Brunhild

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"Brunnhild" (1897) by Gaston Bussière

Brunhild, also known as Brunhilda or
Brynhild (Old Norse: Brynhildr, Middle
High German: Brünhilt, Modern German:
Brünhild or Brünhilde), is a powerful
female figure from Germanic heroic
legend. She may have her origins in the
Visigothic princess Brunhilda of
Austrasia.

In the Norse tradition, Brunhild is a

shieldmaiden or valkyrie, who appears as
a main character in the Völsunga saga
and some Eddic poems treating the
same events. In the continental
Germanic tradition, where she is a central
character in the Nibelungenlied, she is a
powerful Amazon-like queen. In both
traditions, she is instrumental in bringing
about the death of the hero Sigurd or
Siegfried after he deceives her into
marrying the Burgundian king Gunther or
Gunnar. In both traditions, the immediate
cause for her desire to have Sigurd
murdered is a quarrel with the hero's wife,
Gudrun or Kriemhild. In the Scandinavian
tradition, but not in the continental
tradition, Brunhild kills herself after
Sigurd's death.

Richard Wagner made Brunhild (as

Brünnhilde) an important character in his
opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen. The
majority of modern conceptions of the
figure have been inspired or influenced
by Wagner's depiction.

Brunhild has been called "the paramount

figure of Germanic legend."[1] The
Nibelungenlied introduces her by saying:
Ez was ein There was a
küneginne queen who
gesezzen über sê. resided over the
ir gelîche enheine sea,
man wesse ninder Whose like no
mê. one knew of
diu was unmâzen anywhere.
schoene. vil She was
michel was ir kraft. exceedingly
si schôz mit beautiful and
snellen degenen great in physical
umbe minne den strength.
schaft.[2] She shot the
shaft with bold
knights — love
was the prize.[3]
Etymology
The name Brunhild in its various forms is
derived from the equivalents of Old High
German brunia (armor) and hiltia
(conflict).[4] The name is first attested in
the sixth century, for the historical
Brunhilda of Austrasia,[5] as
Brunichildis.[6]

In the context of the heroic tradition, the

first element of her name may be
connected to Brunhild's role as a
shieldmaiden.[7]

In the Eddic poem Helreið Brynhildar, the

valkyrie Sigrdrífa from Sigrdrífumál is
identified with Brunhild. This name
consists of the elements sigr and drífa
and can be translated as "driver to
victory". It could simply be a synonym for
valkyrie.[8]

Origins
The most popular theory about the
origins of the legendary Brunhild is that
she originates from two historical figures
of the Merovingian dynasty: Brunhilda of
Austrasia, a Visigothic princess who
married the Frankish king Sigebert I, and
Fredegund, who was married to
Sigebert's brother Chilperic I. Frankish
historian Gregory of Tours blames
Fredegund for Sigebert's murder in 575,
after which Fredegund and Brunhild
carried on a feud that lasted until 613,
when Chilperic's son Chlothar II captured
and killed her.[9] If this theory is correct,
then Brunhild has essentially taken the
role of Fredegund in the Nibelungen story
while maintaining Brunhilda of
Austrasia's name.[9][10]

A less widely accepted theory locates the

origins of the Brunhild figure in the story
of the Ostrogothic general Uraias.
Uraias's wife insulted the wife of the
Ostrogothic king Witiges, and the king's
wife then had Witiges murder Uraias.[11]

Scandinavian traditions and

attestations
Brunhild was a popular figure in
Scandinavia,[12] with traditions about her
firmly attested around 1220 with the
composition of the Prose Edda. The
Scandinavian tradition about Brunhild
shows knowledge of the continental
Germanic traditions as well.[13]

Prose Edda
Brunhild and Gudrun quarrel at the river. Illustration
by Anders Zorn (1893)

The so-called Prose Edda of Snorri

Sturluson is the earliest attestation of the
Scandinavian version of Brunhild's life,
dating to around 1220.[14] Snorri tells the
story of Brunhild in several chapters of
the section of the poem called
Skáldskaparsmál.[15] His presentation of
the story is very similar to that found in
the Völsunga saga (see below), but is
considerably shorter.[16]

After Sigurd kills the dragon Fafnir, he

rides up to a house on a mountain, inside
of which he finds a woman sleeping
wearing armor. He cuts the armor from
her, and she wakes up, and says that she
was a valkyrie named Hild, but called
Brunhild. Sigurd then rides away.[17]

