Presenter: Basil Price
Faculty Mentor: Gantt Gurley, Michael Peixoto
Presentation Type: Oral
Primary Research Area: Humanities
Major: Art, Medieval Studies
The legend of Sigurd the Dragonslayer is one of the most long-lived heroic tales in the European imagination, and the characters of Sigurd Fafnisbane, Gudrun, and Brynhild are legendary. Nonetheless, the character of Brynhild, described by Theodore Andersson as “the most complete psychological portrait, male or female in Icelandic literature” saw constant evolution and change. Her place within the legend is dependent upon missing sources, such as the hypothetical Lay of Brynhild, and the lost Meiri text. Her role is further complicated by changes in the narrative due to Christianization and regional variation between Icelandic and Germanic versions. The Icelandic narrative emphasizes her heroic traits, her self-determination, and her magical properties. But the Germanic variations are not nearly as positive, reducing her character to an eroticized prize for Sigurd to win. Although there are incongruities between Icelandic The Saga of the Volsungs and The Poetic Edda, by analyzing specific, shared motifs in conjunction with the Germanic Thidrek’s saga, it is possible to evaluate Brynhild’s role in the lost Meiri manuscript. Her virginity, her reaction to Sigurd’s death, and her relationship with Gudrun throughout the texts indicate that, just as Andersson claimed, Brynhild’s role in the Meiri is one of complex psychology, heroic self-agency, and laughter.