von heleden lobebaeron, von grozer arebeit,
von froude und hochgeziten, von weinen und von klagen,
von kuener recken striten muget ir nu wunder hoeren sagen.

Ez wuochs in Burgonden ein edel magedin,
daz in allen landen niht schoeners mohte sin,
Kriemhild geheizen; si wart ein scoene wip,
darambe muosen degene vil verliesen den lip.

Der minneclichen meide triuten wol gezam,
ir muotten kuene recken, niemen was ir gram,
ane ma zen schoene so was ir edel lip;
der iunevrouwen tugende zierten anderiu wip.

Ir pilagen drie kilnege edel unde rich,
Ganther ande Geruot, die recken lobelieh,
und Giselher der iunge, ein uz erwelter degen,
diu frouwe was ir swester, die fu'rsten hetens in ir
pflegen.

Die herren waren milte, von arde hohe erborn,
mit kraft unmazen kuene, die recken uz erkorn,
dazen Burgonden so was ir lant genant,
si framden starkiu wunder sit in Etzelen lant.

Ze Wormze bidem Rine si wenden mit ir kraft,
in diende von ir landen stolziu ritterscaft
mit lobelichen eren unz an ir endes zit,
sit sturben si inemerliche von zweier edelen frouwen nit.

Some of the final rhymes with proper names, such as "Hagene": "degene"
(str. 84) or "Hagene": "tragene" (str. 300) appear to be feminine, but
it is really the final "e" that rhymes, and a scansion of the line in
question shows that the three accents are not complete without this
final "e". In this respect our poem differs from most of the Middle High
German poems, as this practice of using the final "e" in rhyme began to
die out in the twelfth century, though occasionally found throughout the
period. The rhymes are, as a rule, quite exact, the few cases of impure
rhymes being mainly those in which short and long vowels are rhymed
together, e.g. "mich": "rich" or "man": "han". Caesural rhymes are
frequently met with, and were considered by Lachmann to be the marks of
interpolated strophes, a view no longer held. A further peculiarity
of the "Nibelungen" strophe is the frequent omission of the unaccented
syllable in the second half of the last line of the strophe between the
second and third stresses. Examples of this will be found in the second,
third, and fifth strophes of the passage given above.

The language of the "Nibelungenlied" is the so-called Middle High