Brunhilda

Brunhilda is a Germanic given name derived from the Old High German Brūnhild, typically interpreted as meaning “armored in battle” or “armed for battle.” The name has many variants, including Brünhild, Brünnhilde, and Brunhilde, and has appeared in historical records as well as in medieval and modern fiction.

Historically, Brunhilda of Austrasia (c. 543–613), also known as Brunichilde, was a Visigothic princess who became queen consort of Sigebert I of Austrasia. She exercised political influence during and after his reign and played a dominant role in Merovingian politics, frequently clashing with Fredegund, the wife of Chilperic I. After a long period of power struggles, she was defeated and executed in 613, an event that marked a turning point in Frankish dynastic history. Her life is a subject of medieval chronicles and later legend, influencing later literary and artistic depictions of power and intrigue.

In legendary and literary traditions, Brünnhilde (also rendered Brunhilda) is a Valkyrie in Germanic myth. In Norse sources she is a daughter of Odin and a central figure in later medieval retellings; in the Nibelungenlied she appears as a queen associated with Iceland, around whom a tale of love, deceit, and catastrophe unfolds. The most famous modern interpretation is Richard Wagner’s Brünnhilde in the Der Ring des Nibelungen, where she is a complex, pivotal character whose choices drive the plot across the cycle.

Today, Brunhilda remains a given name in German-speaking and Nordic countries, with various spellings reflecting linguistic and cultural differences.