German heroic legends

king of the Germanic Ostrogoths and ruler of Italy (493–526)

thumb|200px|The second page of the Hildebrandslied manuscript The Hildebrandslied (; ) is a heroic lay written in Old High German alliterative verse. It is the earliest poetic text in German, and it tells of the tragic encounter in battle between a father (Hildebrand) and a son (Hadubrand) who does not recognize him. It is the only surviving example in German of a genre which must have been important in the oral literature of the Germanic tribes.

275px|thumb|According to the Nibelungenlied (1859) by [[Peter von Cornelius, Gunther orders Hagen to drop the hoard into the Rhine.]]

thumb|Woodcut by Edward Burne-Jones, for [[William Morris' work, Sigurd the Volsung. (London: Kelmscott Press, 1898).]] thumb|Kriemhild discovers Siegfried's corpse. Painting by Johann Heinrich Füssli, 1817. thumb|Kriemhild accuses Hagen of murdering Siegfried. Painting by Emil Lauffer, 1879 right|thumb|Kriemhild and Gunther, Johann Heinrich Füssli, 1807 thumb|Kriemhild's Death, Karl Schmoll von Eisenwerth, 1911 Gudrun ( ; ) or Kriemhild ( ; ) is the wife of Sigurd/Siegfried and a major figure in Germanic heroic legend and literature. She is believed to have her origins in Ildico, last wife of

thumb|The dwarf Alberich (with whip) drives on the Nibelung dwarfs, who collect gold and other treasures. ([[Arthur Rackham, 1910)]]

thumb|Alberich seduces the king's mother (a scene from Ortnit, 1480 woodcut) thumb|Alberich (with whip) drives on the Nibelung dwarfs, who collect gold and other treasures. ([[Arthur Rackham, 1910)]] thumb|Sigurd|Siegfried wrestles with Alberich ([[Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1843)]] In German heroic legend, Alberich () is a dwarf. He features most prominently in the poems Nibelungenlied and Ortnit. He also features in the Old Norse collection of German legends called the Thidreksaga under the name Alfrikr. His name consists of the elements alb ("elf") and ric "power" or "ruler". It is equi

mythical character inspired by Theoderic the Great

mythological character, Burgundian warrior in tales about the Burgundian kingdom at Worms

King of Burgundy

thumb|First page of Kudrun. Ambraser Heldenbuch, Austrian National Library Cod. ser. nova 2663 fol. 140t. Kudrun (sometimes known as the Gudrunlied or Gudrun), is an anonymous Middle High German heroic epic. The poem was likely composed in either Austria or Bavaria around 1250. It tells the story of three generations of the ruling house of Hetelings on the North Sea, but is primarily the story of Kudrun, who is abducted by the Norman prince Hartmut who desires to marry her. Kudrun remains true to her fiancé Herwig and eventually is rescued. After the defeat of the Normans, however, Kudrun ensu

youngest brother of King Gunther; Nibelungenlied

thumb|Hildebrand battles King Gjúki|Gibica in [[Rosengarten zu Worms]] thumb|Hildebrand warns the Burgundians Hildebrand is a character from Germanic heroic legend. Hildebrand is the modern German form of the name: in Old High German it is Hiltibrant and in Old Norse Hildibrandr. The word hild means "battle" and brand means "sword". The name itself is very likely of Lombardic origin.

13th-century German literary work

legandary king of the Visigoths

legendary Figure

Ortnit or Otnit is a Middle High German heroic epic about the eponymous king Ortnit. First written down in strophic form around 1230 by an anonymous author, it circulated in a number of distinct versions.

thumb|upright=1.5|Wolfdietrich attacking the dragons. From Heidelberg, Universitätsbiblothek, Cpg 365, folios 1v and 2r.

German mythological hero

thumb|Wittich (in red) dishonourably battles two against one with Heime to defeat Alphart. Witege, Witige or Wittich (; Gotho-) or Vidrik "Vidga" Verlandsson ( + Viðga or Videke + Verlandsson, Vallandsson, or Villandsson) is a character in several Germanic heroic legends, poems about Dietrich von Bern, and later Scandinavian ballads.