Brunhild
Brunhild, also known as Brunhilda or Brynhild, is a female character from Germanic heroic legend. She may have her origins in the Visigothic princess and queen 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 Siegfried 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 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." The Nibelungenlied introduces her by saying:
Etymology
The name Brunhild in its various forms is derived from the equivalents of Old High German brunia and hiltia. The name is first attested in the sixth century, for the historical Brunhilda of Austrasia, as Brunichildis.In the context of the heroic tradition, the first element of her name may be connected to Brunhild's role as a shieldmaiden. 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.
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. 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.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 Ildibad, and the king's wife then had Uraias murdered.
Scandinavian traditions and attestations
Brunhild was a popular figure in Scandinavia, 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.Prose Edda
The Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson is the earliest attestation of the Scandinavian version of Brunhild's life, dating to around 1220. Snorri tells the story of Brunhild in several chapters of the section of the poem called Skáldskaparsmál. His presentation of the story is very similar to that found in the Völsunga saga, but is considerably shorter.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.
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.
File:Rose Caron Brunehild by Benque 1884.jpg|thumb|336x336px|French operatic soprano Rose Caron as Brunhild at Théâtre de La Monnaie, Brussels, 1884
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. It is possible that Snorri's account of the quarrel between Brunhild and Gudrun derives from a lost Eddic poem.
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. A large number of poems deal with the relationship between Sigurd and Brunhild, which seems to have been of special interest to the compiler.Generally, none of the poems in the collection is thought to be older than 900 AD and some appear to have been written in the thirteenth century. 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. Much of the Brunhild material is taken to have a relatively recent origin.
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.The poem appears to distinguish between Sigrdrífa in the following Sigrdrífumál and Brunhild as two different women. It also seems to identify Sigrdrífa with the valkyrie Sigrún from the preceding poems in the Edda about Helgi Hundingsbane.
It is generally taken to be a late poem that was written on the basis of the other poems about Sigurd's life.
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.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. She proceeds to teach Sigurd wisdom and the runes.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.
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.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. In a prose section at the close of the poem, Brunhild commits suicide with several slaves.The dialogue between Brunhild and Gudrun is characterized by immense hostility, and Brunhild is portrayed as evil.
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.Although the title indicates the poem is about Sigurd, the majority of the poem is actually concerned with Brunhild, who justifies her actions. The song is generally thought to be a recent composition.
Helreið Brynhildar
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. Brunhild hopes to spend the afterlife together with Sigurd.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. Odin himself is portrayed as requiring that only a man who knows no fear could awaken her. The song portrays Brunhild as a victim and she achieves a sort of apotheosis at the end.