Gudrun ( ; ) or Kriemhild ( ; ) is the wife of Sigurd/Siegfried and a major figure in Germanic heroic legend and literature. She is believed to have her origins in Ildico, last wife of Attila the Hun, and two queens of the Merovingian dynasty, Brunhilda of Austrasia and Fredegund.
In both the Continental (German) and Scandinavian traditions, Gudrun/Kriemhild is the sister of the Burgundian king Gunther/Gunnar and marries the hero Siegfried/Sigurd. Both traditions also feature a major rivalry between Gudrun and Brunhild, Gunther's wife, over their respective ranks. In both traditions, once Sigurd has been murdered, Gudrun is married to Etzel/Atli, the legendary analogue of Attila the Hun. In the Norse tradition, Atli desires the hoard of the Nibelungen, which the Burgundians had taken after murdering Sigurd, and invites them to his court; intending to kill them. Gudrun then avenges her brothers by killing Atli and burning down his hall. The Norse tradition then tells of her further life as mother of Svanhild and enemy of Jormunrekr. In the continental tradition, Kriemhild instead desires revenge for her brothers' murder of Siegfried, and invites them to visit Etzel's court intending to kill them. Her revenge destroys both the Huns and the Burgundians, and in the end she herself is killed.
In Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, Siegfried's wife is known as Gutrune. As Wagner's cycle ends with Siegfried's funeral and its immediate aftermath, it does not include her marriage to Atli/Etzel or revenge for Siegfried's death.
Some of the differences and similarities between Gudrun and Kriemhild in the Scandinavian and continental Germanic traditions can be seen in the following two stanzas taken from original sources. The first is Kriemhild's introduction in the Nibelungenlied:
And this is how Gudrun is described at the end of the Eddic poem Atlakviða:
Etymology The etymology of Gudrun (Guðrún) is straightforward: it consists of two elements. The first is Proto-Germanic *gunþ-, Old Norse gunnr, meaning battle; it shows the typical North Sea Germanic loss of a nasal before a dental spirant (*Gunþrūn to Guðrún). The second element is Old Norse rún, meaning "secret". On the continent, this name is only attested for an apparently unrelated figure (see Kudrun).
The etymology of Kriemhild is less clear. The second element is clearly -hild, meaning "battle" or "conflict". There is no consensus about the first element though, and it is also variously spelled Grim- and Crem-. One theory derives it from a root *Grīm- (cf. Old English grīma) meaning "mask". Another theory connects it an otherwise unattested root Krēm-. According to both theories, the form Grim- with a short vowel represents an alteration of the original root to be more similar to the word grim, meaning "terrible". Yet another theory derives the first element from a verb similar to Middle High German grimmen, meaning "to rage".
In the Scandinavian tradition, Gudrun's mother is known as Grimhild (Grimhildr), the cognate name to Kriemhild. Victor Millet suggests that the name, along with the mother's wickedness, may derive from the continental tradition.
Scholarly opinion diverges as to which name is more original: either both names are old, the name Gudrun is the original name and the name Kriemhild a later invention, or the name Kriemhild is the original name and the name Gudrun was created to share the same first element as the other Burgundians Gunther (Gunnar) and Guthorm (see Gundomar I).
Origins Gudrun is believed to have her origins in two historical figures who featured in two originally independent traditions, one about the death of Sigurd and another about the destruction of the Burgundians by the Huns.
In the first instance, Gudrun's quarrel with Brunhild, which results in Sigurd's death at the urging of the latter, is widely thought to have its origins in the quarrel between the two historical Frankish queens, Brunhilda of Austrasia and Fredegund, the latter of whom had Brunhild's husband Sigebert I murdered by his brother Chilperic I, her husband. In the oral tradition, Brunhilda's name has become attached to the murderer rather than the wife. The second element of Fredegund's name, meanwhile, corresponds with the first in Gudrun's.
In the case of the destruction of the Burgundians, Gudrun can be traced to Attila's wife Ildico, who was rumored to have murdered him. The written form Ildico is generally taken to represent the Germanic name *Hildiko, which would be a diminutive form of the name Hild and would thus correspond to the second element in Kriemhild.
Continental Germanic traditions and attestations Nibelungenlied
Kriemhild is the main character of the Nibelungenlied (c. 1200): she is the first character to be introduced and the romance ends with her death. The poem is even called "Kriemhild" in at least one manuscript. It has even been argued that the epic represents a sort of Bildungsroman for Kriemhild, as she develops from a relatively mild-manner courtly lady into a forceful and ferocious avenger of her dead husband. Various versions of the text judge her actions differently; in the A and B versions, she is condemned as a vâlendinne (fiend) for her bloody revenge, but the C version emphasizes her love for her dead husband as her motivation and absolves her of most blame.
In the Nibelungenlied, Kriemhild is the daughter of king Dancrat and queen Ute of Burgundy, a kingdom centered around Worms. Her brothers are Gunther, Gernot, and Giselher, with Gunther being the king. The poem opens when Kriemhild has a dream that she raised a falcon only to see it killed by two eagles. Her mother explains to her that this means she will love a man very much, but he will be killed. One day, Siegfried comes to the Burgundian court, intending to woo Kriemhild. The two do not speak for a year, but once Siegfried has helped the Burgundians in a war the two are allowed to see each other for the first time. They fall deeply in love and see each other daily. Once Siegfried has helped Kriemhild's brother king Gunther acquire Brunhild as his bride, Kriemhild and Siegfried are also married. The couple then leaves from Siegfried's own kingdom at Xanten.
