Leuchtende Welt Glorious world!
Zerfair in Staub To dust thy haughty
Deine stolze Burg Walls be dashed
Leb' wohl, prangende Farewell, thou gorgeous
Gotter-Pracht Realm of the gods
Ende in Wonne, End in delight,
Du ewig Geschlecht Thou lofty race !

Zerreisst, ihr Nornen, Rend, ye Norns,

Das Runenseil The rope of runes
GStter-Damm'rung, Dusk of the gods.
Dunk'le herauf Break forth from thy depth
Nacht der Vernichtung, Night of destruction.
Neb'le herein ! Draw near in thy storm !

Mir strahlt zur Stunde Siegfried's star

Siegfried's Stern ;
Beams on my sight
Er ist mir ewig, Mine he is
Er ist mir immer, And always shall be,
Erb und Eigen, My own and all

Ein' und all' For ever and aye ;

Leuchtende Liebe, Dazzling love

Lachender Tod ! And laughing death
Siegfried.
(Mit Brunnhilde zugleich.) (Together with Brunhild.)

Lachend erwach'st Laughingly wakes

Du wonnige mir; The lovely woman
Briinnhilde lebt! Brunhild lives !

Brunnhilde lacht! Brunhild laughs!

Heil der Sonne, Hail to the sun
 : ! " ! ! ! ! ; ! !

SIEGFRIED. 189

Die uns bescheintl That shines on us here

Heil dem Tage, Hail to the day
Der uns umleuchtetl With its dazzling glow I

Heil dem Licht, Hail to the glare

Das der Nacht eiittaucht I That conquered the gloom I

Heil der Welt, Hail to the world

Der Briinnhild' erwacht! Where Brunhild awakes I

Sie wacht! sie lebtl She wakes she lives

!

Sie lacht mir entgegen The laughing delight!

Prangend strahlt Brunhild's star
Mir Brtinnhilde's Stern! Brightly beams
Sie ist mir ewig, Mine she is

Sie ist mir immer, And always shall be.

Erb' und Eigen, My own and all
Ein' und all' For ever and aye
Leuchtende Liebe, Dazzling love
Lachender Tod Laughing death

Brunhild rushes into Siegfried's arms. This is the

close of the third and last act of " Siegfried." The "
impassible shield-maiden has become a loving woman.
The duet betwreen but equals, in grandeur
the lovers all

and beauty, that between Siegmund and Sieglind in

the '
Walkure.'
 ;

CHAPTER VII.

GOTTERDAMMERUNG.
The Gotterdammerung," or dusk of the gods,*
"
consists of a prelude and three acts. The dramatis
personcB are Siegfried, Gunther, Hagen, Alberich,
Brunhild, Gudrun, f Valtraute, one of the Valkyrs
the Norns, the Rhine-daughters, warriors and women
at Gunther's court. The prelude opens on the rock
of the Valkyrs, the scene being the same as at the
conclusion of the preceding drama. It is night. Out
of the depth of the background appears the glow of
fire. —
The three Norns % tall female figures in flow-
—
ing dark garments are discovered the first, the eldest,
:

lying in the foreground under the large fir-tree on the

right ;the second, younger, stretched on a bench of
stone in front of the cave in the rock ; the third, the
youngest, sitting on a rock at the edge of the height,
in the middle of the background. For some time a
gloomy silence prevails.

First Norn.
(Ohne sich zu bewegen.) (Without moving.)
Welch' Licht leuchtet dort ? What light illumines the dark ?

Second Norn.
Damraert der Tag schon auf ? Dawns the day so soon ?

* See page 37. \ Kriemhild in the German poems.

% See pages 29 and 30.
 — : ; : — ; ; ; ; —— ;

GO TTERDAMMER UNG. 191

Third Norn.
Loge's Heer Loki's host
Unilodert feurig den Fels. In fire enfolds the height.
Noch ist'sNacht ; Night is still near
Was spinnen und singen wir Why spin we and sing we not
nicht ? now?
Second Norn.
(To First Norn.)

Wollen wir singen und spinnen, Whereon, as we sing and spin,

Woran spann'st du das Sell ? Fasten the fateful rope?

First Norn.
(Erhebt sich, und knupft wahrend ihres (Rises, and during her song, fastens
Gesanges ein goldenes Seil mit dem one end of a golden rope to a
einem Ende an einen Ast der branch of the fir-tree.)
Tanne.)

So gut und schlimm es geh', For weal or sorrow and woe

Schling' ich das Seil, und I set the rope and sing.

singe.
An der Welt Esche At the ash primeval *
Wob ich einst, I wove it with might.

Da gross und stark When bold and firm

Dem Stamm entgriinte A forest of boughs
Weihlicher Aste Wald Towered from
aloft its trunk
Im kiihlen Schatten By their shade refreshed,
Schaumt' ein Quell, A fountain foamed ;

Weisheit raunend Wisdom floated

Rann sein Gewell' Along its waves
Da sang ich heiligen Sinn. Then sang I a holy song.
Ein kiihner Gott A fearless god
Trat zum Trunk an den Quell To the fountain drew for a
draught
Seiner Augen eines The light of an eye
Zahlt' er als ewigen Zoll He left for e'er as a pledge ; t
Von der Welt- Esche From the ash primeval

See page 35. f See page 2.

 — —— ; : : — ; ———
;; —
; ;;

192 RING OF THE NIBELVNG.

Brach da Wotan einen Ast A branch the mighty one

broke
Eines Speeres Schaft A trusty spear
Entschnitt der Starke dem Wotan split from the tree.

Stamm.
In langer Zeiten Lauf In the run of the rolling world
Zehrte die Wunde den Wald ;
The wound weakened the root
Falb fielen die Blatter, Fallow the foliage waxed.
Diirr darbte der Baum : The tree withered and waned ;

Traurig versiegte Sadly the source

Des Quelles Trank Of the fountain sank ;

Triiben Sinnes With sorrow drear

Ward mein Sang. Sounded my song.
Doch web' ich heut' At the ash primeval
An der Welt-Esche nicht mehr, No more the web I shall
weave
Muss mir die Tanne The fir must be fit
Taugen zu fesseln das Seil To fasten the fateful rope
Singe, Schwester, Sing, O sister
Dir schwing' ich's zu I sling it to thee
Weisst du wie das ward ? Heard 'st thou how it befell?

Second Norn.
(Wahrend sie das zugewortene Seil urn (Winding the rope thrown to her
einen hervorspringenden Felsstein around a projecting rock at the
am Eingange des Gemaches windet.) entrance of the cave.)

Treu berath'ner Sacred runes

Vertrage Runen With solemn oath
Schnitt Wotan Wotan hewed
In des Speeres Schaft In the holy spear.
Den hielt er als Haft der Welt. The world he held with its

haft.
Ein kiihner Held A warrior bold
Zerhieb im Kampfe den Speer In battle sundered the
weapon
In Triimmern sprang To was rent
splinters
Der Vertrage heiliger Haft. The spear and its hallowed
runes.
 !; ; — —— —
:: :: —— ; ; —— ;

GO TTERDA MMER UNG. 193

Da hiess Wotaa At Wotan's behest

Walhall's Helden Valhall's heroes
Der Welt-Esche Asunder hewed
Welkes Geast Ygdrasil's *
Mit dem Stamm in Stiicke zu Tottering arms and trunk ;

fallen
Die Esche sank The ash-tree fell

Ewig versiegte der Quell !

The fountain wasted away !

Fess'le ich heut' To-day I tie

An dem scharfen Fels das Sail To the trenchant rock the rope
Singe, Schwester Sing, O sister
Dir schwing' ich's zu I sling it to thee
Weisst du wie das wird ? Heard'st thou how it will be ?

Third Norn.
(Das Seil empfangend, und dessen (Taking the rope and throwing its

Ende hinter sich werfend.) end behind her.)

Es ragt die Burg, A bulwark bold

Von Riesen gebaut The giants built;
Mit der Gotter und Helden With the gods and heroes'
Heiliger Sippe Hallowed host
Sitzt dort Wotan im Saal. Wotan sits in the hall.
Gehau'ner Scheite Layers of wood
Hohe Schicht Tower aloft.
Ragt zu Hauf Heaped on high
Rings um die Halle Around the hall
Die Welt-Esche war diess The ash-tree once it was !

sonst
Brennt das Holz When holy flames
Heilig, brUnstig und hell, Wildly flash through the wood.
Sengt die Gluth When glowing heat
Sehrend den glanzenden Saal Enwraps the glittering hall.
Der ewigen Gotter Ende The doom of the gods grows
dark.
Dammert ewig da auf. The night eternal is near.

'
See page 35.
194 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

The third Norn has thrown the rope to the second,

who has thrown it again to the first. The first Norn un-
fastens the rope from the bough and ties it to another
branch. She is uncertain whether the hght comes from
the dawning day or from Loki's flickering flames. Her
sight grows dim she inquires after the doom of the
;

god of fire. The second Norn again winds the rope

thrown to her around the rock, and sings of Loki who
is fated to surround Brunhild's rock with his flames.
The thirdNorn has caught the rope and throws it be-
hind her. She sings of the approaching end of the
gods, when Wotan shall plunge the splinters of his
spear into Loki's fiery breast. Then the chief of the
gods shall hurl the flaming brand into the layers of wood
The third
that are piled up round Valhall's lofty walls.
Norn throws the rope to the second, who throws it
again to the first. The first Norn fastens the rope
anew. The day is dawning, and with it her wisdom
vanishes. The threads of the rope become entangled.
A horrid vision haunts her sight : it is the gold
wrenched by Alberich from the Rhine. The second
Norn with great haste and difficulty winds the rope
around the rock. The keen-edged rock has chafed
the rope. The web becomes ravelled it is Alberich's :

curse of the Nibelung ring that gnaws the texture of

the rope. The third Norn hastily seizes it as it is

thrown towards her ; it is not long enough ; she pulls

at it with all her strength. The rope breaks asunder
in the middle. Amazed, the three Norns have started
up and come together towards the centre of the stage ;

they seize the pieces of the broken rope and with them
bind themselves together. In concert they exclaim
 ; —
——— :: ; ——;: ; — ;

GO TTERDAMMER UNG. 19s

that eternal wisdom has vanished the world will hear ;

no more tidings from the Norns. Then they descend

to Erda, their mother. After they have disappeared,
the daylight, which has been gradually growing
brighter, now fully pours in and dims the glare of the
fire in the depth. Siegfried and Brunhild appear from
the rocky cave. Siegfried is clad in full armor ; Brun-
hild leads her horse by the bridle.

