Týr (/tɪər/;[1]Old Norse:Týr,pronounced[tyːr]) is a god inGermanic mythology and member of theÆsir. InNorse mythology, which provides most of the surviving narratives about gods among theGermanic peoples,Týr sacrifices his right hand to the monstrous wolfFenrir, who bites it off when he realizes the gods have bound him.Týr is foretold of being consumed by the similarly monstrous dogGarmr during the events ofRagnarök.
Theinterpretatio romana[a] generally renders the god asMars, the ancient Roman war god, and it is through that lens that most Latin references to the god occur. For example, the god may be referenced asMars Thingsus (Latin 'Mars of the Assembly [Thing]') on 3rd century Latin inscription, reflecting a strong association with the Germanicthing, a legislative body among the ancient Germanic peoples. By way of the opposite process ofinterpretatio germanica,Tuesday is named afterTýr ('Týr's day'), rather than Mars, in English and other Germanic languages.
In Old Norse sources,Týr is alternately described as the son of thejötunnHymir (inHymiskviða) or of the godOdin (inSkáldskaparmál).Lokasenna makes reference to an unnamed and otherwise unknown consort, perhaps also reflected in the continental Germanic record (seeZisa).
Due to the etymology of the god's name and the shadowy presence of the god in the extant Germanic corpus, some scholars propose thatTýr may have once held a more central place among the deities of early Germanic mythology.
The Old NorsetheonymTýr stems from an earlierProto-Norse form reconstructed as*Tīwaʀ,[2] which derives – like its GermaniccognatesTīw (Old English) and*Ziu (Old High German) – from theProto-Germanic theonym*Tīwaz, meaning 'God'.[3] The name of a Gothic deity named*Teiws (later*Tīus) may also be reconstructed based on the associated runetiwaz.[2][4] InOld Norse poetry, the pluraltívar is used for 'the gods', and the singulartýr, meaning '(a) god', occurs inkennings forOdin andThor.[5][6] Modern English writers frequently anglicize the god's name by dropping the proper noun'sdiacritic, renderingOld Norse'sTýr asTyr.[b]
Due to linguistic evidence and early native comparisons between*Tīwaz and the Roman godMars, especially under the nameMars Thingsus, a number of scholars have interpreted*Tīwaz as a Proto-Germanic sky-, war- andthing-god.[11][10] Other scholars reject however his identification as a 'sky-god', since*tīwaz was likely not his original name but rather an epithet that came to be associated with him and eventually replaced it.[c]
The modern Englishweekday nameTuesday comes from the Old Englishtīwesdæg, meaning 'day of Tīw'. It is cognate with Old NorseTýsdagr,Old FrisianTīesdi, and Old High GermanZiostag (Middle High GermanZīstac). All of them stem from Late Proto-Germanic*Tiwasdag ('Day of*Tīwaz'), acalque of LatinMartis dies ('Day ofMars'; cf. modernItalianmartedì,Frenchmardi,Spanishmartes). This attests to an early Germanic identification of*Tīwaz with Mars.[12][10]
Germanic weekday names forTuesday that do not transparently extend from the above lineage may also ultimately refer to the deity, includingMiddle DutchDinxendach andDingsdag,Middle Low GermanDingesdach, and Old High GermanDingesdag (modernDienstag). These forms may refer to the god's association with thething (*þingsaz), a traditional legal assembly common among the ancient Germanic peoples with which the god is associated. This may be either explained by the existence of anepithet,Thingsus (*Þingsaz 'thing-god'), frequently attached to Mars (*Tīwaz), or simply by the god's strong association with the assembly.[13]
The god is the namesake of the runeᛏ representing/t/ (theTiwaz rune) in therunic alphabets, the indigenous alphabets of the ancient Germanic peoples prior to their adaptation of theLatin alphabet. On runic inscriptions,ᛏ often appears as a magical symbol.[5] The name first occurs in the historical record astyz, a character in theGothic alphabet (4th century), and it was also known astī ortir in Old English, andtýr in Old Norse.[4][13] The name ofTýr may also occur in runes asᛏᛁᚢᛦ on the 8th centuryRibe skull fragment.[14]
