Guttorm is the half-brother of Gunther, Gernot, Giselher, and Kriemhild — Gibicho's son by another woman, not Grimhild's child, and therefore not bound by the oath of brotherhood that protected Sigurd from his sworn brothers.
In the Völsunga saga, Gutthorm was chosen to kill Sigurd because he alone among the Gjukung brothers had not sworn oaths of blood-brotherhood with the hero. He stabbed Sigurd in his bed, but the dying Sigurd threw his sword Gram and cut Gutthorm in half.
⚠ In the Nibelungenlied, Hagen kills Siegfried directly rather than Guttorm. The Völsunga saga assigns the deed to Gutthorm, who was chosen because he alone had not sworn blood-brotherhood with Sigurd.
Brunhild's insistence on Sigurd's death led to Gutthorm being chosen as the killer in the Völsunga saga, since he alone among the Gjukung brothers had not sworn blood-brotherhood with Sigurd and was therefore not oath-bound to protect him.
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