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Thrall
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Thrall
A thrall ⓘ was a slave or serf in Scandinavian lands during the Viking Age. The status of slave (þræll, þēow) contrasts with that of the freeman (karl, ceorl) and the nobleman (jarl, eorl).
Thrall is from the Old Norse þræll, meaning a person who is in bondage or serfdom. The Old Norse term was lent into late Old English, as þræl. The term is from a Common Germanic þragilaz ("runner", from a root þreh- "to run"). Old High German had a cognate, dregil, meaning "servant, runner". The English derivation thraldom is of High Medieval date. The verb "to enthrall" is of Early Modern origin (metaphorical use from the 1570s, literal use from 1610).
The corresponding term in Old English was þeow (from Proto-Germanic þewaz, perhaps from a PIE root tekʷ-, "to run"). A related Old English term is esne "labourer, hireling" (from Germanic asniz, cognate with Gothic asneis "hireling", a derivation from asunz "reward", from the same root as English earn).
The term was borrowed into Irish as thráill, where it is used interchangeably with sclábhaí which is a cognate of the English slave (likewise for Slav is disputed).
Thrall was known by similar words in other old languages (Old Norse: þræll, Icelandic: þræll, Faroese: trælur, Norwegian: trell, træl, Danish: træl, Swedish: träl). The Middle Latin rendition of the term in early Germanic law is servus.
The thrall represents the lowest of the three-tiered social order of the Germanic peoples, noblemen, freemen, and slaves; in Old Norse jarl, karl, and þræll (cf. Rígsþula); in Old English corresponding to eorl, ceorl, and þēow; in Old Frisian etheling, friling, and lēt, etc.
The division is of importance in the Germanic law codes, which make special provisions for slaves, who were property and could be bought and sold, but also enjoyed some degree of protection under the law.
The death of a freeman was compensated by a weregild, usually calculated at 200 solidi (shillings) for a freeman, whereas the death of a slave was treated as loss of property to his owner and compensated depending on the value of the worker.
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Thrall AI simulator
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Thrall
A thrall ⓘ was a slave or serf in Scandinavian lands during the Viking Age. The status of slave (þræll, þēow) contrasts with that of the freeman (karl, ceorl) and the nobleman (jarl, eorl).
Thrall is from the Old Norse þræll, meaning a person who is in bondage or serfdom. The Old Norse term was lent into late Old English, as þræl. The term is from a Common Germanic þragilaz ("runner", from a root þreh- "to run"). Old High German had a cognate, dregil, meaning "servant, runner". The English derivation thraldom is of High Medieval date. The verb "to enthrall" is of Early Modern origin (metaphorical use from the 1570s, literal use from 1610).
The corresponding term in Old English was þeow (from Proto-Germanic þewaz, perhaps from a PIE root tekʷ-, "to run"). A related Old English term is esne "labourer, hireling" (from Germanic asniz, cognate with Gothic asneis "hireling", a derivation from asunz "reward", from the same root as English earn).
The term was borrowed into Irish as thráill, where it is used interchangeably with sclábhaí which is a cognate of the English slave (likewise for Slav is disputed).
Thrall was known by similar words in other old languages (Old Norse: þræll, Icelandic: þræll, Faroese: trælur, Norwegian: trell, træl, Danish: træl, Swedish: träl). The Middle Latin rendition of the term in early Germanic law is servus.
The thrall represents the lowest of the three-tiered social order of the Germanic peoples, noblemen, freemen, and slaves; in Old Norse jarl, karl, and þræll (cf. Rígsþula); in Old English corresponding to eorl, ceorl, and þēow; in Old Frisian etheling, friling, and lēt, etc.
The division is of importance in the Germanic law codes, which make special provisions for slaves, who were property and could be bought and sold, but also enjoyed some degree of protection under the law.
The death of a freeman was compensated by a weregild, usually calculated at 200 solidi (shillings) for a freeman, whereas the death of a slave was treated as loss of property to his owner and compensated depending on the value of the worker.
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