Kudrun#

Kudrun, anonymous heroic poem consisting of 1,705 stanzas, written in the middle of the 13th century in the area of Bavaria or Austria (perhaps in Styria, but more likely near a larger town like Ratisbon or Vienna). The heroic poem is only extant in its earlier version in the Ambraser Heldenbuch; it follows the tradition of the Germanic heroic legends, but deals with courting and wooing and has a happy ending; therefore it is considered the "Counter-Nibelungenlied". According to its 3 main characters, it is divided into 3 parts (Hagen, Hilde, Kudrun). As far as its form is concerned the Kudrun stanza is an extension of the Nibelungen stanza ( Nibelungenlied).

Ed.: B. Boesch (ed.), K., 41964; W. Hoffmann (ed.), Das Nibelungenlied. Kudrun, 1972.

Literature#