Gudrun
Related Category: German Literature
(g
´dr
n) or
Kudrun(k
´–), in Germanic literature.
1 Heroine of the Icelandic epic, the Volsungasaga.
2 Heroine and title person of an anonymous Middle High German epic written shortly after and strongly influenced by the Nibelungenlied (see under
Nibelungen). The epic tells the story of Hilde, Hagen's sister, and of the abduction of her daughter Gudrun.
3 Principal character of the Icelandic
Laxdaelasaga, introduced to English readers by William Morris through his “Lovers of Gudrun” in
The Earthly Paradise. Wagner's Gutrune (in the
Götterdämmerung) is not Gudrun but corresponds to Kriemhild of the
Nibelungenlied.