Brunhild.
Zu neuen Thaten, To deeds of daring,
Tlieurer Helde, Dearest hero,
Wie liebt' ich dich To bar thy way
Liess' ich dich nicht .'
How were it love ?

Ein einzig Sorgen A single sorrow

Macht mich saumen Saddens me sore
Dass dir zu wenig So little it was
Mein Werth gewann ! My worth to win !

Was Gotter mich wiesen, My gifts from the gods

Gab ich dir: Igave unto thee
Heiliger Runen Of hallowed runes
Reichen Hort Rich was the hoard
Doch meiner Starke But of the might
Magdlichen Staram Of a warrior-maid
Nahm mir der Held, Bereft me the hero
Dem ich nun mich neige. Whom husband I hail.

Des Wissens bar Of wisdom bare

Doch des Wunsches voll Though her wish is unbounded;
An Liebe reich Rich in love
Doch ledig der Kraft Though bereft of her strength
Mog'st du die Arme Despise not the lonely,
Nicht verachten. Longing woman
Die dir nur gonnen Who merely can grant
Nicht geben mehr kann ! But give no more !
 !

196 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Siegfried replies tiiat although he may not have

grasped all the wisdom she taught him, one thing he
will never forget : his love of Brunhild. She reminds
him of his deeds, of the fire surrounding her hall, and
of the helmet he broke to awaken the sleeping Valkyr.

Siegfried.

Lass' ich, Liebste, dich hier Ere I leave thee, beloved one,
here,
In der Lohe heiliger Hut, Defended by lofty fire,
Zum Tausche deiner Runen For the lore of thy runes as
guerdon
Reich' ich dir diesen Ring. I give thee this ravishing ring.
Was der Thaten je ich schuf. What glory I ever acliieved
Dess' Tugend schliesst er ein ; Is writ in its glittering charm ;

Ich erschlug einen wilden A gory dragon I slew

Wurm,
Dergrimmiglang' ihnbewacht. Who long had guarded its gold.
Nun wahre du seine Kraft To thee I entrust now its might
Als Weihe-Gruss meiner Treu ! As a mindful pledge of my
truth

Brunhild receives the Nibelung ring, Alberich's dread-

ful work, from Siegfried's hand. She gives him her
horse Grani. In by-gone times he had soared aloft
over thunder-clouds and through lightning-flashes, but
now, since the Valkyr has become a mortal woman, he
has lost his magic power. Yet, as Brunhild assures
Siegfried, the horse will obey the hero wherever he will
ride him, even be it through fire. After many affection-
ate words Siegfried leaves Brunhild he leads his horse
;

down the rock. Brunhild in rapturous delight gazes

long after him from the edge of the height. From the
depth the merry sound of Siegfried's horn is heard.
Curtain falls.
 GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 197

FIRST ACT.

The scene represents the hall of the Gibichungs

on the Rhine. The background is quite open, dis-
playing a flat shore that extends to the river ; rocky
heights border the space. Gunther and Gudrun are
seated on a throne before which stands a table
with drinking-vessels. Hagen sits near the table.
In this connection it must be remembered that Gib-
ich is the name of the father of Gunther and his
sister in Wagner's drama, as well as in the mediaeval
German epics with the exception of the Nibelungen
Lied. Gunther's sister is called Gudrun in the early
northern traditions* and in Wagner's composition. In
the German poems her name is Kriemhild. Gibich's
children are called Gibichungs. In the northern epics
and sagas* Gunther's (Gunnar's) and Gudrun's father
is Giuki, and his wife is Grimhild (Kriemhild), as she is

also named in Wagner's poem. Gibich and Grimhild,

the father and mother of Gunther and Gudrun, are
merely referred to in our drama Gibich having been ;

a warlike king of great renown, while his wife Grimhild

was skilled in sorcery. The residence of the Gibich-
ungs is Worms on the Rhine in most of the German
traditions. As to Hagen, Wagner followed the Thidrek
Saga.f
Gunther asks Hagen he thinks that Gibich's fame
if

is worthily upheld by his son.Hagen replies that he is

fully aware of Gunther's genuine birth, and that he is
only his half-brother. Yet though Gunther is king by
right of birth, he admits that the gift of matchless wis-

* Not including the Thidrek Saga. \ See page 65.

 — ; : —
:

198 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

dom has been bestowed on Hagen, and he therefore holds

the hero in highest honor. Hagen, the powerful and
crafty son of Alberich,* slyly begins to unfold his plan
for the recovery of the and consequently
Nibelung ring,
for the destruction of Siegfried. reminds Gunther He
that both he and his sister Gudrun are still unwedded.
Gunther thereupon asks Hagen whom he would advise
him to woo. Hagen, as is evident from subsequent re-
marks of his, knows of Brunhild and Siegfried's mar-
riage, but conceals the fact in order to attain his direful
purpose.
Hagen.
Eiti Weib weiss ich, Of a woman I know.
Das hehrste der Welt :
None more renowned !

Auf Felsen hoch ihr Sitz On she lives

lofty heights ;

Ein Feuerumbrennt ihren Saal A fire defends her hall

Nur wer durch das Feuer bricht, Who breaks through the flam-
ing blaze,
Darf Briinnhilde's Freier sein. Brunhild he wins as his bride.

Hagen arouses Gunther's desire, and anger withal, by

telling him that a hero stronger than Gunther can alone
accomplish the deed. He speaks of Siegfried the Vol-
sung, the son of Siegmund and Sieglind, and at the same
time insinuates that Siegfried should become Gudrun's
husband. Hagen furthermore mentions Siegfried's
slaying of the dragon and his acquisition of the Nibel-
ung hoard. Gunther's heart is rent by his eagerness to
win Brunhild as his wife, and by the despairing thought
that he cannot achieve his purpose. Hagen discloses
his plan, and tells Gunther that he might succeed if
Siegfried should love Gudrun.

* See page 65.

 : — !

GOTTERDAMMER UNG. 199

Gudrun.

Du SpStter, boser Hagen ! Thou mocker, thou heartless

Hagen
Wie soUt' ich Siegfried binden ? What might is in me that may
hold him ?
1st er der herrlichste If he is the highest
Held der Welt, Of heroes on earth,
Der Erde holdeste Frauen The world's winsomest women
Friedeten langst ihn schon. Ere now will have won his
love.

Hagen.

Gedenk' des Trankes im In the shrine is sheltered a

Schrein ;
potion ;

Vertrau' mir, der ihn gewann :On me, who made it, depend !

Den Helden, dess' du yerlang'st, The hero for whom thou long-
est
Bindet er liebend an dich. It lovingly locks to thy heart.
Trate nun Siegfried ein, If Siegfried should hie to this
hall
Genoss' er des wiirzigen Tran- And drink of the hidden
kes, draught,
Dass vor dir ein Weib er ersah, That ever a woman he'd seen.
Dass je ein Weib ihm genaht That ever a woman he'd woo'd.
Vergessen miisst' er dess' ganz. His heart would wholly forget.
Nun redet Now say.
Wie diinkt euch Hagen's Rath ? How seems to you Hagen's ad-
vice?

Gunther praises Grimhildwho gave him such a wise

half-brother. Gudrun expresses the wish to meet Sieg-
fried. It is therefore evident that both Gunther and
Gudrun agree to Hagen's plan. Although, as has been
said above, they are unacquainted with the fact of Sieg-
fried and Brunhild's marriage, they rely on the magic
love-draught to accomplish their ends. From this point
 :

200 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

the tragic action rapidly proceeds. Siegfried's horn is

heard in the distance. Hagen goes to the shore, looks

down the river, and perceives Siegfried sailing in a boat.
Siegfried lands. Gunther has joined Hagen on the shore.
Gudrun beholds Siegfried from her throne, and for some
time her glance rests on him in joyous surprise. As the
men come near the hall she withdraws in evident con-
fusion, through a door on the left, into her apartment.
As Nibelungen Lied, Siegfried at once challenges
in the
Gunther to combat, but the latter receives the hero in
a most cordial manner and no combat takes place.
Hagen leads Siegfried's horse Grani to the right behind
the hall and quickly returns. Gunther walks forward
with Siegfried into the hall and bids the hero welcome.
He declares that all his possessions shall belong to Sieg-
fried in fact he will be his vassal.
; Siegfried replies
that he can offer naught but his sword and himself.
Hagen, standing behind them, questions Siegfried
about the Nibelung hoard. The hero says that he
had well-nigh forgotten the gold he had left it in the
;

dragon's den. As to the Tarnhelm that hangs at his

belt, Siegfried does not know its magic power until
Hagen explains it to him. When the Nibelung asks
him in regard to the ring, he says that a noble woman
possesses it. Hagen has gone to Gudrun's door, and
now opens it. Gudrun steps forth; she carries a drink-
ing horn and approaches Siegfried with it. She says to
him " Be welcome, guest, in Gibich's house
: His !

daughter hands thee the drink." Siegfried bends in a

friendly manner to her and takes the horn; he holds it

thoughtfully before him and says in a low voice

 : ; : — ! ;

GOTTERD'AmMERUNG. 201

Vergass' ich alles Were I to forget

Was du gabst. All thou gav'st.
Von einer Lehre One lesson I'll never
Lass' ich nie : Unlearn in my life
Den ersten Trunk This morning-drink
Zu treuer Minne, In measureless love,
Brunnhilde, bring' ich dir! Brunhild, I pledge "to thee !

Siegfried drinks and hands the horn back-to'Gudrun,

who, ashamed g,nd confused, casts down her«eyes before
him. The effect of the magic potion is instantaneous.
Siegfried declares his love for Gudrun in passionate
words. When
he seizes her with fiery impetuosity by
the hand, she humbly lowers her head and, with a ges-
ture signifying that she feels herself unworthy of him,
with unsteady step again leaves the hall. Siegfried, at-
tentively observed by Hagen and Gunther, stares after
her as though spell-bound ; then, without turning round,
asks

Hast du, Gunther, ein Weib ? Hast thou, Gunther, a wife ?

Gunther.
Nicht freit' ich noch, I never wooed,
Und einer Frau '
Nor hope I to welcome
Soil ichmich schwerlich freu'n ! A woman my hall
here in
Auf eine setzt' ich den Sinn, On one my mind I have set
Die kein Rath je mir erringt. No way to win her I know.
Siegfried.
(Lebhaft sich zu ihm wendend.) (Quickly turning to him.)