Later, Sigurd brings Gunnar to Brunhild's

brother Atli to ask for Brunhild's hand in
marriage. Brunhild lives on a mountain
called Hindarfjall, where she is
surrounded by a wall of flame. Atli tells
them that Brunhild will only marry a man
who rides through the flame. Gunnar is
unable to do this, and Sigurd switches
shapes with him, riding through the
flames. Sigurd then weds Brunhild as
Gunnar, but places a sword between the
two of them on their wedding night. The
next morning, he gives Brunhild a ring
from the hoard of the Nibelungen, and
Brunhild gives him a ring in return.
Gunnar and Sigurd then return to their
own shapes and return to the court of
Gunnar's father Gjuki.[18][19]

Some time later, Brunhild and Gudrun

quarrel while washing their hair in the
river. Brunhild says that she does not
want the water that passes through
Gudrun's hair to touch her own, because
her husband Gunnar is braver. Gudrun
replies with Sigurd's deeds of killing the
dragon, but Brunhild says that only
Gunnar had dared to ride through the wall
of flame. Then Gudrun reveals to
Brunhild that Sigurd was the one who
rode through the wall, producing
Brunhild's ring as proof. Brunhild then
encourages Gunnar to kill Sigurd, which
eventually he does. Once Sigurd is dead,
Brunhild kills herself, and is burned on
the same pyre as Sigurd.[20] It is possible
that Snorri's account of the quarrel
between Brunhild and Gudrun derives
from a lost Eddic poem.[21]

Poetic Edda
The Poetic Edda, a collection of heroic
and mythological Nordic poems, appears
to have been compiled around 1270 in
Iceland, and assembles mythological and
heroic songs of various ages.[22] A large
number of poems deal with the
relationship between Sigurd and Brunhild,
which seems to have been of special
interest to the compiler.[23]

Generally, none of the poems in the

collection is thought to be older than 900
and some appear to have been written in
the thirteenth century.[24] It is also
possible that apparently old poems have
been written in an archaicizing style and
that apparently recent poems are
reworkings of older material, so that
reliable dating is impossible.[25] Much of
the Brunhild material is taken to have a
relatively recent origin.[26]

Grípisspá

In Grípisspá, Sigurd receives a prophecy

of his life from his uncle Grípir. Among
the prophesied actions are that he will
awaken a valkyrie who will teach him the
runes. Later, he will betroth himself to
Brunhild at the court of Heimir. He will
marry Gudrun but then aid Gunnar in
wooing Brunhild, marrying but not
sleeping with her. She, however, will later
accuse Sigurd of taking her virginity and
have him killed.[27]

The poem appears to distinguish

between Sigrdrífa in the following
Sigrdrífumál and Brunhild as two different
women.[28] It also seems to identify
Sigrdrífa with the valkyrie Sigrún from the
preceding poems in the Edda about Helgi
Hundingsbane.[29]

It is generally taken to be a late poem

that was written on the basis of the other
poems about Sigurd's life.[30]

Fáfnismál
In Fáfnismál, once Sigurd has tasted the
blood of the dragon Fafnir, Sigurd
understands the birds who tell him to go
to a palace where the valkyrie Sigrdrífa
sleeps surrounded by flames.[31]

Sigrdrífumál

In Sigrdrífumál, Sigurd rides to the

mountain Hindarfjall, where he sees a
wall of shields that surround a sleeping
woman. The woman is wearing armor
that seems to have grown into her skin,
and Sigurd uses his sword to cut it open.
This awakens the maiden, who explains
that she is the valkyrie Sigrdrífa and, in a
prose interlude, tells how she had
disobeyed Odin who then demanded she
marry. She refused and said she would
only marry a man without fear.[32] She
proceeds to teach Sigurd wisdom and
the runes.[31]

The condition that Sigrdrífa will only

marry a man without fear is the same as
Brunhild will later make, perhaps pointing
to the two figures originally being
identical.[33]

Brot af Sigurðarkviðu

Brot af Sigurðarkviðu is only preserved

fragmentarily: the surviving part of the
poem tells the story of Sigurd's murder.
Brunhild has evidently accused Sigurd of
having slept with her, and this has
caused Gunnar and Högni to have their
half-brother Guthorm kill Sigurd. Once
Sigurd has been murdered, Brunhild
rejoices before admitting to Gunnar that
Sigurd never slept with her.[34]

Guðrúnarkviða I

In Guðrúnarkviða I, Brunhild briefly

appears while Gudrun mourns the death
of Sigurd. Brunhild defends herself
against the accusation that she is
responsible for Sigurd's death and
accuses her brother Atli of
responsibility.[35] In a prose section at the
close of the poem, Brunhild commits
suicide with several slaves.[36]

The dialogue between Brunhild and

Gudrun is characterized by immense
hostility,[37] and Brunhild is portrayed as
evil.[38]