A variety of place names in Scandinavia refer to the god. For example,Tyrseng, inViby, Jutland, Denmark (Old Norse*Týs eng, 'Týr's meadow') was once a stretch of meadow near a stream calledDødeå ('stream of the dead' or 'dead stream'). Viby also contained another theonym,Onsholt ("Odin'sHolt"), and religious practices associated with Odin andTýr may have occurred in these places. Aspring dedicated toHoly Niels that was likely a Christianization of prior indigenous pagan practice also exists in Viby.Viby may mean 'the settlement by the sacred site'. Archaeologists have found traces of sacrifices going back 2,500 years in Viby.[15]
The forestTiveden, betweenNärke andVästergötland, in Sweden, may mean 'Tyr's forest', but its etymology is uncertain, and debated.[16]Ti- may refer totýr meaning 'god' generally, and so the name may derive from Proto-Indo-European*deiwo-widus, meaning 'the forest of the gods'.[16] According toRudolf Simek, the existence of a cult of the deity is also evidenced by place names such asTislund ('Týr's grove'), which is frequent in Denmark, orTysnes ('Týr's peninsula') andTysnesø ('Tysnes island') in Norway, where the cult appears to have been imported from Denmark.[5]
WhileTýr's etymological heritage reaches back to the Proto-Indo-European period, very few direct references to the god survive prior to the Old Norse period. Like many other non-Roman deities,Týr receives mention in Latin texts by way of the process ofinterpretatio romana,[a] in which Latin texts refer to the god by way of a perceived counterpart inRoman mythology. Latin inscriptions and texts frequently refer toTýr asMars.
Týr equated with Mars in an 18th-century manuscript (ÍB 299 4to)
The first example of this occurs on record in Roman senatorTacitus's ethnographyGermania:
Among the gods Mercury is the one they principally worship. They regard it as a religious duty to sacrifice to him, on fixed days, human as well as other sacrificial victims. Hercules and Mars they appease by animal offerings of the permitted kind. Part of theSuebi sacrifice to Isis as well.
These deities are generally understood by scholars to refer to*Wōđanaz (known widely today asOdin),*Þunraz (known today widely asThor), and*Tīwaz, respectively. The identity of the"Isis" of the Suebi remains a topic of debate among scholars.[18] Later inGermania, Tacitus also mentions a deity referred to asregnator omnium deus venerated by theSemnones in agrove of fetters, asacred grove. Some scholars propose that this deity is in fact*Tīwaz.[19]
Avotive altar has been discovered during excavations atHousesteads Roman Fort atHadrian's Wall in England that had been erected at the behest of Frisian legionaries. The altar dates from the 3rd century CE and bears the Latin inscriptionDeo Marti Thingso Et DuabusAlaisiagis Bede Et Fimmilene. In this instance, the epithetThingsus is a Latin rendering of Proto-Germanic theonym*Þingsaz. This deity is generally interpreted by scholars to refer toTýr. The goddesses referred to asBeda andFimmilene are otherwise unknown, but their names may refer to Old Frisian legal terms.[20]
In the sixth century, the Roman historianJordanes writes in hisDe origine actibusque Getarum that theGoths, an east Germanic people, saw the same "Mars" as an ancestral figure:
Moreover so highly were the Getae praised that Mars, whom the fables of poets call the god of war, was reputed to have been born among them. Hence Vergil says:
"Father Gradivus rules the Getic fields."
Now Mars has always been worshipped by the Goths with cruel rites, and captives were slain as his victims. They thought that he who was lord of war ought to be appeased by the shedding of human blood. To him they devoted the first share of the spoil, and in his honor arms stripped from the foe were suspended from trees. And they had more than all races a deep spirit of religion, since the worship of this god seemed to be really bestowed upon their ancestor.