Was war' dir versagt. By dint of my might

Steh' ich dir bei ? What may'st thou not dare ?

Gunther.
Auf Felsen hoch ihr Sitz On rocky heights is her home ;

Ein Feuer umbrennt den Saal — A fire enfolds her hall

202 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Siegfried, astonished and as if to recall something long

" On rocky heights
forgotten, repeats in a low voice, ' is
"
her home ; a fire enfolds her hall ' ?

Gunther.
Nur wer durch das Feuer Who breaks through the flash-
bricht— ing flames—

Siegfried.
(Hastig einfallend und schnell nach- (Hastily interrupting him and quickly
lassend.) leaving off.)

" Nur wer durch das Feuer " Who breaks through the
bricht " ? flashing flames" ?

Gunther.
— Darf Briinnhild's Freier sein. —Brunhild he wooes as his
bride.

Siegfried expresses by a gesture that at the mention

of Brunhild's name all his recollection wholly vanishes.
Siegfried offers to bring Brunhild to the Rhine to be-
come Gunther's wife. By the power of the Tarn-
helm he is to assume Gunther's semblance when he
shall meet Brunhild in her rocky castle. As reward for
his deed Gunther promises him the hand of Gudrun.
Hagen fills a drinking-horn with fresh wine with their ;

swords Siegfried and Gunther prick their arms and hold

them for a moment over the horn.
Siegfried and Gunther.
Bliihenden Lebens Refreshing blood
Labendes Blut Of blooming life

Traufelt' ich in den Trank. I dropped deep in the drink.

Bruder-briinstig With brotherly love
Muthig gemischt Mingled with might
Bliiht im Trank unser Blut. Our blood blooms in the
draught.
 !! ; — ! ; ;!

GOTTERDA MMER UNG. 203

Treue trink' ich dem Freund : Faith I drink to my friend.

Froh und frei Frank and free
Entbluhe dem Bund Shall bloom from the bond
Blat-Biiiderschaft heut' Blood-brotherhood now.
Bricht ein Bruder den Bund, Breaks a brother the bond,
Triigt den Treuen der Freund ; Foils he by fraud his friend,
Was Tropfen hold
in What in drops to-day
Heute wir tranken, Duly we drink
In Strahlen str6m' es dahin, In ruddy streams, it shall flow
Fromme Siihne dem Freund ! To atone for the wrong to the
friend
So — biet' ich den Bund ;
So— I plight my truth
So— trink' ich dir Treu' So — I pledge my trust
They drink, one after the other, each half Hagen ;

then, who during the oath has stood leaning aside,

smashes the horn with his sword. Siegfried and Gun-
ther take each other's hands soon after they leave the ;

banks of the Rhine and embark on their journey to

Brunhild's abode. Hagen, by Gunther's command, re-

mains behind to guard the hall.

Hagen.
(Nach langerem Stillschweigen.) (After prolonged silence.)

Hier sitz' ich zur Wacht, Here I keep watch

Wahre den Hof, And ward of the house.
Wehre die Halle dem Feind ;
Defend the hall 'gainst the
foe ;

Gibich's Sohne Gibich's son

Wehet der Wind ; Sails with the wind
Auf Werben fahrt er dahin. To woo a woman he went.
Ihm fiihrt das Steuer A stalwart hero
Ein starker Held, Steers the helm.
Gefahr ihm will er besteh'n , Who dangers for him will en-
dure ;

Die eig'ne Braut He brings him his own

Ihm bringt er zum Rhein Bride to the Rhine
 —

204 RIl^G OP THE NIBELVNG.

Mir aber bringt er— den But to me he brings —the

Ring.— ring.—
Ihr freien Sohne, Ye happy champions,
Frohe Gesellen, Cheerful heroes,
Segelt nur lustig dahin ! A charming journey be yours !

Dunkl er euch niedrig, Low though you deem him,

Ihr dient ihm doch— You serve his delight
Des Niblungen Sohn'. The Nibelung's son.
The next scene represents the rocky height as in the
prelude. Brunhild sits at the entrance of the cave and
contemplates in silent thought Siegfried's ring. Over-
whelmed with sweet recollections she covers it with
kisses, when she suddenly becomes aware of a dis-
tant noise she listens and looks towards the side
;

into the background. The voice of the Valkyr Val-

traute, riding through the clouds, is heard from the
distance, as she calls Brunhild by name. The lat-
ter starts up from her seat in extreme joy. Val-
traute appears, entering hastily from the wood. Brun-
hild impetuously hastens towards her in her joy she
;

does not notice the anxiety and agitation of Valtraute.

She is astonished that her sister dares to approach her,
and asks if Wotan's anger has ceased. Brunhild also
informs Valtraute that she knew full well the inmost
desire of the god when she protected Siegmund in
battle. Her punishment has made her the happiest
of women, since by means of it she has become Sieg-
fried's beloved wife. The Valkyr cannot understand
Brunhild's love of a mortal man ; she thinks only of
Valhall and the welfare of the gods. She relates to
Brunhild. what we already know from the contents of
the drama " Siegfried " and the songs of the Norns in
the prelude. Wotan's spear had been shivered by
 —— — :

GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 205

Siegfried. Valhall's heroes at Wotan's command had

felled the ash-tree Ygdrasil, and piled the fragments
around the hall of the gods. Furthermore, Wotan has
summoned the gods and heroes to council. In gloomy
silence he now sits on his throne, holding the broken
spear in his hand. The gods and Valkyrs are struck
with awe. At
Wotan, deeply sighing, closes his
last

eye and, as if he were dreaming, says " If Brunhild :

should return the ring to the daughters of the Rhine,

the gods and the world would be released from the
curse on the gold." Valtraute, hearing the words of
the god, has secretly and in haste left Valhall and
gone to Brunhild's abode. She entreats her to end
the woe of the gods, and give back the fatal ring to
the Rhine-maidens.

Brunhild.

Mehr als Walhall's Wonne, More highly than Valhal's

heaven,
Mehr als der Ewigen Ruhm— More highly than the pride of
its realm,
1stmir der Ring I prize the ring.
Ein Blick auf sein helles Gold, One glance at its luminous
gold,
Ein Blitz aus dam hehren One glare from its dazzling
Glanz light.
Gilt mir werther Gladdens me more
Als aller GStter Than all the glory
Ewig wahrendes GlUck ! And endless bliss to the gods.
Denn selig aus ihm In its gleam I perceive
Leuchtet mir Siegfried's Liebe : The glow of Siegfried's love.
Siegfried's Liebe Siegfried loves me !

O liess' sich die Wonne dir Holy, unheard-of rapture

sagen !

Sie—wahrt mir der Reif. Is held for e'er by the ring.

 ;: : ! ; :

2o6 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Geh' hin zu der Gotter Go hence to the gods'

Heiligem Rath Hallowed host
Von meinem Ringe And of my ring
Raun' ihnen zu Tell them aright
Die Liebe liesse ich nie, The gods I defy ; my love
Mir nehmen nie sie die Liebe- Will last as long as my life.
Stiirzt auch in Triimmern Sooner in cinders
Walhall's strahlende Pracht Valhall's splendor shall vanish.

Valtraute- exclaims; " Woe is to me, to thee, sister,

and to Valhall's gods," then hurries away, and is heard
without, as if 'on horse, riding at full speed away from
the wood. Brunhild gazes after a luminous storm-cloud
as it sails away and is soon lost in the distance. Even-
ing has come from the depth of the valley appears the
;

glimmering fire, gradually increasing ii> intensity.

Brunhild.

Abendlich Dammern Shadows of evening

Deckt den Himmel Enshroud the heavens;
Heller leuchtet In brighter flames
Die hiitende Lohe herauf. The on high.
blaze flashes
Was leckt so wuthend Why foam so wildly
Die lodernde Welle zum Wall ? The fiery waves o'er the wall ?
Zur Felsenspitze A pillar of flames
Walzt sich der feurige Flares o'er the point of the
Schwall. rock.

Siegfried's hornis heard below in the valley Brun- ;

and then starts up in highest rapture. She

hild listens,
hastens towards the background. Flames rush over
the rocks out of them Siegfried leaps to a projecting
;

cHff, whereupon the flames fall back again and are visi-
ble only from the depth of the valley. Siegfried ap-
pears in Gunther's form, wearing the Tarnhelm, the
visor of which conceals his face, leaving only the eyes
 :! ! : : ; !;

COTTERDAMMERUNG. 207

free. Brunhild recoils horror-stricken, and in speechless

astonishment gazes on Siegfried. The latter remains
in the background, standing upon the rock he leans ;

on his shield and gazes at her for a long time. Then

he addresses her in a changed —deeper—voice
Siegfried.

Brunnhild' ! Ein Freier kam, Brunhild ! A wooer appears

Den dein Feuer nicht ge- No fear of thy fire appalls
schreckt, him.
Dich werb' ich nun zum Weib; He wooes thee here for his wife,
Du folge willig mir So heed now well his behest

Brunhild trembles and asks :

" Who is the man that
has dared to accomplish what one hero alone was fated
to do?" Siegfried remains silent for some time. Brun-
hild in greatest anguish exclaims " Art thou de- :

scended from man, or comest thou from Hel's night-

born host?" Siegfried at last replies: " Gibichung A
I am Gunther
; is named the hero whom thou shalt
obey as his wife."

Brunhild.
(In Verzweiflung ausbrechend.) (In a despairing outburst.)
Wotan ergrimmter,
! Wotan ! unfeeling,
Grausamer Gott Fierce-hearted god !

Weh nun erseh' ich

! Woe ! Thy cruel
Der Strafe Sinn Decree I discern.
Zu Hohn und Jammer To dire disgrace
Jagst du mich hin ! Thy daughter is doomed.
Siegfried.
(Springt vom Stein herab und tritt (Leaps down from the rock and ap-
naher.) proaches her.)
Die Nacht bricht an The night draws near
In deinem Gemach Now in thy room
Musst du dich mir vermahlen. Anon be married to me!
 : !

208 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Brunhild threateningly stretches out her finger on

which is Siegfried's ring. She tells him to beware of
the power of the ring; he rushes upon her; they
wrestle. Brunhild frees herself and flees. Siegfried
pursues her. They wrestle again he tears the ring ;

from her finger. She shrieks and falls exhausted on

the rocky seat in front of her room. Siegfried with a
commanding gesture compels her to enter the room.
Trembling and with tottering steps she obeys his
command. Siegfried draws his sword and speaks with
his natural voice.

