Tyr
From Mythology Wiki
Tyr (Old Norse: Týr) is the god of single combat and heroic glory in Norse mythology, portrayed as a one-handed man.
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[edit] Origins
The name Tyr originally meant "god" (cf. Hangatyr, the "god who hung" (referring to when Odin hung in a tree for nine days) as one of Odin's names; probably inherited from Tyr in his role as judge (compare with the Irish "Midir", the judge par excellence) and goes back to a Proto-Germanic Tîwaz, earlier Teiwaz, continuing Proto-Indo-European language *deywos "god", a word related to but distinct from the name of the sky-god Dyeus (in lith. both Dyeus and Deywos has the same meaning Dievas or god, but Deives means the goddess).
It should be noted however, that direct reference between Tyr/Teiw and "leader of the Gods" may be debatable. While the Proto-Indo-European origins of the term is common wisdom, "Dyaus", "Deywos" and "Devas" have always been used in a generic way to refer to the gods. "Dyaus-pater" which literally means the "father of Gods" later transformed through common uses in ancient Greece and Rome into "Zeus-pater" and then to "Jupiter" have been applied to Zeus/Jupiter and to Woden/Odin (Nordic). While youthful-"looking" gods such as Tyr and Vedic counterparts such as Indra have been linked to similar roles as leader, this was primarily done during times of war. Woden or Odin is generally accepted as the all-seeing father of the Æsir.
There is sketchy evidence of a consort, in German named Zisa: Tacitus mentions one Germanic tribe who worshipped "Isis", and Jacob Grimm pointed to Cisa/Zisa, the patroness of Augsburg, in this connection. The name Zisa would be derived from Ziu etymologically, in agreement with other consorts to the chief god in Indo-European pantheons, e. g. Zeus and Dione.
[edit] History
According to the Edda, at one stage the gods decided to shackle the wolf Fenrisulfr (Fenris), but the beast broke every chain they put upon him. Eventually they had the dwarves make them a magical ribbon called Gleipnir from such items as a woman's beard and a mountain's roots. But Fenris sensed the gods' deceit and refused to be bound with it unless one of them put his hand in the wolf's mouth. Tyr, known for his great courage, agreed, and the other gods bound the wolf. Fenris sensed that he had been tricked and bit off the god's hand. Fenris will remain bound until the day of Ragnarök.
As a result of this deed, Tyr is called the "Leavings of the Wolf". According to the Prose version of Ragnarok, Tyr is destined to kill and be killed by Garm, the guard dog of Hel (realm). However, in the two poetic versions of Ragnarok, he goes unmentioned; unless one believes that he is the "Mighty One".
[edit] Tyr rune
The t-rune ᛏ is named after Tyr, and was identified with this god, the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name is Tîwaz (lith. Tevas - father, Dievas or Deivas - god). The rune is sometimes also referred to as Teiwaz, or spelling variants.
The rune was also compared with Mars as in the Icelandic rune poem:
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[edit] Modern popular culture
Although representations of Tyr are less common than those of Thor, Odin or Loki, Tyr is often referenced or appears as a warrior figure in many modern depictions, particularly those relating to high fantasy, usually most identifiable by his missing arm and lust for battle.
[edit] Tyr in Marvel Comics
In the Marvel Multiverse, the character of Tyr is mostly the same as how he is portrayed in Norse Mythology, aside from the fact the wrong hand is missing. In fact most of the Asgardian characters are very close to the Norse Mythology they are based on.
[edit] References
Today several people carry a name based on the name of the old god. Such as Valtýr, Angantýr, Hjálmtýr etc. Allso in Danish and scandinavian languages has the word for Tuesday the same origin, Tyrsdag (Tyrs-day) = Tuesday
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Tyr the Wiki page.
- Týr Official Site A Viking Metal Band from The Faroe Islands
- Marvel Tyr Tyr in the Marvel Database Wiki
- Bio Tyr More of Tyr in Marvel Comics on The Immortal Thor.net
