Gunnr

Gunnar or Gunner is a valkyrie in Norse mythology. Her name means "battle" and is cognate with the English word "gun". She rode a wolf and took part in selecting the dead warriors together with two other Valkyries in order to bring them to Valhalla.

Rök Stone

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 hæstR se GunnaR etu vettvangi a, kunungaR tvaiR tigiR svað a liggia.

Translation:

I say this the twelfth, where the horse of Gunnr sees fodder on the battlefield, where twenty kings lie...

Poetic Edda

Völuspá

Gunnr is also mentioned in 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.

Darraðarljóð

And in Darraðarljóð:

Vindum, vindum vef darraðar ok siklingi síðan fylgjum! Þar sjá bragna blóðgar randir Guðr ok Göndul, er grami hlífðu.

Prose Edda

In the Prose 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.