The Latin deityMars was occasionally glossed by Old English writers by the nameTīw orTīg. Thegenitivetīwes also appears in the name for Tuesday,tīwesdæg.[4]
By the Viking Age,*Tīwaz had developed among theNorth Germanic peoples intoTýr. The god receives numerous mentions in North Germanic sources during this period, but far less than other deities, such asOdin,Freyja, orThor. The majority of these mentions occur in thePoetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from traditional source material reaching into the pagan period, and theProse Edda, composed by Icelandicskald and politicianSnorri Sturluson in the 13th century.
Týr among the gods during the events ofLokasenna as illustrated byLorenz Frølich, 1895
AlthoughTýr receives several mentions in thePoetic Edda, of the three poems in which he is mentioned—Hymiskviða,Sigrdrífumál, andLokasenna—only the incomplete poem,Hymiskviða, features him in a prominent role. InHymiskviða,Týr says that his father,Hymir, owns a tremendous cauldron with which he and his fellow gods can brew fathoms of ale. Thor andTýr set out to retrieve it.Týr meets his nine-hundred headed grandmother ("who hates him"), and a girl clad in gold helps the two hide fromHymir.[22]
Upon his return from hunting,Hymir's wife (unnamed) tellsHymir that his son has come to visit, thatTýr has brought with him Thor, and that the two are behind a pillar. With just one glance,Hymir immediately smashes the pillar and eight nearby kettles. The kettle containingTýr and Thor, particularly strong in its construction, does not break, and out of it the two gods stride.[22]
Hymir sees Thor and his heart jumps. Thejötunn orders three headless oxen boiled for his guests, and Thor eats two of the beasts.Hymir tells the two that the following night, "we'll have to hunt for us three to eat". Thor asks for bait so that he might row out into the bay.Hymir says that the god can take one of his oxen for bait; Thor immediately chooses a black ox, and the poem continues without further mention ofTýr.[22]
InSigrdrífumál, the valkyrieSigrdrífa imparts in the heroSigurd knowledge of variousrunic charms. One charm invokes the godTýr:
InLokasenna, the gods hold a feast. Loki bursts in and engages inflyting, a contest of insults, with the gods. The prose introduction to the poem mentions that "Tyr was in attendance, even though he had only one hand because the wolfFenrir had recently ripped off the other while the wolf was being bound."[24] Loki exchanges insults with each of the gods. After Loki insults the godFreyr,Týr comes toFreyr's defense. Loki says that "you can't be the right hand of justice among the people" because his right hand was torn off by Fenrir, elsewhere described as Loki's child.Týr says that although he misses his hand, Loki missesFenrir, who is now bound and will remain so until the events ofRagnarök.[25]
Týr sacrifices his arm toFenrir in an illustration byJohn Bauer, 1911.
TheProse Edda sectionsGylfaginning andSkáldskaparmál referenceTýr several times. The god is introduced in part 25 of theGylfaginning section of the book:
High said: 'There is also an As called Tyr. He is the bravest and most valiant, and he has great power over victory in battles. It is good for men of action to pray to him. There is a saying that a man isty-valiant who surpasses other men and does not hesitate. He was so clever that a man who is clever is said to bety-wise. It is one proof of his bravery that theÆsir were luring Fenriswolf so as to get the fetterGleipnir on him, he did not trust them that they would let him go until they placed Tyr's hand in the wolf's mouth as a pledge. And when theÆsir refused to let him go then he bit off the hand at the place that is now called the wolf-joint [wrist], and he is one-handed and he is not considered a promoter of settlements between people.
[26]This tale receives further treatment in section 34 ofGylfaginning ("TheÆsir brought up the wolf at home, and it was only Tyr who had the courage to approach the wolf and give it food.").[27] Later still inGylfaginning, High discussesTýr's foreseen death during the events ofRagnarök:
Then will also have got free the dog Garm, which is bound in front ofGnipahellir. This is the most evil creature. He will have a battle with Tyr and they will each be the death of each other.
