Þrúðr sometimes anglicized as Thrúd or Thrud, is a daughter of the major god

Æsir

In Old Norse, áss is the term denoting a member of the principal pantheon in Norse paganism. This pantheon includes Odin, Frigg, Thor, Baldr and Tyr. The second pantheon comprises the Vanir...

 Thor

Thor

In Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing, and fertility...

 in Norse mythology

Norse mythology

Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...

. Þrúðr is also the name of one of the valkyrie

Valkyrie

In Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one of a host of female figures who decides who dies in battle. Selecting among half of those who die in battle , the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin...

s who serve ale to the einherjar

Einherjar

In Norse mythology, the einherjar are those that have died in battle and are brought to Valhalla by valkyries. In Valhalla, the einherjar eat their fill of the nightly-resurrecting beast Sæhrímnir, and are brought their fill of mead by valkyries...

 in Valhalla

Valhalla

In Norse mythology, Valhalla is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. Chosen by Odin, half of those that die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death, led by valkyries, while the other half go to the goddess Freyja's field Fólkvangr...

 (Grímnismál

Grímnismál

Grímnismál is one of the mythological poems of the Poetic Edda. It is preserved in the Codex Regius manuscript and the AM 748 I 4to fragment. It is spoken through the voice of Grímnir, one of the many guises of the god Odin, who is tortured by King Geirröth...

, stanza 36). The two may or may not be the same figure.

Attestations

Þrúðr is attested in the following sources:

Poetic Edda

Even if her name is not given, the Poetic Edda

Poetic Edda

The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript Codex Regius. Along with Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends, and from the early 19th century...

poem Alvíssmál

Alvíssmál

Alvíssmál is poem collected in the Poetic Edda, probably dating to the 11th century, that relates a conversation between Thor and a Dvergr called Alvíss .-Plot:...

, in which Thor's daughter is engaged to a dwarf, Alvíss

Alvíss

Alvíss was a dwarf in Norse mythology.Thor's daughter, Þrúðr, was promised to Alvíss. However, Thor did not want Alviss married to his daughter, so he devised a plan to stop Alvíss from doing so. He told Alvíss that, because of his small height, he had to prove his wisdom. Alvíss agreed. Thor made...

, may also be about Þrúðr.

Prose Edda

The Prose Edda

Prose Edda

The Prose Edda, also known as the Younger Edda, Snorri's Edda or simply Edda, is an Icelandic collection of four sections interspersed with excerpts from earlier skaldic and Eddic poetry containing tales from Nordic mythology...

bookt Skáldskaparmál

Skáldskaparmál

The second part of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda the Skáldskaparmál or "language of poetry" is effectively a dialogue between the Norse god of the sea, Ægir and Bragi, the god of poetry, in which both Norse mythology and discourse on the nature of poetry are intertwined...

(4) tells that Thor can be referred to by the kenning

Kenning

A kenning is a type of literary trope, specifically circumlocution, in the form of a compound that employs figurative language in place of a more concrete single-word noun. Kennings are strongly associated with Old Norse and later Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon poetry...

"father of Þrúðr" ("faðir Þrúðar"). Eysteinn Valdason

Eysteinn Valdason

Eysteinn Valdason was a 10th century Icelandic skald. Three half-stanzas from a poem about Thor are all that survive of his work. Preserved in Snorri Sturluson's Skáldskaparmál only, they deal with Thor's fishing expedition with the giant Hymir, where the god attempts to kill Jörmungandr.-External...

 uses it in his poem about Thor (2). The Skáldskaparmál (21) adds that her mother is Sif

Sif

In Norse mythology, Sif is a goddess associated with earth. Sif is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, and in the poetry of skalds...

.

In Bragi Boddason

Bragi Boddason

In his Edda Snorri Sturluson quotes many stanzas attributed to Bragi Boddason the old , a court poet who served several Swedish kings, Ragnar Lodbrok, Östen Beli and Björn at Hauge who reigned in the first half of the ninth century...

