“Homer’s Odyssey is one of the worst literary works in all of human history:” a statement I genuinely believed when having to trudge through the story as a middle schooler. The language, characters, and significance were mind numbing when compared to Rick Rioardan’s flashy interpretation of the ancient Greek world. And honestly, who wouldn’t want to read about Zeus shooting planes out of the sky in a pinstripe suit? It sure beats what he really did.

While The Lightning Thief may have been a young adult novel, it taught me about the world around me through characters that I related to. In that fantasy world, I saw pieces of my own life. That is the essence of literature – the continuation of man’s drive to share knowledge through storytelling. This tradition transcends all boundaries of time, geography, and language to share a glimpse into what life was like at some point. Within these snapshots of the human experience lies the value of reading and studying the Nibelungenlied.

This work of fiction written in Northern Europe encapsulates the zeitgeist with religious, familial, territorial, and personal themes rivaling the greatest contemporary dramas. The book takes readers on a journey across medieval Germany on a quest for ultimate justice. Most importantly, it connects the reader to the conscience of a people that feel so distant today. 

Throughout the story, characters take on various challenging situations. In Chapter Eight, the character Gunther has to choose between keeping his honor or using the hero Seigfried’s skills to win his wife, Brünhild. While winning a wife in a javelin throwing contest is less commonplace today, the struggle of obtaining a partner is very much still with us. The values and politics of the era offer critical insight into how medieval humans thought about life.   

The most powerful scene in the poem by far is the death of Rüdiger, the Margrave of Pöchlarn. Stuck between friends, he spent weeks honoring the sovereign he swore to serve, he grappled with questions of morality, friendship, and duty. Finally, he makes the sorrowful decision to go into combat against the Burgundians, his former guests, in a scene fit for Hollywood’s next gothic blockbuster. Through this dilemma, the reader experiences what commitment meant over 800 years ago while comparing and applying it to their own lives.

The Nibelungenlied, while physically dated, is not ideologically outdated. It offers itself to us as an invaluable resource in the 21st century. The ability to live vicariously through literature offers us the ability to learn from others. Most can see the imperfections of pride, revenge, and violence in this society of old, but there is also a romance, hospitality, and honor that could be more appreciated today. People chose to keep passing down The Nibelungenlied because they believed it had value. We continue to do so because we agree.