1 82 KINDRED GROUP-MARRIAGE 



seems to me that the evolution of trut is exactly parallel to 

 that of the hagezisa,ihQ hexe the gradual corruption of a 

 term for female comrade to the evil sense of female demon, 1 

 as the old heathen sexual customs become of bad repute. 

 Accordingly I do not think that drude can be connected 

 with any root meaning press, or oppress, as in English 

 tread and Gothic us-thriutan, trouble. I think with 

 Johannes Schmidt we must connect all these words for 

 trude in the evil sense with Norse Thrudhr, and with 

 Italian druda, the divine woman, and the loved one or 

 mistress. 2 Hence ultimately we are led back to the idea 

 in triu, Lithuanian driutas, fixed, the idea of fast and 

 firm, the idea of a group of people, who have trost, 

 protection, solace, help, in the triuuva or peace-pledge 

 among themselves ; 3 it is their schutz und trutz* As 

 usual, whenever we come across such a group, within 

 which is peace, sibja, we find at once the free 

 sexual relations, which are the physiological basis upon 

 which such ' firm ' groups have been built up. The 

 trutgeselleschaft is nothing more than the union, social 

 and sexual, which we have already noted in the gamah- 

 hida and the katilinga. The sexual and social group 

 troth is the basis of all the more spiritual ideas which 

 are afterwards associated with true and truth. 



Closely associated with the Aryan root dhar, hold, 



1 Even Ulfilas had to render 8ai[n6j>ioi> by the feminine urihultho. Unholde 

 appears to be only a derivative from Holde, an initially fairly beneficent goddess 

 of fertility. 



2 The term godes drtfden for the Virgin Mary (e.g. Arnsteiner Marienleich 

 of 1140, see line 226) gives exactly the double sense of divine woman and of 

 loved mistress on which the old monks delighted to play (see Essay XII.) 



3 Compare the gamahhida as consortium foedus, pp. 142, 144. 



4 O.H.G. truzi, clientela, adherents ; compare trustis, referred to above. 



