Tyr (Norse)

Tyr

Alternative names: Týr

Tyr (pronounced /ˈtɪər/; Old Norse: Týr [tyːr]) is the god of single combat, war, victory and heroic glory in Norse mythology, portrayed as a one-handed man. Corresponding names in other Germanic languages are Gothic Teiws, Old English Tīw and Old High German Ziu, all from Proto-Germanic *Tîwaz (*Tē₂waz).

In the late Icelandic Eddas, Tyr is portrayed, alternately, as the son of Odin (Prose Edda) or of Hymir (Poetic Edda), while the origins of his name and his possible relationship to Tuisto (see Tacitus' Germania) suggest he was once considered the father of the gods and head of the pantheon, since his name is ultimately cognate to that of *Dyeus (cf. Dyaus), the reconstructed chief deity in Indo-European religion. It is assumed that Tîwaz was overtaken in popularity and in authority by both Odin and Thor at some point during the Migration Age.

He was the only god who is brave enough to put his hand in Fenris' mouth so the gods could bind it. Fenris, a wolf bit off his right hand. There is much debate about his left handedness. In the Norse culture the right hand was given for a pledge, which could be why the right hand was placed in the wolf's mouth. It has also been noted, however, that the offering of the right hand is to show that it is free of weapons. A left handed person was sometimes considered evil because he could use a weapon with his left hand even though he shook with his right hand.

Tuesday is named for Tyr who was known as Tiw, or Tiu, by the Anglo-Saxons. He must have been an important god in the pantheon prior to the mythology we were handed down in the eddas to have one of the days of the week named after him.

Since Tuesday is the English name given in place of the name of the day of the week sacred to Mars for the Romans, we know that the old English men thought of Tyr as being smiliar to Mars.

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Name

Proto-Germanic *Tē₂waz continues Proto-Indo-European, *deywos "celestial being, god" (whence also Latin deus and Sanskrit deva). The oldest records of the word in Germanic are Gothic *teiws (/tiːws/), attested as tyz (as the name of the Gothic letter ��), in the 9th century Codex Vindobonensis 795 and Old High German *ziu, attested as cyo- in the A Wessobrunn prayer ms. of 814. The Negau helmet inscription (2nd century BC) may actually record the Proto-Germanic form, as teiva, but this interpretation is uncertain.

The Old Norse name Tyr in origin was a generic noun meaning "god" (cf. Hangatyr, the "god of the hanged" as one of Odin's names; probably inherited from Tyr in his role as judge).

The Old Norse name became Norwegian Ty, Swedish Tyr, Danish Tyr, while it remains Týr in Modern Icelandic and Faroese.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyr
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:T%C3%BDr