Sigurðarkviða hin skamma

Sigurðarkviða hin skamma repeats the

story of Sigurd once again. Sigurd wins
Brunhild for Gunnar and weds her for
him, but the two do not sleep together.
Brunhild desires Sigurd, however, and
decides to have him killed since she
cannot have him. She threatens to leave
Gunnar if he does not kill Sigurd, and he
agrees. Once Sigurd is dead, Gudrun
breaks into a lament, and Brunhild laughs
loudly. Gunnar chastises her for this,
whereupon Brunhild explains that she
never wanted to marry Gunnar and had
been forced to by her brother Atli. She
had then secretly betrothed herself to
Sigurd. Brunhild then gives away all her
possessions and kills herself, despite
Gunnar's attempts to convince her not to.
As she dies, she prophesies the future
misfortunes of Gudrun and Gunnar.
Finally, she asks to be burned on the
same pyre as Sigurd.[39]

Although the title indicates the poem is

about Sigurd, the majority of the poem is
actually concerned with Brunhild, who
justifies her actions.[40][41] The song is
generally thought to be a recent
composition.[41]

Helreið Brynhildar

Illustration of Helreið Brynhildar, 1893.

At the beginning of Helreið Brynhildar,

Brunhild's corpse is burned and she
begins her journey to the Hel, the
Scandinavian underworld. On her way,
she encounters a giant who accuses her
of having blood on her hands. In
response, Brunhild tells the story of her
life, defending herself and justifying her
actions. She accuses the Burgundians of
having deceived her.[42] Brunhild hopes to
spend the afterlife together with
Sigurd.[43]

As Brunhild narrates her life, she is

clearly identified with the valkyrie
Sigrdrífa and combines the story of
Sigrdrífa's awakening with Sigurd's
wooing for Gunnar as a single
event.[44][45] Odin himself is portrayed as
requiring that only a man who knows no
fear could awaken her.[46] The song
portrays Brunhild as a victim and she
achieves a sort of apotheosis at the
end.[43]

Völsunga saga

The Völsunga saga tells the fullest

version of Brunhild's life in the
Scandinavian tradition, explaining many
unclear references found in the Poetic
Edda.[47] It follows the plot given in the
Poetic Edda fairly closely, although there
is no indication that the author knew the
other text.[48] The author appears to have
been working in Norway and to have
known the Thidrekssaga (c. 1250), a
translation of continental Germanic
traditions into Old Norse (see
Þiðrekssaga below). Therefore, the
Völsunga Saga is dated to sometime in
the second half of the thirteenth
century.[49] The saga is connected to a
second saga, Ragnars saga Loðbrókar,
which follows it in the manuscript, by
having Ragnar Lodbrok marry Aslaug,
daughter of Sigurd and Brynhild.[50]

According to the saga, Brunhild is the

daughter of Budli and the sister of Atli.
She is raised at a place called Hlymdalir
by her King Heimir, who is married to her
sister Bekkhild. At Hlymdalir she is
known as "Hild under the helmet" (Hildr
und hjálmi) and is raised to be a
shieldmaiden or valkyrie. When she is
twelve years old, King Agnar steals
Brunhild's magical swan shirt, and she is
forced to swear an oath of loyalty to him.
This causes her to intervene on Angar's
behalf when he is fighting Hjálmgunnar,
despite Odin's desire for Hjálmgunnar to
win. As punishment, Odin stuck her with
a sleep thorn and declared that she must
marry. She swore that she would not
awaken to marry unless a man came
who knew no fear. Odin places the
sleeping Brunhild on mount Hindarfjall
and surrounds her with a wall of
shields.[47][6]
Eventually, Sigurd comes and awakens
Brunhild. She makes foreboding
prophecies and imparts wisdom to him.
The two promise to marry each other.
After this, Brunhild returns to Heimir. One
day while Sigurd is hunting, his hawk flies
up and lands at the window of the tower
where Brunhild is living. Sigurd feels love
when he sees her and, despite her
insistence she wants only to fight as a
warrior, convinces her to renew her vow
to marry him. Meanwhile, Gudrun has
had a foreboding dream and goes to
Brunhild to have her interpret it. Brunhild
tells Gudrun all of the misfortune that will
befall her.[51]
Soon afterward, Gunnar, Gudrun's brother,
decides to woo Brunhild to be his wife.
Sigurd, who has married Gudrun after
having been given a potion to forget his
previous vows to Brunhild, aids him.
Brunhild can only be wed by a man who
will ride through the flames around her
tower; Gunnar is unable to do this, so
Sigurd takes his shape and performs the
deed for him. While Brunhild is reluctant
to marry Gunnar, Sigurd in his disguise
reminds her of her vow to marry the man
who can cross the flames. The two then
wed and Sigurd places his sword
between them for three nights while they
share the marriage bed. Sigurd and
Gunnar return to their normal shapes and
take Brunhild back to Gunnar's hall.[51][52]

