Misc/Greenland Theory/6.10 Tīw (Týr)

6.10 Tīw (Týr)

“Týr” or “Tīw” is a one-handed god in Norse mythology who is associated with law and heroic glory. He is the son of Odin and known as the "god of the hanged", an apparent reference to his role in Greco-Roman blood sacrifices which involve the hanging of slaves on oak trees. In Viking mythology, Týr is the god of single combat, victory and heroic who name literally means “god”. According to the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, Týr, known for his great wisdom and courage and is called the "Leavings of the Wolf", an apparent reference to the Beast of Greenland. Tīw in Latin translates to "dies Martis" and therefore he was historically equated with Mars in the interpretatio romana. The symbol of Týr is the Tiwaz rune (an arrow pointing north) which is coincidentally found in the sign for the planet Mars. The letter “R” in “Týr” was likely added to the name of “Tīw” after the Island of Crete morphed into the Roman Empire (the letter “R” is an acronym for “Rome). “Tīw” is most commonly represented by the letter "T" (i.e., the 20th letter in the English alphabet), otherwise known as the Greco-Roman “Cross of Tau” (i.e., “Cross of Tīw”), a double-sided axe which is currently depicted on the flag of Crete. Tributes to the god of Týr are found throughout the English lexicon (e.g., tar, tear, tire, tore, tour, tyranny, etc.), as is the god of Tīw (e.g., to, too, two, etc.), the most common of which is the “to” prefix (e.g., today, tomorrow, etc.). The term "Tuesday" was derived from Old English meaning "Tiwesdæg" and from Middle English meaning "Tewesday" or "Tīw's Day", the day of Tiw or Týr. The consonant letters of "T" and "S" found in the name of Tuesday (T+S+D) are evident today in the official name for Tuesday in at least 13 languages originating out of Europe (i.e., Proto Germanic (Tīwas dagaz); Old English (Tīwesdæg); Old Saxon (Tiuwesdag); Scots (Tysday); West Frisian (Tiisdei); Old Norse (tysdagr); Faroese (týsdagur); Norwegian/Bokmål (tirsdag); Norwegian-Nynorsk (tysdag); Danish (tirsdag); Swedish (tisdag); Finnish (tiistai); and Estonian (teisipäev). Lastly, the official name for Tuesday in the New Zealander language Maori is "tūrei".

Tributes to Tyr

Aside from the number “two” and the letter “T”, tributes to “Tyr” and Tīw include but are not limited to: ”Lake Tissø, near Gørlev, Sjælland, Denmark (Tyr's Lake); South Tyrol, Italy; Thisted, Jutland, Denmark (Tyr's Stead); Tisvilde, Sjælland, Denmark (Tyr's Spring); Tiveden, Sweden (Tyr's Woods); Tiveden National Park, Götaland County, Sweden; Tuesley, England (Tiw's Clearing); Tyrol, Austria; Tyrseng, Viby, Denmark; ("Tyr's Meadow"); Tyrsted, Jutland, Denmark (Another form of Tyr's Stead); and Tysnes, Norway (Tyr's Headland); Lastly, a number of Icelandic males are named after “Týr”, including but not limited to: “Angantýr”, “Bryntýr”, “Hjálmtýr”, “Hrafntýr”, “Sigtýr”, “Valtýr” and “Vigtýr”.