Tyr

Týr is a god associated with law and heroic glory in Norse mythology, portrayed as one-handed. Corresponding names in other Germanic languages are Gothic Teiws, Old English Tīw and Old High German Ziu and Cyo, all from Proto-Germanic *Tîwaz (*Tē₂waz). The Latinised name is Tius or Tio. In the late Icelandic Eddas, Tyr is portrayed, alternately, as the son of Odin (Prose Edda) or of Hymir (Poetic Edda)
Tiw was equated with Mars in the interpretatio germanica. Tuesday is in fact "Tīw's Day" (also in Alemannic Zischtig from zîes tag), translating dies Martis.

Name

Old Norse Týr, literally "god", plural tívar "gods", comes from Proto-Germanic *Tē₂waz (cf. Old English Tīw, Old High German Zīo), which continues Proto-Indo-European *deiwós "celestial being, god" (cf. Welsh duw, Latin deus, Lithuanian diẽvas, Sanskrit dēvá, Avestan daēvō "demon").
The earliest attestation for Týr's continental counterpart occurs in Gothic tyz "the t-rune" (𐍄) in the 9th-century Codex Vindobonensis 795. The name is later attested in Old High German as Cyo in the A Wessobrunn prayer ms. of 814. The Negau helmet inscription (2nd century b.c.) may actually record the earliest form, teiva, but this interpretation is tentative.
Týr in origin was a generic noun meaning "god", e.g. Hangatyr, literally, the "god of the hanged", as one of Odin's names, which was probably inherited from Tyr in his role as god of justice. The name continues on as Norwegian Ty, Swedish Tyr, Danish Tyr, while it remains Týr in Modern Icelandic and Faroese.

West Germanic Ziu/Tiw/Tiwaz

A gloss to the Wessobrunn prayer names the Alamanni Cyowari (worshipers of Cyo) and their capital Augsburg Ciesburc.
The Excerptum ex Gallica Historia of Ursberg (ca. 1135) records a dea Ciza as the patron goddess of Augsburg. According to this account, Cisaria was founded by Swabian tribes as a defence against Roman incursions. This Zisa would be the female consort of Ziu, as Dione was of Zeus.
The name of Mars Thingsus (Thincsus) is found in an inscription on an 3rd century altar from the Roman fort and settlement of Vercovicium at Housesteads in Northumberland, thought to have been erected by Frisian mercenaries stationed at Hadrian's Wall. It is interpreted as "Mars of the Thing". Here is also worth noting what Tacitus stated in his work Germania about capital punishment amongst the Germanic folk; that none could be flogged, imprisoned or executed, not even on order of the warlord, without the consent of the priest; who was himself required to render his judgement in accordance with the will of the god they believe accompanies them to the field of battle In the same source this god is stated being the chief deity.
Tacitus also named the German "Mars" as the primary deity, along with the German "Mercury", associated with the Germanic custom of the disposal of the spoils of war; as practiced from the 4th century BC to the 6th century AD.
In the Old English Rune Poem, the rune that is otherwise named for Tiw in the other rune poems (Abecedarium Nordmanicum, Old Norwegian Rune Rhyme, Old Icelandic Rune Poem), is called tir, meaning "glory". This rune was inscribed on more Anglo-Saxon cremation urns than any other symbol.

North Germanic Tyr

An early depiction of Tyr is found on the IK 190 bracteate found near Trollhättan, Sweden. The figure is shown with long hair, holding a sceptre in his left hand, and with a wolf biting his right.

Tyr sacrifices his arm to Fenrir in a 1911 illustration by John Bauer.

