Gunther- Germanic HeroHero"King of the Burgundians"

The Wooing of Brunhild

Gunther, king of the Burgundians, learned of Brunhild, queen of Iceland, who possessed supernatural strength and would marry only the man who defeated her in three contests. Despite the deadly stakes, Gunther was determined to win her. He relied on Siegfried, who stood invisible beside him under the Tarnkappe, performing the feats while the king mimed the motions. Brunhild, believing herself fairly defeated, agreed to marry Gunther.

On the wedding night, Brunhild overpowered Gunther, tied him with her girdle, and hung him from a hook until morning. Siegfried had to invisibly subdue her again, taking her ring and belt as trophies. Only after this second deception did her supernatural strength leave her. These trophies would later become the instruments of catastrophe.

The Fatal Quarrel

When the two queens quarreled over precedence, Kriemhild revealed everything: that Siegfried, not Gunther, had conquered Brunhild. She displayed the ring and belt as proof and called Brunhild a concubine. Brunhild's shame demanded satisfaction. Gunther, caught between his debt to Siegfried and his humiliated wife, allowed his vassal Hagen to plot Siegfried's murder during a hunt.

In the Norse tradition the deception takes a different form. Sigurd and Gunnar exchange shapes through magic, and Sigurd rides through the ring of flames surrounding Brynhild's hall in Gunnar's guise. The tragedy runs deeper: Brynhild was Sigurd's true beloved before Grimhild's potion erased his memory.

The Burgundian Doom

After Siegfried's death, Kriemhild grieved for years, then married Etzel to gain the power for vengeance. She lured the Burgundians to Etzel's court and engineered a catastrophic battle. Gunther fought heroically but was captured by Dietrich von Bern and delivered to Kriemhild. She demanded he reveal where the Nibelung treasure lay hidden in the Rhine. Gunther refused. She had him beheaded.