Brynhild

Sigurd cut through the woman’s corslet with Gram, from the neck downwards, and released her from the spell that held her asleep. He had found her on Hindarfell, inside a shield-wall beneath a banner. She lay in helmet and armour, and the armour seemed to have grown into her flesh. When she awoke, she was called Sigrdrifa, and she was a valkyrie. This episode appears in Sigrdrífumál, with related material in the Völsunga saga.

Sigrdrifa told Sigurd why Odin had punished her. Two kings had fought. One was Hjalmgunnar, an old and powerful warrior whom Odin had promised to help. The other was Agnar, brother of Auda, whom no one wished to defend. Sigrdrifa brought Hjalmgunnar down in battle. Odin then struck her with a sleep-thorn. He decreed that she would never again win in battle and that she must marry. She answered that she had sworn a counter-oath to marry no man who knew fear.

Sigurd asked her to teach him wisdom, since she had knowledge from all the worlds. She invoked the Æsir, the goddesses, and the fruitful earth, asking them to grant the pair eloquence, understanding, and healing hands throughout their lives. She then gave him counsel about runes and conduct. Her teaching covered battle, oaths, medicine, speech, and proper behaviour. Among these were speech-runes, which were to be wound, woven, and set together at the public assembly where people gave judgement. Sigrdrífumál presents these runes as magical knowledge.

The poem breaks off after this teaching because the manuscript is incomplete. The Völsunga saga supplies a continuation in which Sigurd and the valkyrie become betrothed, after which he leaves for Giuki’s court. The poem itself preserves the awakening and the counsel; the betrothal and departure come from the later saga.

Brunhild refused to consummate her marriage to Gunther and declared that she would not yield to him. When night came, Gunther barred the chamber door with two stout bolts and hid the lights behind the bed curtains. Siegfried lay beside Brunhild in Gunther’s place, while Gunther remained nearby and listened. Brunhild soon threw Siegfried from the bed against a stool. His head struck it with great force, but he rose and tried again. This episode is told in the Nibelungenlied.

She seized him and carried him with irresistible strength, crushing him between the wall and a coffer. Siegfried fought back in silence. He closed with her and struggled until he overcame her. Brunhild gripped his hands so tightly that blood spurted from beneath his nails, yet he forced her to abandon the resolve she had declared. During the struggle, he took a golden ring from her finger and removed her girdle, a splendid ornament. He later gave both objects to Kriemhild. Gunther then lay with Brunhild, and her strength left her when the marriage was consummated. She became no stronger than any other woman.

The ring and girdle later became evidence in a quarrel between the two women. Kriemhild wore them and said that Brunhild had called her a paramour. Brunhild saw the girdle she had lost and her red gold ring. She accused Kriemhild of declaring that Siegfried had made her his concubine, and demanded that Gunther clear her honour. Gunther summoned Siegfried and asked him to answer the charge.

Kriemhild produced the objects as proof that Siegfried had been Brunhild’s first man. The same girdle was linked to Brunhild’s earlier struggle with Gunther, when he could not loosen it and she hung him against the wall. Gunther knew the facts, including Siegfried’s great strength and his horn-hard skin. Siegfried’s secret defeat of Brunhild had therefore left the signs of the struggle in Kriemhild’s possession.

Brynhild gave victory to the mortal king Agnar, although Odin had favoured the warrior Hjalmgunnar. Her choice made Agnar the victor and denied Hjalmgunnar the result that Odin had wanted for him. Brynhild acted as a valkyrie, and her decision went against Odin’s will.

The tale named Agnar and Hjalmgunnar as the two men involved. It called Agnar a mortal king and called Hjalmgunnar a warrior favoured by Odin. It gave no wider history for either man. It also gave no account of the contest beyond its result, so Agnar’s victory followed Brynhild’s choice without further details of the fighting.

Brynhild’s action was an act of disobedience. Odin had intended victory for Hjalmgunnar, but Brynhild awarded it to Agnar instead. The tale did not say that Odin imposed a punishment for this act, nor did it describe what happened to Agnar or Hjalmgunnar after the decision.

In another telling, a valkyrie disobeyed Odin and was placed in a deep sleep. A wall of flame surrounded her. That telling did not say that the punishment followed Brynhild’s choice between Agnar and Hjalmgunnar. It also did not identify either man. In parts of the story of Sigurd, Brynhild and Sigrdrifa remained distinct, while another telling combined some of their roles. These differences did not change the event: Brynhild disobeyed Odin by giving victory to Agnar instead of Hjalmgunnar.