One day, Brunhild and Gudrun are bathing

at a river; Brunhild declares that she
should not have to use the same water
as Gudrun, as her husband is the more
important man. Gudrun then reveals that
Sigurd had crossed the flames and not
Gunnar, and shows a ring that Sigurd had
taken from Brunhild and given to her. The
next day, the queens continue their
quarrel in the king's hall. Brunhild is so
full of pain that she takes to bed. She
demands vengeance against Sigurd,
despite Gunnar's attempts to pacify her.
Sigurd comes and confesses his love for
her, offering to leave Gudrun to be with
her, but Brunhild refuses. Afterwards, she
demands that Gunnar kill Sigurd. Once
the deed is done, Brunhild laughs loudly
when she hears Gudrun's cry of lament.
She reveals that she had slandered
Sigurd by claiming that he had slept with
her. She then stabs herself, and while
dying holds a long conversation with
Gunnar in which she prophesies the
future. According to her wish, she is
burned on the same pyre as Sigurd.[53][52]

Ballads
Brunhild proposes the creation of a wall of fire
around her hall to her father Budli in order to
challenge Sigurd. Faroese postal stamp from 1998.

Brunhild lived on as a character in several

late medieval and early modern
Scandinavian ballads. These often have
sources both from the Scandinavian
tradition and from the continental
tradition, either via the Thidrekssaga or
directly from German sources.[54]
In the Danish ballad Sivard og Brynild
(DgF 3, TSB E 101), Sigurd wins Brunhild
on the "glass mountain" and then gives
her to his friend Hagen. One day, Brunhild
fights with Sigurd's wife Signild, and
Signild shows Brunhild a ring that
Brunhild had given Sigurd as a love gift.
Brynhild then tells Hagen to kill Sigurd,
and Hagen does this by first borrowing
Sigurd's sword then killing him with it. He
then shows Brunhild Sigurd's head and
kills her too when she offers him her
love.[55]

A ballad from the Faroe Islands,

Brynhildar táttur (the song of Brynhild,
TSB E 100), also tells a version of the
story of Brunhild.[56] The original form of
this ballad likely dates to the fourteenth
century,[54] though it is clear that many
variants have been influenced by the
Danish ballads.[57] In the ballad, Brunhild
refuses all suitors; she will only marry
Sigurd. To attract him, she tells her father
Budli to create a hall with a wall of fire
around her. One day, Gunnar comes and
sues for her hand, but she refuses. Then
Sigurd comes, breaks through the wall of
fire, and they sleep together. When he
leaves, however, Gudrun and her mother
Grimhild cast a spell on Sigurd so that he
forgets Brunhild and marries Gudrun.
Some time later Brunhild and Gudrun
argue in the bath, with Gudrun refusing to
share water with Brunhild. She reminds
Brunhild that Sigurd took her virginity,
whereupon Brunhild tells Högni (or in
some versions, Gunnar) to kill Sigurd.
Budli tries unsuccessfully to change his
daughter's mind; once Sigurd is dead,
Brunhild collapses in grief.[58]

Continental Germanic
traditions and attestations
The Nibelungenlied (c. 1200) represents
the first attestation of Brunhild in either
the continental or Scandinavian
traditions. The German Brunhild was
nevertheless still associated with
Scandinavia, as shown by her kingdom
being located on Island (Iceland).[59] It
has been suggested that this may show
knowledge of Norse traditions about
Brunhild.[60] In general, the literature that
attests the continental tradition shows
far less interest in Brunhild than the
surviving Scandinavian material.[12]

Nibelungenlied
Brunhild arrives in Worms. Hundeshagener Kodex.

The quarrel between Brunhild and Kriemhild.

Hundeshagener Kodex.

In the Nibelungenlied, Brunhild is first

presented as the ruling queen of Îsland
(Iceland) from her castle of Îsenstein
(iron-stone). Some manuscripts spell the
name of her kingdom Îsenlant (iron-land),
and it is possible that this is the original
form, with the association with Iceland
being secondary.[61] Her kingdom is
twelve days journey by boat from the
Burgundian capital of Worms, marking
her as living outside the bounds of
courtly society.[60]

Brunhild is introduced to the story when

word of her immense beauty reaches
Worms one day, and King Gunther
decides he wishes to marry her.
Siegfried, who is familiar with Brunhild,
advises him against this marriage, but
Gunther convinces Siegfried to help him
woo Brunhild by promising to let
Siegfried marry Gunther's sister
Kriemhild. Gunther needs Siegfried's help
because Brunhild has set a series of
three feats of strength that any suitor for
her hand must complete; should the
suitor fail any one of these feats, she will
kill him. Siegfried agrees to help Gunther
by using his cloak of invisibility
(Tarnkappe) to aid Gunther during the
challenges, while Gunther will simply
pretend to accomplish them himself. He
and Gunther agree that Siegfried will
claim to be Gunther's vassal during the
wooing.[62][63]