According to the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, at one stage the gods decided to shackle the Fenris wolf (Fenrir), but the beast broke every chain they put upon him. Eventually they had the dwarves make them a magical ribbon called Gleipnir. It appeared to be only a silken ribbon but was made of six wondrous ingredients: the sound of a cat's footfall, the beard of a woman, the roots of a mountain, bear's sinews, fish's breath and bird's spittle. The creation of Gleipnir is said to be the reason why none of the above exist. Fenrir 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 wisdom and courage, agreed, and the other gods bound the wolf. After Fenrir had been bound by the gods, he struggled to try to break the rope. Fenrir could not break the ribbon and enraged, bit Tyr's right hand off. When the gods saw that Fenrir was bound they all rejoiced, except Tyr. Fenrir will remain bound until the day of Ragnarök. As a result of this deed, Tyr is called the "Leavings of the Wolf"; which is to be understood as a poetic kenning for glory. After a heartbreaking battle (of Ragnarök) Fenrir swallowed Odin the All-father, whole.
According to the Prose version of Ragnarok, Tyr is destined to kill and be killed by Garm, the guard dog of Hel. However, in the two poetic versions of Ragnarok, he goes unmentioned; unless one believes that he is the "Mighty One".
In Lokasenna, Tyr is taunted with cuckoldry by Loki, maybe another hint that he had a consort or wife at one time.
In the Hymskvidha, Tyr's father is named as the etin Hymir – the term "Hymir's kin" was used a kenning for etinkind – while his mother goes unnamed, but is otherwise described in terms that befit a goddess. This myth also pairs Tyr with Thor, and draws a comparison between their strength via the lifting of Hymir's cauldron. Thor proves the stronger, but other than Thor's own son, Magni, Tyr is the only deity whose strength is ever questioned in comparison to the Thunderer's.

Tiwaz rune

The *Tiwaz rune is associated with Tyr.

The t-rune ᛏ is named after Tyr, and was identified with this god; the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name is *Tîwaz. The rune is sometimes also referred to as *Teiwaz, or spelling variants.

Rune poems

Tiwaz is mentioned in all three rune poems. In the Icelandic and Norwegian poems, the rune is associated with the god Tyr.

stanza	translation	comments
Old Norwegian ᛏ Tyr es einhendr Asa; opt verðr smiðr at blasa.	Tyr is the one-handed god; often happens the smith must blow.
Old Icelandic ᛏ Týr er einhendr áss ok ulfs leifar ok hofa hilmir. Mars tiggi.	Tyr is a one-handed god, and leavings of the wolf and prince of temples.	the "Mars tiggi" is a gloss and not part of the poem itself, indicating that Týr was associated with the Roman deity and/or the planet Mars.
Old English ᛏ [tir] biþ tacna sum, healdeð trywa wel wiþ æþelingas; a biþ on færylde ofer nihta genipu, næfre swiceþ.	[Fame] is a sign, it keeps faith well with athelings, it is always on its course over the mists of night, it never fails.	The tir "fame, honour" is a gloss written alongside the rune. Several interpretations have been offered, typically involving association with the north star, as the words tacna and færyld have astronomical connotations (used for "sign of the zodiac" and "path of a planet", respectively).

Usage

Ancient usage

Multiple Tiwaz runes

The inscription on the Kylver stone ends with stacked Tiwaz runes at the end of the line.

Multiple Tiwaz runes either stacked atop one another to resemble a tree-like shape, or repeated after one another, appear several times in Germanic paganism:

• The charm (alu) on the Lindholm amulet, dated from the 2nd to the 4th century contains three consecutive t runes, has been interpreted as an invocation of Tyr.
• The Kylver Stone (400 AD, Gotland) features 8 stacked Tiwaz runes at the end of an Elder Futhark inscription.
• From 500 AD, a Scandinavian C-bracteate (Seeland-II-C) features an Elder Futhark inscription ending with three stacked Tiwaz runes.

Poetic Edda

According to the runologist Lars Magnar Enoksen, the Tiwaz rune is referred to in a stanza in Sigrdrífumál, a poem in the Poetic Edda.
Sigrdrífumál tells that Sigurd has slain the dragon Fafnir and arrives at a fortress of shields on top of a mountain which is lit by great fires. In the fortress, he finds an enchanted sleeping Valkyrie whom he wakes by cutting open her corslet with his sword. The grateful Valkyrie Sigrdrífa offers him the secrets of the runes in return for delivering her from the sleep, on condition that he shows that he has no fear. The Valkyrie begins by teaching him that if he wants to achieve victory in battle, he is to carve "victory runes" on his sword and twice say the name "Týr" - the name of the Tiwaz rune.

