The Story of Sigurd the Volsung and the Fall of the Niblungs

William Morris wrote an epic poem titled The Story of Sigurd the Volsung and the Fall of the Niblungs in 1876 that has over 10000 lines and tells the tragic tale of the Norse hero Sigmund his son Sigurd (who is compared to Siegfried in the Nibelungenlied and Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung) and Sigurd's wife Gudrun. It is based on the Volsunga Saga and the Elder Edda. It was born out of the author's 20-year interest with the Volsung tale which has previously sparked a number of literary and academic treatments of the legend. It was Morris's personal favourite poem and writers like T. E. Lawrence and George Bernard Shaw as well as critics of the day lauded it fervently.