The Nibelungs

A young, exceptional warrior wins a vast treasure, aids a king in winning a powerful bride, and marries the king's sister. Treachery results in the hero's murder and the hoard's loss in a river, after which the bereaved wife marries a foreign ruler and plots vengeance. Invitations to a banquet lead to renewed feuds, duels, and mass slaughter as sworn loyalties and oaths compel combatants into escalating reprisals. Themes of honor, betrayal, fidelity, and the consuming cycle of revenge drive the narrative to a catastrophic conclusion in which the treasure and nearly all principal figures are destroyed.