Editing Brunhild (section)

== Modern culture ==

[[File:Maternagrane.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Amalie Materna]], the first singer to play Brünnhilde in Wagner's ''[[Ring des Nibelungen]]'']]

Modern reception of Brunhild in Germany begins with the 1755 rediscovery of the ''Nibelungenlied''; early reception of the poem, however, largely focused on the figure of Kriemhild rather than Brunhild.{{sfn|Müller|2009|pp=179–182}} In Scandinavia, the so-called "Scandinavian Renaissance" meant that traditions of Brunhild from the ''Edda'' remained somewhat more current and even influenced the Scandinavian ballad tradition to some degree, in which Brunhild also played a role.{{sfn|Millet|2008|p=477}}{{sfn|Holzapfel|1974|pp=24–25}}

Brunhild became a more important character in Germany with the introduction of the Norse material to a German audience. The Norse versions of the material were seen as more "original" and "Germanic", and were thus often preferred to the courtly ''Nibelungenlied''.{{sfn|Lienert|2015|p=32}} In [[Friedrich Hebbel]]'s three-part tragedy ''Die Nibelungen'', Brunhild comes to symbolize a heathen past that must be overcome by Christianity, represented by [[Dietrich von Bern]].{{sfn|Müller|2009|p=182}}

Richard Wagner's four-part opera cycle ''[[Ring des Nibelungen]]'' makes Brunhild into a major character, closer in line to the Old Norse sources, but Wagner occasionally took elements from the continental ''Nibelungenlied'' or invented them himself.{{sfn|Gentry|McConnell|Müller|Wunderlich|2011|pp=282–283}} Wagner refers to his Brunhild character as ''Brünnhilde'', deriving the -e ending from the dative of the Middle High German female given name "Hilt" and likely respelling ''Brün-'' as ''Brünn-'' to make the connection to modern German ''Brünne'' (armor) more obvious.{{sfn|Haymes|2009|p=223}} Wagner's depiction of the character has largely eclipsed the original sources in the popular imagination, with most modern references to Brunhild deriving from Wagner in one way or another, particularly outside of Germany and Scandinavia.{{sfn|Gentry|McConnell|Müller|Wunderlich|2011|pp=222}} Brunhild also plays a major role in the first film of [[Fritz Lang]]'s duology ''[[Die Nibelungen]]''. Here, she is largely based on her role in the ''Nibelungenlied'', but also features some elements taken from the Norse tradition, namely her relationship to Siegfried and her suicide.{{sfn|Voorwinden|2002|pp=198–201}}

The majority of modern treatments of the figure in comic books, video games, etc. do not engage directly with the medieval sources.{{sfn|Lienert|2015|p=190}}