"THE NIBELUNGENLIED" IN THE CONTEXT OF EUROPEAN EPIC TRADITION

Abstract

The article considers the German heroic epic "The Nibelungenlied" in the context of the Western European epic (on the example of "Beowulf" and "Song of Roland") and Old Russian byline epic. It is emphasised that the researched epics are characterised by commonality at the plot and thematic level. It is about historical convention; about the opposition of grief and joy, good and evil; about the motives of snake-fighting, betrayal and revenge; about the presence of difficult trials, which the hero is helped to overcome by strength, courage and honour; about material benefits and the hero's attitude to fate, as well as about the hero's death. The author concludes that these features are associated with the presence of elements of oral poetry in the epic genre, which are born from the synthesis of heathen and Christian worldviews. As a result, along with typological similarities, the differences were revealed, connected, on the one hand, with the specificity of culture, and, on the other hand, with the personality of the author of the epic, in particular "The Nibelungenlied".