When Siegfried and Gunther arrive at

Isenstein, Brunhild initially assumes that
Siegfried is the suitor, but immediately
loses interest in him once he claims that
he is Gunther's vassal.[64] With Siegfried's
help, Gunther is able to accomplish all
the feats of strength; although Brunhild
initially looks like she might renege on
the agreement, Siegfried quickly gathers
his men from his kingdom in
Nibelungenland and brings them to
Isenstein. Gunther and Brunhild then
agree to marry. The heroes return to
Worms with Brunhild, and Siegfried
marries Kriemhild at the same time that
Brunhild marries Gunther. Brunhild cries
seeing this however, believing that the
royal princess Kriemhild has been
married to a vassal. On her wedding
night, when Gunther attempts to sleep
with Brunhild, Brunhild quickly
overpowers Gunther, tying him up by his
hands and feet with her belt and leaving
him hanging on a hook until morning.
Gunther is forced to rely on Siegfried
again, who takes Gunther's shape using
his Tarnkappe and is only able to subdue
Brunhild due to the Tarnkappe granting
him the strength of twelve men. Gunther
is secretly present during all of this, and
is able to confirm that Siegfried did not
sleep with Brunhild.[64] Once Siegfried
has subdued Brunhild, Gunther takes
Siegfried's place and takes Brunhild's
virginity, which results in the loss of her
superhuman strength.[65] As a trophy,
Siegfried takes Brunhild's ring and belt,
which he later gives to Kriemhild.[64]

It is mentioned that Brunhild and Gunther

have a son, whom they name
Siegfried.[66] Some years later, Brunhild,
still disturbed by Siegfried's failure to
behave as a vassal, convinces Gunther to
invite Siegfried and Kriemhild to
Worms.[64] Once the guests arrive,
Brunhild becomes increasingly insistent
that her husband is superior to
Kriemhild's. This culminates when the
two queens encounter each other in front
of the cathedral at Worms, and fight over
who has the right to enter first. Brunhild
declares that Kriemhild is the wife of a
vassal, to which Kriemhild replies that
Siegfried has taken Brunhild's virginity,
showing her the belt and ring as proof.
Brunhild bursts into tears and Kriemhild
enters the church before her. Brunhild
then goes to Gunther and Gunther forces
Siegfried to confirm that this is not the
case. However, Brunhild convinces
Gunther to murder Siegfried nonetheless.
The deed itself is carried out by the
Burgundian vassal Hagen, who justifies
his action with the sorrow that Siegfried
has caused Brunhild.[67][68]

After this point, Brunhild plays no further

role in the story.[6] She is shown to be
glad at Kriemhild's suffering,[69] and to
continue to hold a grudge against her
much later in the text.[70] Her
disappearance in the second half of the
epic may reflect the sources of the
Nibelungenlied, but it also suggests a
lack of interest in the character when she
is no longer directly relevant to the
story.[71]

Nibelungenklage

The Nibelungenklage (c. 1200) is a sort

of sequel to the Nibelungenlied that
describes how the survivors of the end of
the last poem deal with the catastrophe.
After the dead are buried, Dietrich von
Bern arranges for a messenger to travel
to Worms to inform the Burgundians. The
messenger is received by Brunhild, who
admits her responsibility for Siegfried's
death and is shown to be greatly
saddened by Gunther's death.[6] She calls
together all the nobles of the realm to
decide on a course of action. Following a
period of mourning, Brunhild and
Gunther's son Siegfried is crowned as the
new king of the Burgundians.[72][73]

Rosengarten zu Worms

In the Rosengarten zu Worms version D

(after 1250), Brunhild is mentioned as
among the spectators watching the
tournament in Kriemhild's rose garden.[4]
Þiðrekssaga

Although the Þiðrekssaga (c. 1250) is

written in Old Norse, the majority of the
material is translated from German
(particularly Low German) oral tales, as
well as possibly some from German
written sources such as the
Nibelungenlied.[74] Therefore, it is
included here. The saga-author can
nonetheless be shown to have changed
some details to accord with
Scandinavian traditions, of which he was
aware.[75][76]

According to the Thidrekssaga, Brunhild

is the daughter of king Heimir and lives in
the castle of Saegard in Swabia.[8] There
she runs a stud farm that produces
excellent horses. Sigurd encounters
Brunhild shortly after he has killed the
dragon Regin; he breaks into her castle
and kills several of her warriors, but
Brunhild recognizes Sigurd, tells him the
names of his parents, and gives him the
horse Grani before he leaves.[77][8]

