The Lay of the Nibelung Men

If we accept as our definition of an Epic:—(a) A long poem, (b) of an interest not less than national, describing (c) in noble language (d) a series of naturally and organically connected actions (e) of heroic actors, we shall find that, while we must deny the name to some so-called epics, we have to thank the spirit, the imagination, the genius, of the Middle Ages for two great epics.