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[Opinions] Nibelungenlied
I was reading the Nibelungenlied. Brunhild and Kriemhild are growing on me. I have really started to love the heavy, sometimes unwieldy, Germanic female names. Just wondering what everyone esle thinks about them.
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Why not Siegfried?He is the hero of the Ring Cycle.
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I do like Siegfried. It's already on my PNL. I was just contemplating the names that aren't on it.
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"Troll Song?" not so much
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I knew a Brunhilde, who was always called Bruni. Nice person; and an interesting character in mythology. Kriemhild sounds good, but only for a dairy cow; I know it's got nothing to do with cream, but the sound is just too powerful. Sieglinde appeals to me, though I'd prefer it with just the two syllables: Sieglind. (And Sigrid is even better.)I don't mind "heavy and unwieldy" as such, but I do have problems imagining a Sieglinde with an iPod, chewing gum! They fit their own stories so well that there doesn't seem to be a good point of contact withour world outside those stories.
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Sieglinde with an iPodI just have to say that I love that image and now actually really like the name because you mentioned this! LOL. I have a strange thing for juxtapositions I guess - the modern and ancient, together at laaaaast!
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I know exactly what you mean about the "heavy, sometimes unweildy, Germanic female names." Their very "unweildy-ness" is their charm. :-) Close cousins, Anglo-Saxon names, are also high on my GP list.Brunhild has never really excited me, though. I'm more of a Swanhilda type. Kriemhild reminds me of the Russian word for the Kremlin. So I'm having trouble with that one as well. But I really do like them in theory, if that makes sense.
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Lol, yeah. I think Eoforhild is my favorite Anglo-Saxon name. They strike my fancy as well.
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EoforhildSo beautiful! Nice find.
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Kriemhildthis name confounds me. How is it said? I feel like I would like it if I could just figure out how to say it! My Cabbage Patch doll was named Brunhilda Annabelle. Like officially, on the paperwork. True story. I guess it made me partial to the name, because I do quite like Brunhild. Not for myself, but on someone else's child, I would love to meet a Brunhild.
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I believe it is KREEM-hildt, the dt is usually just t here because people in my area of the U.S. seem to have a hard time with it.
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HmmThis makes things interesting. Firstly, I am glad it's not "crime-hildt". I was afraid that's what it was, and am releived that's not so. See, I like the sound of "kreem-hildt", but it also seems a little "graphic" to me and reminds me of "cream hill" - which is also pretty, but.... I obviously spend way too much time around foul-minded men, if you know what I mean. However I think that shortening the "ee" part to "Krim-hildt" is also feasible and I find that extremely awesome. Luckily, the German version of this name is Krimhilde and I think that is rockin'. Much more so than Brunhild.Added to name list! Thanks, Telfalathiel!
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i have no idea how to pronounce Nibelungenlied. They're all a bit too much for me to be honest. I like names from other languages, but these ones are too much even for me (although Brunhild is much easier to say than the other 2!)
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Nibelungenlied is the title of the book. It translates as the Song of the Nibelungs or Ring of the Nibelungs. Nibelungs being the ancestors of the royal family of the Burgundians. I have actually heard Nibelungs translated as ghosts or fairies because in the story, the ancestors are dead and appear as ghosts.

This message was edited 11/5/2009, 9:30 PM

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Well, isn't der Nebel mist or fog or something cold and semi-transparent, like ghosts? Could be a false etymology, but I wouldn't be surprised if it stands up.
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