Kudrun by Brian Murdoch

Kudrun Reviews

• 
  Philip of Macedon

  Kudrun is another grand German heroic epic, a fantastic saga of the family of Kudrun, her kingdom, her vassals, and of the violence, warfare, politics, and customs of medieval Germany. It is often compared to the Nibelungenlied, and there are certain parallels and anti-parallels that make comparing and contrasting very interesting. Despite some similarities, the two epics have no overlap in their people, kingdoms, or events. In fact, the scholars who study Kudrun seem to have trouble placing certain realms in the story in historical/geographical context, raising the question of whether some lands are products of imagination, or unknown names for places lost to history. Regardless, the epic takes place across Europe, predominately northern Europe, in Ireland, Germany, the kingdom of the Normans, and a few other lands.
  
  It is thought to have been first written down around 1250, and comes from the same oral-poetic tradition that the Nibelungenlied and Dietrich von Bern sagas come from, having been transmitted orally long before it was put to paper. This is a prose translation of the poem, and retains much of the poetic feel, the heroic and epic medieval sensibilities, the same grandeur and might that was conveyed through the poems. Like with other epics of this sort, it has certain inconsistencies and ambiguities that are a product of multiple people telling the stories over the generations, and perhaps also caused by the scribes using conflicting sources when it was written.
  
  It begins in Ireland, telling of Ger, King of Ireland, his son Sigebant, and then the birth of Sigebant's son, Hagen (no relation to the Hagen of the Nibelungenlied). It then tells of Hagen's being carried off by a griffin as a young boy. It starts out fantastical and strong, already throwing us into adventure and danger and showing us the immensity of Hagen's power even as a youth, in his daring conquest of the griffins, rescuing of the maidens held captive by them, and his ability to survive in the wilds. He later slays a dragon, drinks its blood, and gains tremendous strength and insight. This contrasts with Sigfrid drinking the blood of the dragon and learning the speech of birds, and becoming invulnerable after smearing it all over his body. These early parts, and a brief scene years later in which a bird speaks to Kudrun, and is said to be an angel in disguise, are the only moments when there's an explicit element of fantasy, and the tale is generally more grounded in reality, albeit a huge and violent and heroic version of reality.
  
  In these early parts, Hagen's character is developed, his powerful fortitude and mind, his heroic abilities and his escape by ship, his return to his kingdom with the ladies, and his taking the throne as King of Ireland are the central focus. All proper sagas start a few generations before the main narrative, and Kudrun is no exception. Hagen marries Hilde, one of the women he rescued, a princess of India, and they have a daughter who is also named Hilde. Here begins the theme that is to recur later, with many young noblemen from across the lands hearing of the younger Hilde's beauty and wishing to have her as their bride. Hagen, though, will tolerate none of this, and he has every suitor executed either by his own hand or some other way. A royal man named Hetel, in faraway Germany, hears of her beauty and wishes to have her become his queen.
  
  To make a long and incredible story short and much less incredible, I'll cut to the chase: Hetel has his men kidnap Hilde through a clever and elaborate ruse in which they first gain Hagen's trust and friendship, and then pull her away on their ships. But powerful Hagen gives chase not only with his thousands of warriors, but he himself goes in pursuit. Thus entails one of the first of many epic battles and drawn out bouts of warfare and ultraviolence. I won't give everything away, but eventually peace is found through strength, and Hetel and Hilde are wed, Hagen accepts Hetel as his son-in-law and the worthy husband of his daughter, and their kingdoms resolve their conflicts.
  
  Hetel and Hilde have children, one of whom is their daugther Kudrun. Hetel exercises a similar brutal watch over his daughter that Hagen did, and once more, to cut to the chase, after many brave lords fight for her hand, valorous Herwic, Lord, Prince, and/or King of Zeeland, wins her hand by force, after long combat. But he returns to his kingdom before they can wed, his kingdom is then attacked by the Moors in retaliation for taking the bride that Sifrit, King of the Moors, wanted for himself. So Hetel once more gathers his allies, this time to aid Herwic in the defense of his kingdom. While he is away, the Norman king moves in to kidnap Kudrun. Ludewic and Hartmuot the Normans assault Hetel's land of the Hegelings, slay Hetel in the process, and eventually succeed in kidnapping Kudrun. This is now the focus of the rest of the story -- Kudrun's misfortune and mistreatment in the land of the Normans, and the various lords' plot to rescue her and to exact vengeance for the killing of King Hetel and so many Hegelings and other warriors.
  
  It is worth mentioning that, like the other German epics and many medieval sagas in general, this one contains a powerful cast of warriors, each of whom seem to embody certain qualities and attitudes, or at least distinct characteristics that make them chivalrous, important, and honorable.
  
