i8o KINDRED GROUP-MARRIAGE 



is solace, help, while trostjan is to console, comfort. 

 Turning to another form of the root, we have trut in 

 O.H.G. glossed dUectus, amicus, sodalis. It is used for 

 a pupil or disciple ; Abraham's trute is his son ; in 

 Otfrid God's drut is used for his angel. It is the dear one, 

 the geliebter or the geliebte, the male or female lover. 

 The Italian drudo is a gallant, a male lover, and druda 

 a sweetheart, mistress ; the Gaelic drdth is a mistress, a 

 prostitute. In O.H.G. trdtin, trutinna, is the beloved 

 woman, or sweetheart ; trdtscapht is intimacy, familiarity, 

 sexual love ; trtitliet is a love song, probably a winileod 

 or Mleih; driitman is used by Otfrid for a beloved 

 follower or vassal. In M.H.G. trtitgemahele is a beloved 

 wife, trtitfriunt a loved friend, and trtitgespidin a loved 

 female comrade. These words show that the idea in 

 trut is not that of a formal marriage pledge ; other- 

 wise trutgemahele would be tautology. This is further 

 evidenced by O.H.G. and M.H.G. truten, triuten, love, 

 fondle, and also know sexually; as well as M.H.G. 

 trutschel, coquetry. The word trut appears also in a 

 great number of O.H.G. names for women 1 as Adaltrut, 

 Liuttrud, Gertrud, Sigitrud, etc., and this leads us 

 to a still wider conception of its significance. For we 

 find in Norse that Herthrudr, Jarthrudhr, Sigthrudr, 

 correspond to these names, while O.N. Thrudhr is the 

 name for a special goddess, the daughter of Thor ; but 

 also for goddesses and occasionally for women in 

 general, although it frequently marks a woman of 

 titanic character, a Valkyrie. Later M.H.G. trut, trute, 



1 Names for men, Trutpert, Trutwin, Trutman, Trutbald, etc., suggest also 

 their relationship to the trut or mistress. 