Siegfried.

Nun, Nothung, zeuge du. Now then, Nothung, be wit-

ness
Dass ich in Ziichten warb That nobly Brunhild I wooed.
Die Treue wahrend dem Bru- To keep my pledge to my
der, brother,
Trenne mich von seiner Braut ! Part me now from his bride

He follows Brunhild, and thus closes the first act of

the " Gotterdammerung."
In the second act the scene represents a river-bank
before the hall of the Gibichungs. At the right is the
entrance to the hall ; the bank of the
at the left is

Rhine. From the latter rises a rocky slope divided by

many mountain-paths. There appears an altar-stone
dedicated to Fricka ; a larger one higher up is conse-
crated to Wotan, and another towards the side to Thor.
It is night.

Hagen, with spear in hand and shield at his side, sits

sleeping against the wall. The moon
all at once casts

a glaring light on him and his surroundings Alberich ;

is crouching in front of him, leaning his arms on Hagen's

 : ; : ;

GOTTERDAMMERVNG. 209

knees. Alberich exclaims :

" Sleepest thou, Hagen,
my son
? Thou sleepest and hearest not him whom
rest and sleep have betrayed." Hagen, without mov-
ing, so that he appears still to sleep though his eyes are

open, replies " I hear thee, dark Alberich what know-

: ;

ledge hast thou to impart to my sleep ?" The Nibel-

ung reminds his son of the great strength and power he
inherited from his mother but Hagen feels no grati-
;

tude for his father, to whose cunning she succumbed,

because, despite his strength, his faceis pale and wan

like that of Alberich. Hagen gives expression to his

intense hatred against all happy beings he himself has ;

never known any pleasure. Alberich incites still more

his son's wrath against all joyful creatures ; in this
manner, he asserts, Hagen can best manifest his love of
his father.
Alberich.
Bist du kraftig, Ifthou art wary,
Kiihn und klug Warlike and wise,
Die wir bekampfen The foes whom we fight
Mit nachtigem Krieg, In the feud nocturnal
Schon gibt ihnen Noth unser Are doomed to dire defeat.
Neid.
Der einst den Ring mir entriss, Wotan, the reckless robber,
Wotan, der wiithende Rauber, Who wrested my ring from me,
Vom eig'nen Geschlechte In the fray by his own
Ward er geschlagen : Offspring was foiled.
An den Walsung verlor er Bereft by the Volsung
Macht und Gewalt Of valor and realm,
Mit der Gotter ganzer Sippe Together with the host of the
gods
In Angst ersieht er sein End'. In anguish his end he beholds.
Nicht ihn furcht' ich mehr No more I fear his might
Fallen muss er mit alien !— Fall he must with his mates.—
Schlaf St du. Hagen, mein Sohn ? Sleepest thou, Hagen, my son ?
 — ; ; — — — —
; ;

210 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Hagen.
(Bleibt unverandert wie zuvor.) (Remaining motionless as before.)

Der Ewigen Macht, The realm of the gods,

War erbte sie ? Who shall rule it hereafter?

Alberich.
Ich — und du : I —and thou.
Wir erben die Welt. The world shall be ours,
Triig' ich mich nicht If I in thy faith
In deiner Treu', May fully confide,
Theilst du meinen Gram und Shar'st thou my harm and my
Grimm. hate.
Wotan's Speer Wotan's spear
Zerspellte der Walsung, Was split by the Volsung,
Der Fafner, den Wurm, Who in the feud
Im Kampfe gefallt, Fafnir had felled
Und kindisch den Reif sich er- And taken the ring like a toy.
rang:
Jede Gewalt Boundless might
Hat er gevvonnen ;
Was the meed of his boldness.
Walhall und Nibelheim The gods and Nibelungs
Neigen sich ihm Acknowledge his reign.
An dem furchtlosen Helden My curse cannot harass
Erlahmt selbst main Fluch : The dauntless hero
Denn nicht kennt er Naught of the power
Des Ringas Werth, Of the ring ha knows
Zu nichts nlitzt er No use he makes
Dia naidlichste Macht Of its endless might;
Lachend in liebandar Brunst By laughter and glowing love
Brennt ar lebend dahin. Are gladdened the days of his
life.

Ihn zu erwerben Now his destruction

Taugt uns nun einzig . . . We sternly must strive for
Hor'st du, Hagen, mein Sohn ? Hearest thou, Hagen, my son ?
Hagen.
Zu seinem Verderben Already his ruin
Dient er mir schon. He seeks by my rede.
 —— —— —

GO T TE/iDA MMER UNG. 211

Alberich.

Den gold'nen Ring, The golden hoop

Den Reif gilt's zu erringen ! The ring—we must wrest from
his hand.
Ein weises Weib A woman wise
Lebt dem Walsung zu Lieb'; Loves him as well as her life.

Rieth' sie ihm je If e'er by her rede

Des Rheines Tochtern, To the river-maidens

Die Wasser's Tiefen
in des Who by their wiles
Einst mich bethort !
In the waves had spurned me
Zuriick zu geben den Ring : He rendered the gorgeous ring,
Verloren ging mir das Gold, The gold fore'er would begone.
Keine List erlangte es je. No art could gain it again.

Alberich incites Hagen to wage a relentless war

against Siegfried, to wrest the fatal ring from him, and
thus accomplish the overthrow of Wotan and Valhall.
An increasing darkness conceals Hagen and Alberich,
while the day begins to dawn on the Rhine. Alberich,
gradually disappearing from view, and his voice becom-
ing more and more indistinct, exclaims :
" Be true,
Hagen, my son ! Faithful hero, be true ! Be true !

true !"Hagen, who has remained during all this time

in the same position, looks motionless and with vacant
eyes upon the Rhine.
The sun rises and is mirrored in the waters. Sieg-
fried suddenly comes forward from behind a bush close
to the river-bank. He figure, but wears
is in his own
the Tarnhelm still he now takes it off
on his head ;

and hangs it in his belt. He arouses Hagen from his

sleep. Gudrun appears and welcomes Siegfried. He
replies by saluting her as his wife, and relates how by
the magic power of the helmet he assumed Gunther's
semblance and wooed Brunhild for the king. As Gu-
212 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

drum betrays some jealousy, he exclaims, pointing to

his sword " Between east and west is north so near,
: ;

yet so far, was Brunhild." He furthermore relates that

in the morning Brunhild followed him towards the val-
ley when near the shore, Gunther suddenly appeared,
;

while Siegfried at the same time, by the helmet's mar-

vellous might, arrived at the Rhine. Hagen looks down
the river from the height in the background, and discov-
ers a sail. It is the boat that carries Brunhild and Gun-
ther. Gudrun calls the women to the approaching double
marriage, and bids Hagen summon the vassals. Siegfried
and Gudrun withdraw. Hagen, standing on the height,
turns towards the side of the land and blows with all
his might a great cattle-horn. He calls the vassals to
Gunther's court. Again he blows his horn. Other
horns answer it from different parts of the country.
From the heights and out. of the valleys armed men
rush hastily in. When they ask Hagen why he has
summoned them and wha-t foe threatens Gunther, he
replies from the height where he is standing that they
have been called to receive Gunther and his wife. He
tells the vassals to sacrifice strong bulls in honor of
Wotan to slay a boar for Fro, a goat for Thor, and
;

sheep for Fricka, so that the gods may bless the ap-
proaching marriage. The vassals in great glee ask
Hagen what they shall do after that. He bids them
take the drinking-horns, fill them with mead and wine,

and empty them honor of the gods. The men break

in

out into ringing laughter, while Hagen, who has remained

very serious, comes down from the height and joins
them. He commands them to be faithful to their mis-
 !

GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 213

tress, and to quickly avenge her if she should suffer any

harm.
Gunther and Brunhild have arrived in the boat.
Some of the men leap into the river and drag the boat
ashore. While Gunther escorts Brunhild to the bank,
the vassals with shouts clash their weapons. Hagen
stands aside in the background. The men loudly sa-

lute and welcome Gunther and his bride. Brunhild,

pale and with her eyes fixed on the ground, follows
Gunther, who leads her towards the hall, out of which
now come Siegfried and Gudrun, accompanied by a
train of women. Gunther stops with Brunhild in front
of the hall.
Gunther.
Gegriisst sei, theurer Held ! Hail to thee, hero beloved
Gegriisst, holde Schwester! Hail to thee, lofty sister!
Dich seh' ich froh zur Seite I gladly see thee beside him
Ihtn, der zum Weib dich ge- Who bravely has won thee for
wann. bride.
Zwei selige Paare Two blooming couples
Seh' ich hier prangen. Exult here with bliss.
Brijnnhilde und— Gunther, —
Brunhild and Gunther,
Gutrune und — Siegfried ! Gudrun and — Siegfried !

At the mentioning of Siegfried's name Brunhild is

startled ; she raises her eyes and perceives Siegfried.

She go of Gunther's hand, impetuously advances a
lets
step towards Siegfried, then falls back in horror and
with glaring eyes gazes upon him. All the men and
women are astonished. Siegfried goes calmly a few
steps nearer to Brunhild, and asks what is the cause of
her sudden emotion.
Brunhild.
(Kaum ihrer machtig.) (Barely able to control herself.)

Siegfried— hier !
—
Gutrune ? — Siegfried — here —Gudrun
!
?
 —! —— — ! ——

214 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Siegfried.

Gunther's milde Schwester: Gunther's modest sister,

Mir vermaiilt, Married to me
Wie Gunther du. As thou to him.

Brunhild.

Ich — Gunther?— du liig'st! I —to Gunther?—thou liest!

Mir schwindet das Licht The light grows dim
(Sie droht umzusinken; Siegfried, ihr (She is about to fall; Siegfried, being
zunachst, stiitzt sie.) nearest, supports her.)

Brunhild.
(Matt und leise in Siegfried's Arme.) (Faintly and softly in Siegfried's
arms.)

Siegfried — kennt mich nicht? Siegfried —Icnows me not?

Siegfried.

Gunther, deinem Weib ist iitel ! Gunther, thy wife is ill.

(Gunther tritt hinzu.) (Gunther approaches.)

Erwache, Frau ! Awaken, woman !

Hier ist dein Gatte. Here is thy husband.

As Siegfried points at Gunther with his finger, Brun-
hild recognizes the ring upon it. She starts up in terror,
with great vehemence.
Brunhild.
Ha !
—der Ring Ha !
—The ring
An seiner Hand I behold on his hand
Er — Siegfried ? His .'—Siegfried's ?