6. Sigrúnar skaltu kunna, ef þú vilt sigr hafa, ok rísta á hjalti hjörs, sumar á véttrimum, sumar á valböstum, ok nefna tysvar Tý.

6. Winning-runes learn, if thou longest to win, And the runes on thy sword-hilt write; Some on the furrow, and some on the flat, And twice shalt thou call on Tyr.

Lexical traces

In the sphere of organized warfare, Tyr/Tiw had become relatively unimportant compared to Odin/Woden in both North and West Germanic by the close of the Migration Age. Traces of the god remain, however, in Tuesday (Old English tíwesdæg "Tiw's day"; Old Frisian tîesdei, Old High German zîestag, Alemannic and Swabian dialect in south west Germany (today) Zieschdig/Zeischdig, Old Norse týsdagr), named after Tyr in both the North and the West Germanic languages (corresponding to Martis dies, dedicated to the Roman god of war and the father-god of Rome, Mars) and also in the names of some plants: Old Norse Týsfiola (after the Latin Viola Martis), Týrhialm (Aconitum, one of the most poisonous plants in Europe whose helmet-like shape might suggest a warlike connection) and Týviðr, "Tý's wood", Tiveden may also be named after Tyr, or reflecting Tyr as a generic word for "god" (i.e., the forest of the gods). In Norway the parish and municipality of Tysnes are named after the god.
German Dienstag and Dutch dinsdag (Tuesday) might be derived from Mars Thingsus, as mentioned above.

Var

Vár or Vór (Old Norse, meaning either "pledge" or "beloved") is a goddess associated with oaths and agreements. Vár is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources; the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson; and kennings found in skaldic poetry and a runic inscription. Scholars have proposed theories about the implications of the goddess.

Attestations

In the Poetic Edda poem Þrymskviða, the blessed of Vár is invoked by the jötunn Þrymr after his "bride" (who is actually the god Thor disguised as the goddess Freyja) is hallowed with the stolen hammer of Thor, Mjöllnir, at their wedding:

Benjamin Thorpe translation: Then said Thrym, the Thursars's lord: Bring the hammer in, the bride to consecrate; lay Miöllnir on the maiden's knee; unite us each with other by the hand of Vör.

Henry Adams Bellows translation: Then loud spake Thrym, the giants' leader: "Bring in the hammer to hallow the bride; On the maiden's knees let Mjollnir lie, That us both the hand of Vor may bless."

In the chapter 35 of the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, High tells Gangleri (described as king Gylfi in disguise) about the ásynjur. High lists Vár ninth among the sixteen ásynjur he presents in the chapter and provides some information about her:

Ninth Var: she listens to people's oaths and private agreements that women and men make between each other. Thus these contracts are called varar. She also punishes those who break them.

In addition, Vár appears twice more in the Prose Edda. In chapter 75 of the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál Vár appears within a list of 27 ásynjur names. In chapter 87 the name Vár is employed in a kenning referring to the goddess Skaði ("bow-string-Vár") in the poem Haustlöng by the skald Þjóðólfr of Hvinir. A runic inscription inscribed on a stick from Bergen, Norway around the year 1300 records a common mercantile transaction followed by a verse from a displeased scribe that mentions Vár (edits applied per the translator's notes):

'Wise Var of wire ["woman of filigree," meaning "wise bejeweled woman"] makes (me) sit unhappy.

Eir [woman] of mackerels' ground [likely gold] takes often and much sleep from me.'

Mindy Macleod and Bernard Mees posit that the first line of the inscription essentially means "women make me miserable" or potentially "marriage makes me miserable," whereas the second line means "women often take a lot of sleep from me."

Theories

Regarding the ceremonial marital reference to Vár in Þrymskviða, Andy Orchard opines that "the antiquity of such a ritual is far from clear." Britt-Mari Näsström argues that, like many other minor goddesses, Vár was originally one of Freyja's names, "later apprehended as independent goddesses."
Rudolf Simek says that the goddesses Sága, Hlín, Sjöfn, Snotra, Vár, and Vör should be considered vaguely defined figures who "should be seen as female protective goddesses" that are all responsible for "specific areas of the private sphere, and yet clear differences were made between them so that they are in many ways similar to matrons."