Some years pass, and Kriemhild and Siegfried have a son whom they name Gunther. One day, Brunhild, who had been convinced that Siegfried was Gunther's vassal rather than an equal king, convinces Gunther to invite his sister and Siegfried to stay with them at Worms. Initially, Brunhild and Kriemhild get along, but in the private while they are watching a tournament, they soon argue over which of them has the highest ranking husband. Brunhild accuses Kriemhild of being married to a vassal. The queens part in anger. Later, the two queens encounter each other before entering the cathedral at Worms for mass. Brunhild and Kriemhild each insist that they should be allowed to enter the church before the other. Brunhild repeats her accusation that Kriemhild is married to a vassal publicly. Kriemhild then declares that Siegfried, and not Gunther, has taken Brunhild's virginity, displaying Brunhild apparent proof. Kriemhild then enters the church before Brunhild.
Siegfried is forced to publicly deny the accusation to Gunther, and beats Kriemhild to punish her. Brunhild is not satisfied, however, and Hagen convinces Gunther to have Siegfried murdered. Under the pretext that he wants to protect Siegfried, Hagen convinces Kriemhild to reveal the only spot where impenetrable Siegfried may be wounded. Once Siegfried is murdered while hunting with Hagen and Gunther, his body is thrown in front of Kriemhild's bedroom door. Kriemhild quickly realizes that Siegfried was murdered by Gunther and Hagen. Kriemhild sees to Siegfried's burial and refuses to return to Xanten with Siegfried's father, instead remaining in Worms near her family and Siegfried's tomb. Eventually, Gunther and his brothers are able to reconcile with Kriemhild, but she refuses to forgive Hagen. Kriemhild has the hoard of the Nibelungen, which she has inherited after Siegfried's death, brought to Worms. She uses the hoard to acquire warriors; Hagen, realizing that she is dangerous, conspires to steal the hoard and sink it in the Rhine.
Thirteen years later, king Etzel of the Huns seeks Kriemhild's hand in marriage, and she reluctantly agrees. Thirteen years after her arrival in Etzel's kingdom, she convinces Etzel to invite her brothers to a feast. Gunther agrees and the Burgundians and their vassals arrive at Etzel's court. Kriemhild greets her brothers but mockingly asks Hagen whether he has brought her what he stole at Worms. Later, Kriemhild confronts Hagen with a group of Huns, and Hagen provokes her by bragging that he killed Siegfried. None of the Huns is brave enough to attack, and the Burgundians prevent an attack that Kriemhild had planned for that night. The next day, Kriemhild convinces Etzel's brother Bloedelin to attack the Burgundians' supplies; this occurs while Etzel, Kriemhild, and their son Ortlieb are seated in the hall with Burgundians. Upon hearing of the attack, Hagen decapitates the Hunnish prince. Fighting erupts, but Dietrich von Bern arranges for Kriemhild and Etzel to leave the hall. Kriemhild later demands that Gunther surrender Hagen to her, but he refuses: she then has the hall set on fire. Eventually, Dietrich von Bern captures Gunther and Hagen as the last survivors in the hall, handing them over to Kriemhild. Kriemhild separates the two and demands that Hagen give back to her what he has taken from her. Hagen says he cannot tell her where the hoard is as long as his lord Gunther lives; Kriemhild then has Gunther decapitated. Hagen then reveals that the hoard is in the Rhine; Kriemhild takes Siegfried's sword, which Hagen had stolen, and beheads him with it herself. Dietrich's mentor Hildebrand, outraged that a woman has killed a great warrior, then hacks Kriemhild to pieces.
Nibelungenklage Although Kriemhild does not appear as a living character in the Nibelungenklage, the sequel to the Nibelungenlied, the poem nevertheless goes to great lengths to absolve her of blame for the catastrophe of the Nibelungenlied. According to the Nibelungenklage, Kriemhild was acting out of true love for Siegfried and the true treachery was that of Hagen. This is underlined by having Hildebrand specifically blame Hagen for the disaster, calling him a vâlant (fiend), the male counterpart to the accusation that Kriemhild is a vâlandinne (fiend).
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. Therefore, it is included here.
In the Thidrekssaga, Grimhild (Kriemhild) is the daughter of king Aldrian of Niflungaland and Oda, sister of king Gunnar (Gunther), Gisler (Giselher), and Gernoz (Gernot), and half sister of Högni (Hagen). When Sigurd (Siegfried) comes to Gunnar's kingdom one day, he marries Grimhild and suggests that Gunnar marry Brunhild. Some time later, Grimhild and Brunhild argue over precedent in the king's hall. Brunhild accuses Grimhild of not even being married to a man of noble birth, whereupon Grimhild reveals that Sigurd and not Gunnar took Brunhild's virginity, showing a ring that Sigurd had given her as proof. Brunhild then agitates for Sigurd's murder; once Grimhild's brothers have murdered Sigurd, they place his corpse in her bed.