Treasures of the Nibelungs, "The Song of the Nibelungs" - a German heroic epic poem, written at the beginning of the XIII century by an unknown author. It contains 39 parts (songs). The first part of the poem tells about the marriage of Siegfried, the slayer of dragons, to the beautiful princess Kriemhild and his villainous murder. The second part tells about the revenge of the Burgundian princess Krimhilda for the death of her husband and how her kingdom is declining.
"Song of the Nibelungs" has absorbed a whole cycle of ancient epic legends of the Germanic and Scandinavian tribes. In poetic form, it tells about the gods, about underground spirits, about princesses and kings, about fabulous heroes, about dragons and, in parallel, about real-life personalities.
The epic describes the life, estate relations of Germany in the era of feudalism, but the historical basis is the events taking place in the 5th century BC, in particular, the capture of Europe by the barbarian tribes of the Huns under the command of Attila.
In German-Scandinavian mythology, the owners of the gold treasure, which is the embodiment of the power, power and luck of its owner, were usually called Nibelungs. This treasure contained the golden magic ring of the Nibelungs, which not only multiplied wealth, but also brought death to its owner
In "Song of the Nibelungs" the author calls the mighty warriors whom Siegfried defeated as Nibelungs. But in the second part of the epic "Nibelungs" the author also calls the Burgundian kings, who, after Siegfried's death, took possession of his treasure.
There is no single idea of who the Nibelungs are and what their treasure is. There are several versions:
- This is an ancient family of monarchs who owned vast territories and wealth.
- An even more ancient family of gigantic people, owners of magical treasures, whose nobility did not allow them to use magic to harm people.
Promotional video:
- A genus of simple and narrow-minded people living in isolation, whose only task was to guard the treasure and who easily pass under the authority of a new hero who defeated the previous one (in the "Song of the Nibelungs" these people happily meet Zifrid and give him their treasure and themselves in addition) …
Where did the treasure come from? According to legends, they were made by the inhabitants of underground bowels - dwarfs-zwergs. They were the owners of huge reserves of silver, gold and precious stones. In the "Song of the Nibelungs" it is described that the treasure was taken out for four days in twelve carts.
The dwarfs possessed magical powers. Under the ground, in their magic forges, they extracted gold from ore, mined gems in the mountains, and then made magnificent jewelry. Cautious dwarfs periodically dragged their treasures from place to place. The dwarf leader was the evil dwarf Andvari. He was the keeper of treasures, guarded them very jealously, but Siegfried took all their wealth from the underground inhabitants. The dwarf Andvari was very angry and cursed the treasure taken from him. The accursed treasure did not bring happiness to its owners, they all perished.
Even the gods could not remove the curse of the evil dwarf. According to legend, the treasures were flooded in the waters of the Rhine so that no one else would suffer from them.
Many researchers wondered: was the treasure so, and where to find it?
Until now, neither the ring of the Nibelungs, nor the golden necklace of the mythical goddess Freya have been found. But archaeologists managed to find objects that confirm the reality of the myths about the Nibelungs. In the territories of Scandinavia, Germany, France, England and even Russia, objects were found that belong to the era of the Viking prosperity. In France they were called Normans, and in Russia - Varangians.
An interesting find from the time of the Nibelungs, discovered by archaeologists in Sweden. Dating back to the 6th century, this gold necklace is decorated with small stylized animal figures and cherubic faces. Gold and bronze jewelry from the Nibelung era was found in Sweden. A gold brooch of amazing work was found in Norway, which is decorated with precious stones.
The most valuable find, dating back to 575, is the Sigurd helmet, which archaeologists have found in Sweden, in the Uppsala region. The helmet has a bronze visor as well as a crest and bronze browbones and looks very intimidating. Scientists suggest that this helmet once belonged to the Nibelung Sigebert of Frank, sung in songs.
These findings are confirmation of the fact that although there is always a lot of fantasy and fiction in the folk epic, many of the events narrated in artistic form did take place.
The folk epic inspired writers, artists and composers to create works based on mythical stories.
Richard Wagner created a cycle of four operas based on Icelandic sagas, Germanic mythology and the poem "Song of the Nibelungs". The operas are called Rhine Gold, Siegfried, Valkyrie and Death of the Gods. The characters in these operas are gods, heroes, magical creatures; also a big role is assigned to the ring of the Nibelungs, which gives power over the world.
In the fantastic two-part television film "Ring of the Nibelungs", the poem "Song of the Nibelungs" is also taken as a basis. The plot of the film presents the story of the blacksmith Siegfried (unaware that royal blood flows in his veins), who relieves the inhabitants of the country of Burgundy from the dragon Fafnir. For this he receives the title of the winner of the dragon and his treasure. Although Siegfried knew that these treasures were cursed, he still took them. The curse played a tragic role in his life and in the life of his beloved Queen Brunhilda.