While the men and women assembled give expres-

sion to their amazement, Hagen comes forth from the
background and says to Gunther's vassals: "Now
listen well to the woman's speech." Brunhild collects
herself and by a strong effort represses her fearful agi-
tation.
 —
; ' ! ; ; — 5

GOTTERDAMMER UNG. 2 1

Brunhild.
Einen Ring sah' ich A ring I beheld
An deiner Hand : Here on tliy hand ;

Nicht dir gehort er, No right thou hast

Ihn entriss mir To the ring ; it was wrenched
(Auf Gunther deutend.) (Pointing at Gunther.)

— Dieser Mann ! From me —by that man.

As she asks Siegfried how he could have come into
the possession of the ring, he rephes that he did not
receive it from Gunther. Thereupon Brunhild turns to
Gunther and fiercely demands of him that, if it was he
(Gunther) who had torn the ring from her finger as the
pledge of marriage, he must insist on his sacred right
and obtain the ring again. Gunther is greatly per-
plexed, and admits that he never gave the ring to Sieg-
fried. When Brunhild asks Gunther where he conceals
the ring, he is in great confusion and remains silent.
All at once a thought strikes Brunhild, and she bursts
out in terrible wrath :

Brunhild.
Ha !
— Dieser war es. Ha !
— He thenit was

Der mir den Ring entriss : Who wrenched the ring from
my hand
Siegfried, der trugvolle Dieb ! Siegfried, the treacherous
wretch
Siegfried.
(Der fiber der Betrachtung des Ringes (Who had been carried far away by
in femes Sinnen entruckt war.) the contemplation of the ring.)

Von keinem Weib No woman gave me

Kam mir der Reif This golden ring
Noch war's ein Weib, Nor woman 'twas
Dem ich ihn abgewann : From whom the reward I won,
Genau erkenn ich Full well I remember
Des Kampfes Lohn, The meed of the fray,
 !! ! !! ! ! ! !

2l6 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Den vor Neidhohl' einst ich When once at the Den of
bestand, Wrath
Als den starken Wurm ich The raging dragon I slew.
erschlug.

Hagen draws near to Brunhild, and says if the ring

which she gave to Gunther is the same that Siegfried
now wears on his finger, he must have obtained it by
fraud for such a crime the traitor shall suffer terrible
;

punishment. Brunhild screams in fearful anguish:

" Treason treason !"
! Most shameful deceit
!

Brunhild.
Heilige Gotter Hallowed gods !

Himmlische Lenker Ye heavenly guides

Rauntet ihr dies Was this the doom
In eurem Rath ? Ordained for me "i

Lehrt ihr mich Leiden Unnamable sorrow

Wie keiner sie litt ? Like none ever suffered ?

Schuft ihr mir Schmach No woman has felt

Wie nie sie geschmerzt ? More fearful woe !

Rathet nun Rache Name now such vengeance

Wie nie sie gerast As never was wreaked !

Ziindet mir Zorn Arouse my wrath

Wie nie er gezahmt To right this wrong
Heisset Briinhild' Let Brunhild's heart
Ihr Herz zu zerbrechen, Be broken at once,
Den zu zertriimmern, If but he who wronged her

Der sie betrog Be ruined and wrecked.

Gunther, deeply moved, beseeches Brunhild to calm
herself. The vassals have listened to her words with
great astonishment. Hagen conceals his inward de-
light at the course of events.

Brunhild.
(To Gunther.)
Weich' fern, Verrather Away, thou betrayed,
Selbst Verrath'ner !— Woful betrayer
 — ! — : — !

go'tterdammerung. 217

Wisset denn Alle : Hark to me, all

—
Nicht ihm, Not —he,
Dem Manne dort That man —yonder
Bin ich vermahlt. Was married to me.
Mannen und Frauen. Men and Women.
Siegfried ? Gutrun's Gemahl ? Siegfried ? Gudrun's spouse ?

Brunhild.
Er zwang mir Lust He forced delight
Und Liebe ab. And love from me.
Siegfried sternly reproves Brunhild for being so little
mindful of her own honor. He calls the vassals to
witness if ever he broke his oath of brotherhood to
Gunther. The sword Nothung, he exclaims, guarded
his oath it separated him from Gunther's bride.
; Brun-
hild replies that she knows full well the sword,* but
she also knows the scabbard in which Nothung was
encased and reposed on the wall when Siegfried was
married to Brunhild. Gunther, Gudrun, and the vas-
enraged and surprised. Siegfried, who
sals are greatly
by the magic draught that Gudrun gave him at Hagen's
advice had forgotten the events relating to his mar-
riage with Brunhild, seems angry and is ready to swear
that he has always been faithful to Gunther. The vas-
sals form a ring round Siegfried and Hagen. Hagen
holds out his spear, and Siegfried lays two fingers of
his right hand on its point.

Siegfried.

Helle Wehr ! Warlike spear !

Heilige Waflfe Hallowed weapon !

Hilf meinem ewigen Eide !— Ward my oath and my honor

Bei des Speeres Spitze On this glittering spear-head

* See end of First Act.

 ! !! : ; — — ! ! ; !

2l8 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Sprech' ich den Eid : Ispeak the oath :

Spitze, achte des Spruchs !- Spear - head, witness my

speech !

Wo Scharfes mich schneidet, Where steel can harm me.

Schneide du mich Strike at my heart
Wo der Tod mich soil treffen, To death shall pierce me
Treffe du mich The point of this spear.
Klagte das Weib dort wahr, If true be this woman's words,
Brach ich dem Bruder den Eid ! If my faith to my brother I

broke.
Brunhild.
(Tritt wuthend in den Ring, reisst (Steps wrathfully into the circle,
Siegfried's Hand vom Speere, und thrusts Siegfried's hand away from
fasst dafur mit der ihrigen die the spear, and seizes the point with
Spitze.) her own.)

Helle Wehr Warlike spear

Heilige Waffe Hallowed weapon !

Hilf meinem ewigen Eide! Ward my oath and my honor!

Bei des Speeres Spitze On this glittering spear-head
Sprech' ich den Eid : I speak the oath :

Spitze, achte des Spruchs ! Spear-head, witness my speech!

Ich weihe deine Wucht, Thy might shall doom him
Dass sie ihn werfe ; To dismal death
Deine Scharfe segn' ich, Thy blade I bless.
Dass sie ihn schneide: So his blood shall atone
Denn, brach seine Eide er all, For all the oaths the fierce,
Schwur Meineid dieser Mann ! Perfidious man has betrayed

Die Mannen. The Vassals.

(Im hochsten Aufruhr.) (In the greatest tumult.)

Hiif, Donner! Help, Thor!

Tose dein Wetter, Let thy thunder be heard
Zu schweigen die wiithende To silence this grievous dis-
Schmach grace !

Gunther to prevent Brunhild from

Siegfried advises
using such insulting words. He draws nearer to him
and says " Believe
: me, I am more enraged at this
 GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 219

course of events than you can be ; methinks the Tarn-

helm has but partly concealed my face." Then he
cheerfully turns to the vassals and women and bids
them follow him to the wedding-feast. With boundless
joy he throws his arms round Gudrun and draws her
into the hall with him. The men and women follow.
Brunhild, Gunther and Hagen remain behind. Gun-
ther, covering his face, has seated himself aside in deep
shame and utter dejection. Brunhild stands in the fore-
ground and gazes vacantly before her. She gives vent
to the terrible wrath that has taken possession of her
soul. " Where," she says, " is now all my wisdom against
this enchantment, where are my runes against this rid-
dle ? All I knew I have taught him, and now he holds
me in bondage and despises me. Who will offer me a
sword with which I may sever these bonds ?" Hagen
draws near to her and promises to revenge her honor.
She derides him and laughs bitterly, as she knows full
well that neither Hagen nor any other hero can van-
quish Siegfried in combat. Hagen admits that Sieg-
fried's strength is invincible, yet he asks Brunhild if
she does not know of any manner in which his death
might nevertheless be brought about. His question
arouses Brunhild's wrath and despair anew. By her
runic wisdom she protected Siegfried against all harm
in ; —
combat but as she knew that he would never flee
—
from an enemy she did not bestow any magic bless-
ing on his back. Hagen quickly replies " There my
:

spear shall pierce him !" He turns quickly from Brun-

hild to Gunther, who has been sitting apart during the
conversation of Brunhild and Hagen.
Gunther rises sorrowfully and gives expression to his
 !

220 KING OF THE NIBELUNG.

feelings of shame and anger. Hagen bluntly tells him:

" I do not deny that thy disgrace is great." Brunhild
sarcastically reproaches Gunther for his cowardice.
Gunther shows, as in all the Nibelung traditions, his
weak character. He confesses that he is a traitor be-
trayed. He even goes so far as to remind Hagen that
they both are the sons of the same mother, and piti-
fully asks the help of the Nibelung. Hagen sternly re-
plies that there is no help except in Siegfried's death.
When Gunther, horror-struck, refers to the blood-bro-
therhood he swore to Gudrun's husband, Hagen tells
him that Siegfried broke the bond. Brunhild ex-
claims " He betrayed thee, and you all betrayed me.
:

If I demanded full satisfaction, all the blood in the

world could not efface your guilt. But the death of

one shall suffice. Siegfried must die to atone for his
crime and yours." Hagen turns close to Gunther and
calls his attention to the Nibelung ring; he tells him
that the ring bestows measureless power on its posses-
sor, and can be obtained only by Siegfried's death.
Gunther still hesitates, thinking of his sister Gudrun.
" How can we," he says, " stand before her after we have

slain her husband ?" Hagen* proposes to hide the deed

from Gudrun. " We go to a merry hunt to-morrow,"
he says, " and we pretend that Siegfried was killed by
a boar."
Gunther and Brunhild.
So soil es sein ! So shall it be !

Siegfried falle : Siegfried falleth !

Siihn' er die Schmach, For the shame he wrought

Die er mir schuf His ruin shall atone !

* See the account of Siegfried's death in the Nibelungenlied.

 !! !! : !!!!! !! ! ! ! ! ;

GO TTERDA MMER UNG. 221

Eid-Treue Truth and honor

Hat er getrogen: And oath he betrayed ;

Mit seinem Blute His blood shall efface

Biiss' er die Schuld ! His fell offence.