Huldufólk

Huldufólk (Icelandic hidden people from huldu- "pertaining to secrecy" and fólk "people", "folk") are elves in Icelandic folklore. Building projects in Iceland are sometimes altered to prevent damaging the rocks where they are believed to live. According to these Icelandic folk beliefs, one should never throw stones because of the possibility of hitting the huldufólk. In 1982, 150 Icelanders went to the NATO base in Keflavík to look for "elves who might be endangered by American Phantom jets and AWACS reconnaissance planes." In 2004, Alcoa had to have a government expert certify that their chosen building site was free of archaeological sites, including ones related to huldufólk folklore, before they could build an aluminum smelter in Iceland. In 2011, elves/huldufólk were believed by some to be responsible for an incident in Bolungarvík where rocks rained down on residential streets. Icelandic gardens often feature tiny wooden álfhól (elf houses) for elves/hidden people to live in. President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson has explained the existence of huldufólk tales by saying: "Icelanders are few in number, so in the old times we doubled our population with tales of elves and fairies." Hidden people often appear in the dreams of Icelanders. They are usually described as wearing 19th-century Icelandic clothing, and are often described as wearing green.
They are also a part of folklore in the Faroe Islands. In Faroese folk tales, Huldufólk are said to be "large in build, their clothes are all grey, and their hair black. Their dwellings are in mounds, and they are also called Elves." They also dislike crosses, churches and electricity.

Terminology

The term huldufólk was taken as a synonym of álfar (elves) in 19th century Icelandic folklore. Jón Árnason found that the terms are synonymous, except álfar is a pejorative term. Konrad von Maurer contends that huldufólk originates as a euphemism to avoid calling the álfar by their real name.
There is, however, some evidence, that the two terms have come to be taken as referring to two distinct sets of supernatural beings in contemporary Iceland. Katrin Sontag (2007) found that some people do not differentiate elves from hidden people, while others do. She also cites the preliminary results of a 2006 survey by Terry Gunnell, which finds that "54.6% of 639 persons said that they would not distinguish between álfar and huldufólk, 20.0% said they would and 25.4% were not sure."
Those who have seen the "huldufæolk" would describe them as,"Glowing, light white, attractive".

Origins

Gunnell writes: "different beliefs could have lived side by side in multicultural settlement Iceland before they gradually blended into the latter-day Icelandic álfar and huldufólk." He also writes: "Huldufólk and álfar undoubtedly arose from the same need. The Norse settlers had the álfar, the Irish slaves had the hill fairies or the Good People. Over time, they became two different beings, but really they are two different sets of folklore that mean the same thing."
Precursors to elves/hidden people can be found in the writings of Snorri Sturluson and in skaldic verse. Elves were also mentioned in eddaic poems, and appear to be connected to fertility^.
Official opposition to dancing may have begun in Iceland as early as the 12th-century, and the association of dancing with elves can be seen as early as the 15th-century. One folktale shows the elves siding with the common people and taking revenge on a sheriff who banned dance parties. Guðmundsdóttir concludes that these legends "show that Icelanders missed dancing".
In the 13th and 14th centuries, books from mainland Europe reached Iceland, and may have influenced folktales about elves.
Sveinsson writes: "Round about 1600 sources for hidden folk become so voluminous that we can readily define the beliefs and legends about them, and after that there is one source after another about them right down into the twentieth century." According to Árni Björnsson, belief in hidden people grew during the 17th and 18th centuries when Iceland was facing tough times.

Holidays

There are four Icelandic holidays considered to have a special connection with hidden people: New Year's Eve, Twelfth Night (January 6), Midsummer Night and Christmas night. Elf bonfires (álfabrennur) are a common part of the holiday festivities on Twelfth Night (January 6). There are many Icelandic folktales about elves and hidden people invading Icelandic farmhouses during Christmas and holding wild parties. It is customary in Iceland to clean the house before Christmas, and to leave food for the huldufólk on Christmas. On New Year's Eve, it is believed that the elves move to new locations, and Icelanders leave candles to help them find their way. On Midsummer Night, folklore states that if you sit at a crossroads, elves will attempt to seduce you with food and gifts; there are grave consequences for being seduced by their offers, but great rewards for resisting.