's Ragnarsdrápa

Ragnarsdrápa

Ragnarsdrápa is a skaldic poem composed in honour of the Scandinavian hero Ragnar Lodbrok. It is attributed to the oldest known skald Bragi Boddason who lived in the 9th century, and composed for the Swedish king Björn at Haugi. Bragi describes the images on a decorated shield which Ragnar had...

, the Jötunn Hrungnir

Hrungnir

Hrungnir was a jötunn in Norse mythology, slain by the god Thor with his hammer Mjölnir. The account is documented in the Skáldskaparmál, in the Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson....

 is called "thief of Þrúðr" (Þrúðar þjófr). But there is no direct reference to this myth in any other source. The Skáldskaparmál (17), in which Snorri relates the fight between Thor and Hrungnir, mentions a very different cause, and Þjóðólfr of Hvinir

Þjóðólfr of Hvinir

Þjóðólfr of Hvinir was a Norwegian skald, active around the year 900. He is considered to have been the original author of Ynglingatal, a poem glorifying the Norwegian petty king Ragnvald the Mountain-High, by describing how he was descended from the Swedish kings and the Norse gods.He is also...

's Haustlöng

Haustlöng

Haustlöng is a skaldic poem composed around the beginning of the 10th century. The poem is preserved in the 13th century Prose Edda, which quotes two groups of stanzas from it, and is attributed to the Norwegian skald Þjóðólfr of Hvinir. The poem describes mythological scenes painted on a shield...

only describes the fight without giving the reason for it. This poem depicts two mythological scenes painted on a shield, the first being Iðunn

Iðunn

In Norse mythology, Iðunn is a goddess associated with apples and youth. Iðunn is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson...

's abduction by the giant Þjazi. Margaret Clunies Ross

Margaret Clunies Ross

Margaret Clunies Ross is the McCaughey Professor of English Language and Early English Literature and Director of the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of Sydney. Her main research areas are Old Norse-Icelandic Studies and the history of their study. Since 1997 she has led the project...

 suggested that the two episodes might be complementary, both dealing with the abduction of a goddess by a giant, its failure and the death of the abductor. Another kenning may allude to this myth: in Eilífr Goðrúnarson

Eilífr Goðrúnarson

Eilífr Goðrúnarson was a late 10th century skald, considered to be the author of the poem Þórsdrápa. He is also credited with Hákonar drápa jarls and a fragment remains of a poem with Christian allusions which is also believed to be his work...

's Þórsdrápa

Þórsdrápa

Þórsdrápa is a skaldic poem by Eilífr Goðrúnarson, a poet in the service of Jarl Hákon Sigurðarson. The poem is noted for its creative use of kennings and other metaphorical devices, as well as its labyrinthine complexity....

(18), Thor is called "he who longs fiercely for Þrúðr" (þrámóðnir Þrúðar).

Karlevi Runestone

Þrúðr is mentioned on 10th century Karlevi runestone on the island of Öland

Öland

' is the second largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area of 1,342 km² and is located in the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Småland. The island has 25,000 inhabitants, but during Swedish Midsummer it is visited by up to 500,000 people...

, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 where a chieftain is referred to as the "tree of Þrúðr".

Kennings

The name Þrúðr could be used in kennings for chieftains as exemplified on the Karlevi Runestone. The name is also used in kennings for women. Ormr Steinþórsson

Ormr Steinþórsson

Ormr Steinþórsson was a skald about whom little is known. Seven fragments of poetry by him are quoted in the Skáldskaparmál section of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda. One of those fragments is also quoted in the Third Grammatical Treatise by Óláfr Þórðarson while an additional fragment is quoted in...

, for instance, uses in his poem about a woman (4) the kenning "hrosta lúðrs gæi-Þrúðr", which, according to Anthony Faulkes, can be rendered into "keeper of the malt-box (mash-tub) or ale-vessel".

Modern references

Thrud appears as a major character in the Danish young adult fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

novel Erik Menneskesøn by Lars-Henrik Olsen.