Allrauner All-ruling
Rachender Gott God of wrath
Schwurwissender Thou awful ward
Eideshort And witness of oaths !

Wotan Wotan
! Wotan Wotan
! !

Wende dich her Hitherward hark!

Weise die schrecklich Send forth thy holy
Heilige Schaar, Fearful host.
Hieher zu horchen Here to aid
Dem Racheschwur Our oath of revenge

Hagen.
So soil es sein ! So shall it be !

Siegfried falle Siegfried falleth !

Sterb' er dahin, To death be doomed

Der strahlende Held ! The dazzling hero !

Meiii ist der Hort, Mine is the hoard.

Mir muss er gehoren : My might shall hold it

Entrissen d'rum So of the ring

Sei ihm der Ring! He must be bereft.

Alben-Vater Niblung-father,
Gefallener Furst Thou fallen prince!
Nacht-Huter Ruler of night
Niblungen-Herr Lord of the Nibelungs •

Alberich Alberich
! Alberich Alberich
! !

Achte auf mich! Come to my aid

Weise von neuem The Nibelungs' host
Der Niblungen Schaar, Anew shall heed
Dir zu gehorchen, The behest of their ruler.
Des Ringes Herrn ! The lord of the ring.

Gunther and Brunhild turn hastily towards the hall.

 !
! ; !: !! !

222 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

At the same moment a bridal procession, headed by

boys and girls waving staves covered with flowers,
meets them. Siegfried on a shield, and Gudrun on a
chair, surrounded by her women, are borne by the men.
Siegfried and the vassals blow with their horns the
wedding-call. The women invite Brunhild to accom-
pany them at Gudrun's side. Gunther grasps Brunhild,
who has been staring with suppressed wrath at Gudrun,
by the hand, and follows with her. Hagen alone re-
mains behind.
At the opening of the third act a wild woody and
rocky valley of the Rhine is seen. In the background
the river seems to rush past a steep slope. The three
Rhine-maidens, Woglinde, Wellgunde and Flosshilde,
rise out of the water and, during the following song,
swim about in a circle.

Frau Sonne The sun-orb

Sendet lichte Strahlen Sends its streams of light.
Nacht liegt in der Tiefe Darkness lies in the deep ;

Einst war sie hell. Once it was bright,

Da heil und hehr When safe and brilliant
Des Vaters Gold in ihr glanzte Our father's gold in it glis-
tened.
Rhein-Gold Rhine-gold !

Klares Gold Glorious gold

Wie hell strahltest du einst, How strong was thy light of
yore.
Hehrer Stern der Tiefe Resplendent star of the deep !

Frau Sonne, O send us. Sun,

Send' ""s den Helden, Soon the hero
Der das Gold uns wiedergabe Who'll give us again the gold !

Liess' er es uns, If he rendered our heirloom.

Deiti lichtes Aug' Thy radiant eye

 ! ! — ! ! ! — !

GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 223

Neideten dann wir nimmer. No more we should meet with

envy.
Rhein-Gold ! Rhine-gold
Klares Gold Glorious gold
Wie f roh strahltest du dann How gladly again thou wouldst
glow,
Freier Stern der Tiefe Glittering star of the deep

Siegfried's horn is heard from the height. The

Rhine-maidens dive quickly down the waters. Sieg-
fried appears on the slope in full armor. " Some elf," he
exclaims, " led me astray, until I lost the track of the
bear Ihad followed." The three Rhine-maidens arise
again from the waters. They ask of him the reason
why he is so enraged. Siegfried looks smilingly at
them. " If you, fair maids," he says, " have enticed away
the fellow with the shaggy hide, and he is your lover,
I will gladly leave him with you." The maidens laugh
aloud. They ask him what present he would make
them if by their help he should recover his booty.
Siegfried replies that as yet he has pursued the chase
in vain ;
" But tell me," he adds, " what you desire.''

Wellgunde.
Ein gold'ner Ring A golden ring
Ragt dir am Finger Inwraps thy finger

The Three Rhine-daughters.

^Together.)

Den gieb' una Give us the ring 1

Siegfried.

Einen Riesenwurm A dragon gigantic

Erschlug ich um den Ring : I slew to gather that ring.
Fiir des schlechten Baren For the paws of a paltry bear
Tatzen
Bot' ich ihn nun zum Tausch ? Should I now barter tlie prize .'
 : — ; : —

224 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

The Rhine-maidens upbraid him for his apparent

avarice and otherwise tease him, as he will not give
them his ring. They laugh and dive below the waters.
Siegfried, when alone, exclaims: "What makes me en-
dure their slander? If they should eome up again near
the shore, they might have my ring." The Rhine-
daughters arise again from the waters, but this time
appear grave and solemn. They tell him now to keep
the ring and guard it well until he has learned the tid-
ings of the curse that rests upon it. Siegfried calmly
puts the ring again on his finger and bids them sing
what they know.
The Rhme-daughters.

Siegfried ! Siegfried ! Sieg- Siegfried ! Siegfried ! Sieg-

fried ! fried !

Schlimmes wissen wirdir. Sorrow drear we foresee.

Zu deinem Wehe To rueful woe
Wahr'st du den Ring! Thou w^ardest the ring.
Aus des Rheines Gold From the gold of the Rhine
1st der Reif gegliiht It was wrathfully wrought.
Der ihn listig geschmiedet He who craftily shaped it.

Und schmalilich verier, And lost it in shame.

Der verfluchte ihn, Accursed it for aye
In fernster Zeit Whoever shall own it

Zu zeugen den Tod Is fated to fall

Dem, der ihn triig'. Forfeit is his life.

Wie den Wurm du falltest, As the dragon thou slewest.

So fallst auch du, Thyself shalt be slain,
Und heute noch And here to-day
— So heissen wir dir's; —Thy doom thou hearest
Tauschest den Ring du uns Unless thou render's! the
nicht, ring
Im tiefen Rhein ihn zu bergen. To the rolling waves of the
Rhine.
 ! ;

gotterd'ammervng. 225

Nur seine Fluth Nought but its -depth

Siihnet den Fluch Redeemeth the curse I

Siegfried pays no attention to their warnings even ;

when they say that the Norns at night had woven Albe-
rich's curse into the rope of life * he remains indiffer-
ent. The thoughtless hero tells them that what they
could not obtain from him by allurements they will still

less achieve by trying to frighten him. He full well re-

members the dying warning words, but heeds
Fafnir's
them not. Life, he says, it must be spent in fear
if

and without love, is not worth living. The Rhine-

maidens swim away singing. The call of bugles is
heard from the height. Siegfried answers merrily
with his horn.
Hagen appears on the hills, and is soon followed by
Gunther and the vassals. They greet Siegfried game ;

is piled up, and drinking-horns are brought. They all

lie down. Hagen exclaims " Now shall you hear of
:

wonders accomplished by Siegfried's hunt." Siegfried

laughingly admits that he has had no luck in the chase
water-game, he says, was all he met with three river- :

maids had told him that he would be slain to-day.

Gunther starts] and looks darkly at Hagen. The latter
laughs, and remarks that this would indeed be a doleful
hunt, if the luckless hunter were killed by lurking
beasts. Siegfried has now seated himself between
Hagen and Gunther ; filled drinking-horns are handed
to them. Siegfried drinks and then offers his horn to
Gunther, who gazes thoughtfully and dismally into it.
" The wine," says Gunther to Siegfried, " looks pale and

* See page 194.

15
 — : !

226 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

weak thy blood alone is in it." Siegfried laughingly

;

pours some wine out of Gunther's horn into his own, so

that it overflows.
Hagen asks Siegfried if it be true that he understands
the song of birds. Siegfried replies that since he has
heard the singing of women he forgot the sounds of
the birds but to cheer up Gunther, who is absorbed in
;

gloomy thought, he offers to relate some adventures of

his early days. The vassals place themselves near to
Siegfried, who alone sits upright while they recline.
The events which Siegfried now recounts are well
known to the reader from the contents of the drama
" Siegfried," and there is no need of repeating all of
them We may mention that he sings of the days
here.
of his early youth when he was in the forest with Mime.
He likewise sings of the forging of the sword and the
slaying of Fafnir.* He refers to the song of the bird
that told him of Mime's treachery. When he recounts
Mime's death, Hagen laughs and says: " He was felled
by the sword he could not forge." Then Hagen squeezes
the juice of an herb into the drinking-horn. Siegfried
drinks, and the effect of the draught of forgetfulness
which Gudrun, at Hagen's advice, had given to him is
now wholly effaced.
Siegfried continues the tale of his adventures, and
says a bird sang to him the following song

" Hei, Siegfried erschlug nun " Ha! Siegfried has slain

Den schlimmen Zwerg ! The slanderous dwarf.

Jetzt vviisst' ich ihm noch O, would that the fairest
Das herrlichste Weib :
Wife he might find

* See pages 158-168.

 — —
; ; — — ;

GO TTERDAMMER UNG. 227

Auf hohem Felsen sie schlaft, On lofty heights she sleeps,

Ein Feuer umbrennt ihren A fire embraces her hall.
Saal;
Durchschritt' er die Brunst, If he strides through the blaze
Erweckt' er die Braut, And wakens the bride,
Briinnhilde ware dann sein !" Brunhild he wins as his wife."

Gunther listens with increasing astonishment. Hagen

asks Siegfried if he obeyed'the advice of the bird.

Siegfried.
Rasch ohne Zogern At once I set out
Zog ich da aus. And wandered along.
Bis den feurigen Pels ich traf Till the flaming rock I had
reached.
Die Lohe durchschritt ich, I went through the fire,

Und fand zum Lohn And found as reward

Schlafend ein wonniges Weib A woman bewitchingly sweet
In lichter Waflen Gewand. Asleep in warrior-mail.
Den Helm lost' ich The helm I unfastened
Der herrlichen Maid Trom the head of the fair one
Mein Kuss erweckte sie My kiss awakened the wo-
kiihn ! man !

O wie mich briinstig da um- In fervent embrace I felt

schlang
Der schonen Briinnhilde Arm ! Beauteous Brunhild's arm.

Gunther greatly wonders at Siegfried's words. Two

ravens fly from a bush, circle over Siegfried and depart.
Hagen asks Siegfried :
" Divinest thou also the .speech

of these ravens .?" up impetuously and,

Siegfried starts
turning his back towards Hagen, looks after the ravens.
At this moment Hagen thrusts his spear into Siegfried's
back Gunther, too late, seizes his arm. Gunther and
;

the vassals exclaim " Hagen, what deed hast thou

:

done?" Siegfried swings aloft his shield with both

 ——— ———— —
:! — — — ———! !

