d the draft for a five-act play about Frederich 'Barbarossa'. It was developed, but Wagner was not comfortable with the idea of marshaling a series of historical facts. It was at this point that Wagner realized the similarities between Frederich I and the Nibelung myth. In his mind, the Hohenstaufen monarch was the reincarnation of the heathen Siegfried. This spark of an idea compelled Wagner to write Die Wibelungen: Weltgeschichte aus der Saga (The Wibelungs: History out of Saga). This served the purpose of unifying myth with history to fit the composer's needs. It is unclear whether or not Wagner believed any of his own theories, but this is an insignificant question. One small substitution and Frederich 'Redbeard' became a descendent of the divinely sired Siegfried. Because Frederich was a partial embodiment !
             of nationalist socialist aspirations, Wagner had succeeded in reconciling the current feeling in Germany with its great historical Sagas. The Wibelungen essay was the root from which Der Ring des Nibelungen sprang. Only a short time afte
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