Exile as a Timeless Problem for Humankind – Mirrored Through Pre-Modern German and Other Literary Texts

Abstract

Tragically, human history has always been determined by the experience of being exiled. This has been discussed in historical documents and especially in literary texts throughout time. The present essay first reflects on the wide range of examples for this topic, and then illustrates it through a critical reading of the Old High German heroic poem, “Hildebrandslied,” and the Middle High German heroic epic, Nibelungenlied. Each time, the experience of exile is described in moving, horrific terms and utilized as a metaphor of the tragedy of the human existence. Insofar as these two medieval examples strike us as so timeless and universal, we can recognize here, once again, the great significance of medieval literature for the exploration of fundamental aspects in our lives, particularly in extreme cases.