# Editor's Preface explained — The Nibelungenlied > Chapter companion for The Nibelungenlied by Anonymous. ## What happens The preface explains the translator's approach to rendering the Nibelungenlied into English verse, balancing literal accuracy with metrical form. It reviews previous translations, discusses the challenges of translating medieval epic poetry, and outlines the manuscript tradition (A, B, C) with MS. B (the St. Gall manuscript) as the basis. The preface also touches on the poem's legendary origins, historical anachronisms, and connections to Scandinavian sagas. ## Themes in this chapter ### Honor and Reputation The preface discusses the poem's ethical motives and the contrast between characters like Hagen and Rüdeger, reflecting medieval ideals of honor. ### Betrayal and Deception The preface alludes to the fusion of different legendary elements, which includes themes of betrayal central to the Nibelungenlied. ## Character check-ins ### Hagen Mentioned as an example of contrasting ethical motives in the poem, alongside Rüdeger. ### Rüdeger Cited as a character representing a contrasting ideal to Hagen, illustrating the fusion of different ethical elements. ### Siegfried Referenced in the context of the Volsungasaga providing earlier history of Siegfried and Brunhild. ### Brunhilda Mentioned alongside Siegfried in relation to the Volsungasaga's account of their earlier history. ### Pilgerin Bishop Pilgrim of Passau is noted as having commissioned a Latin prose translation of the story by Conrad the Scribe. ## Key lines > The strange juxtaposition of ethical motives; the contrast of ideals, as shown in the characters of Hagen and Rüdeger; the mingling of historical personages of different dates, show that in its earliest form as a whole it must have been full of anachronisms, due to the fusion of different elements. The poem mixes conflicting moral values and characters from different eras, proving it was originally a blend of various traditions. _Highlights the composite nature of the epic and its anachronistic elements._ > It is known that, at the request of Bishop Pilgrim of Passau in the tenth century, the story was translated into Latin prose by Conrad, called 'The Scribe,' and to him is attributed the inclusion of the name of the said bishop as that of an actor in events which, so far as they are historical, belong to the fifth century. Bishop Pilgrim of Passau had the story translated into Latin by Conrad the Scribe, who inserted the bishop into events from the 5th century. _Explains how a historical figure from the 10th century was anachronistically added to the narrative._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_nibelungenlied_se/chapters/editor-s-preface - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_nibelungenlied_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_nibelungenlied_se/chapters