This article investigates whether narrative strategies characteristic of heroic epics can be transferred into different linguistic or narrative contexts. This question is discussed with reference to the example of the Dutch Nevelingenlied, a translation of the Middle High German Nibelungenlied, which was written around 1280 and has only been transmitted in fragments. The narrative patterns of this translation resemble those typical for the transference of French heroic epics into the German language and culture: the transfer of heroic epics into different languages or cultures is a complex process that necessarily alters the status of the story. In conclusion, the article analy-ses the consequences of this observation for the Nibelungen-story. Was it unknown to the western regions of Germania or was the Middle High German Nibelungenliedunpopular in these areas because it changed the traditional story too much?
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