Editing Gudrun (section)

==Etymology==
The etymology of ''Gudrun'' (''Guðrún'') is straightforward: it consists of two elements. The first is Proto-Germanic ''*gunþ-'', Old Norse ''gunnr'', meaning battle; it shows the typical [[North Sea Germanic]] loss of a nasal before a dental spirant (''*Gunþrūn'' to ''Guðrún'').{{sfn|Gillespie|1973|p=22}} The second element is Old Norse ''rún'', meaning secret.{{sfn|Uecker|1972|pp=44–45}} On the continent, this name is only attested for an apparently unrelated figure (see ''[[Kudrun]]'').{{sfn|Gentry|McConnell|Müller|Wunderlich|2011|p=75}}

The etymology of ''Kriemhild'' is less clear. The second element is clearly ''-hild'', meaning battle or conflict.{{sfn|Uecker|1972|p=45}} There is no consensus about the first element though, and it is also variously spelled ''Grim-'' and ''Crem-''. One theory derives it from a root ''*Grīm-'' (cf. [[Old English]] ''grīma'') meaning mask.{{sfn|Gillespie|1973|pp=21–22 n. 12}} Another theory connects it an otherwise unattested root ''Krēm-''.{{sfn|Gillespie|1973|pp=21–22 n. 12}} According to both theories, the form ''Grim-'' with a short vowel represents an alteration of the original root to be more similar to the word ''grim'', meaning terrible.{{sfn|Gillespie|1973|pp=21–22 n. 12}} Yet another theory derives the first element from a verb similar to Middle High German ''grimmen'', meaning to rage.{{sfn|Uecker|1972|p=45}}

In the Scandinavian tradition, Gudrun's mother is known as [[Grimhild]] (''Grimhildr''), the cognate name to Kriemhild.{{sfn|Gentry|McConnell|Müller|Wunderlich|2011|p=75}} Victor Millet suggests that the name, along with the mother's wickedness, may derive from the continental tradition.{{sfn|Millet|2008|pp=305-306}}

Scholarly opinion diverges as to which name is more original: either both names are old,{{sfn|Rosenfeld|1981|p=232}} the name ''Gudrun'' is the original name and the name ''Kriemhild'' a later invention,{{sfn|Uecker|1972|p=45}} or the name ''Kriemhild'' is the original name and the name ''Gudrun'' was created to share the same first element as the other Burgundians ''[[Gunther]]'' (''Gunnar'') and ''Guthorm'' (see [[Gundomar I]]).{{sfn|Gentry|McConnell|Müller|Wunderlich|2011|p=75}}