Brunehilde, daughter of Odin and Erda

The Rhinegold and the Valkyrie
Arthur Rackham (1867-1939), illustrator , 1910
BnF, département des Arts du spectacle, 4-RIC-33 (1)
Photo © Bibliothèque Nationale de France
Brunehilde or Brynhilde is a character present in various medieval sources telling the story of Sigurd, such as the Prose Edda, the Völsunga Saga, and the Poetic Edda in which she is also called Sigrdrífa, a valkyrie. In the Völsungar Saga, Sigurd discovers Brynhilde asleep, her body tightly constricted by her ring armor. He then sets about loosening the armor, which awakens the young woman. Richard Wagner made her one of the central characters of his opera, whose appearance in 19th-century portrayals still feeds into representations of the Valkyries in many media today.