Grimhild- Germanic FigureMortal"Queen of the Burgundians"
Also known as: Grímhildr, Ute, and Uote
Description
She brewed the potion that erased Sigurd's memory of Brynhild, married her daughter Gudrun to the man who had forgotten his oath, and then married her to Atli after the first husband lay dead. Every alliance Grimhild forged served her dynasty, and every one ended in catastrophe.
Mythology & Lore
The Potion of Forgetfulness
When Sigurd arrived at the Burgundian court, Grimhild recognized his value and wanted him for her daughter Gudrun. In the Völsunga saga, she brews a magical potion that erases Sigurd's memory of Brynhild entirely. With his oath and his love wiped clean, Sigurd falls in love with Gudrun and agrees to help Grimhild's son Gunnar win Brynhild as his own bride.
Brynhild, believing herself betrayed by the man who swore to love her, engineered Sigurd's death. Gudrun was left a widow. The cursed gold passed to the Burgundian kings.
The Second Marriage
After Sigurd's death, Grimhild arranged her daughter's fate a second time. In Guðrúnarkviða II, she persuades the grieving Gudrun to marry Atli, king of the Huns, brewing another potion to ease her resistance. This second marriage led to catastrophe: Atli murdered Gudrun's brothers to seize the Nibelung gold, and Gudrun took revenge by killing her own sons, serving their flesh to Atli, and murdering him in his bed.
Ute in the Nibelungenlied
In the German Nibelungenlied, the queen mother appears as Ute, stripped of the Norse Grimhild's sorcerous powers. Ute is a pious, anxious mother who has prophetic dreams warning of disaster. Before Kriemhild's journey to Etzel's court, she dreams of birds being killed. She begs Kriemhild not to go, but her warnings go unheeded. The Norse Grimhild brewed potions and bent fate to her will. Ute could only dream of what was coming and watch her children walk toward it.