Tyr
Tyr is the god of war, law, and justice in Norse mythology, known above all for the myth in which he sacrifices his own hand as a pledge of good faith while helping to bind the wolf Fenrir.
Last reviewed: 2026-07-21
Historical fact
Tyr is documented in Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, above all in Gylfaginning, as a god associated with war, law, and courage. The central myth about him recounts how the gods, fearing the growth of the wolf Fenrir, son of Loki, commission the dwarves to make the magical ribbon Gleipnir to bind him. Suspicious, Fenrir only agrees to be bound if one of the gods places a hand in his mouth as a guarantee; only Tyr is willing to do so. When the wolf realizes he has been tricked and cannot break free, he bites off Tyr's hand. Gylfaginning describes him as the bravest and most resolute of the gods.
Interpretation — Eddic Sources (Snorri Sturluson)
In the Prose Edda, Tyr is presented with few individual myths compared to Odin or Thor, but the episode of sacrificing his hand to bind Fenrir is enough to establish him as a symbol of courage, the keeping of oaths even at severe personal cost, and willingness to bear the consequences of a necessary deception for the collective good of the gods.
Interpretation — Reconstructed Norse Folk Religion (Ásatrú)
In contemporary Ásatrú practice, Tyr is usually honored as patron of justice, courage, and the keeping of commitments even when it entails personal sacrifice — a reading built directly on the myth of Fenrir's binding, in which he accepts the loss of his hand so that a collective promise could be fulfilled and the wolf contained.
This section presents one tradition's interpretation, not a verifiable fact.
Frequently asked questions
- Why did Tyr lose his hand?
- According to Gylfaginning, a section of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the gods bound the wolf Fenrir with the magical ribbon Gleipnir, but the wolf demanded that a god place a hand in his mouth as a guarantee of good faith. Only Tyr was willing to do so; when Fenrir realized the deception, he bit off his hand.
- What is Tyr's domain in Norse mythology?
- Tyr is associated with war, law, and justice in the Eddic sources — a god linked to the keeping of oaths and courage, portrayed as the bravest of the gods in Gylfaginning.
Sources
- Snorri Sturluson (trans. Anthony Faulkes). The Prose Edda (c. 1220 (1987 ed.)).
- Anonymous (trans. Carolyne Larrington). The Poetic Edda (13th c. manuscript (2014 ed.)).
- H. R. Ellis Davidson. Gods and Myths of Northern Europe (1964).