The ‘dragonish’ Brynhild in Guðrúnarkviða I: a historical counterpart in frankish hagiography

Szoke Veronka

2021-01-01

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Abstract

The paper explores the characterisation of Brynhild in the Guðrúnarkviða I by examining her depiction as a "dragonish" figure in Old Norse literature. It suggests a parallel between Brynhild and Brunhild, the historical queen from the Merovingian period, whose vilification in Frankish hagiography mirrors Brynhild's demonic portrayal in Norse sources. The paper argues that both figures, the literary Brynhild and the historical Brunhild, were depicted with supernatural or monstrous traits, as part of a broader cultural pattern in medieval literature and, specifically, enriches the understanding of how powerful female figures were vilified and demonised in medieval texts through the use of mythological and hagiographical imagery.