The Nibelungenlieds Margrave Rüdiger von Bechelaren and the Thidrekssagas Rodingeir von Bakkalar. Portrait, Comparison and Adaptation Courtoise

Abstract

The Nibelungenlied and the Thidrekssaga are two actualizations of the same plot, yet they show a number of differences. Byoutlining the portrait of the protagonist the Nibelungenlied calls Margrave Rüdiger von Bechelaren and the Thidrekssaga calls Rodingeir von Bakkalar, while reviewing pre-existing literature on the subject, the article at hand demonstratesthe figure’s vast differences. In doing so, the article demonstrates that in the Nibelungenlied, an adaptation courtoise(Höfisierung) is achieved through various characteristics of the Margrave, such as the use of a specific narration mode,the employment of the Topos locus amoenus, and the contrasting reflection of Christian and worldly lifestyles and theirvalues. The Nibelungenlied can even be classified as a helferzentrierte Brautwerbungsdichtung (a piece of helper-focusedcourtship poetry) because of the Brautwerbungsschema (courting scheme) used by Rüdiger to find a wife for his feudallord Etzel. The Margrave does not pose as a main protagonist, overall, he is still of high importance to the Nibelungenlied.These courtoise elements are absent in the Thidrekssaga. While Rüdiger appears as a model-knight in the Nibelungenlied, hiscounterpart, Rodingeir, in the Thidrekssaga plays a strictly functional role in advancing the plot. In the Nibelungenlied, theprotagonists status as a model-knight culminates in the well-known vasallity conflict, in which a hierarchization of types ofvassal obligations only seemingly settles the conflict. Moreover, through this dilemma, the non-literary conflict of Christianand worldly lifestyles is negotiated. The article at hand demonstrates that Rüdiger von Bechelaren’s character is integral tothe meaning and structure of the Nibelungenlied and determines the genre, while Rodingeir von Bakkalar is only employedmarginally and functionally.