Who is Tyr?

In Norse myths, Tyr is the God of Honor and Law. He is a warrior’s God, called the Lord of Swords. He is the patron of the Althing, and the deity of heroic glory. Tuesday, in the English language, is named after him.

For such a popular deity, his origins are shrouded in mystery. Mythically, he has two different origins – he is referred to in some myths as the son of Odin (by an unnamed mother) and in others as a Jotun, the son of Hymir and Hrod, who has turned his allegiances over to the Aesir – even to the point of stealing his father’s kettle so that the Aesir could have more beer when they feasted in Aegir’s hall. Some folk who work with Tyr have suggested that these two stories are not mutually exclusive, as he could have been an adopted son of Odin.

From a historical standpoint, Tyr the God may actually be one of the oldest Germanic deities in existence. His name simply means “god”, and is related to the Old English Tiw, the  Old High German Ziu, the Middle Germanic god Tuisto, and the Proto-Indo-European Teiwaz (which is seen in the rune of the same name). These are related to the Latin deus and the Sanskrit deva. So Tyr may once have been an overarching Sky God,  who eventually gained more personal characteristics and was “reborn” into the Norse pantheons as War God and God of Honor. There is some sketchy evidence that the Germanic version of Teiwaz had a consort, referred to as Zisu, which was simply a feminization of his name.

Tyr’s main myth – next to his theft of his family’s great cauldron – is the moment that confirmed his status as God of Honor. When the Aesir decided that the dangerous wolf-God of destruction, Fenrir, must be chained, they created a magical chain to bind him, named Gleipnir. They cornered Fenrir and told him that they wanted to see him snap that chain, as he had snapped all others. The Wolf-God was naturally suspicious, and he told the collected Gods that he would allow them to bind him, but one of them must place their hand in his lethal jaws while it was done. Tyr had been a friend to him since his kidnapping as a child, and was known to be honorable, so when Tyr stepped up and placed his hand in the wolf’s jaws, Fenrir trusted him. When the chain proved unbreakable, Fenrir flew into a rage and bit his hand off, which Tyr knew would happen. Since then, Tyr has been referred to as the One-Handed God, and can be easily identified as such in old drawings of the Gods.

Artwork by Righon.