Gudrun (Grimhild, Kriemhild)

Wife of the hero Sigurd. Gudrun was the daughter of Giuki and Grimhild. She was the sister of Gunnar, Hogni and Guttorm. In the first lay of Gudrun (Gudrunarkvida I), when Gudrun mourned for Sigurd, she had a sister named Gullrond. But in Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda (41), Gudrun's sister was named Gudny, and Guttorm was only her half-brother (The Song of Hyndla 27).

Gudrun had a vision that her family and Brynhild would cause her husband's death. In the dream, Sigurd was sometimes symbolised as a beautiful falcon with feathers of gold, and at other times as a hart (female deer).

Sigurd was actually in love with Brynhild, whom he was betrothed to (at their first meeting). The hero had no memory of Brynhild however, because Grimhild gave a magic potion to Sigurd. Without his memory of Brynhild, Sigurd fell in love with Gudrun and married her. She became the mother of a daughter named Svanhild and a son named Sigmund (Sigmund Sigurdarson).

Later, some time after Brynhild married her brother Gunnar, Gudrun and Brynhild had an argument. Infuriated by Brynhild's remark about her husband, Gudrun revealed the truth about who rode through the flame for Brynhild, namely Sigurd. Her brother and husband had deceived Brynhild. Enraged by the revelation, Brynhild sought Sigurd's death.

When her brother Guttorm killed Sigurd, her son Sigmund II was killed on the day of the funeral of Sigurd and Brynhild. Brynhild deprived Gudrun of her son. Gudrun could not bear to live with her family anymore, so she ran off with Svanhild and lived for awhile with King Alf of Denmark, Sigurd's stepfather.

Years later, Atli, brother of Brynhild, wanted to have Gudrun's hand in marriage. Her brother (Gunnar) and her mother Grimhild tried to encourage Gudrun to marry Atli. Gudrun, who recalled in her dream that Atli would cause her brothers' death, refused. Grimhild, however, used her potion on Gudrun and made her daughter forget Sigurd.

Gudrun left her daughter behind, and married Atli. By Atli, Gudrun was the mother of two sons, Erpr and Eitill. However, Gudrun was unhappy with the marriage, and later realised that Atli married her so he could get the treasure of Sigurd (which now belonged to her brothers, Gunnar and Hogni), and to avenge Brynhild's death.

Unlike the German tradition, ie. the Nibelungenlied, Gudrun was not interested in Sigurd's treasure, nor did she want to avenge Sigurd upon her brothers, Gunnar and Hogni. Gudrun was more loyal to her brothers than to Atli, her second husband.

Gudrun tried to warn her brothers of Atli's treachery. Atli had invited the Giukings (Niflungs) to Hunland, to visit their sister. Gudrun sent her cursed ring, the Andvaranaut, wrapped around by wolf's hair, to indicate treachery from Atli. Suspecting treachery, the two brothers hid the treasure before leaving home. They sank the treasure in the Rhine. The treasure became known as the Rhinegold. When Atli's men ambushed the Burgundians, Gudrun donned a mail coat, took up the sword, and fought beside her brothers. Eventually all the Burgundian men were slaughtered, while Gunnar and Hogni were captured, and when neither brother would reveal the treasure's whereabouts, they were interrogated before they were killed.

When Atli was celebrating with his followers, and they became intoxicated with wine and mead. Gudrun saw her chance to avenge her brothers. She killed her two sons by Atli, roasting their hearts before serving it to her drunken husband. After Gudrun revealed to her husband what she done, she ran a sword through Atli. Together with her nephew, Niblung the son of Hogni, they killed the other guests by setting the palace on fire.

After killing Atli, she tried to drown herself, but was saved by King Jonakr, whom she married and became the mother of three sons: Hamdir, Sorli, and Erp. When her daughter Svanhild was killed by a jealous king named Jormunrek, she asked her sons to avenge their stepsister's death. All three of her sons died.

There is also a story of Gudrun being a Valkyrie who first fell in love with Helgi, half-brother of Sigurd. She married Helgi until he died, before she even met Sigurd.

In the Third Lay of Gudrun, a poem found in the Poetic Edda, Gudrun's maid Herkia or Herkja had accused Gudrun of committing adultery with Thiodrek (Dietrich). Gudrun bravely pleaded her innocence to her husband Atli. Gudrun was subjected to a trial where she had to retrieve precious stones from a hot, boiling cauldron. Gudrun retrieved the stones, her hand and arm unscalded. Herkia failed the test and her arm was scalded from the ordeal. Herkia was put to death in a bog for her false accusation against the queen.

She should not be confused with Gudrun Osvifrsdottir from the Laxdæla saga.

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In the Germanic literature, Gudrun was identified as Kriemhild, daughter of Aldrian and Uote.

In the Norwegian epic titled Thiðrekssaga (Saga of Thidrek), her name was similar to Kriemhild; in this tale she was called Grimhild, "mask-battle". Grimhild was the daughter of Aldrian or Irung and Oda.

Kriemhild married the hero Siegfried (Sigurd). When her brother Gunther (Gunnar) and his henchman Hagen (Hogni) killed Siegfried, Hagen stole Siegfried's treasure that Gudrun should have inherited. Kriemhild wanted the treasure, so she could use it to avenge her husband's death.

When she could not retrieve the treasure, Kriemhild married Etzel (Atli), king of the Huns. With a new and powerful husband, Kriemhild plotted her brother's death. She pretended that she was reconciled with brother and sent a message to Gunther to come and visit her. Hagen did not trust Kriemhild, so he hid the treasure somewhere on the Rhine River. When Gunther and his followers arrived, Kriemhild tricked Etzel's men into attacking her brother and his followers.

Gunther and Hagen were captured. It was she who killed her own brother Gunther, not her husband Etzel. She killed Gunther to avenge Siegfried's death. Kriemhild also killed her brother's henchman Hagen, when he would not reveal the location of Siegfried's treasure. The German hero Hildebrand, sick of the killing committed by Kriemhild, killed his queen. The Nibelungenlied ended with her death, and the treasure was never recovered. See Kriemhild and the Nibelungenlied.

Gudrun or her German counterpart, Kriemhild, was a vindictive woman, but the heroine had different traditions, which produced two different outcomes.

In the Norse tradition, we have the heroine (Gudrun) who was more loyal to her brothers than her second husband (Atli), despite her brothers being responsible for the death of Sigurd and her son. She set out to avenge her brothers and kill Atli.

In the German tradition, the heroine (Kriemhild) was neither loyal to her second husband (Etzel), nor her brothers. She had a single-minded determination to avenge her first husband (Siegfried) and eliminate her arch-enemy Hagen at all costs. Kriemhild used her husband and her son to sow discord between Etzel's vassals and the Burgundians, and to manipulate the destruction upon her own family. Even her favourite brother Giselher was not spared.

The Norse version was no less horrific, because Gudrun killed her own two sons by Atli, and served their blood and flesh to her intoxicated husband in a feast. The death of her sons was used to taunt her husband, before she cut down Atli with a sword.