A Life Retold on the Road to Hel

What did Brynhild tell on the road to Hel?

At the beginning of *Brynhild's Ride to Hel*, Sigurd and Brynhild are burned on separate pyres. Brynhild has been laid in a wagon covered with fine cloth. In this wagon, she travels along the road to Hel. Beside a house of rock, she meets a giantess.

The giantess accuses her of pursuing another woman's husband. She also blames her for bringing death to Gjuki's children. Brynhild begins to tell the story of her life from the wagon.

She says that she brought about the death of the old king Hjalmgunnar and gave victory to a young king instead. This angered Odin. He decreed that only someone who knew no fear could wake her. Flames were kindled around her hall.

In this poem, she says that she shared Sigurd's bed for 8 nights. Like brother and sister, neither touched the other. Later, Gudrun's words revealed that she had been deceived at her marriage. She ends by declaring that she and Sigurd will live together.

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