New Translation of the First Nibelungenlied Adventure into Russian

Abstract

This article analyzes the existing translations of the German medieval epic poem Nibelungenlied into Russian. Russian translations, made by M. I. Kudryashev in 1889 and Yu. B. Korneev in 1972, were based on the outdated publication of the Nibelungenlied edited by K. Bartsch. The edition by K. Bartsch is rather a compilation than a critical study. The basis for this edition was the manuscript B, in which K. Bartsch made a great number of amendments. That is why K. Bartsch’s edition cannot be regarded as a suitable source for translation. In contrast, the translation by Yu. B. Korneev contains a number of factual inaccuracies and additions caused by the translator’s aim to keep the original metre. The article shows that it is necessary to make a new Russian translation of the Middle High German masterpiece. The article provides a review of possible problems facing a translator: accuracy of translation; making comments that give missing information or explain unclear places in the text. It argues in favour of overt translation with comments that help readers to understand the text which is a product of both another culture and another time. The article features a new translation of the first chapter of the Nibelungenlied (the manuscript B) with comments.