THRALL

[Norse] On his first of three travels, the god Rig (who is actually Heimdall) came upon a farmstead. In the kitchen sat Ai and his wife Edda, Great Grandfather and Great Grandmother. They were friendly people and offered Rig shelter and food, although the latter was of poor quality. At night, Rig slept between the farmer and his wife, and nine months later Edda gave birth to a son. They named him Thrall ("serf"). Thrall grew up a strong, but very ugly man who was capable of doing hard labor. He married Thir ("drudge"), and they had twelve sons and nine daughters. Their children all received ordinary names and were raised to do the heavy work of farming. Thus the race of serfs was created. (See also: Karl and Jarl.)