In
Germanic heroic legend, Gibica becomes the father of the three subsequent kings.
Scandinavian tradition He is mentioned as
Gjúki in the Eddic poem
Atlakviða and also, among further 14 poems, as
Gjúci in the
Atlamál, where he was the father of Gunnar (see
Gunther). Gjúki's sister Gjaflaug is mentioned in the
Guðrúnarkviða I. In the
Prose Edda, Snorri Sturluson says that Gjúki was the father of sons Gunnar and
Hogni and a daughter
Gudrun. Gotthorm (slayer of Sigurd) is his stepson from his wife
Grimhild's previous marriage. The
Prose Edda mentions Gudny, a second daughter of Gjúki and Grimhild. In the
Gudrunarkviða, this second daughter is named Gullrond.
Continental and Anglo-Saxon tradition In the Anglo-Saxon poem
Widsith (8th century), Gibica (Gifica) is mentioned as the ruler of the Burgundians. In
Waltharius (9th century), Gibica appears as Gibicho, the king of
Francia with a capital at Worms, who sends his son Gunther (Guntharius) as a hostage to
Attila; when he dies, Gunther returns to Worms as the new Frankish king. In the
Rosengarten zu Worms (c. 1250), Gibeche (Gippich) is the father of Kriemhild and the other Burgundians; he fights in the combats at Worms and is defeated by Hildebrand, in some versions becoming a vassal to
Dietrich von Bern. He also features as the father of the Burgundian kings in the
Lied vom Hürnen Seyfrid (c. 1300), and the
Heldenbuch-Prosa (c. 1400). The
Nibelungenlied (c. 1200) does not use the name "Gibeche" for the character, nor do the
Nibelungenklage or
Biterolf und Dietleib (c. 1250): these sources call the king Dancrat. The Old Norse
Þiðreks saga, based on German sources, names him either Aldrian or Irungr, depending on the recension, although Gunnarr (Gunther) and his brothers are still sometimes referred to as
Giucungar (sons of Gjúki/Gibeche). ==See also==