Meaning and history
Gudrun is a name from Old Norse Guðrún, meaning “god’s secret lore,” formed from guð “god” and rún “secret lore, rune.” In Norse legend, Gudrun was Sigurd’s wife; after his death she married Atli, but when he killed her brothers she killed their sons, fed him their hearts, and then slew him. Her story appears in Norse works such as the Eddas and the Völsungasaga, and she is known as Kriemhild in German versions of the tale. The name is also borne by an unrelated character in the medieval German epic Kudrun.