SOURCE: “Studies Towards an Interpretation of the Nibelungenlied,” German Life & Letters, New Series Vol. XIV, No. 4, July, 1961, pp. 257-70.

In the following essay, Mowatt explains why taking a historical approach in analyzing the Nibelungenlied is unsatisfactory; Mowatt then offers suggestions for studying it using a structural approach.

A. the Historical Approach; Its Use and Its Limitations

The Nibelungenlied is a work of medieval literature, and is usually interpreted historically. There are good reasons why this has been, and will no doubt continue to be so. The Court Epic and Lyric are not easily accessible to a present-day audience, and even students of German are sometimes reluctant to make the effort of understanding which they require. The research of medievalists has succeeded in lessening the gap between the modern and medieval mind, and in giving us at least some idea of what Middle High German authors were trying to...