Gunther
[2] Gunther appears as a legendary character in Latin, Middle High German, Old Norse, and Old English texts, as well as in various pictorial depictions from Scandinavia.
Most significantly, he plays a role in the German Nibelungenlied, the medieval Latin Waltharius, and the Old Norse Poetic Edda and Völsunga saga.
He also plays an important role in Richard Wagner's operatic Ring cycle, which is based on the medieval legends of Sigurd.
[4] The name of the historical Gundahar is attested in the primary sources as Latin Gundaharius or Gundicharius and Greek Γυντιάριος (Gyntiarios).
[5] Medieval Latin gives the name of the legendary figure as Guntharius, while Anglo-Saxon has Gūðhere, Old Norse has Gunnarr, and Middle High German has Gunther.
[5][9] In the 430s, the Burgundians came under increasing pressure from the Huns; likely as a reaction to this Gundahar attacked the Roman province Belgica Prima (based around Trier) in 435.
[7] The Burgundians were defeated by the Roman general Flavius Aetius, who nevertheless confirmed Gundahar and his people's rights to their kingdom.
[13] The Waltharius is a Latin epic that reworks the legend of Walter of Aquitaine; it is conventionally dated to around 1000, but some scholars argue that it was produced in the Carolingian period.
[17] When Walter and his love Hiltgunt flee the Huns, taking much treasure, they enter into Gunther's kingdom by crossing the Rhine by Worms.
He is the son of King Dancrat and Queen Ute and rules together with his royal brothers Giselher and Gernot, and his sister is named Kriemhild.
When only he and Hagen are left alive, Dietrich von Bern defeats and captures the two after his offers to surrender are rejected.
Told by Hagen that he will only reveal the location of the hoard of the Nibelungs once Gunther is dead, Kriemhild has her brother beheaded.
[26] He is the son of King Aldrian and Queen Oda and brother of Grimhild (Kriemhild), Gernoz (Gernot), and Gisler (Giselher), and half-brother of Högni (Hagen).
[27] Gunnar first appears when he takes part in the expedition of twelve heroes to Bertangenland organized by Thidrek (Dietrich von Bern).
[34][35] The saga's version of the downfall of the Burgundians represents a unique mix of elements known from the Norse and continental traditions.
[36] Some elements that are closer to the Norse version may reflect genuine Low German traditions: a "snake tower" (Schlangenturm) is attested as having existed in Soest until the end of the eighteenth century.
[44] Brot af Sigurðarkviðu is only preserved fragmentarily: the surviving part of the poem tells the story of Sigurd's murder.
Soon after the murder occurs, Gunnar shows himself to be deeply concerned about the future, while Brunhild admits that she lied to have Sigurd killed.
[46] Sigurðarkviða hin skamma retells the story of Sigurd's life from his arrival at Gunnar's court to his murder.
Gunnar and Högni decide that the death of Sigurd is not as bad as losing the queen, so they have their brother Guthorm murder him in his bed.
[47] The Dráp Niflunga is a short prose section connecting the death of Sigurd to the following poems about the Burgundians (Niflungs) and Atli (Attila).
[49] Oddrun appears to be a late addition to the legend, perhaps created so that the poet could "tell the story of the fall of the Nibelungs from a different point of view.
[49] In Atlakviða, Atli invites Högni and Gunnar to his hall, claiming to wish to offer them great riches, but actually intending to kill them.
[51] Atlakviða is commonly supposed to be one of the oldest poems in the Poetic Edda, possibly dating from the ninth century.
[53] The presence of the forest Myrkviðr and the timelessness of the story show the poem to have moved into the realm of myth rather than historical legend.
[54] Alternatively, Myrkviðr could refer to the Ore Mountains, which are called Miriquidui by the historian Thietmar of Merseburg in the eleventh century.
[57] The author appears to have been working in Norway and to have known the Thidrekssaga (c. 1250), a translation of continental Germanic traditions into Old Norse (see Þiðrekssaga above).
[63] Only one potential depiction is located outside of Scandinavia, on the Isle of Man: the Kirk Andreas cross (c. 1000) shows a bound figure surrounded by snakes who has been identified as Gunnar.
[70] Guðmundsdóttir suggests that the picture stone Klinte Hunninge I from Gotland (ninth/tenth century) may depict a version of the story of Oddrun's aid to Gunnar, as it shows an unidentified female figure by the snake pit.
[68] She argues in favor of identifying the figure in the snake pit in all of these images with Gunnar, noting their apparent shared iconography.
