37. Hrist and Mist the horn shall bear me,
Skeggjold and Skogul;
but Hild and Thruth, Hlokk and Herfjotur,
Goll and Geironul,
Randgrith and Rathgrith and Reginleif,
to the einherjar ale shall bear.
- Grimnismal (Hollander translation
In Alvismal, The dwarf Alvis has taken Thrudh as a wife, and Thor stalls him with riddles until the sun comes up.
"How shall Thor be referred to? By calling him son of Odin and Iord, father of Magni and Modi and Thrud,
- Skaldskaparmal (translation by Jean Young)
Trude is the daughter of Thonar and Sif. Her name means "Strength". She is listed among the walkurjas who bear ale in Walhall in Grímnismál 36; her name is also used in walkurja-type kennings, suggesting a battle-role, and was a very common second element in Germanic women's personal names such as Gertrude/Geirþrúðr.
Like the Frowe, Sif, and Iðunn, Trude is also desired by sundry wights of the Outgarth or underworld. In Alvíssmál, the dwarf Alvíss (All-Wise) has come up to the Ases' Garth in hopes of claiming her as his bride, and in Bragi's Ragnarsdrápa (early 9th century), the giant Hrungnir is called "thief of Þrúðr", which suggests that there may have been a different story leading up to the battle between Þórr and Hrungnir than the one Snorri tells. In Haustlöng, Thjóðólfr or Hvíni tells of the battle, but not its prelude; there are no older sources for Snorri's version, making it quite possible that the duel could have been motivated by the abduction of Þórr's daughter, rather than simply by the etin becoming drunk and disorderly in Ásgarðr. Snorri does in fact have Hrungnir threatening to carry off Freyja and Sif, but, out of ignorance or editorial policy, does not mention the theft of Þrúðr.
This role suggests that she, like the other goddesses who draw the desire of etins, is one of the female embodiments of the life-force of the cosmos. As she is the grand-daughter of Earth, daughter of Sif and Thonar, this is hardly to be wondered at. Being the daughter of one of the most beautiful of the goddesses, as well as the strongest of the gods, she must be both very fair and very mighty. Today, she is sometimes thought of as having lovely hair of a bright reddish-gold colour.
She and her two brothers Móði and Magni may also be seen as the bearers of Thonar's great gifts to humans: Strength, Bravery, and Main-Strength.
From his own workings and research, Larsanthony K. Agnarsson offers another perspective on this goddess, one which fits well with her role as daughter of Thonar and Sif:
Thruð is an obscure goddess and little is known about her other than (that) she is the daughter of Þórr and Sif. However, we in Skergard give her much more credit than that.
Thruð is one of the more prominent of the Asynjur in this modern day and age. She is the youngest goddess among the Asynjur.
The young gods and goddesses are very important in our modern world. Since the gods have evolved as we have, the youngest of them are more prominent in this day and age. This does not mean that the elder gods are fading from importance. What this does mean, however, is that the younger gods and goddesses are just as involved in our lives as their parents, if not more so.
As Sif represents the "Gatherer of Grains", Thruð represents the work behind sowing the fields and the labors of organized agriculture.
Before the coming of Thruð, mankind simply gathered berries and nuts to survive, ignorant of sowing fields, planting crops, or the inequity of modern agriculture.
As humanity continued to evolve, Sif taught Thruð the aspects of gathering nuts and berries, and from her grandmother Fjorgynn (Jord) she learned the ways of the soil. When Thruð came of age, she taught humans the importance of working with the Earth, that is, agriculture. She also taught mankind how to use what they grow, and how to grind grain to make flour for baking bread. Thus, Thruð is associated with the hearth, because she spends many hours there cooking, baking, and keeping the fire. As the fire-keeper and bread-baker, her colour is orange (not to mention that Red and Yellow make Orange; i.e. Þórr and Sif combined). What time not spent cooking, she spends in the fields, sorting the Earth from the stones and rocks.
Thruð is often seen as a large, strong woman whose hair is pulled back, but nevertheless messy. Her clothes are generally torn and dirty; as a labouring woman, she is too busy to notice her conditions.
Because of her strength, she is likened to a giantess. Rocks and stones that are sacred to her are the ones turned over with the plow.
Other colours which have been associated with Trude are bright red and gold.
This goddess also appears as one of the main characters in a charming work of Heathen educational fiction (early teenage-level, Danish language), Lars-Henrik Olsen's Erik Menneskesøn.
- Our Troth, Chapter XIII