thrall

A thrall is a historical and cultural term that typically denotes a person, animal, or entity under the control or ownership of another. The word originates from the Old English *þræll*, which meant "slave" or "servant," and it is cognate with Germanic terms for bondage, such as the German *Sklave*. In the medieval period, especially in Anglo-Saxon England, a thrall referred to a non-free person who worked for a lord or household. Thralls were often acquired through warfare, tribute, or birth and could be traded or sold, but unlike chattel slavery in later eras they were subject to a set of customs and legal protections specific to feudal society.

The term has also been applied in mythology and folklore. In Norse sagas, a thrall may be a captive or a wealthy household servant, and the word appears in accounts of Viking raids. In some of the worldʼs traditional religions, "thralls" are spirit beings bound to a priest, temple, or place of worship.

In modern popular culture, the word is invoked in various fantasy and video games, where a thrall usually refers to a creature or character subjugated by a stronger entity. For instance, popular online games use the term to describe minions or enslaved characters allied to a player or non-player driver. Similarly, the term has gained metaphorical use to describe people who are dominated by a stronger social, economic, or psychological force, for example, the “thrall of mass media.” The diverse uses of the term reflect its etymological roots in the concept of being under enlistment or bondage.

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