Table of Contents

Introduction: Wagner's Nibelungs in 1848
Commentary on The Nibelung Myth
Der Nibelungen-Mythus. / The Nibelung Myth
Commentary on Siegfried's Tod and the Transformation to Götterdämmerung
Siegfried's Tod / Siegfried's Death
Notes
Index

Reviews

[S]omething of a scholarly tour de force of historical exegesis. [Haymes] gives an absorbing and detailed account of how the Nibelung legend became part of the lingua franca of the developing sense of national identity that fed the heady revolutionary fervor of 1848. . . . [S]heds interesting new light on familiar material. . . . In making these primary texts available to the English reader in accessible translations and by giving an overview of German scholarship available to Wagner and others working on the Nibelungen legend in the first half of the nineteenth century, Haymes has done the cause of English-speaking Wagner research an essential and enduring service.
*MUSIC & LETTERS*

A gem of a book.. The introduction convincingly answers crucial questions Ring enthusiasts are forever asking: Which Icelandic, Old Norse . and Middle High German sources was Wagner familiar with? What sources were in Wagner's own library? Which . contemporary or German Romantic writers may have inspired Wagner? . Excellent English translation.
*WAGNER NOTES*

Excellent scholarship is evident, yet the book is accessible and interesting to the general reader.. Haymes's footnotes provide a superb bibliography for studies of the Ring. . Recommended.
*CHOICE*