  Early on we are introduced to Wate the Old, lord of Stormarn, who is a kinsman of Hetel, and who, despite the long number of years over which this saga spans, remains the most formidable, powerful, and feared of all warriors. There is Fruote of Denmark, a friend of Wate and relative of Hetel, often the one offering the most wise and thoughtful advice for how to proceed in difficult circumstances, but also a remarkable warrior. We see Horant, Lord of Denmark, a cousin of Hetel, an accomplished warrior and talented singer, whose singing aids in the kidnapping of Hilde from Ireland, earlier in the story. There is Irolt and Morunc, lords associated with Northland, Waleis, Nifland, and Frisia. There's Ortwin, king of Northland, and the son of Hetel and Hilde II, brother of Kudrun. There is Sifrit, King of the Moors and Herwic, King of Zeeland, both whom I've mentioned. Ludewic and Hartmuot of the Normans, also mentioned above.
  
  Women, too, play a significant part in the saga of Kudrun, with Kudrun herself being the prime mover of peace and tranquility. But also there is Gerlint, the queen of the Normans, who makes Kudrun's life unbearable, and Ortrun, daughter of Gerlint, who befriends Kudrun and tries to alleviate some of her troubles. There is Hildeburc, one of Kudrun's loyal maidens, and who was princess of Portugal, and was among the ladies rescued by Hagen decades earlier. And there is Heregart, another of Kudrun's ladies, who is later murdered by decapitation for her disloyalty.
  
  The fierceness of battle is a common thing in this saga, and the savagery, the death, the blood spilling, the decapitations litter the pages. Each battle serves a purpose, pushes the story forward while providing a vicious account of wrath and bloodshed and the deeds of the warriors. Even the Nibelungenlied and the Saga of Dietrich von Bern might not have had as much death and destruction as Kudrun, but it's hard to say for sure. All are amazing and unique, and yet share common elements that make them unquestionably part of a common body of legend and myth and tradition.
  
  In contrast to this recurring and entertaining violence, something else that's important here is the look at medieval customs and cultures, with the dynamics of chivalry and honor and behavior, as well as the sharing of wealth from lords to their vassals and warriors. The complexity of political motivations are very present, and it becomes clear just how significant marriage was as a peace-keeping move, or how important it was to unite kingdoms after violent conflict, how loyalties were paid, how they shifted with power imbalances, how men and families were rewarded for acts of valor or death.
  
  Unlike in the Nibelungenlied, which also examines many of these elements of medieval German culture, Kudrun moves through the violence and death and destruction and ends on notes of hope and peace and prosperity for all, even for those who were once the aggressors. While Kudrun could have been as bloodthirsty and vicious as Kriemhild, the vengeful conspirator of the Nibelungenlied, and maybe even could have been justified in doing so, she instead brings about peace through her sharp understanding of kingdom-to-kingdom politics and human ambitions, aided by her compassion and good will, and her desire to see everyone happy and well.
  
  It is a story that has all the depth and adventure and violence and historic interest and epicness that I've come to expect from these heroic legends, with certain common themes and motifs that are thrilling to experience each time. But it also contains a lot that I haven't seen before, taking a different angle on some of the things that make these epics and myths so timeless and unforgettable.
• 
  Joseph F.

  So you thought Helen of Troy was the only face to launch a thousand ships. Meet Kudrun. Although I don't know if she launched a thousand ships, she at least sent tens of thousands of warriors to battle.
  Kudrun is a great German epic of the high middle ages. Some might argue it is second only to the Song of the Nibelungs. The story starts with the adventures of Hagen, who is carried away by, of all things, a griffon. After his rescue he has a daughter called Hilda who he dares not give away in marriage. The hero Hettel manages to trick him into sending Hilda onto his ship and proceeds to sail away with her, leading to quite a battle. Hagen relents, and Hilda is happily married. Their daughter, Kudrun, now enters the scene and things kind of repeat themselves: her father refuses to give her to any suitor because they are never good enough. When Kudrun herself falls in love with one hero, one of the other jilted would be lovers takes her away with all of her maidens. By this time there has been so much fighting that her army is depleted, and so she waits until she is rescued. That is all I will give away.
  This is a rather fun epic, and a bit less grim as the Nibelungenlied. This translation by Murdoch is a straight forward prose one. There is another I read that can be downloaded from Amazon translated by Mary Pickering Nichols, called Gudrun rather than Kudrun (apparently both can be used). It is an old frilly Victorian style verse translation, but still stands up well if you like that style. It would be nice if someone would give us a more modern verse translation that is less pigeon-holed into 19th century style poetry as the Pickering one, and a bit more exciting than the Murdoch one.
• 
  Brad

  Powerful imagery and driven personalities make this a great read. apart from that, this is one of the few examples (only?) of early medieval narrative in which a female character plays the leading role. Also contains an intriguing example of the permeability of early contructions of racial categories.