Gjúki (also ''Gebicca'', ''Gifica'', ''Gibica'', ''Gebicar'', ''Gibicho'' or ''Gippich'') was a figure of

Germanic heroic legend Germanic heroic legend () is the heroic literary tradition of the Germanic peoples, Germanic-speaking peoples, most of which originates or is set in the Migration Period (4th-6th centuries AD). Stories from this time period, to which others were ...

. The historical Gibica is listed as the ancestor of the kings of the Burgundians, along with Gundomar, Gislaharius, and Gundaharius, in the

Lex Burgundionum The ''Lex Burgundionum'' (Latin for Burgundian Laws, also ''Lex Gundobada'') refers to the law code of the Burgundians, probably issued by king Gundobad. It is influenced by Roman law and deals with domestic laws concerning marriage and inherit ...

(516 AD). While Gundaharius is attested in Roman sources, no other information about Gibica or Gundomar and Gislaharius is known and the ''Lex'' does not indicate how the kings are related. In later legend, Gibica becomes the father of the three subsequent kings. He is mentioned in

Widsith "Widsith" (, "far-traveller", lit. "wide-journey"), also known as "The Traveller's Song", is an Old English poem of 143 lines. It survives only in the '' Exeter Book'' (''pages 84v–87r''), a manuscript of Old English poetry compiled in the la ...

as ''Gifica'' and as ''Gjúki'' in the eddic poem ''

Atlakviða ''Atlakviða'' (''The Lay of Atli'') is one of the heroic poems of the ''Poetic Edda''. One of the main characters is Atli who originates from Attila the Hun. It is one of the most archaic Eddic poems, possibly dating to as early as the 9th cent ...

'', where he was the father of Gunnar (see

Gunther Gundaharius or Gundahar (died 437), better known by his legendary names Gunther () or Gunnar (), was a historical King of the Burgundians in the early 5th century. Gundahar is attested as ruling his people shortly after they crossed the Rhine ...

). While the name Gibech is replaced with Dancrat in the

Nibelungenlied The (, or ; or ), translated as ''The Song of the Nibelungs'', is an epic poetry, epic poem written around 1200 in Middle High German. Its anonymous poet was likely from the region of Passau. The is based on an oral tradition of Germanic hero ...

, other German sources such as the Rosengarten zu Worms use this name for the father of the Burgundian kings. In the ''

Prose Edda The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' () or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often considered to have been to some exten ...

,''

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...

says that Gjúki was the father of sons Gunnar and Hogni and a daughter

Gudrun Gudrun ( ; ) or Kriemhild ( ; ) is the wife of Sigurd/Siegfried and a major figure in Germanic heroic legend and literature. She is believed to have her origins in Ildico, last wife of Attila the Hun, and two queens of the Merovingian dyn ...

. Gotthorm (slayer of Sigurd) is his stepson from his wife

Grimhild In Norse mythology, Grimhild or Grímhildr ("masked battle") was a beautiful but evil sorceress who was married to king Gjúki of Burgundy in the ''Völsunga saga'' where she is the mother of three sons, Gunnar, Hǫgni and Guthormr, and a daug ...

's previous marriage. The ''Prose Edda'' mentions Gudny, a second daughter of Gjúki and Grimhild. In the Gudrunarkvida, this second daughter is named Gullrond.

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* * 4th-century births Year of death unknown Kings of the Burgundians Nibelung tradition Heroes in Norse myths and legends Völsung cycle 4th-century monarchs in Europe 5th-century monarchs in Europe {{Noble-stub

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