Beautiful Amazon-like heroine of ancient Germanic literature. She is known from Old Norse sources, notably the Edda poems and the V&ohookr;lsunga saga, and from the German Nibelungenlied. She also appears in the operas of Richard Wagner's Ring cycle.
She vowed to wed only a man of the most outstanding qualities who could surpass her in strength. She was successfully wooed by King Gunther, who defeated her in a contest in which the deeds were actually performed by Siegfried in cloak of invisibility. When she later discovered that she had been deceived, she exacted vengeance, and Siegfried was killed. Siegfried's widow in turn sought revenge and brought about the destruction of Gunther's people, the Burgundians. In some Norse sources, Brunhild has supernatural qualities and is described as a Valkyrie.
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