Skáldskaparmál opens with a narrative wherein twelve gods sit upon thrones at a banquet, includingTýr.[29] Later inSkáldskaparmál, the skald godBragi tellsÆgir (described earlier inSkáldskaparmál as a man from the island ofHlesey)[29] howkennings function. By way of kennings,Bragi explains, one might refer to the god Odin as "Victory-Tyr", "Hanged-Tyr", or "Cargo-Tyr"; and Thor may be referred to as "Chariot-Tyr".[30]
Section nine ofSkáldskaparmál provides skalds with a variety of ways in which to refer toTýr, including "the one handed As", "feeder of the wolf", "battle-god", and "son of Odin".[31] The narrative found inLokasenna occurs in prose later inSkáldskaparmál. Like inLokasenna,Týr appears here among around a dozen other deities.[32] Similarly,Týr appears among a list ofÆsir in section 75.[33]
In addition to the above mentions,Týr's name occurs as a kenning element throughoutSkáldskaparmál in reference to the god Odin.[34]
An illustration of an image on a bracteate found in Trollhättan, Västergötland, Sweden. Drawing by Gunnar Creutz.
Scholars propose that a variety of objects from the archaeological record depictTýr. For example, aMigration Period goldbracteate fromTrollhättan, Sweden, features a person receiving a bite on the hand from a beast, which may depictTýr andFenrir.[e]A Viking Agehogback inSockburn,County Durham, England may depictTýr andFenrir.[35] In a similar fashion, a silver button was found in Hornsherred, Denmark, during 2019 that is interpreted to portray Týr fighting against the wolfFenrir.[36]
Due in part to the etymology of the god's name, scholars propose thatTýr once held a far more significant role in Germanic mythology than the scant references to the deity indicate in the Old Norse record. Some scholars propose that the prominent god Odin may have risen to prominence overTýr in prehistory, at times absorbing elements of the deity's domains. For example, according to scholar Hermann Reichert, due to the etymology of the god's name and its transparent meaning of "the god", "Odin ... must have dislodgedTýr from his pre-eminent position. The fact that Tacitus names two divinities to whom the enemy's army was consecrated ... may signify their co-existence around 1 A.D."[37]
TheSigrdrífumál passage above has resulted in some discourse amongrunologists. For example, regarding the passage, runologists Mindy MacLeod and Bernard Mees say:
Similar descriptions of runes written on swords for magical purposes are known from other Old Norse and Old English literary sources, though not in what seem to be religious contexts. In fact very few swords from the middle ages are engraved with runes, and those that are tend to carry rather prosaic maker's formulas rather than identifiable 'runes of victory'. The call to invoke Tyr here is often thought to have something to do with T-runes, rather than Tyr himself, given that this rune shares his name. In view of Tyr's martial role in Norse myth, however, this line seems simply to be a straightforward religious invocation with 'twice' alliterating with 'Tyr'.[38]
^abTheinterpretatio romana or "Roman interpretation", is the tendency of the Romans to interpret all foreign gods as alternate forms of gods from their own, familiarpantheon.
^Faulkes translatesTýr asTyr throughout his 1987 version of thePoetic Edda.[7]
^abWest 2007, p. 167 n. 8: "The Germanic:*Tīwaz (Norse:Týr, etc.) also goes back to*deiwós. But he does not seem to be the old Sky-god, and it is preferable to suppose that he once had another name, which came to be supplanted by the title 'God'."
^Kroonen 2013, p. 519: "The general meaning of PGm. *tiwa- was simply 'god',cf. ONtívar pl. 'gods' < *tiwoz, but the word was clearly associated with the specific deity Týr-Tīw-Ziu".
^See discussion in, for example,Davidson 1993, pp. 39–41.
^Schulte, Michael (2006). "The transformation of the older fuþark: Number magic, runographic or linguistic principles?".Arkiv för nordisk filologi.121:41–74.
^Popoff, Martin (2011).Black Sabbath FAQ: All That's Left to Know on the First Name in Metal.Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 206.ISBN978-0879309572.The back cover quote reads, 'TYR—son of Odin and the supreme sky god of the Northern peoples; the god of war and martial valour, the protector of the community, and the giver of law and order.'
Reichert, Hermann (2002). "Nordic language history and religion/ecclesiastical history I: The Pre-Christian period".The Nordic Languages : An international handbook of the history of the North Germanic languages. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 389–403.ISBN978-3-11-019705-1.
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