The Nibelungenlied

We don't know who wrote the great German epic poem of the High Middle Ages. But the cultural and aesthetic significance of the narrative is undeniable. In it, the hero Siegfried comes to ask for the hand of a princess in marriage. The tragic tale leads us through the murder of Siegfried and ultimately revenge through justice. Dubbed by German scholars "the German Iliad", it was held up for generations as an emblem of German nationalism.