228 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

hands to crush Hagen with it his strength forsakes ;

him, the shield drops from his hand, and he himself falls
with a crash over it. Hagen points to him as he lies
stretched out on the ground, and with the words,
" Perjury have I avenged," turns calmly away. He
soon disappears beyond the heights. Gunther, stricken
with grief, bends down to Siegfried's side. The vassals
stand with signs of sincere sympathy around the dying
hero. Long silence of deepest sorrow. At the appear-
ance of the ravens, twilight had already commenced to
fall. Siegfried once more opens his flashing eyes, and
with a solemn voice says

Briinnhilde Brunhild !

Heilige Braut Hallowed bride !

Wach' auf ! Off'ne dein Auge Awaken ! Open thine e)'es

Wer verschloss dich Who again has doomed thee
Wieder in Schlaf ? To dismal slumber?
Wer band dich in Schlummer Who binds thee in bonds of
so bang ? sleep ?
Der Weaker kam The wakener came.
;

Er kiisst dich wach, His kiss awoke thee ;

Und aber der Braut Once more he broke

Bricht er die Bande The bonds of his bride
: ;

Da lacht ihm Briinnhilde's O for Brunhild's loving em-

Lust !— brace !

Ach, dieses Auge, Ah her eyes ! —

Ewig nun offen !^ Are open forever
Ach, dieses Atheras Ah how sweet ! —
Wonniges Wehen Is her swelling breath
! !

Susses Vergehen Delicious destruction

Seliges Grauen : Ecstatic awe
Briinnhild' bietet mir Brunhild gives greeting to —
Gruss !

Siegfried dies. The vassals raise his body on his

 — — ———— —— ! — —————

GO TTERDAMMER UNG. 229

shield and carry

in solemn procession slowly away
it

over the height. Gunther follows at a little distance.

The orchestra plays the famous funeral march.
The moon breaks through the clouds and lights the
procession along the hills. Then mists arise from the
Rhine and gradually fill the whole stage up to the
front. When the mist disperses, the scene is changed
to the hall of the Gibichungs near the river-bank as in
the "first act. It is night. Moonlight is mirrored in
the Rhine. Gudrun enters the hall from her room.

Gudrun.
War das sein Horn ? Was that his horn ?

(Sie lauscht.) (She listens.)

Nein noch
! — Hark !
—not
Kehrt er nicht heim. Yet is he home.
Schlimme Traume Horrid dreams
Storten mir den Schlaf Haunted ray sleep. !

Wild hort' ich His horse's wild

Wiehern sein Ross Whinny I heard
: ;

Lachen Briinnhilde's Brunhild's laughter

Weckte mich auf. Broke my slumber.
Wer war das Weib, A woman I saw
Das zum Rhein ich schreiten Wending her way to the
sah ? shore.
Ich furchte Brunnhild' !
I dread Brunhild.
1st sie daheim ? Is she at home ?
(Sie lauscht an einer Thure rechts, (She listens at a door on the right,
und ruft dann leise :)
and then calls softly ;)

Briinnhild' ! Briinnhild' Brunhild! Brunhild!

Bist du wach ? Art thou awake ?
(Sie offnet schuchtern und blickt (She timidly opens the door and looks
hinein.) in.)

Leer das Gemach ! Bare is the room.

So war es sie, So she it was
 • —— ! !! ! ! — ! — ! ! !!! — !

230 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Die zum Rhein ich schreiten That went to the shore of the
sah ? Rhine ?—
(Sie erschrickt und lauscht nach der (She becomes terrified and listens
Feme.) towards the distance.)

Hort' ich sein Horn ? Heard I his horn ?

Nein ! — No!—
Ode alles !
All alone !

Sail' ich Siegfried nur bald ! O would that he were here

She on the point of returning to her room all at

is ;

once she hears Hagen's voice she stops and, overcome ;

by fear, remains for some time motionless. Hagen's

voice from without is coming nearer.

Hagen.
Hoiho ! hoiho Hoyho hoyho! !

Wacht auf ! Wacht auf Awake Awake!

Lichte ! Lichte Torches torches!

Helle Brande Bring the brands

Jagdbeute From the hunt we bring
Bringen wir heim. Home now the booty.
Hoiho! hoiho! Hoyho hoyho!

(Licht und wachsender Feuerschein (Lights and increasing flashes of fire

von aussen.) from without.)

Hagen.
(In die Halle tretend.) (Entering the hall.)

Auf! Outrun' Up Gudrun

!

Begriisse Siegfried To Siegfried give greeting !

Der Starke Held, The hardy hero

Er kehret heim. Is coming home.

Men and women with lights and firebrands accom-

pany amidst great confusion the train with Siegfried'^
body. Gunther is among them.
 ; ! :
!

GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 231

Gudrim.
(In grosser Angst.) (In great terror.)

Was geschah, Hagen ? What happened, Hagen ?

Nicht hort' ich sein Horn ! I heard not his horn.

Hagen.
Der bleiche Held, His cheeks are blanched,
Nicht blas't er's mehr He blows it no more ;

Nicht stiirmt er zum Jagen, To hunt or battle

Zum Streit nicht mehr. He hies no more,
Noch wirbt er um wonnige Nor wooes he the fairest of
Frauen !
'
women
Gudrun asks with growing fear what the men have
brought into the hall. Hagen replies " Siegfried, thy :

husband, slain by a wild boar." Gudrun screams and

throws herself on the body, which has been set down in
the middle of the hall. General emotion and sorrow.
Gunther bends over his fainting sister and tries to raise
her. She recovers herself, thrusts him away and calls
him her husband's murderer. Gunther accuses Hagen
of the treacherous crime. Hagen scornfully retorts
"Art thou angry with me for the deed ?" When
Gunther says, " To woe and anguish thou shalt be
doomed for ever," Hagen exclaims with terrible de-
fiance :
" Well, then It is I that have slain him
!

I — Hagen—have dealt him the death-blow with my

spear on which he spoke a truthless oath. A holy
right to Siegfried's heirloom I have obtained ; there-
fore I now Gunther bids him to keep
claim this ring."
away from the ring. " Shameless son of the Nibelung,"
he says, how darest
" thou touch Gudrun's inheritance ?"
Hagen draws his sword and retorts " The Nibelung's :

son thus demands the Nibelung's heirdom." He rushes

on Gunther; the latter defends himself; they fight.
 ! ! ! !

232 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

The vassals throw themselves between them. Gunther,

at a stroke of Hagen's sword, falls
dead to the ground.*
Hagen grasps at Siegfried's hand, which raises itself
threateningly.! General amazement. Gudrun and the
women scream. From the background Brunhild ap-
proaches; she advances with firm and solemn step
towards the front. She exclaims " Silence your sor- :

row !I am the woman that all of you have betrayed.

Siegfried's wife now takes her revenge." When Gu-

drun accuses Brunhild of being the sole cause of all
this terrible misery, she replies in a pitiful voice :
" Poor
woman, be silent ! Thou never hast been Siegfried's
lawful wife. I was his spouse to whom he swore oaths
of eternal faith, long before he had ever seen thee."
Gudrun.
(In heftigster Verzweiflung.) (In the most vehement despair.)

Verfluchter Hagen ! Accursed Hagen !

Weh ! ach weh ! Woe Ah, woe

! !

Dass du das Gift mir riethest. Thou gav'st me

the heinous
draught
Das ihr den Gatten entriickt ! To beguile her husband's faith.
O Jammer Jammer ! O sadness What sadness
!

Wie jah nun weiss ich, On a sudden I see

DasBriinnhild' dieTrautewar, Brunhild was the bride of his
heart
Die durch den Trank er ver- Whom by that draught he for-
gass got

Gudrun turns with awe from Siegfried's body and

bends with utmost grief over Gunther; she remains
* The fight between Hagen and Gunther, and the death of the latter
by Hagen's hand, is not in accordance with the Nibelung traditions.
" When Hagen drew near Siegfried's
f See the Nibelungen Lied.
corpse, the blood began to ooze from the wounds, and it became thus
evident who the murderer was."
 ;;
:

GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 233

thus motionless to the end. Long silence. Hagen

stands leaning on his spear and shield, and seems ab-
sorbed in gloomy thought. He assumes a defiant atti-
tude. Brunhild is alone in the middle of the stage
she is lost in contehaplation of Siegfried's face. At first
she shows deepest emotion, then overwhelming sadness.
With solemn exaltation she turns to the vassals and
tells them to pile up layers of wood so that she and
Siegfried may be united amidst the roaring flames.
The men obey her command, and erect during the fol-
lowing scene a huge funeral pyre. The women adorn it
with hangings on which they strew herbs and flowers.
Brunhild, again gazing on Siegfried's body, muses
" The most faithful he was, and yet he betrayed me.

— —
His wife his only true love he deceived when he
placed his sword between her and himself. More nobly
than he no one ever swore oaths of fealty. None ever
loved with purer love. And yet all his oaths, his truest
love, he betrayed. O ye gods, ye guardians of sacred
oaths, gaze now on your measureless guilt Wotan,!

hear my complaint By his daring deed thou hast

!

eagerly longed for, thou hast doomed him to death.

Me he had to betray, so that wise a woman might be.
Now all I know. Thy ravens I hear rustling I send ;

them home to you."

She beckons to the men to lift Siegfried's body
and bear it to the funeral pyre at the same time she
;

draws the ring from Siegfried's finger, contemplates

it for some time, and at last places it on her finger.
" Accursed ring, I give thee back to the Rhine

the fire that shall embrace me will redeem the gold

from the curse." She turns to the background, where
 ! ! :; ! ! !!

234 KING OF THE NIBELUNG.

Siegfried's body lies already on the pyre, and seizes a

huge firebrand from one of the men.

Fliegt heim, ihr Raben ! Away, ye ravens

Raun't es eurem Herrn, Unravel to Wotan
Was hier am Rhein ihrgehort! What here on the Rhine ye
have heard
An Briinnhild's Felsen Follow the road
Fahret vorbei By Brunhild's rock !

Der dort noch lodert, Tell Loki, who flames there,

Weiset Loge nach Walhall To fly to Valhall anon !

Denn der Gotter Ende The day of the doom

Dammert nun auf Of the gods has dawned.
So — werf ich den Brand —
So hurl I the torch
In Walhall's prangende Burg. Into Valhall's towering heights.