Later, Sigurd, who has gone to the court

of the Burgundians (called Niflungs),
advises Gunnar (Gunther) to marry
Brunhild, and the two go to see her. She
is angered that Sigurd has not kept his
promise to marry only her—something
which was not mentioned in their
previous encounter[78]—but Sigurd
persuades her to marry Gunnar. She
nevertheless refuses to consummate the
marriage on the wedding night, and
Sigurd must take Gunther's place (and
shape) to take her virginity for Gunnar,
which robs her of her strength.[77][79]

Some time later, while Sigurd is living

with the Burgundians, Brunhild begins to
quarrel with Sigurd's wife Grimhild over
which of them has the higher status. One
day, Grimhild fails to rise when Brunhild
enters the hall. This causes Brunhild to
accuse Grimhild of being married to a
man without noble birth, whereupon
Grimhild produces a ring that Brunhild
had given to Sigurd (thinking he was
Gunnar) after he had deflowered her,[80]
and publicly proclaims that Sigurd and
not Gunnar took Brunhild's virginity.
Brunhild then convinces Gunnar and
Högni to kill Sigurd.[81] Brunhild is shown
to be overjoyed once it has occurred.[82]
Afterwards, she largely disappears from
the saga, though it is mentioned that
King Atli (Etzel) visits her among the
Burgundians.[83]

Biterolf und Dietleib

In Biterolf und Dietleib (c. 1250), a parody

of sorts of the heroic world,[84] Brunhild is
shown to be concerned with avoiding
loss of life in the war between the
Burgundians and the heroes of the
Dietrich von Bern cycle. She gives
Rüdiger, who acts as a messenger for the
Dietrich heroes, a lance with a banner on
it as a reward for his having done his job
well. At a later point, Rüdiger and
Brunhild negotiate the transformation of
the battle into a tournament, though this
quickly becomes an actual battle once
more. When the Dietrich heroes succeed
in reaching the gates of Worms, Brunhild
and the other Burgundian women force a
stop to hostilities. In the conciliatory
festivities that follow, Brunhild explains
that she gave Rüdiger the lance so that
all the warriors would be encouraged to
show the best of their abilities, not so
that any would be killed.[85]

Brunhild's role in Biterolf is usually taken

to parodic, and includes the detail that
she says that she is afraid of Gunther's
strength, whereupon Rüdiger reminds her
of her own violent past.[86] That Brunhild
has given Etzel's most important hero,
Rüdiger, a lance to fight against the
Burgundians, without however, any of
them dying, likely had a strong parodic
effect on the poem's audience.[87] Biterolf
also makes no mention of the hostility
between Kriemhild and Brunhild.[86]

Theories about the

development of the
Brunhild figure
If the origin of Brunhild in Brunhilda of
Austrasia and Fredegund is correct, then
Brunhild's role in Sigurd/Siegfried's
murder would be the oldest part of her
legend and an original part of the Sigurd
legend. Theodore Andersson has argued
that Brunhild was originally the more
important figure of the two, as she is the
main character in the surviving Eddic
poems. Only later, he argues did Sigurd
come to be regarded as the more
significant figure, as he acquired more
stories beyond his murder.[88]
Brunhild is nevertheless first attested as
a legendary figure in the Nibelungenlied
(c. 1200), with earlier attested
placenames derived from the name
Brunhild most likely referring to the
historical queen.[80]

Identity as a valkyrie and

awakening

There is no consensus as to whether

Brunhild's identification as a valkyrie in
the Norse legends represents an old
common Germanic tradition or a late
development, unique to the Scandinavian
tradition. It is possible that the German
Brunhild's immense strength alludes to a
mythological past in which she was a
valkyrie.[89][6]

On the other hand, Sigrdrífumál gives the

valkyrie whom Sigurd awakens another
name, and many of the details about the
Norse Brunhild do not accord with her
being a valkyrie. It is possible that the
Norse Sigurd was originally involved with
two separate women, a valkyrie and his
sister-in-law, who have been "imperfectly
merged."[90][91] Given the close similarity
of Brunhild's awakening in the
Scandinavian tradition to the common
fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty, some
scholars dismiss it as without basis in
the original tradition.[92] The existence of
a mountain called lectulus Brunihildae
(Brunhild's bed) in the Taunus may attest
to the awakening story in Germany,[8] but
it is more likely that this name refers to
the historical queen Brunhilda of
Austrasia.[93] The superhuman powers
Brunhild displays in both traditions may
simply be a narrative way to make her an
equal to Sigurd.[94]

