Nibelung Saga: Hagen slaying Siegfried.

Was it murder most foul or a political necessity? Hagen is mostly depicted as the dark, scheming bad guy who kills the shining, glorified hero Siegfried. Even in these versions he does it to protect the kingdom, or rather his king and his queen, arguably by treasonous acts. But his character’s motivation is open to interpretation. I always liked Wolfgang Hohlbein’s novel, Hagen von Tronje, where he is depicted as a tragic hero and protector, torn between the old faith and values and the new fad christendom.

This metal sculpture is the work of Jens Nettlich, there are sculptures by him depicting various key scenes of the Nibelung saga all over the Odenwald.

Monday Portrait

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