Brunhild flings the brand into the funeral pyre, which

quickly blazes up. Two ravens fly up from the shore
and disappear towards the background. Two men
bring in the horse ; Brunhild seizes and quickly un-
bridles it.

Grane, main Ross, Grani, my horsa,

Sei mir gegriisst I greet thee hare
Weisst du, Freund, Know'st thou, my friend,
Wohin ich dich fuhre? Whither we'll fare .'

Im Feuer leuchtend Lo ! there lies

Llegt dort dein Herr, Thy lord in the fire,

Siegfried,main seliger Held. Siegfried, the hallowed hero.

Dem Freunde zu folgen To join him anon
Wieherst du fraudig ? Thou neighest with joy ?

Lockt dich zu ihm Allures thee to Siegfried

Die lachende Lohe? The searing light ?

Fiihl' meine Brust auch, Feel how my bosom

Wie sie entbrennt Fervently heaves I

Helles Feuer Holy flames

Das Herz mir erfasst, Flash through my heart.
 ! ! ! ! !

GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 23S

Ihn zu umschlingen, O, but to infold him,

Umsciilossen von ihm, To feel his embrace,
In machtigster Minne In burning love
Vermahlt ihm zu sein ! Be bound unto him !

Heiaho !Grane Heiajaho Grani !

Griisse deinen Herrn ! Greet now the hero

Siegfried ! Siegfried ! Sieh Siegfried ! Siegfried ! Behold !

Selig griisst dich dein Weib ! Blissfully hails thee thy bride

Brunhild leaps on the horse and takes it with one

bound into the burning pyre. The flames at once
blaze up so that the fire fills the entire space before the
and seems even to seize on the hall itself.
hall, The
women, terrified, crowd toward the foreground. Sud-
denly the fire sinks, leaving only a dismal cloud which
remains for some time hanging over the place then it ;

rises and parts. The Rhine has overflowed its bank

and sweeps over the fire. The three Rhine-daughters
have swum forward on its waves. Hagen, who has ob-
served Brunhild's demeanor with increasing anxiety,
is amazed at the appearance of the Rhine-daughters.

He hastily throws away his spear, shield and helmet,

and plunges, as if out of his senses, into the flood. He
shouts " Away from the ring !" Woglinde and Well-
:

gunde twine their arms around his neck and so draw

him with them into the deep. Flosshilde, swimming
in front of them, holds up exultingly the ring which
she has recovered. At the same time there appears
in the sky, from the distance, a reddish glow like the
Northern Light, which gradually increases. The men
and women gaze in speechless emotion on the strange
sight. Valhall is burning the gods and heroes are seen ;

calmly awaiting their doom the Gotterdammerung. —

 NOTES.

Page I.

—
Note I. The Norse form was Odhinn, the Old High German
Wuotan, the Old Saxon Wuodan, W6dan, the Anglo-Saxon
W6den, the Frisian Weda, and the Longobard W&dan or Gu6-
dan.
—
Note 2. See Grimm's Mythology. " Metodsceaft seon, Beo-
wulf 2, 360. Caedmon 104, 31. In the North, faring to Odhinn,
being guest with Odhinn, visiting Odhinn, meant simply to die,
Fornald. sog. i. 118. 422-3, 2,366, and was synonymous with
faring to Valhall, being guest at Valhall,ib. I. 106. Among the
Christians these were turned into curses: far ihu til OdAins /
—
Odhins eigi thik ! may Odhin have thee Here is shown the
!

inversion of the kindly being, with whom one fain would dwell,
into an evil one, whose abode inspires fear and dread."

Page 9.

Note 3. —The myth of Prey is also given in the author's

" Great Epics of Mediaeval Germany," page 123. It is found in
the beautiful Edda song of Skirnisfor (the journey of Skirnir),
and also in the Younger Edda. Frey possessed a boar named
GuUinbursti, whose golden bristles lighted up the night like
day, who ran with the speed of a horse, and drew his chariot.
The god once gazed down from Hlidhskialf, the seat of Wotan,
upon the worlds, and beheld in the North at Jotunheim (the
home of the giants) the maiden Gerda, who was of such wonder-
ful beauty that both the sky and the sea glistened from the
radiance of her white arms. Frey was filled with ardent love
238 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

for her ; but her father, the giant Gymer, guarded her in his
dwelling, surrounded by wavering fire and furious dogs. The
god's messenger was called Skirnir (the bright one) ; he
was sent and Frey asked him to bring the maiden to
for,
him. Skirnir declared himself ready to go if Frey would
give him his horse to cross the flames, and his sword of
surpassing virtue which could put itself in motion against the
giants. Frey gave him the horse and the enchanted sword this ;

is the reason why he found himself unarmed when he fought

with Beli (Gerda's brother), and slew him with a hart's horn.
Yet he found himself in a terrible plight, when at the Ragnarok
(Gotterdammerung) he faced Surt (Swart) in a single combat;
he then sorely missed his trusty blade. Skirnir overcame all
obstacles on Frey's steed the whole of Jotunheim trembled
;

under its hoofs, and he penetrated to Gerda's dwelling, where,

after much resistance on the part of the maiden, he obtained in
the end her promise that after nine nights she would marry
Frey.
Frey is the sun-god
the boar with golden bristles is the sym-
;

bol of the sun. who himself in an

Skirnir represents the god,
older form of the myth undertook the journey. He freed the
maiden from the powers of darkness by slaying the monster
that guarded her, and by crossing the flame-wall which sur-
rounded her. Gerda is the earth held in bond by the frost-
giants, that is, by snow and ice in winter. The god's sword is
the sunbeam, which he surrenders to obtain the j)ossession of
Gerda or, in other words, the glowing sun penetrates the earth
;

and frees it from the power of the frost-giants. Beli (the

barker) and the furious dogs are the roaring storms. The
wavering fire surrounding Gerda's dwelling (and Brynhild's
castle, as we shall see hereafter) denotes the burning funeral pyre,
as Jacob Grimm has shown. The earth in winter is, as it were,
lifeless, and therefore belongs to the funeral pyre, and thus to
the powers of the lower world. It was customary to intertwine
the funeral pyre with thorns, and to light it with a thorn we ;

see now what is meant when Wotan pricks Brynhild with

the sleep-thorn and she falls into death-like sleep. A relic of
the myth appears in the charming fairy story of the " Sleeping
Beauty" (Dornroeschen). It is remarkable that the name of the
 NOTES. 239

infernal river UvpicpXey e^oav has the same meaning as the

wavering fire the way to the lower world leads through the
;

glowing funeral pyre.

Page 12.

Note. 4. —The myth

of Balder bears a most prominent rela-
tion to theNibelung story, and foreshadows the near advent of
the Gotterdammerung. It is also found on page 120 of the
"Great Epics."' Balder, the son of Wotan and Fricka, was
the god of the summer sunlight, the beloved of gods and men.
He was so fair and dazzling in form and features that rays of
light seemed to issue from him. His dwelling was called
Breidablick (the broad-shining splendor), where nothing unclean
could enter. The Younger Edda relates that he was tormented
by dreams which foreboded danger to his life. Thereupon the
gods held counsel together, and his mother Fricka exacted an
oath from fire, water, iron, and all kinds of metal, stones, earth,
trees, sicknesses, beasts, birds, and creeping things that they
should not hurt Balder. Then it became the pastime of Balder
and the gods that he should stand up at their assemblies, while
some of them would shoot at him, others would hew at him ;

but whatever they did, no harm came to him. When Loki saw
this, it displeased him very much that Balder was not scathed.
So by cunning he learned from Fricka, to whom he had gone in
the likeness of a woman, that no oath had been exacted from
the mistletoe, as it seemed too young. Loki pulled up the mistle-
toe and went to the assembly. There Balder's blind brother
Hodir (darkness) stood aside from the others, but Loki placed
the mistletoe in his hand and treacherously told him to shoot
at Balder. Hodir was of tremendous strength, and without
malice hurled the fatal dart at Balder, who was pierced by it
and fell to the ground. The gods were struck speechless with
horror but Wotan took this misfortune most to heart, since he
;

best comprehended how great a loss and injury the fall of the
beautiful god was to all of them. His corpse was taken to the
ship Hringhorn, in order to be burned there and as his wife
;

Nanna beheld this, she died of grief, and was burned on the
funeral pyre at the side of her husband.
Balder's death was the sign of the approaching destruction of
240 RING OF THE NIBELUNG.

the gods and of the world through the powers of evil and dark-
ness when the Fenris-wolf swallows Wotan and the heavens
are rent in twain. Balder is the god of summer, and cannot be
hurt by any weapon only the mistletoe, which needs so little
;

the warm sun that its fruit ripens in winter, and which grows on
trees, not upon the earth, can harm him. The mjrth denotes
the disappearance of the bright summer and the approach of
winter with its dark and long nights. The idea of the struggle
between the powers of nature, as seen in the seasons of the year,
was transferred to the mythical world-year. Balder is the
prototype of Siegfried, the hero of the Nibelung sagas. It is
probable that a myth combining the chief incidents of the
stories of Frey and Balder was originally ascribed to Wotan, and
thus Siegfried would be identical with the chief of the Teutonic
gods.
 :

THE AMATEUR SERIES.

i2mo. Blue Cloth.

ART LIFE AND THEORIES OF RICHARD WAGNER:

Selected from his writings and translated by Kdward
\i.Burlingame. With a Preface, a Catalogue of
Wagner's published works, and drawings of the
Bayreuth Opera House. ^2.00.

ON ACTORS AND THE ART OF ACTING.

By George Henry I^ewes. $1.50.

THE LIFE OF J. M. W. TURNER, R. A.

Founded on I,etters and Papers furnished by his

Friends and Fellow-Academicians. With illustra-
tions facsimiled in colors, from Turner's original
drawings. By Walter Thornbury. $2.00.

RECENT MUSIC AND MUSICIANS:

As described in the Diaries and Correspondence of
Ignaz Moscheles. Selected by his wife, and adapted
from the original German by A. D. Coleridge. $2.00.

RECENT ART AND SOCIETY:

As described in the Autobiography and Memoirs of
Henry Fothergill Chorley. Compiled from the Edi-
tion of Henry G. Hewlett, by C. H. Jones. ^2.00.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND MUSICAL GROTESQUES.

By Hector Berlioz. Translated by W. F. Apthorp.
$2.00.

HENR Y HOL T & CO.,

Publisliers, New York.