Brnhild

Brnhild, often rendered as Brynhildr or Brynhild, is a legendary figure in Norse mythology. In most sources she is described as a valkyrie and shieldmaiden, frequently treated as a daughter of Odin. The name is typically interpreted as referring to armor in battle or a bright, valorous form of combat.

The best-known narrative appears in the Völsunga saga, where Brynhild is placed within a fortress ringed by magical fire. A hero who can cross the fire may win her love, and Sigurd is the figure who succeeds, awakening her with words and forging a bond that becomes central to the saga’s tragedy. Through misfortune, deception, and political intrigue among mortal rulers, Brynhild’s and Sigurd’s union precipitates a sequence of betrayals that ends in violent death and lasting feuds in many variations of the tale.

Brynhild is also associated with the broader role of Valkyrie in Norse myth, where such beings select the slain who are carried to Valhalla. The Brynhild story is summarized in the Prose Edda and is a prominent strand in later Norse and Icelandic literary traditions. The tale has had a wide cultural impact beyond its medieval sources, shaping themes of fate, honor, and doomed love.

Legacy and adaptations extend Brynhild into modern literature, art, and music. In Wagner’s opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen, the character is rendered as Brünnhilde, a central figure whose arc of love and sacrifice has helped fix the name in the broader European mythic canon.