1906
[Illustration KING GUNTHER.]
(_After a painting by B. Guth_.)
Gunnar, Gunther, or Gunter, King of Burgundy, was probably a real
personage of the troubled times with which his name is associated--a
period distinguished as much for heroic characters as for tragic
events. Gunther represents the best type of kinghood of his age; a man
swayed by his affections rather than by ambition, who scrupled at
misdeeds, yet yielded to the mastering passions of love; one whose
instincts were loyalty to friends and country, and who shrank from
cruelties to gain his ends, but who fell a victim to woman's
fascinations. History accordingly praises him more for a lover than
for a sovereign.