Wooing

There is considerable debate about

whether the ride through the wall of
flames attested in the Norse tradition or
the feats of strength attested in the
continental tradition represents the
version of the wooing of Brunhild.
Although the ride through the flames is
only attested in Scandinavia, a somewhat
similar scene occurs in Das Lied vom
Hürnen Seyfrid when Siegfried rescues
Kriemhild.[95] The feats of strength that
Brunhild's suitors must complete in the
Nibelungenlied, on the other hand, are
paralleled in a Russian fairy tale that also
contains a very similar scene in which
the bride ties her new husband by his
hands and feet on her wedding night.[96]
These parallels have led some scholars
to argue that the feats of strength are not
original to the tradition.[5] Others have
argued that the Russian fairy tale may
derive from the Nibelungenlied.[97]
Common to all versions of the wooing is
that Sigurd takes Gunther's place in the
marriage bed in one way or another using
deception and marriage, which later
provides part of Brunhild's motivation to
have him killed.[97][89]

Relationship to Atli (Attila) and

family

In the Scandinavian tradition, Brunhild is

the sister of Atli (Attila); scholars
generally see this as recent development
of the saga.[7] The familial connection to
Atli provides an additional motivation for
Atli's enmity for the Burgundians.[98]
Brunhild's sister in the Scandinavian
tradition, Oddrun, also does not seem to
be a figure of the traditional legend.[99]
The continental tradition makes no
reference to Brunhild having any kin at
all, whereas the Scandinavian material
mentions both a father (Budli, father of
Atli) and a fosterfather, Heimir.[100][101]
Theodore Andersson writes that "the
family [that appears in Norse tradition]
looks like a late speculative attempt to
domesticate [Brunhild] in the style of
other heroic stories."[102]

Relationship to Sigurd
Though it is only attested in the Norse
tradition, it seems likely that the German
Siegfried also had prior involvement with
Brunhild before he wooed her for Gunther
—the Nibelungenlied strongly hints that
the two already know each other.[103]
Brunhild's original motivation for having
Sigurd killed seems to have been her
public dishonor, the only motivation
observable in the Nibelungenlied and the
Brot af Sigurðarkviðu. Her motivation as a
scorned lover, which is introduced in the
Sigurðarkviða hin skamma and reaches
its apex in the Völsunga saga, is likely a
later development of the Norse tradition
and is possibly inspired by the story of
Tristan and Iseult.[104][105]
Suicide

Theodore M. Andersson and Hans Kuhn

have both argued that Brunhild's suicide
is a later development in the tradition,
possibly modeled after the presumed
original death of Gudrun/Kriemhild in the
burning of Atli/Etzel's hall.[106]

Modern Reception
Amalie Materna, the first singer to play Brünnhilde
in Wagner's Ring.

Modern reception of Brunhild in Germany

begins with the 1755 rediscovery of the
Nibelungenlied; early reception of the
poem, however, largely focused on the
figure of Kriemhild rather than
Brunhild.[107] In Scandinavia, the so-
called "Scandinavian Renaissance"
meant that traditions of Brunhild from
the Edda remained somewhat more
current and even influenced the
Scandinavian ballad tradition to some
degree, in which Brunhild also played a
role.[108][109]
Brunhild became a more important
character in Germany with the
introduction of the Norse material to a
German audience. The Norse versions of
the material were seen as more "original"
and "Germanic", and were thus often
preferred to the courtly
Nibelungenlied.[110] In Friedrich Hebbel's
three-part tragedy Die Nibelungen,
Brunhild comes to symbolize a heathen
past that must be overcome by
Christianity, represented by Dietrich von
Bern.[111]

Richard Wagner's four-part opera cycle

Ring des Nibelungen makes Brunhild into
a major character, mostly according to
the Old Norse sources, but Wagner
occasionally took elements from the
Nibelungenlied or invented them
himself.[112] Wagner refers to his Brunhild
character as Brünnhilde, deriving the -e
ending from the dative of the Middle High
German name and likely respelling Brün-
as Brünn- to make the connection to
modern German Brünne (armor) more
obvious.[113] Wagner's depiction of the
character has largely eclipsed the
original sources in the popular
imagination, with most modern
references to Brunhild deriving from
Wagner in one way or another,
particularly outside of Germany and
Scandinavia.[114]
Brunhild also plays a major role in the
first film of Fritz Lang's duology Die
Nibelungen. Here, she is largely based on
her role in the Nibelungenlied, but also
features some elements taken from the
Norse tradition, namely her relationship
to Siegfried and her suicide.[115]

The majority of modern reception of the

figure in comic books, video games, etc.
does not engage directly with the
medieval sources.[116]

