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

The Nibelungenlied and the Thidrekssaga are two actualizations of the same plot, yet they show a number of differences. By outlining 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 demonstrates the 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 their values. The Nibelungenlied can even be classified as a helferzentrierte Brautwerbungsdichtung (a piece of helper-focused courtship poetry) because of the Brautwerbungsschema (courting scheme) used by Rüdiger to find a wife for his feudal lord 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, his counterpart, Rodingeir, in the Thidrekssaga plays a strictly functional role in advancing the plot. In the Nibelungenlied, the protagonists status as a model-knight culminates in the well-known vasallity conflict, in which a hierarchization of types of vassal obligations only seemingly settles the conflict. Moreover, through this dilemma, the non-literary conflict of Christian and worldly lifestyles is negotiated. The article at hand demonstrates that Rüdiger von Bechelaren’s character is integral to the meaning and structure of the Nibelungenlied and determines the genre, while Rodingeir von Bakkalar is only employed marginally and functionally.