In
Norse mythology, 'Gunnr' or 'Guðr' is one of the
valkyries. The name means "battle" and is cognate with the English word "
gun".
The earliest attestation of the name is on the
Rök Stone where it occurs as part of a
kenning for
wolf:
:Þat sagum tvalfta, hvar hæst
R se Gunna
R etu vettvangi a, kununga
R tvai
R tigi
R svað a liggia.
Translation:
:I say this the twelfth, where the horse of Gunnr sees fodder on the battlefield, where twenty kings lie...''
In
Snorri's
Edda Gunnr is singled out along with
Róta and
Skuld as one of the valkyries who always ride out to choose the slain and decide battles:
''Guðr ok Róta ok norn in yngsta, er Skuld heitir, ríða jafnan at kjósa val ok ráða vígum.''
Gunnr is also mentioned in the
Völuspá:
:''Sá hon valkyrjur''
:''vítt um komnar''
:''görvar at ríða''
:''til Goðþjóðar:''
:''Skuld hélt skildi,''
:''en Skögul önnur,''
:''Gunnr, Hildr, Göndul''
:''ok Geirskögul;''
:''nú eru talðar''
:''nönnur Herjans,''
:''görvar at ríða''
:''grund valkyrjur.''
And in
Darraðarljóð:
| :''Vindum, vindum'':''vef darraðar'':''ok siklingi'':''síðan fylgjum!'':''Þar sjá bragna'':''blóðgar randir'':''Guðr ok Göndul,'':''er grami hlífðu.'' |
No individual characteristics of Gunnr are known to us and she does not appear as a character in any extant myth.