Icelandic folklore

Several scholars have commented on the connections between hidden people and the Icelandic natural environment.
Ólina Thorvarðardóttir writes: "Oral tales concerning Icelandic elves and trolls no doubt served as warning fables. They prevented many children from wandering away from human habitations, taught Iceland's topographical history, and instilled fear and respect for the harsh powers of nature."
Michael Strmiska writes: "The Huldufólk are... not so much supernatural as ultranatural, representing not an overcoming of nature in the hope of a better deal beyond but a deep reverence for the land and the mysterious powers able to cause fertility or famine." Alan Boucher writes: "Thus the Icelander's ambivalent attitude towards nature, the enemy and the provider, is clearly expressed in these stories, which preserve a good deal of popular -- and in some cases probably pre-christian -- belief."
Anna Pietrzkiewicz contends that the huldufólk symbolize idealized Icelandic identity and society, the key elements of which are seeing the "past as a source of pride and nature as unique and pure."

Contemporary Iceland

Surveys

Árni Björnsson, the former director of the ethnological department of the National Museum of Iceland, did a study of Icelanders born between 1870 and 1920. He was disappointed to find that only 10% believed in supernatural beings.
According to a 1975 survey by psychologist Erlendur Haraldsson, Icelanders’ level of belief in hidden people and fairies can be broken down into the following percentages:

• Impossible, 10%
• Unlikely, 18%
• Possible, 33%
• Probable, 15%
• Certain, 7%
• No opinion, 17%

#	Question				Total	Men	Women	Age 30-39	Age 40-49	Age 50-59	Age 60-70	Education: Primary	Education: Secondary	Education: College
20	Percentage of Respondents Claiming Various Types of Psychic Experiences: Fairies or "hidden folks"				5	5	5	3	4	8	6	8	3	0
41	Attitudes Towards Paranormal Phenomena Etc.: "Hidden Folks" and fairies
	impossible				10	14	7	14	10	5	10	7	10	24
	unlikely				18	19	16	18	21	14	16	10	18	38
	possible				33	31	34	28	33	38	33	35	32	26
	probable				15	14	16	14	15	17	17	21	14	5
	certain				7	7	8	8	7	9	4	10	8	0
	no opinion				17	15	19	18	14	17	20	17	18	17

There was also a 1995 survey by Pétur Pétursson, which only looked at people interested in alternative belief systems and alternative medicine rather than the general population. According to the survey, among the people this group, belief in elves broke down as follows: 70% believed in their existence, 6% did not believe in their existence, 23% were unsure, and 1% would not answer.
A July 1998 survey by Dagblaðið Vísir found that 54.4% of Icelanders surveyed claimed to believe in elves, while 45.6% did not. This survey has been criticized for only allowing yes or no responses rather than more nuanced answers. Notably, it also showed that supporters of Framsóknarflokkur (the Progressive Party) believed in elves more than other political parties.
A 2006 survey by folklorist Terry Gunnell found that "There is a little bit more doubt than there used to be, but generally the figures were much the same as they were." Sontag writes: "According to the preliminary results of this survey, 8.0% of 650 persons who answered this question were certain about the existence of huldufólk and álfar, 16.5% thought it was likely they existed, 31.0% assumed it was possible, 21.5% thought it was unlikely, 13.5% thought it was impossible and 8.5% did not have an opinion on this."
Anthropologist Kirsten Hastrup found that different ways of asking Icelanders about Huldufólk could elicit very different responses. Similarly, Folklore professor Terry Gunnell has said: "Very few will say immediately that they 'believe' in such, but they won't deny it either."
Icelandic communities in other countries may have lower levels of belief in huldufólk. Daisy L. Neijmann claims that among Icelanders in Canada, "Belief in these creatures... was geographically bound seeing that they were part of the Icelandic landscape, and therefore they could not, ultimately, survive among Icelandic Canadians."