The Thidrekssaga

The Thidrekssaga, an introduction

On this page, I will introduce the Thidrekssaga and its protagonists.

(Go to the summary.)
(Go to the manuscript tradition.)

The Thidrekssaga has probably been written in Bergen (Norway) during the reign of king Hakon IV (1217-1263).
Being fed up with the behaviour of his nobles, who mostly adhered to ancient Germanic bloody-mindedness, king Hakon encouraged the translation of several Continental European epic cycles, thus hoping to show the aristocrats that their Glorious Ancestors did not always consider it bad taste to behave with a modicum of decency or to respect their King.
Charlemagne and Dietrich von Bern being the prime examples of true noble kings, the Karlamagnus Saga was translated from French and the Thidrekssaga from German ^{(2nd href)} into Norse.

The Thidrekssaga tells the story of the Great King Dietrich von Bern and several other heroes, most notably Siegfried and the Nibelungen. Nonetheless, the saga diverges from the other texts in several aspects:

The saga has been written in prose.
The saga gives a chronological account of the entire life of Dietrich von Bern, while all other texts elaborate on only one episode of his life (or the Nibelungen's).
Finally, the saga names its sources: the stories told independently by men from Bremen and Soest. This authentication was very important to the writer(s).

(Go to the summary.)

The manuscripts of the saga

The German original of the Thidrekssaga has probably been written in Soest during the reign of Archbishop Philipp von Heinsberg (ca. 1180). It is likely that the writer of this book has used oral tradition as source.

There are, of course, several manuscripts of the saga, their interrelation being subject to heated debate:

The Membrame, in Old Norse, 13th century. This is without doubt the most ancient and valuable manuscript.
The Svava, in Old Swedish, 15th century. Much abridged translation of the Membrame. Ritter puts more stress on this manuscript than seems appropriate.
A, B, D and E, interrelated Old Icelandic manuscripts, 14th to 17th century. Slightly revised copies of the Membrame. They help to fill some gaps in the Old Norse original.
Question: Whatever happened to manuscript C?

Nor does our chirographical excurse end here, for the Membrame itself has been written by no less than five Redactors. Fortunately, only the Second and Third Redactor (Mb² and Mb³) seem to have mattered. (Frankly, I'm slightly hazy on the details myself.)

Boer even further complicates the matter by inserting at least two Interpolators, who seem to have been distinct from the Redactors.

Critical research of the Thidrekssaga has centered on three questions:

What is the exact relation between the various manuscripts?
What plan did the Second and Third Redactor have in determining the sequence of the stories in the Membrame?
Why does Dietrich appear not to be a hero at all in some parts of the saga?

I will not discuss the two first points. While these problems are not unimportant, the Second and Third Redactors rarely disagree as to the content of the stories. Where the manuscripts differ, I always follow the Membrame.

The third question, however, is extremely interesting and equally important.

(In the near future, I will provide a link to a page discussing this question)

The content of the saga

The Thidrekssaga tells the story of Dietrich von Bern and his heroes. The saga begins with an account of Dietrich's ancestors and youth. Then it tells how the heroes Hildebrand, Witig and Heime reach Dietrich's court at Bern. Competition is hot: both Heime and Witig challenge Dietrich to single combat. Heime loses, but Witig wins. In a fit of sulking Dietrich goes off to kill a dragon and find two more heroes.

When Dietrich has gathered ten heroes, he invites two of the Nibelungen, Hagen and Gunther, for a banquet. During this banquet, he announces his great plan: With his twelve heroes, he will travel to Bertangaland to challenge king Isung, his eleven sons and his standard-bearer: Siegfried. The heroes enthousiastically follow Dietrich's lead, but most of them lose their fight. Dietrich himself defeats Siegfried, who marries Grimhild, sister to Hagen and Gunther.

Then, at the end of Dietrich's youth, his realm is attacked by his uncle Ermenrik, king of Rome. Dietrich flees to the court of Attila the Hun in Soest, where he will stay for some twenty years.

More adventures follow when Dietrich fights for Attila in several wars. He tries to reconquer Bern, but in the great battle of Gransport, Dietrich's brother and Attila's two sons are killed by Witig, now in Ermenrik's service. Although Dietrich wins the battle, his grief is too great to allow him to follow up on his victory.

Meanwhile, Siegfried has become too powerful in Nibelungenland and is treacherously killed by Hagen. His widow Grimhild swears revenge. She marries Attila, also recently widowed, and seven years later she invites her brothers to a great feast at Attila's court. She unhesitatingly sacrifices her little son by Attila to provoke a fight, in which all of her brothers are killed. Dietrich tries to stay neutral, but finally chooses Attila's side and defeats Hagen.

Then Dietrich, only accompanied by Hildebrand, returns to Bern. He is eagerly awaited, for king Ermenrik has died and his successor is not very loved. Dietrich even conquers Ermenrik's ancient kingdom: Rome. At the end of his life he becomes a Christian, sacks a monastery and fights his last fight. He goes out to find Witig, his once best friend, and kill him in revenge for his brother and Attila's sons. Dietrich wins this last fight, but is so sorely wounded that he dies on his way home.

Load the extended summary of the Thidrekssaga

Continue the Introduction.