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This test consists of 5 short answer questions and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. The Margrave Iring is from what country?

2. How many of Iring's men stand behind him before he does single-handed battle with Hagen?

3. Who retreats to a corner of the feast hall to talk after the battle?

4. Who is the best warrior of the Burgundian kings?

5. Who first notices the armed men at the front of the hall in which Gunther is sleeping after the Midsummer Eve's festivities?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay that explains the reasons why does Rudiger stays away from the fray between the Gunther's men and Etzel's men until the very end.

Part 1: What oaths and customs prohibit his involvement, or is there another reason he stays away?

Part 2: Does Rudiger try to stay true to his oaths? If so how? If not, why not? What involvement do Etzel and Kriemhild have in changing his mind?

Use specific examples from the poem to support your argument.

Essay Topic 2

What is the importance of fine garments in the Nibelungenlied? Describe three instances in which a character's or a party's garments are important to the development of the plot. What do they reveal about the parties' character? What do they proclaim about the characters themselves?

Essay Topic 3

Do all of the lives lost while avenging Siegfried's death testify to Siegfried's greatness, or do they make him smaller, as just one of the many dead? Is Siegfried still superior to the others, or was he just an earlier figure, from a time when magic was still available to help men?

(see the answer keys)

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