Böðvildr

Böðvildr, Beadohild, Bodil or Badhild was a princess, the daughter of the evil king Níðuðr/Niðhad/Niðung who appears in Germanic legends, such as Deor, Völundarkviða and Þiðrekssaga. Initially, she appears to have been a tragic victim of Wayland the smith's revenge on her father, but in later Scandinavian versions, she becomes Wayland's wife and the mother of the hero Viðga of the Þiðrekssaga and medieval Scandinavian ballads.

The name can be etymologically reconstructed as Proto-Germanic *Badwōhildiz, with both elements ― *badwō and *hildiz ― meaning 'battle, fight'. Böðvildr therefore means something like 'battle‑maiden', 'warrior woman', or 'she who engages in battle'. It is suspected that the name is also cognate to that of the Germanic‑Celtic goddess Baudihillia, one of the Alaisiagae, who is mentioned in 2nd‑century epigraphic texts.

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