A Comparison of the Concept of Honor in the "Iliad" and the" Nibelungenlied"
Abstract
Honor was an important aspect of both heroic sets of ideals, but
because of the different purposes of the epics, honor had a different
role in each epic. To say that in the Iliad honor was Glorified, and
in the Nibelungenlied it was not is to simplify things too much. When
honor led to needless loss of life, then it was bad. The Iliad substantiated
that statement too. When Achilles became excessive in his
wrath, he lost the favor of the 30ds. The Iliad was concerned with
the personal honor of one man, and heroic reclaiming of his due honor.
The Nibelungenlied told a story of what honor could do to whole tribes
or masses of people when it was misinterpreted. The Iliad secondarily
told the tragic story of the Trojan War, but the Nibelungenlied secondarily
told the tragic story of two people. The codes of honor were
basically the same, but the different purposes of the epics led to different
interpretations or comments on the heroic codes. 30th epics
did What they were intended to do reasonably well; and though their
purposes differed, the fact that they both dealt with the heroic code
of ethics, or honor, unites them and makes a comparison possible.
For what both epics defined as honorable is related.