Notes
1. Andersson 1980, p. 5.
2. Heinzle 2013, p. 108.
3. Edwards 2010, p. 34.
 4. Gillespie 1973, p. 15.
5. Gillespie 1973, p. 16.
6. Gentry et al. 2011, p. 58.
7. Uecker 1972, p. 45.
8. Gentry et al. 2011, p. 119.
9. Haymes & Samples 1996, p. 22.
10. Lienert 2015, p. 30.
11. Uecker 1972, p. 38.
12. Millet 2008, p. 305.
13. Andersson 1980, pp. 29, 45, 48-53,
66, 68, 71, 101, 121, 126–127, 146,
191, 214, 216.
14. Millet 2008, p. 291.
15. Gentry et al. 2011, p. 12.
16. Haymes & Samples 1996, p. 127.
17. Sturluson 2005, p. 98.
18. Sturluson 2005, p. 99.
19. Gentry et al. 2011, p. 168.
20. Sturluson 2005, pp. 99–100.
21. Millet 2008, pp. 303–304.
22. Millet 2008, p. 288.
23. Haymes & Samples 1996, p. 121.
24. Haymes & Samples 1996, p. 119.
25. Millet 2008, p. 294.
26. Quinn 2015, pp. 81-82.
27. Millet 2008, pp. 295-296.
28. Larrington 2014, p. 301 n. 27.
29. Larrington 2014, p. 301 n. 15.
30. Würth 2005, p. 424.
31. Millet 2008, p. 296.
32. Larrington 2014, p. 163.
33. Larrington 2014, p. 303.
34. Millet 2008, pp. 296–297.
35. Millet 2008, p. 297.
36. Larrington 2014, p. 176.
37. Larrington 2014, p. 305.
38. Sprenger 1999a, p. 150.
39. Millet 2008, pp. 297-298.
40. Millet 2008, p. 304.
41. Würth 2005, p. 426.
42. Millet 2008, p. 298.
43. Sprenger 1999b, p. 342.
44. Sprenger 1999b, p. 341.
45. Larrington 2014, p. 307 n. 8.
46. Quinn 2015, p. 96.
47. Andersson 1980, p. 236.
48. Millet 2008, p. 319.
49. Millet 2008, p. 313.
50. Haymes & Samples 1996, p. 116.
51. Andersson 1980, p. 237.
52. Millet 2008, p. 316.
53. Andersson 1980, pp. 237–238.
54. Böldl & Preißler 2015.
55. Holzapfel 1974, p. 65.
56. Holzapfel 1974, p. 28.
57. Holzapfel 1974, pp. 28–29.
58. Andersson 1980, pp. 63–65.
59. Quinn 2015, p. 79.
60. Gentry et al. 2011, p. 94.
61. Heinzle 2013, p. 1,138.
62. Millet 2008, p. 181.
63. Lienert 2015, p. 38.
64. Lienert 2015, p. 39.
65. Millet 2008, p. 182.
66. Gentry et al. 2011, pp. 116–117.
67. Millet 2008, pp. 182-183.
68. Lienert 2015, pp. 40-41.
69. Heinzle 2013, p. 350.
70. Heinzle 2013, pp. 1,353–1,354.
71. McKinnell 2014, p. 249.
72. Lienert 2015, p. 59.
73. Millet 2008, p. 233.
74. Millet 2008, pp. 270–273.
75. Millet 2008, pp. 271-272.
76. Haymes 1988, pp. xxvii–xxix.
77. Millet 2008, p. 264.
78. Gentry et al. 2011, p. 120.
79. Haymes & Samples 1996, p. 114.
80. Gillespie 1973, pp. 15-16.
81. Millet 2008, p. 266.
82. Quinn 2015, p. 88.
83. Quinn 2015, p. 89.
84. Lienert 2015, p. 142.
85. Millet 2008, pp. 373–374.
86. Lienert 2015, p. 147.
 87. Millet 2008, p. 377.
88. Andersson 1980, pp. 78–80.
89. Haymes & Samples 1996, p. 146.
90. Larrington 2014, p. 168.
91. Millet 2008, p. 302.
92. Uecker 1972, p. 32.
93. Gillespie 1973, p. 16 n. 2.
94. Millet 2008, p. 166.
95. Gentry et al. 2011, p. 169.
96. Millet 2008, p. 197.
97. Uecker 1972, p. 36.
98. Millet 2008, p. 306.
99. Haymes & Samples 1996, p. 124.
100. Quinn 2015, p. 82.
101. Gentry et al. 2011, pp. 58–59.
102. Andersson 1980, p. 244.
103. Heinzle 2013, p. 1,009.
104. Millet 2008, p. 321.
105. Uecker 1972, p. 37.
106. Andersson 1980, pp. 240–241.
107. Müller 2009, pp. 179-182.
108. Millet 2008, p. 477.
109. Holzapfel 1974, pp. 24-25.
110. Lienert 2015, p. 32.
111. Müller 2009, p. 182.
112. Gentry et al. 2011, pp. 282–283.
113. Haymes 2009, p. 223.
114. Gentry et al. 2011, pp. 222.
115. Voorwinden 2002, pp. 198-201.
116. Lienert 2015, p. 190.

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